Jason Karloff Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Sometimes when I'm led in bed at night, I think about this. I've been playing for 38 years now and have reached a certain level on the instrument. I think to myself if i had practiced ruthlessly, every single day, putting in 6 plus hours, not just doing what i fancy, but laser focused, structured learning, only stopping for eating and sleeping, how much quicker could i have got to the same level? I come up with something around 6 to 9 months. Feel depressed that i could of reclaimed 37 years of my life, and go back to counting sheep instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Did you have 38 shit years or did you have some craic along the way? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Is 6+ hours a day practical? I managed it in my last year of uni but that’s the only time I have. Now I have a few ideas of what I want to practice to improve but often let inspiration guide me to something else if that’s what motivates me that day. I think I’ve worked a healthy balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 The bass should be a tool to bring joyful experiences into your life, it should never be something which causes you to lock yourself away from joyful living. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 What would you have been hoping for by reaching your current technical standard 37 years earlier? On the whole bands don't want virtuoso musicians. They want people who are competent, reliable and look the part. Also you never stop learning and striving, so even if you had reached your current level of ability 37 years ago you would still have plenty to learn and work towards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 It doesn't matter how good you get; there will always be someone better than you, or at least someone you think is better than you. It doesn't matter how bad you are; there will always be someone worse than you, or at least someone you think is worse than you. Forget the destination and enjoy the journey. What scares ME late at night? 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 53 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: What scares ME late at night? You've seen it too?! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_c2 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I remember once at work we had a conversation on what might be the worst thing to happen to you. You know, things like a 9" grinder accident with it going into your abdomen; circular saw running at your hand; plate glass impalement; acid spills; welding incidents. Apparently "being stuck in a dead end job on an industrial estate near an airport for the rest of your career" isn't the right answer. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paolo85 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I did the six-hour + thing for a couple of years. I ended up with tendinitis and stopped playing. Arguably there would have been clever ways to do that and avoid tendinitis. If I knew then what I know now. Which I didn't. Still, I did that because I felt like doing it. It came natural. If it hadn't, playing hours every day would have felt like a chore and I would have stopped playing anyway. Either way, if you have been playing continuously for 37 years, you certainly got more out of music than I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie C Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 10 hours ago, Jason Karloff said: Sometimes when I'm led in bed at night, I think about this. I think similar at times. After 30+ years of just messing around on instruments I started a music degree. I have to be careful with topics like "effective practice" to look forwards and how I can do things better, and not back at thousands of hours of ineffective practice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrig Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 At the age of fifteen I borrowed £15 from my older (working) sister to buy a Burns Sonic bass, at the time I was in a band which we formed whilst still at school. We weren't that good and I didn't really know anybody who could give me a few tips or lessons on how to play bass properly, and there were no YouTube videos to turn to back in the mid-60's, so after about six months, the band disbanded, I swapped my Burns bass for some fishing gear and that was it until I reached the age of 55 when I was asked if I was interested in forming a band just for fun, so I said okay I will play bass but I will only be able to play root notes. It turned out that the guys I was playing with were actually quite good musicians and they gradually pulled me up to a decent level, and now at the age of 72 (ouch), I can play almost anything I'm asked and feel I could walk into most bands and do a good job. But, I do regret NOT playing at all between the ages of 15 and 55 because I do wonder that if I had continued, I probably would have succeeded at a much younger age and enjoyed many years of gigging in my youth, maybe creating our own music, and enjoying all the perks that go with it, but all I've really experienced of being in bands and gigging is being in "dad" bands, and knocking out covers of the bands we all enjoyed listening to many year's ago. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I practice maybe an hour or two per week, outside of weekly band rehearsal. I'm a perfectionist so I could always play better but I'm competent enough to hold a band together and help make it sound good when it matters. 6 hours a day everyday, I'm sure I could be technically brilliant etc but I would likely start hating the thing that brings the most happiness in my life.. