Practice Routine

[Tim2291]

What do you guys work on when you practice? Do you have a routine at all? 

 

Mine changes massively and is very unstructured most of the time but if I do structure it try to start with a warm up of some kind, then move on to running through different scales, modes, arpeggios, chords etc and then will finish off with playing along to a few songs (usually by ear). If i'm honest though, most of the time I sit with very bad posture and ignore the first parts of the practice and skip to learning new material! 

 

Further to that, what's your practice set up?

 

My house is relatively small so I tend to use an audio interface with headphones and the bass directly in so I'm not too annoying for my long suffering wife!

[Lozz196]

I`ve a couple of routines, as below, but when starting up just to warm up have a few exercises I run through.

 

First routine is if just keeping my hand in so to speak then I just play along to fave songs on Youtube.

 

Second is if for a gig, as we don`t rehearse that much I`ll get the set list and play through it a few times on the week of the gig.

 

Practice set-up is whichever bass into an Ampeg SCRDI into an Mini Ashdown Stack, which only has one 1x10 cab connected. I don`t practice at anything above normal watching TV volumes, but I`ve put some foam underneath the cab to hopefully isolate it a tad from the floor.

[neepheid]

Blind panic learning songs the night before a band rehearsal sums up my practice "routine".  It is routine in the sense that it always happens

 

[neepheid]

Sorry, you asked about practice setup.  I have two.

 

Proper, head down practicing:

 

Yamaha Sessioncake SC02, headphones, mobile phone or laptop for Spotify/other backing tracks/drum tracks etc.

 

Lazy, audible practicing:

 

Laptop, Bose Soundlink Mini bluetooth speaker, Epiphone Jack Casady unplugged - loud enough if the backing is not too high.  Look ma, no wires!

[bass_dinger]

I have two A5 notebooks, a double page for each song that I am learning. 

 

I will make notes of the date on which I played the song, and how it went.

 

So, maybe "we are family. 

 

2/11/22. The verse section seems to be different to the transcription that I am using. More bounce and pop on the original? Slow it down and listen?"

 

In theory, I should look at it again the day after, and act on my notes. In reality, I rarely do.  But I have found that when I do, I can work on aspects of piece, and not just rehearse my mistakes. 

 

It also acts as a useful record of my repertoire  - according to my notebook, I used to be able to play "Oh what a night". Not anymore, however....

 

I also have some A4 binders of the sheet music. 

 

PC, yamaha AG03 mixer, and AKG headphones complete the setup, and allow silent practice. 

 

Little and often is best...

[neepheid]

3 minutes ago, bass_dinger said:

Little and often is best...

 

I know, but I never learn...

[bass_dinger]

19 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

I know, but I never learn...

 

Well, you (and I) have learnt that we should.  And we probably know that we could. From there, it is but a small step to "we will".

 

One day.....

[TheGreek]

I use YOUTUBE for inspiration...find a lesson by Scott or Mark Smith and use it to expand the repertoire and knowledge base.

[msb]

I usually have some memory work to do , and like to warm up with scales , but I have to give myself a good chunk of time to simply goof around and explore. That time has certainly been a gift when I get a solo. 

[BigRedX]

I probably haven't practiced in the traditional sense since about some time in 1974, when I finally managed to string a handful of chords together on the guitar without needing to stop to re-orientate the fingers of my left hand into the next shape. I'll work on ideas that I have come up with in my head that my fingers can't yet manage in a consistent way but that's it. However I do play almost every day doing anything between a five minute noodle and several hours of composing. Because I see myself primarily as a composer rather than a musician I can't see the point of practicing unless I have an actual need to be able to play something that at the moment I can't. I'd rather be writing some more songs.

Edited November 5, 2022 by BigRedX

[Leonard Smalls]

I play a couple of our easier songs as a warm up, then might try a few keys or modes and then try noodling with them... Often I'll want to try a promising noodle on some other fx patch so I may then edit edit patches, which takes me off elsewhere or even gives me a new song.

All this is mainly using Wal, ACG or Lightwave fretless (all of which lead to different places) playing through a Line 6 HelixLT bi-amped into Crown stereo power amp into Markbass 4x10 (left, bass) and Markbass 2x10 (right, trebley sounds) - i.e. same as gigging but quieter!

