Greetings fellow Earthlings (or should that be Basslings?). I'm returning to the bass after a long time away - from the instrument, not from playing music. I'm classically trained, and played in an orchestra but now I'd like to try something else.
I've played as a melody player on other instruments for many years in musicians' sessions, so I'm used to playing tunes picked up by ear as I go along. But now I want to play rhythm and not sure how to begin retraining myself. I'll be starting easy with folk sessions (only a couple of keys to grapple with) but I'd like (in the end) to be able to play in a local gypsy jazz session. I work full time so my practice time is in short chunks, and not every day, so I need my practice to really pay. So does anyone have any suggestions on how I should direct my learning/practice focus that will enable me to play session? I don't want to waste my practice time on stuff that won't really help me move genre, hence my plea.