This lesson covers five useful areas that will increase the efficiency of your practice time and generate a quality over quantity mindset. I also explain how strict practice routines are not always effective and how you should be really honest with the amount of time you have available.
Tips on Practicing
- Always practice things you can’t play
- Practice as much as your lifestyle permits
- 10 minutes of quality practice is worth 24 hours of mindless practice
- Study music first and bass second
- Don’t be scared of missing practice time
Designing YOUR practice schedule
- Look at your week in the same way you might plan a monthly budget
- Make a written plan of an average week to visualise where practice can be fitted
- Be careful not to cut out time for responsibilities or family
Alternatively, you could make a weekly list of things you want to focus on and work through them in your own time. This can be beneficial if you are struggling to find the motivation to practice.
What To Practice
Start with a warm-up. If you have cold or stiff hands then gently massage them warm water to loosen them up. Then it is your call on what to play next. You may feel that you are ready to jump straight into some fun bass lines, or you might want to take things slowly and try a few simple exercises first. Whatever you choose, don’t go too fast and start playing difficult lines straight away. This could cause an injury.
Split your practice up into different areas if you have a lot of time on your hands. Alternatively, you can focus on your weakest points or cover those areas over a few days if you have limited time.
The five main areas I generally look at when practising are:
- Reading
- Songs and Repertoire
- Ear Training and Transcription
- Improvisation and Creativity
- Applied Harmony and Theory
1. Reading
Reading will completely change your playing in ways you don’t even realise yet. It will open the doors to paid gigs and the opportunity to become a full-time professional (if that appeals to you).
Any translation of music from the written page to the instrument is useful and it all helps you get to know the fretboard a little better. Chord charts are just as important as regular notation so find as many types of charts, transcriptions and lead sheets as you can and play through them on your instrument.
2. Songs and Repertoire
Learn as many songs in as many styles as you can. This will also help your reading/ear training depending on how you choose to learn songs. Having a strong repertoire of songs in different styles is one of the most useful skills to have. Repertoire will also develop your general bass playing and will make you more of a well-rounded player rather than just a rock/pop/ska player etc.
3. Ear Training and Transcription
Practice learning songs by ear by playing along to the radio, TV, CDs or any other means of finding new music. Work out melodies, solos, chords – anything that catches your ear. Singing lines as you play them or singing a line and trying to copy it on your bass will improve your ear quickly.
All forms of ear training will help to link up your internal and external musical voices so you are more prepared when it comes to playing an idea you can hear in your head.
4. Improvisation and Creativity
This area consists of making anything up on the bass including lines, riffs and songs. It also includes improvising around a chart or chord sequence as this is often required for gigs (especially jazz). Improvising is a practical way to apply any knowledge of chord tones or scales you may have been working on.
Walking bass lines are a perfect way to practice improvising as you have to use theory in a practical way to link different chords together.
5. Applied Harmony
This area could consist of learning and using chord tones, scales, arpeggios and basically anything else you may learn in theory that can be applied to the neck. It is essential to really understand the theory behind any technique so you can apply it appropriately.
Thanks Mark for the very useful thoughts on practice productivity
I love it when I think I’m learning something specific (bass), and it turns into a life-lesson such as this video. Bravo!
This is a FANTASTIC ‘lecture’. Thank you so much for your honesty and wisdom from years of learning. This is very, very helpful and applies to any instrument.
I’m going to try your pratice program
Thank you Mark, I tried to learn guitar some years ago and used a lot of those mindless exercises and in the end I never managed play anything but that and I was going in the same direction with the bass, I should have seen this lecture 15 years ago
You’re the best mark!!
Hey there!
I just bought my first bass. Though I’m not an ancient dog, I’m no pup….I hope I can learn a new trick. Most of my gigs have been as a vocalist, but I do play piano and compose.
Many of your tips for practice rang true as they echoed sentiments my piano teacher (who graduated a music conservatory) shared with me decades ago. Thanks : )
So far I’m just trying to play the first riff of “Another one Bites the Dust.” When I play the A on the E string, it vibrates most of the time. Out of curiosity, would it be bad form to just play the open A string instead?
