Nice Article. Its kinda the Stuff i read time and time again when it comes to practicing.
I think the most helpful thing in practicing is analysing what exactly went wrong. Because if you dont know the Problem its hard to actually fix the Problem.
I personally wouldnt even have the time to invest 6 Hours a day in Playing the instrument. I Usually aim for about 30 minutes. But it usually becomes a bit more because its mixed up with just playing for the fun of playing.
Same thing here… Playing what I already know or adding some new ones… Then I just play some drum loops and listen to the sounds of my bass… Watching short youtube videos on technique, fix, curiosities…
As long as you are engaged, whether that be 5 minutes or 5 hours.
There are days I don’t play at all and others where I won’t put it down. I’ve discovered that having multiple basses to play is a great way to keep you interested in what you’re doing also, as I believe some instruments have songs in them (if that makes any sense?!?!?!).
If you have the time, playing in multiple bands has the same effect. I play with a hardcore/original band on Friday nights and my working band, a classic rock band, on Sundays. The musical diversity usually serves to keep me locked in.
Real life tends to dictate your schedule and can wind up being the biggest factor of all though (I work 14 hours a day). I don’t feel obligated to play or to stop playing. As long as your heart is in it, go for it!
I too find that taking more then one course (2 is good, not like a college schedule) you don’t burn out easy. IDK, I don’t burn out much on playing bass, but if I did, I would just switch from one course to the other.
It is good to have courses that go well together. For instance, I do.
TalkingBass
Chord Tones Essentials
And
Simple Steps to Sight Reading Vol 1
When they are done, I will probably do
Slap Bass Vol 1
and
Simple Steps to Sight Reading Vol 2
And then
Slap Bass Vol 2
and
Simple Steps to Sight Reading Vol 3
Although, I might repeat the Scales Essentials course in phase 3, and then do Slap Bass alone, or I may even mix all 3 in by then.
I’ve never taken a class. I’ve always been a show me kind of person. I know my fret board but know very little about music theory. I play by “smell”. If it “smells” right, I do it. If it doesn’t, I don’t.
Yes. If something smells good when you eat, you eat it. If something smells good when you play it, you play it. You don’t have to know anything about musical theory to know when something sounds correct and when it doesn’t
Smells are EXTREMELY POWERFUL. Not much credit is given to them, but they can trigger deep seeded events in your life, like traumas, or happy times, and you don’t even think much about it, but if you smell something that reminds your brain of a particular time, your brain starts to think about it, and often you don’t even know why you are thinking about it, and that is because it was a smell that triggered your brain.
It is not used in the context that @PrideOfTheWicked used it all that often, but it is a great way to describe it IMO.
@PamPurrs, I’m probably bringing this topic back from the dead but did you finish/like the sight reading course? Do you recommend? If yes, can you post the link here, please?
@PamPurrs , thanks for posting this link. I signed up for the Technique Builder For Bass since my technique basically involves waving my fingers around and hoping for the best.
Just curious, did you do all three volumes (courses)? I might wait till he has a sale again to sign up again as I dont have time at the moment to dedicate.
I did half of the first volume on a fretless bass guitar, and then finished it on a fretted bass. I breezed through the second and third volumes while mostly sitting on my ass in the recliner and watching the lessons on my 55-inch TV while taking notes in the workbook and occasionally getting up and actually doing the work on the bass. Although this is not the prescribed way to take the course, I still got a lot out of it.
I’m now going through the entire 3 volumes again, this time on the upright.
It’s a great course, but you have to think of it, not as a one-and-done course, but rather as a lifetime of never-ending learning and practice and more learning.
IMO, it’s the best $220 you can invest in your bass playing future. Yes indeed, save up and buy it on sale. He usually has a Black Friday sale.
I’ve started the Talking Bass sight reading course and am getting towards the end of volume one. I can relate to the original post. Spent about 8 hours today on it and my brain definitely feels like mush. During the work week I get around two hours in a day, I’m obsessed with sight reading. Thankfully my wife is very understanding.