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What do you practice?


dansouth

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What do you practice? Do you have a routine or just work on what you feel like that day? Do you practice at the same time every day or whenever you can find the time? Is your practice getting results? Does it work better in some areas than others? What kinds of exercises/practice techniques have helped you the most?
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I like to sit at the keyboard(usually my digital piano) and record into a sequencer. Then I work on the drum machine pattern so that it gels better with my keyboard chord sequence. I will then loop those patterns so they will play infinitely, or as long as I pay my electric bill. Then I'll sit down with the bass and warm up for a little while playing scales and patterns very slowly, and eventually I'll turn on the looped keyboard sequence and play along to it.

 

I record my playing a lot on my Akai DPS16 recorder and then listen back to it. The recorder never lies. If my rythym is off or I am sloppy I will hear it and try to remedy the problem. I highly recommend anyone that plays an instrument to record his/her playing often. It WILL humble you and improve your playing. I played 6-string electric guitar for 15 years but it wasn't until I started home recording that I realized how deficient I was in certain areas. Recorders and drum machines are pretty inexpensive these days and a great investment.

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Currently I've been working on becoming a better jazz player since I now have the opportunity by working with two jazz bands. I've been using a couple of Ed's books, Expanding Walking Basslines and Bass Improvisation. Playing a six-string bass I'll spend time working on chords which I have an opportunity to use in my bass band "Bassed on Jazz", also developing better walking lines and solos and learning the melodies to the tunes as well. In general tring to get a better understanding of the whole tune. I spend time reading and also time to stretch out and try things. One way I do this is by using my RC-20 Loop Station laying down multiple parts, sometime whole tunes and sometime just isolating two, four or eight bar phrases. There are nights I'll get home late after a gig and instead of going to my practice room I'll sit in front of the TV and play unamplified and work on what I like to call "physical chop maintanance. A lot of times when practicing my intention when starting is to put in an hour but sometimes I'll find myself practicing for two to two and a half hours. If I feel my concentration starting to wonder then I know its time to quit.
I have basses to play, places to be and good music to make!
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The Simandl book pages 83-85 and 104-105 w/bow and metronome. I make changes in articulation and inflection. After that, lots of long tones. Then I practice the standards that I sucked on or did not know at the last gig. Proceed to learn more standards.

 

On electric, lots of scales and patterns based on the melodic and harmonic minor scales and some slap stuff.

 

I have found that none of this is as important as listening. Critically and everyday.

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Boy am I glad to see this site back online!

 

Well I am not the 'pro' you guys are ;) but my practice regiment goes something like this:

 

1) Spend an hour every night working on sight reading and transposing stuff. Mainly out of Bass Improvisation, Jazz Theory or a song out of either a fake book or some other song book that I have.

2) Spend an hour every other night at the keyboard trying to tie what I've learned together along with working on some chord voicings, learning the triads, dominant 7th, major and minors etc. This helps with getting my ears to hear some alternate things rather than the same ol' same ol'.

3) Try and spend an hour three times a week just on the bass. Either working on scales, bass lines or stuff that know that I am weak on when playing at church.

 

Lately I'm spending more time on the flyspecks rather than on the instrument. I feel like this is really where I need help. So far from reading this list I do see some improvement. I would like to incorporate taping myself, doing the circle of fourths and fifths and getting a metronome. I got a catalog and jazz workbook from Jamey Aebersold in the mail the other day and it has a lot of good suggestions in it. I plan on ordering some stuff and adding it to the schedule.

 

Keep this thread alive. I can use all the suggestions I can get. I feel like my regiment is a bit scattershot at times but I am considering either a teacher or taking a class some time in the future. With a family and a day job only so much progress can be made. But I am very happy when I can see the time put in payoff!

RobT

 

Famous Musical Quotes: "I would rather play Chiquita Banana and have my swimming pool than play Bach and starve" - Xavier Cugat

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THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I do is LISTEN. Listening is as important as sitting down with your instrument and making noise.

 

As far as sitting down with my bass I have 2 types of practice:

 

1. Preparing for gig/rehearsal

 

I tend to spend a lot of my practice time nowadays learning new tunes for one band or another, or simply working on those tunes away from the rest of the group. There's nothing worse than someone who shows up to rehearsal and they haven't learned their parts. I still will warm up with scales and some basic exercises when I'm doing this because warming up is important. I usually end a practice session like this with more scales and excercises.

 

2. Self improvement

 

Generally I will sit down with my Real Book and learn some head tune that I don't already know. I learn the changes first, double and triple stops for the changes, and finally the melody. I work on scales/modes and different ways to play the same 2 octave scale on the neck (ie- using different hand position shift points). I'll transcribe some tunes that I've been wanting to learn from cd. I'll play along with some Abersold books occasionally. Do metronome exercises. Blah blah.. when I get stuck, I'll take lessons from someone again for a few months to get some new ideas and/or some outside input into my playing.

 

Always use proper technique and body position. You play how you practice... or practice how you play... or whatever. The more you use proper technique when practicing the more it will just be second nature and you won't even think about it.

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My routine usually begins with a warmup. Then I'll start playing along with CDs, and lately I've been learning new songs mostly by ear. After that I may play around with a 12 bar blues line or something, but I usually always end practicing the modes. I'm trying to get a good feel for each mode's feel and finger formation. Unfortunately, I lost my metronome, so I'll have to wait until I get a new one to practice with it. My timing needs to stay sharp.

Rig:

 

Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling

Fender Deluxe V (Bartolini pickups and BTB-01 preamp)

Schecter Diamond Series Model T

Eden WT-400

Avatar B410 NEO

Boss ME-50B

 

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I am currently learning the sound of the Dorian mode(s). Can anyone list some tunes that use that mode so that I can assimilate them faster? I try playing around with improv. phrases but playing tunes by ear would be more helpful. Thanks.

 

P.S. If you have some tunes using the melodic harmonic scale that'd be great as well. Thanks!

"When people hear good music, it makes them homesick for something they never had, and never will have."

Edgar Watson Howe

"Don't play what's there. Play what's not there" Miles Davis

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For Dorian, try "So What" or "Impressions" 16 bars of D Dorian, 8 bars of Eb Dorian, 8 bars of D Dorian.

 

Or "Milestones" G Dorian and A Dorian.

 

My approach is once you've identified a key signature in a tune, you can play Dorian or any mode from the key, regardless of what the chord change is. I call it Modal Mapping, it's in "Expanding Walking Bass Lines" check it out on my books page.

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Cool, thanks Ed. I'll get the book tomorrow.

Sounds like I need that! Jim T.

"When people hear good music, it makes them homesick for something they never had, and never will have."

Edgar Watson Howe

"Don't play what's there. Play what's not there" Miles Davis

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I always have ringing in my head the axiom Bumpcity quoted, "you play what you practice". Conequently I try to do only X amount of scales; after that I play lines from songs I know, or try to learn new ones, or just blow, making up new lines, in tempo as much as possible. Often I use my cheesball Yamaha drum machine to keep my time honest (it works better as a metronome than as a drum machine!).

 

 

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