On the subject of practicing. What do you do to enhance your skills?

[Grand Wazoo]

So you've got your flash bass and rig, you've got your band, and you play regularly, often stuck in a rut playing the same old same old... What do you do to improve your skills and aim to become a better player so you can move up to the next big thing? Scales, difficult licks from renown musicians, or what is your practice schedule if any?

I am trying to go through a lot of music books and use a drum machine avidly trying to master difficult techniques, like 16th notes tempo's and anything by Jaco often realising that in a band when it comes to bass, less is usually more. I am puzzled as to what other people here do.

Bear and share. Ta!

[charic]

I've been wondering this myself lately. I'm absolutely fine at upbeat songs, I get the feel straight away and then writing comes naturally but when my band want to do a slower song I find it a bit more of a struggle. Unfortunately I think in this case I'll have to just work through it with the band.

[Lozz196]

I have a set practice routine that I go through to warm up and keep both finger flexibility and speed up to scratch.

I then, to try and improve, make up some riffs that I know will be difficult, then keep on at them, until I get them as I want them.

I`ve no formal training at all, so have no idea of the names of any techniques that could benefit. I think my way is rather like Slash`s - Sweet Child O Mine was based on a warm-up riff he had, as it was awkward to play, so got him warmed up quickly. It works, so I`m happy with this unorthodox method.

[Low End Bee]

Nothing.

I'm deaply ashamed.

[Wil]

Nothing, really! As you said, with bass, less often is more. My technique and creative faculties are more than good enough for the music I enjoy playing, so I leave it until band practice most of the time. It's when I'm in the practice room with the band that I'll experiement with note choices/rhythms etc, but more often than not I find locking in with the band and the whallop of my rig while playing simpler lines far more satisfying than chasing after ever more evolved techniques.

The song is more important than bass pyrotechnics.

I did a lot of shedding when I was younger and I had the time, these days I'd rather spend time doing other things after work. Band practice is an extra treat when you've not touched your bass in a few days too (thinking about it, my bass isnt even at home, it's still in the back of the band van, where I left it after the last rehearsal!)

Edited November 9, 2010 by Wil

[Doctor J]

Practicing scales and techniques repeatedly just sucks the fun out of it for me. I'm in it for the music, so I just work out by ear and play along to other people's songs, especially those which might be different to my own style. I've a playing level I'm comfortable with and once I can play along to a few specific tunes I'm content I can do all I need to do if required.

[Bilbo]

At the moment, because I am working on building stamina for double bass playing, I put the metronome on a chosen tempo and play walking bass lines against the off beat. Its working as I can feel my stamina improving. I then spend some time with the bow working on intonation (and Sevcik and Bach) and then reward myself with some practise on improvisation.

I then put the bass down (after about an hour - it is hard work if I play too long) and get to my composing/arranging practice which I actually prefer doing at the moment because it is less uncomfortable to do!!

PS this happens only two or three times a week as I have other things calling on my time.

[icastle]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1017390' date='Nov 9 2010, 12:23 PM']So you've got your flash bass and rig, you've got your band, and you play regularly, often stuck in a rut playing the same old same old... What do you do to improve your skills and aim to become a better player so you can move up to the next big thing? Scales, difficult licks from renown musicians, or what is your practice schedule if any?

I am trying to go through a lot of music books and use a drum machine avidly trying to master difficult techniques, like 16th notes tempo's and anything by Jaco often realising that in a band when it comes to bass, less is usually more. I am puzzled as to what other people here do.

Bear and share. Ta![/quote]

I go for the most awkward method I can think of.
I pick a youtube video at random, play along with it then pick a "related" tune and play that and just keep going.
In a two hour session I can start off with the Hollies and end up with 10cc via Fleetwood Mac, Mike Oldfield, Lindisfarne, Joe Jackson and obscure spanish bands (hey, don't ask me - I just click on the pretty pictures!).
No cheating by missing songs I've never heard of or don't like either...