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 22 minutes ago, Rodders said: ...but I would likely start hating the thing that brings the most happiness in my life.. Well said. Therein lies the real danger. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franticsmurf Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 51 minutes ago, Rodders said: ... but I would likely start hating the thing that brings the most happiness in my life.. I was going to say the same thing. Music and photography are my escapes and had I spent that much time on them, they would have become the things I was looking to escape from. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilorius Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 When starting to play i did about 3 hours practice in a day - it was ok. I did it about 10 years. After that my hours depend on how much covers should i learn today or learn very hard songs. Today i am ok for 1,5 hour in a day to keep the shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackroadkill Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I'd love to have the time to practise six hours per day, but if I had that time available I wouldn't practise for six hours per day. Sorry to bring the party down, but what scares me at night is the futility of existence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 At this year's SE Bash Laurence Cottle did one of the seminars. For those who don't know Laurence check out the artists he's played with and what tracks he's recorded. He says that he practices 5-6 hours every day - and you can tell. He plays effortlessly in all styles, note perfect, never misses a beat. Inspirational? No! Pisssed me right off - completely demoralised. Till that seminar I thought that I was "alright " and could hold my own. If I'd put in the same hours practicing would I be as good? Unlikely - for me, like many others here, playing bass is a way to vent my artistic streak...if it was my job I would probably come to hate it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_dinger Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 6 hours ago, BigRedX said: What would you have been hoping for by reaching your current technical standard 37 years earlier? On the whole bands don't want virtuoso musicians. They want people who are competent, reliable and look the part. @Jason Karloff would have looked 37 years younger, for a start - enough to get him into a boyband! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 27 minutes ago, TheGreek said: At this year's SE Bash Laurence Cottle did one of the seminars. For those who don't know Laurence check out the artists he's played with and what tracks he's recorded. He says that he practices 5-6 hours every day - and you can tell. He plays effortlessly in all styles, note perfect, never misses a beat. Inspirational? No! Pisssed me right off - completely demoralised. Till that seminar I thought that I was "alright " and could hold my own. If I'd put in the same hours practicing would I be as good? Unlikely - for me, like many others here, playing bass is a way to vent my artistic streak...if it was my job I would probably come to hate it. Totally get that Mick, it`s what I do for fun & to have laughs, making it the day job would have killed my enthusiasm for it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Why limit to bass playing? What have I done with my life? Answer: not much, and yes, sometimes it bothers me, particularly as I have probably used up over half my allotted time on the planet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gasman Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Imagine how blokes like me feel - I'm well overdrawn on my threescore and ten! What scares me at night? Waking up dead, I suppose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 9 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said: You've seen it too?! Sorry about this. He refuses point blank to come home. I stand by the back door shaking his packet of treats but will he come in? Will he heck. Too busy shark surfing with his favourite missile. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 39 minutes ago, Paul S said: Sorry about this. He refuses point blank to come home. I stand by the back door shaking his packet of treats but will he come in? Will he heck. Too busy shark surfing with his favourite missile. Frightened of old Gibson copies, no doubt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 6 minutes ago, Cosmo Valdemar said: Frightened of old Gibson copies, no doubt. I see what you did there, Ben... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocketflup Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 21 hours ago, Jason Karloff said: Sometimes when I'm led in bed at night, I think about this. I've been playing for 38 years now and have reached a certain level on the instrument. I think to myself if i had practiced ruthlessly, every single day, putting in 6 plus hours, not just doing what i fancy, but laser focused, structured learning, only stopping for eating and sleeping, how much quicker could i have got to the same level? I come up with something around 6 to 9 months. Feel depressed that i could of reclaimed 37 years of my life, and go back to counting sheep instead. I suppose the opposite is true as well, if you'd started playing ten years later than you did you'd still have ten years to go to get to your current standard. Or 6 weeks using the model you used up there. So here's a deal, I have a scheme that can** add ten years playing experience to your style. Yours for the bargain price of £50, I'll pm the details after payment ** possibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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