Explicit!
Very intelligent and thoughtful approach to practicing on any instrument, not just bass. This will also help me with my saxophone practice.
KUDOS! Marc, your lectures and teaching styles are amazing, just what I was looking for. I have learnt more in a couple of days by using your time management ideas and clear learning objectives. You are right about mindless practice routines as muscle memory is so volatile. I had that ah! ah! moment as you said when I started reading my son’s basic music theory book to understand some concepts…now it makes sense. I am on an uphill journey to learn bass right now but your inspiring videos will keep me trudging on. Thanks! Appreciate your efforts in sharing your knowledge to the world.
Hello Mark, thanks for the videos!
I find your course immensly helpful and really well structured. Moreover, you got amazing pronounciation, which is kinda important for someone without proper knowledge of Shakespeare’s.
I agree with what you’ve said in this video. I vividly remember the days back in my elementary school when I was learning the violin, only literally throwing it away after half a year. Practicing scales and w/e is important, of course, but when there’s absolutely no joy in what you’re doing, then there’s something wrong. And if that thing is meant to be a hobby, than it’s truly a disaster.
Maybe if I’d have a teacher like you, I wouldn’t be exploring the joy and magic of music after a thirty years long hiatus. Shame, shame…
During the “play with your favourite song” part I really smiled, as it’s exactly the thing that the pupils should be allowed and encouraged to do, no matter how silly and/or difficult is their beloved song, as this gives a sense and meaning to their torment.
I decided I won’t die musically-illiterate and I purchsed a bass guitar right before Christmas – talk about “handy Xmas gift” – and thankfully I immediatelly ran into this wonderful website. Back when I was 6 (and then later fifteen and 20 and 26 and so on) I always shied away from active music due to all the stress and importance and drama and sincerity. Past my Midlife Crisis – got the allusion? – I just said to myself “bah, screw that, lets just have some fun”. Thanks for strengthening my point of view and giving me the power to FIGHT my bass.
Cheers, Aleks
PS: Btw, as my song of choice, I prefer Darkthrone: Transilvanian Hunger… :-))
You hit it on the head with practicing. Awesome video
Thanks for the lesson, this is good stuff ! Really got a chuckle off the tut, eye roll and ebay sale of Fender precision bass also :)
Thanks Mark, this is really helpful as I normally just end up noodling when I practice
Priceless!
Shared this on FB.
Thanks for some the best advice ever!
Hey Mark simpy fantastic lesson information and as one said life lessons. Great advice , I am 65 yrs old and just starting to learn bass. I am an old school drummer but needed to move on with something new for retirement. Thanks. I will be signing up for the Gold as I progress.
Thank you Mark this has been a big help
Hey Mark, just wanted to say thanks for another great lesson, your material and talkingbass is the one source I keep coming back to. I really appreciate your frank, informative, humorous style and especially the mix of theory with practice. I started playing bass at age 46, not easy as you say with family commitments, I love playing bass even though its taking me while to get “good” at it. I’m certainly weighing up which of your paid material would best suit me and hope to skype with you one day when I get the courage and have some confidence in my ability.
thanks heaps
best wishes
Brendan
going from a pianist to a bass guitarist is a bit hard but fun. some of the lessons are a bit difficult for me to comprehend but am getting the hang of it. I think?!!
Very helpful. Looked at practice lecture today to get past my being currently “stuck”.
I’ve been focusing lately on reading, and learning to move up the neck on g-string past middle c. I’ve spent some time with some fairly simple etudes, trying to stay in 5th position. Then tried to move up to 7 th position (to get to e,f on G-string). The problem I’m having is that I can’t seem to master the eye-to-finger read, as I keep confusing the 5th and 7th position fingering. I get frustrated and “crash”.
Should I worry about mastering each of these positions in practice 0ne-by-one? Your lecture seems to suggest worrying about mastering the positions only in the context of specific songs that might “require” such a focus? Any comments?