[MrSpace]

I find that the only way I can stay motivated to "practice" often is just to play through songs I know and enjoy playing. I have a variety of songs on an Amazon Music playlist that I add to whenever I learn something new. I will often only play for around 10 minutes, but sometimes I end up doing this several times a day whenever I get bored of what I am supposed to be doing! It seems to be working as I see an improvement when I go back to songs I haven't played for a while.

Equipment wise, I generally play through my Ashdown Studio 12 combo, with headphones if necessary but without if no-one else is in the house! That way I can use my pedals and the overdrive in the amp. If I need to go to a different room, I use my Amplug headphone amp instead. 

[bass_dinger]

55 minutes ago, MrSpace said:

It seems to be working as I see an improvement when I go back to songs I haven't played for a while.

 

 

I experience something similar. 

 

I learn a song, and eventually reach peak incompetence - no matter how much more I play, I don't get any better. 

 

I then come back to it the next day and I can play it better. 

 

Perhaps my brain is processing the learning overnight, and when I next play it, has worked it out.

[Franticsmurf]

The set up is usually Zoom B1four and headphones unless I'm tweaking sounds, when it's the pedal board into amp and one speaker. Low volume, with the intention of doing final tweaks at rehearsal before or between songs. If I know my neighbour is out, I may crank the volume up and get some final tweaks done then. 

 

I tend to work on songs for the bands I'm in, and build in some technique practice along the way as I struggle to get motivated to practice technique alone. Currently working on the Xmas set for the Hulla band (few gigs but usually big charity ones) and a set of Eagles tunes and other songs appropriate to the genre for a dep role in an Eagles tribute gig (The Long Road) next Friday. 

 

 

[bubinga5]

jeez... most of these sound like a gym warm up. I stretch my fingers and off I go.  90% of your playing comes from your mind. Thats what I warm up

[bass_dinger]

On 04/11/2022 at 19:56, bass_dinger said:

 

I will make notes of the date on which I played the song, and how it went.

 

 

I have also added a page on ear training  - being able to work out the chords to a  song that I know.  Usually, I would use a chord chart, or a playalong-sheet-music video - so ear training is necessary for me.

 

I am also learning to sight read using playalong-sheet-music videos, and tab videos too.

 

All of that will hopefully get me to the point where I have the dexterity and skill to play what I hear in my head - so "stretch ... and go", as below. 

 

6 hours ago, bubinga5 said:

jeez... most of these sound like a gym warm up. I stretch my fingers and off I go.  90% of your playing comes from your mind. Thats what I warm up

 

I find that it takes a lot of practice to be able to play without practicing....

[uk_lefty]

I'd love to have a disciplined warmup, practice and learning routine but the reality is... 

 

I practice along with songs New to the band set or ones that I make mistakes in. Then I forget to practice the simple ones and can often mess these up on gigs. I have books on Bach, Jaco, walking bass lines, arpeggio and fretless exercises. In reality I dip into these briefly once every few months. I wish I had more time for this.

 

Recently I got excited about learning and practicing "somebody told me" by the Killers (all that Bach isn't so relevant) because all the online tabs I could see were wrong and I had time on my own to really figure out the song properly. It's got a great bassline with some subtle parts that are really fun to play.

 

I'm usually playing whatever bass is nearest through my ABM600 at very low volume or a Positive Grid Spark 40. I will use pedals if I really need to work out a new sound. If I'm extra lazy and it's out of its case I'll use my Jack Casady through no amp. I like to use my fretless every now and then too to mix things up.

[stewblack]

I am by nature ill disciplined and more drawn to novelty than to repetition. So until I began taking lessons with a superb teacher my practice consisted of noodling or learning a song for a gig.

Now, because I know that every two weeks I will need to show the fruits of my labours, and because the work is structured in such a way that it needs to be done daily, I work far more strictly.

Most importantly I keep a diary so at a glance I can see what I've been doing and make sure nothing gets missed.

[neepheid]

58 minutes ago, stewblack said:

I am by nature ill disciplined and more drawn to novelty than to repetition. So until I began taking lessons with a superb teacher my practice consisted of noodling or learning a song for a gig.

