SevenSeas

Interestingly enough quite a few people have said they don't have the time but I came to the conclusion that I had to make time, even if I do have to get up early. With a full time job it's easy to get burned out though.

My practice stuff varies all the time but at the moment, the fundamentals are; Scales, Sight Reading, Transcribing (and scoring), working on equal dynamics on double bass, bit of bowing.

Hi Basschat, Well basically I normally religiously practice everyday, get up at 6.30 practice double bass 7-9 go to work, come back from work practice electric from about 6.30 - 9.00 bit of piano 30 mins (nothing serious) then chill and do the same the next day. Now i've had the last two days off which is the first free two days off I've had in a couple of months (either i'm at work or have a gig etc) but just couldn't practice wasn't motivated enough? What do people do when they feel too burned out to practice? The other problem is I can never 'fully switch off' even now I feel guilty about not practicing when I should be, how does everyone else switch off?

That would be awesome bass ace, i'll send you a dm.

Cheers Bilbo, I'll have to message him. Do you know of anyone else? (Just thinking about travelling distance etc)

Hi BassChat! I've been very fortunate to hopefully get one of Paul's last Soloist Double Basses as he has recently retired from full time production is making a limited amount of Soloist basses from time to time. I'm about half way from saving up for one of these basses which he'll be able to make by the end of the year/start of next year. Obviously before I part a years worth of my wages, has anyone got one that I could play? (Would be more than willing to travel to you (obviously) and give you some money) I definitely need to get a feel for the instrument before I buy one. I have only heard great things about his double basses, so It will probably be fantastic. Cheers, Andrew.

mtroun Thanks for the post, it wasn't too long at all! Told me everything I needed to know and a lot more! (which is great) I think if anything it proves that I have a lots of work to do! I currently have a jazz double bass tutor in Bath called Greg Cordez and he is a great player and tutor, going all the way to London for a lesson isn't necessarily an option but it might be something I have to do, to get a realistic view of where I need to go as a player. Also it's difficult about places as i've taken one gap year already, (next year would be two gap years) if I didn't get into a jazz college and then i'd have to apply on my third year, it's a tough decision. Also thanks a lot, so helpful!

Thanks for all your comments, they all sound awesome!

[quote name='blueburstbass93' timestamp='1368732003' post='2080918'] I currently study at Trinity, though I applied for Birmingham as well. I really enjoy my course, I am also an electric player who has picked up double in the past few years and though my principal study is double I play both about 50/50. I was planning to audition at leeds if I didn't get in at either trinity or birmingham, you don't have to apply till later because its through UCAS not CUKAS but I am told that it is a good course, if not nearly as good as it was a few years back. I didn't apply at guildhall because if you study Jazz you have to do classical as well but I know some very good players who study there. I don't officially know but I think Leeds is the easiest to get into, royal welsh the second and birmingham the third, not sure about trinity and guildhall. [/quote] Thank you very much! Really helpful, good to know about the applying times as well! Thats made it a lot clearer, I think my preference would be; 1. Trinity. 2. Royal Welsh. 3. Leeds. All are great courses so I would be happy to get on to any. What were your audition pieces? Did you audition on both electric and double? (Also you can DM if thats easier. Cheers,

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Hey everyone, I'm interested in peoples different opinions about these music colleges, if you have been to one of them than that would be fantastic because you would be able to give me a honest opinion.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]* Please note, I don't want a thread of lots of people suggesting to avoid university/music college because the paper is useless, waste of money etc because I'm not here to have that discussion... no offence. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]* If you could put the entry standard in a non-discriminatory way that would be great, even though all the colleges are fantasic (I just want to be realistic)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]* I got into Goldsmiths this year but decided to decline the offer as I wanted to re-apply and go for jazz.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I have been playing electric bass for seven years and double bass for about 15 months, so nearly 2 years by the time I audition but I have no idea if I'll get into any college as the standard is so high. (Would prefer to study double bass as first instrument)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]RAM. (Not really an option for me personally, as they don't take electric bass, really high standard) RNCM (don't do jazz) an RSA (possible too far away) [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]_________________________[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Guildhall.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Trinity.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Leeds College of Music.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Royal Welsh College of Music.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Birmingham Conservatoire. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]__________________________[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Many thanks all! All opinions welcome and helpful![/font][/color]

