+1, it never is. It’s not just about putting in time, it’s how intentional you are with the time you put in. Focused learning will get you a lot farther and there IS a real danger of baking in bad habits by practicing them - I have done this myself more than once.
Here’s @JoshFossgreen 's take on the order of learning…
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Well, I start by watching whichever bass related youtube video the algorithm steered me towards. Then I follow a few of the recommendations on the side while thinking “I really should just be playing instead of watching the next video”.
So I make some lunch and justify watching the next video because I am eating now and can’t practice.
Then I do the dishes and, darn it, I’m out of time…
Tomorrow is when I get some good practice!
But seriously, I don’t have a good routine. I do most of my practice at work (I am a paramedic, so when we are at station waiting for the next call), which means I get in what I can.
I usually follow an exercise for warm up from TalkingBass of Josh, then whichever song I work on.
I only do the B2B lessons at home (vs at work), and then I just follow and do the lesson and that’s it.
I’m not progressing fast at all, but that’s fine for now.
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No but driving faster makes you a better driver according to one of my friend who folded her CRX in half and miraculously walked away without a scratch. I’m stunned by the way she saw the world.
Getting better comes as a package, your ears won’t come equipped with the listening skills that the more experience players have. Most beginners would hear beats, and whole, half, quarter, 8th and heck even 16th notes. What they don’t hear is rest.
When 2 notes play together they can’t hear that either how 'bout the elusive ghost notes nope, not til much later. When you can hear it you can play it.
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I generally grab the bass and put a song on spotify and jam along to it. Then i let the algorithm play similar songs and play all those too. Well, the ones i can at least.
If i get bored, i just change the song to a different style and carry on again.
The good thing about this, for me anyway, is that im always listening to stuff i like which gives me more staying power and i pick up all sorts of different grooves - it can last hours sometimes!
Im not in a band anymore at the moment ( ) so im doing this more often to keep up my skills
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A Good Driver is:
- Aware
- Proactive
- Intentional
- Precise and controlled
- Generally efficient
This allows a skilled driver to drive very fast. Yes, even the “efficient” part. Navigating a course as fast as possible is an exercise in efficiency, trying to extract the maximum from the limited abilities of your equipment and environment.
I would say these same traits map directly onto what I would say makes for a good bass player: Very aware of what’s happening in the music; proactively planning their part; Intentional in what they choose to play; Precise and controlled in their playing; and most often efficient in both how and what they play.
So to practice… these are all skills that can be developed through intentional practice regardless of where you are on your journey of learning the bass.
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Well said.
Although I’m not actively playing golf these days but I usually apply my golf philosophy playing and practicing on just about everything I do.
Practice from green to tee and not the other way around.
Ego free corse management, take the shot you know you have in the bag not what you think you can do.
It’s the reason why I could still go out and shoot in a single digit each time I play months apart.
The biggest secret in bass playing in front of people is that your audience don’t know if you make mistake, heck your band mate don’t know either unless you stop playing,
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In flying, we called these “staying ahead of the plane”, and it’s critical.
[quote=“Al1885, post:24, topic:76241”]
your ears won’t come equipped with the listening skills
Good points, to know these points with no misunderstanding can only be found through experience.
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Depends on what I’ve learned on bass that week and what I’m working on improving. Also, depends on what kind of practice I’m doing.
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Focused practice involving scales, shapes, and a lot of repetition, calling out notes, etc. 30min practice/10min break (this stuff can get boring and add physical strain). Focus on theory.
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Hybrid practice which usually means listening to music the riffs I’m learning (ex: Billy Jean) with the original song on Spotify (headphones). Focus on rhythm and groove.
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Chill practice, when watching TV or hanging out, practicing finger plucking or scales/shapes passively. Focus on feel/technique.
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Fun practice - I dim the lights and practice noodling to music, drum machine or metronome. I plan to have some kind of audio interface and record the noodling in the future. Focus on creativity and training the ear.
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Passive practice - when not at home or near my bass, I use my left thumb as an base with the nail pointing up, and practice finger exercises with the rest of my left hand. Digging the nail into the finger tip pad like a bass string. Focus to strengthen my callouses.
I just started at 77yo. My Fender amp came w some free lessons (Fender Play) and I continued them for about 4 months. I learned a lot but the Play format was a not as contiguous as it could be. Instructors are alternated from lesson to lesson. I just started B2B and, while I know alot of the info Josh is covering I dont skip forward since he has a lot of nice tidbits for beginners that Play did not really focus on like positions of fret and plucking hand. My biggest problem is alternate plucking and I know it’s really important so the focus on that in B2B is just what I need.
I warm up with some quick riffs like Easy & Funky Bass-line for Beginners and a few measures of Gorillaz “Feel Good”.
I then run down each string from open to the 5th fret, saying the note name out loud.
Then I work through at least one module - maybe two.
Then if I am still engaged I will try to fumble through a difficult song.
Torn is my favorite. The bass is not too bad except for a couple of trick sections. I also like Chain and Beggin (Maneskin).
It’s a ball. I dont know where it will go. My wife just bought a Yamaha DGX-670. It could become a wife-husband act at open mic.
TRBX 304 and Fender Mustang LT25. I’ll need to get a bass amp at some point but the mustang is perfect for the practice space currently.
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I just play through the songs my bands are currently playing starting with the ones I need to work on most. If I’m still up for it I’ll work on scales or whatever activity my teacher suggests.