[Wil]

[quote name='icastle' post='1017464' date='Nov 9 2010, 01:19 PM']I go for the most awkward method I can think of.
I pick a youtube video at random, play along with it then pick a "related" tune and play that and just keep going.
In a two hour session I can start off with the Hollies and end up with 10cc via Fleetwood Mac, Mike Oldfield, Lindisfarne, Joe Jackson and obscure spanish bands (hey, don't ask me - I just click on the pretty pictures!).
No cheating by missing songs I've never heard of or don't like either... [/quote]

I like that method. If I ever am in the mood to practice at home, I tend to play along with the music on television. Advert breaks can be quite hectic

[icastle]

[quote name='Wil' post='1017474' date='Nov 9 2010, 01:24 PM']I tend to play along with the music on television. Advert breaks can be quite hectic [/quote]

LMAO - Why am I seeing a jazz funk version of Mr Sheen in my head

[Truckstop]

I think it depends on what mood I'm in.
I'm not in a band at the moment, so I'm mostly messing around with chords, different tunungs and effects at the moment. Mostly experimental stuff. When i was in the band though, I used to practice to metronomes and warm up properly with a few sets of scales.
I also enjoy jamming to classical music as there's more space to try out weird runs and things because there's no vocals interfering.

Truckstop

[BigRedX]

I don't practice just for practice's sake. And don't think I've ever played a scale in my life

If there's something I need to be able to play for one of my bands but can't, then I'll run through it for 5-10 minutes each day and generally by next week's rehearsal I'll have it sorted. If the Terrortones aren't having a band rehearsal on a particular week then I'll run through all the songs on my own trying to get to point where I can't play them wrong.

Otherwise I'll work on getting some more ideas for new songs.

[blind pilot]

I seem to struggle with speed in my fretting hand, so what I am doing at the moment is playing along to Rush - YYZ , seems to be working!

[Conan]

I just sit down (or sometimes, if I'm feeling raunchy, stand up!) and play what I feel like playing until I am bored.

It could be an entire Rush bass line, or a single lick from a lesser known Level 42 track. Sometimes I try to pick out the vocal melody on the bass and other times it might be the drum part!

Variety is the key for me. If practicing was a chore I wouldn't do it. Sometimes it is, and I don't. Other times I love it. It's my bass and my house (where I do most of my practicing) so who else really cares?

[Circle_of_Fifths]

As I am retired - I get to play for at least four hours a day.

Yeah - that's a lot --- but I'm on a mission to learn as much as I can before I die. What I find is that it really takes a few songs to get into a groove - where creativity and one's feelings start to flow.

As an old 'Street-player' who has had no formal training in bass or guitar, I find that it's best to tune to a streaming site that is playing a singular type of music: Jazz, Blues, Brit Invasion, Classic Country, Zydeco (Cajun), Progressive, Moldy-Oldies and just play along.

This gives me insight to the formation of musical form and also forces my ears to recognize notes and keys. This also helps a lot that I also play harmonica where you have to recognize the key instantly and grab the correct harp to play along.

Currently I am taking lessons from two great professional bassists who happen to be also good friends. This is very enlightening and one of the primary things I've learned is that LESS IS MORE.

I get to gig with a progressive jazz quintet with a great sax and singer and that really sharpens my skills. I play with a fire station, a studio where I lay down bass tracks for an independent producer and then I get another 5 or 6 hours on Saturday playing with a husband/wifel group that originally was part of an opening act for big names in Las Vegas.

What I firmly belive is that if you totally immerse yourself into your muse, you can accomplish anything. Surround yourself with people who actually have some talent and keep away from any one venue of music. If you play one style, you'll never make any progress.



Oh - as a disclaimer I don't play for any income either. Everything I play is for free - well, maybe for a steak and a beer if it's a lawn or pasture party for a friend.

I don't do bars and private clubs though: had my fill of those people years ago when I worked private strip clubs and topless venues.

I keep either AOL streaming music running all the time or go into my constructed lists in my WMP player for sets of music I want to practice along to. Just for kicks, Abba is pretty good for a warm-up; I go through the whole album and that's gets the juices flowing.

Edited November 9, 2010 by Circle_of_Fifths

[The Burpster]

I always do the same warm up -

several major, minor and blues scales slowly at first then buliding up speed then when they are quick arpegio them back down - takes about 15 mins.

Play the tracks I want to play and practise, then try to learn somthing new - a new scale or an old scale somewere else on the neck - or a relly cool riff I'v heard somewhere - then warm down playing a couple of slower simple numbers.

Maybe a bit OCD buts just liek a sport practice session and I've played a lot more sports than music!

[paul_5]

My big thing at the moment (with two children 3 and under, so every minute counts) is to play major and minor scales going up in 4ths (G, A, B, C then A, B, C, D etc...) for about ten mins,then come back down again trying to vary positions (i.e. trying to make the notes land in different places). Then I just roll off the front pickup and play chordal stuff way up the neck. Not really got time to dig out and set up a 'nome, so it's pretty much rubato, but works for me. I try to do some reading too, but the kitchen table (my practice room and occasional work/solder shop) isn't always free... I work in a music college too, so lunch hours I'll lock myself in a practice room to shed some wood. For me it's all about making the most of the time I have.