Now, because I know that every two weeks I will need to show the fruits of my labours, and because the work is structured in such a way that it needs to be done daily, I work far more strictly.

Most importantly I keep a diary so at a glance I can see what I've been doing and make sure nothing gets missed.

 

Teacher's pet

[MacDaddy]

No routine as such. Usually learning songs or playing through set lists, or along with previous gig recordings.

Occasionally I'll relearn something like Rhythm Stick to keep my chops up.

 

Set up is usually a multi fx, phone into the aux, and headphones. Or Peavey Vypyr VIP III at very low volume.

[BigRedX]

6 hours ago, bass_dinger said:

I find that it takes a lot of practice to be able to play without practicing....

 

That's why I play as much as possible even if it isn't "practicing" in the traditional sense.

 

13 hours ago, bubinga5 said:

jeez... most of these sound like a gym warm up. I stretch my fingers and off I go.

 

I also agree about being able to kick straight in when playing - especially at a gig. I have been in bands previously where the other musicians want to play something "easy" as the first song so they can "warm up". Often this isn't a particularly riveting song from an audience PoV. IMO you should kick off with your second best song (the best one is saved for the set closer) no matter how hard it might be to play. Practice so that you can go straight into this song from cold, and if you really need to "warm up" first do it back stage or in a quiet corner of the venue. One of my band's opening song features a really complex bass line as the main riff, but I have made sure that I can always play from cold no matter what. The set is all the better for being to open with this song.

[stewblack]

5 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

Teacher's pet

Oh God I hope so

[Dr.Dave]

Practising in the early days without an amp so as not to annoy the neighbours was a mistake - it left me too heavy handed in my plucking hand and I can't play any other way now. At home I tend to plug into my Boss multi effects straight through to headphones and if required my phone into the aux in jack. If I was famous or at least played in environments where I had a dressing room - which isn't often - I'd have a warm up before going on stage but it's a luxury I've learned to live without , including having something easy to play at the start of the set AND wearing gloves (even inside sometimes) so my fingers don't get cold.

 

I note the following things that have been said to me by those I have some respect for......

 

Practise - because you only get better or get worse , you don't stay the same.

 

If you practise too much what you actually get good at is practising.

 

Rehearse what you know but never practise what you know. Practise stuff you don't know.

 

If you're going to play standing up - why sit down to practise ?

[Tokalo]

On 05/11/2022 at 17:43, MrSpace said:

I find that the only way I can stay motivated to "practice" often is just to play through songs I know and enjoy playing. I have a variety of songs on an Amazon Music playlist that I add to whenever I learn something new. I will often only play for around 10 minutes, but sometimes I end up doing this several times a day whenever I get bored of what I am supposed to be doing! It seems to be working as I see an improvement when I go back to songs I haven't played for a while.

Equipment wise, I generally play through my Ashdown Studio 12 combo, with headphones if necessary but without if no-one else is in the house! That way I can use my pedals and the overdrive in the amp. If I need to go to a different room, I use my Amplug headphone amp instead. 

Do you have Music Unlimited, or has Amazon’s change to playlists on basic Prime being shuffle-only messed up your practice too? So I can load our songs in set order, but can’t practice them in sequence. And Amazon will happily throw in other “related” songs when they feel like it too.

 

I mean, it’s not as if adding songs to a playlist means you actually wanted to listen to those particular tracks, is it?

[MrSpace]

16 minutes ago, Tokalo said:

Do you have Music Unlimited, or has Amazon’s change to playlists on basic Prime being shuffle-only messed up your practice too? So I can load our songs in set order, but can’t practice them in sequence. And Amazon will happily throw in other “related” songs when they feel like it too.

 

I mean, it’s not as if adding songs to a playlist means you actually wanted to listen to those particular tracks, is it?

Yes I have had Music Unlimited for a while now, since before I started learning Bass. I started with Prime, but two reasons for upgrading:

- got fed up with some albums I enjoyed disappearing from the Prime service

- wanted high definition audio for use with my Sonos system

Now after the recent changes, the Prime service sounds like it works in a similar way to Spotify?