Hey everyone, I'm interested in peoples different opinions about these music colleges, if you have been to one of them than that would be fantastic because you would be able to give me a honest opinion. * Please note, I don't want a thread of lots of people suggesting to avoid university/music college because the paper is useless, waste of money etc because I'm not here to have that discussion... no offence. * If you could put the entry standard in a non-discriminatory way that would be great, even though all the colleges are fantasic (I just want to be realistic) * I got into Goldsmiths this year but decided to decline the offer as I wanted to re-apply and go for jazz. I have been playing electric bass for seven years and double bass for about 15 months, so nearly 2 years by the time I audition but I have no idea if I'll get into any college as the standard is so high. (Would prefer to study double bass as first instrument) RAM. (Not really an option for me personally, as they don't take electric bass, really high standard) RNCM (don't do jazz) an RSA (possible too far away) _________________________ Guildhall. Trinity. Leeds College of Music. Royal Welsh College of Music. Birmingham Conservatoire. __________________________ Many thanks all! All opinions welcome and helpful!

@Chris_ B; I think there is a big difference between practicing at gigs and practicing your own material. I could do a thousand gigs but what good would that be if didn't sit in my bedroom learning the fundamentals such as; scales, sight reading, etc (theres more) but these two things for example have to be developed my practicing rather than playing gigs. (Until you're doing sight reading gigs of course) @shizznit True, having a break for four years must of been a long time, I can't imagine being away from my instrument for that long, I have a quite a few goals I need to achieve in the next year, so putting my instrument down, doesn't seem possible at the moment. @Lynotfann & BurritoBass. I agree, I think I need a break, i've got gigs booked until July so once they're done I might have a cooling off period to re-charge my batteries. Thanks for all the comments!

Great advice xiddx, it's a tough one.

It's surprising as I've done about 50 gigs so far and i've had no clashes, luck I guess.

Hey everyone, I am really stuck and I'm sure i'm not the first person to have this problem. At the moment I play in four bands and gig quite regularly, always every week. I'm getting to the point though where I feel like I'm spending too much time with bands and not enough time practicing the 'right' stuff. I do this alongside a full time job, so my schedule is quite full. Anyway I got back from work today and picked up my bass and realised that I was so tired, I couldn't maintain the concentration needed to sustain a good practice and decided to put my bass down. I've realised that If I stopped doing a lot of the gigs, I would have much more time to practice but would I miss out by dropping out of gigs? I play in a mixture of folk, pop, blues kind of bands (which you can listen here , www.andrewdalerichards.com) they're all great guys and girls but I've wanted to pursue jazz for a while and after going to a local club(of which everyone was amazing) I realised I sure as hell wasn't good enough and if I wanted to get into the 'jazz world' I'd have to make it a full time commitment. So I'm torn between playing in bands or focusing full on studying my instruments more. Who else has been in this situation and what did they do?

Hey Bass Chat, ` I'm extremely stuck because I can't find/join a jazz trio, I play in four different bands and am fortunate enough to be gigging regularly, but still can't seem to find anything on the jazz front. I would really like to apply to a conservatoire next year to study jazz but just can't get the practice in because I can't find musicians to practice the repertoire with. (Therefore I would lack the experience) Anyone got any ideas where I can find musicians with the same interest? I live just outside of Exeter, Devon.

Okay well as the thread suggests, I am interested to know what peoples favourite upright bassists are; If you can include a favourite album, track, video etc. That would be cool; I'll start: Avishai Cohen; Album: Seven Seas. Track: About A Tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEhz_0yTavE

Hi everyone at Bass Chat, I should spend more time on here but I guess that would be more procrastinating from more bass practice! Cheers,