[Big Mick]

Being a relative novice (playing 11 months now) I regularly struggle with lots of stuff. My favoured method for learning a new tune is watching youtube covers and reading tabs and trying to work out if the tabs are correct.
One I've been really struggling with is Seek and Destroy by Metallica, it gets played every week at our jam night by various people and I really want to be able to get up there and do it with them.
After several months of trying it every few days and getting nowhere, something has clicked this week and I'm much nearer to getting to grips with the first half of it. For me it's just lots of time and perseverence!

Cheers, Mick.

[Mr. Foxen]

If you've seen Metalocalypse, where Skwisgar always has his explorer and is diddling away. I do that with bass. Then I go to practice and play one note for about 15 minutes. Not one note repeatedly, just one and just let it ring. Why play loads of notes when you can play one note through lots of amps? My finger dexterity has definitely got a lot better for the time I think of another note to go for.

[Doddy]

I practice and study things that I either can't play yet or am struggling with. It may be a transcription or learning a song or it may be
some fingering exercises or whatever. Often I'll set up a loop and play over the top until I come to something that I didn't play well
enough or totally screwed up,and then break it down and come up with a load of exercises based around that. Or,if I've been working on
some particular exercises,I'll play them over the loop and try to get comfortable with them all over the bass.
I can play scales and arpeggios up and down all day long,so I don't need to practice that,but I will come up with ideas that break them up
and go all over the place. There's no point practising stuff that I can already play very comfortably-I'm always trying to push my playing further.

[Delberthot]

There is no point in playing something you already know and can play fluently. The real fun is playing something you;ve never heard of before or never been able to play properly.

My warm up as The Trooper, Phantom of the Opera, Infinite Dreams or Killers

[schmig]

I've been playing about 3 and a bit years, gigging heavily for one year. Generally over the last year I've put in time learning the approx 60 songs played in our growing set.

The last month+ however I've stopped looking at the songs full stop, and spent all of my time woodshedding. Perhaps it's my imagination, but given the practice I've been doing, the bass is starting to feel much more comfortable and I'm enjoying playing it all the more.

Admittedly now I live alone and am out of work everyday for 5pm, so if I'm not socialising, I'm practising 4 hours+ a night.

Type of things I would be doing:

- Right hand finger alternation over strings, right hand vertical shifting and general positioning, muted 16th rhythms with concentration on good time and even attack.
- Left hand positioning and attempting to relax the left hand. Thumb behind neck, more versatility in fingers, with focus on eliminating bad habits which I've seen in myself and others such as thumb coming over top of neck when playing bottom registers, baby finger misbehaving in higher registers, etc. Sounds ridiculous, but stand in front of mirror for one hour attempting to shift around neck blind-ish and watching that the left hand does not bunch up.
- Pentatonics in all positions. I came at the bass backwards learning all modes/scales, only realised lately that pentatonics have their advantages.
- Playing scales up a single string, up two strings.
- Left hand shifting. Cannot be emphasised enough.
- Going over a couple of Friedland books on blues, jazz etc, as well as various chord tone exercises.

It might be my imagination, but i feel my playing is starting to take off. It's all to do with:
- Practising the dull stuff for hours on end (the odd break for a cup of tea and a smoke)
- Concentrating hard on all of it.
- Patience.

Edited November 10, 2010 by schmig

[Jamesemt]

I made a big decision when coming back to the bass not to focus on anything that I didn't enjoy.
In a past life I was a guitarist, and hated the guilt if I didn't do my hours scales a day...made me eventually put the guitar down.
Back on topic, I go through songs for the band - we have 3 sets so I tend to play some of those. Then move onto songs I'm working at for the band. Other days I might play stuff that has nothing to do with the band, but I enjoy (I'm slowly working my way through the entire Bon Jovi back catalogue!!).
Another thing I do is that if a song is mentioned by any of the band memebers as a potential, I learn it anyway just to broaden my musical scope - nine times out of ten we probably wont play it.
I do try and play every day - some of my most enjoyable times with the bass have been when I've forced myself to play.
So I never practice, but play every day

[BargyBass]

I play along to any old crap that's on the TV..
That way I can leer at the goggle box & practice!!