How do you practice?

[Powman]

T-bone's thread on how many hours per week do you practice inspired me to start this thread. And that is how do you practice? Do you start with scales? What scales? Do you do modes as well? Do you just play songs?

I am quite curious about those of you who have a specific practice routine. I would like to develop one for myself and am looking for advice and guidance.

 

[fly]

we do all originals,and record everything.........if we can't hook up together,i fire up the recording,i just drop whatever instrument i play on said song right out of the mix,and it's like jammin' with your buds.

but in the cover band i play drums so.......that doesn't count here,and it's not hard to play along with the mp player.

 

[kamakazee]

I practice 3 hours a day, taking a break on Sunday or Monday. Scales - both major and minor, arpeggios, walking basslines, finger speed runs: 1-2-3-4, 1-3-2-4, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-2-1 starting at fret 1 up to 24 then coming back down. I try to learn at least one cover everyday and work it up to be presentable. I set aside 30-45 minutes to improvise to drum tracks in multiple styles. I pick out melodies I hear on the radio and put them on bass by ear. And to round it off, about half an hour of "doodling".

What's more important is my practice outside of bass:
Learning how chords move on guitar (I'm a guitar novice but I still try) has made me understand bass far better. Every night before bed, me and my fiance lay down and listen to one full new album we've never heard and talk about the parts that we found most interesting and explain to each other what makes them work. My band's "homework" includes listening to 10 hit singles per week and describing to each other the reason we think they are popular. Me and my guitarist also work on baroque counterpoint and play it on guitar and bass. And just flipping on the radio to see how bass meshes with everything - not just paying attention to the bass and bass only but how everything fits together.

Speaking of the radio, I challenge everyone here to do what I've heard Victor Wooten say that I'm a firm believer in: Turn on the radio, and when you hear a song you like turn the station. Turn it until you hear a song you don't like and listen to it. Eventually, you'll learn to appreciate more music and be able to explain why you do or don't like certain songs or genres. It works!

 

[Mayers]

I start by playing 2 octaves scale starting from the low E in major and then minor. Than I start on the 12th fret to do major arpego using all 4 strings and moving to the 11th fret ans so on. After that I start on the 1st fret of the E string, I do F,G,Ab and move one fret and one string higher and do the same minor pattern.

Sometime I like to start on the C ... 8th fret of the E string. Do a C7 arpego then a F7 arpego then move to the Bb 6th fret of E string and do the same until F#7 and B7 and restart at the B7 of the 7th fret of the E string until F7 and Bb7 at the 1st fret. with that exercice you go through all 12 keys.

doing all that can take 30 minutes to 1hour ... after that I play. I do that since my college degree in music ... practicing on my own for 5hours a day + whatever rehalsal of the day ... it was a necessity, I didn't what to have injuries. I still play 3h a day even if I don't study music anymore or are in a band. I just like it.

 

[Holdsg]

to those guys playing scales and arpeggios, my hats off to you. I do not have 3 hours a day to practice anything, let alone my bass, so when I do, its just trying to figure out new songs.

But one thing I totally agree on is listening to lots of different kinds of music. I have XM/Sirius, and that's a great way to get exposure to lots of genres all at once. My commute is 80 minutes each way. I make myself listen to the bluegrass channel at least one leg of my commute every week. Same goes for 1 leg for smooth jazz, 1 leg for bluesville, and 1 leg for R&B, and maybe, if I am in a good mood, acoustic (could be The Loft, or The Coffee House). The rest of the time I will listen to whatever I want. I also recommend Tom Petty's Buried Treasure show as a great way to expand the musical horizon.

 

[OldSchool Noob]

to those guys playing scales and arpeggios, my hats off to you. I do not have 3 hours a day to practice anything, let alone my bass, so when I do, its just trying to figure out new songs.

But one thing I totally agree on is listening to lots of different kinds of music ...

Same for me.

 

[Powman]

I am in the same boat as those who don't have 3 hours a day to practice...I am not a professional musician but have a day job that pays the bills and buys me toys (aka EBMM bass guitars).

So most of my practicing is learning new songs and playing along with recordings.

But what about some must-do exercises or scales that would take say 15 minutes to do?

 

[silverburst]

Miraculously, I am practicing more than ever. I am getting in about 1/2 to 1 hour a day. Mostly working on learning and memorizing new songs.

 

[IvanHardy]

Just straight up songs for this noob

 

[oli@bass]

Noodling. Lot's of it. If I find any time.

Yeah, I do suck!

 

[keko]

I practice at live gigs , sometimes up to 16 hours long (country/folk weddings)!

Just playing with a band our regular set list, that's the best practice for me!

Anyway, when practice alone at home, rarely, I first warm up with some chromatic scales, start from lowest string at the first fret all the way up to highest string to 12th fret.
After that I repeat some old favorite bass lines, starting with slower ones to faster and finish with some slapping!

Mostly I don't practice during the week, 'cause saving my hands and fingers for hard weekends!

 

[shamus63]

Along the lines of what I posted on T-Bone's thread: aside from the gigs/rehearsals/jam nights, I'll plug into my Cafe Walter and play along with whatever catches by ear on my iPhone library.

I can knock out a few songs and be good-to-go, or really get into it with a 1-2 hour run. I try not to jump into anything too riffy for the first couple of songs, then it's whatever feels right after that.

 

[DTG]

Um I practice when I can usually about an hour a day and it's normally learning the first dance for the weddings I am playing at the weekend.
I would love to be able to play more but I work full time and play 3-5 nights a week so any free time I have I devote to my beautiful wife and amazing kids!
Life is about balance and right now I am making do with the time I have, as soon as we get out of this recession I will be able to give up the day job but for now I will take all the work I can.

 

[73jbass]

You're supposed to practice?