Bass Lesson 06 - Practice

Most of us consider practicing as sitting down to play guitar and learn something new. Sometimes, though, this is not the best way to practice. Wikipedia defines practice as follows: “Most commonly, practice is a learning method, the act of rehearsing a behavior over and over, or engaging in an activity again and again, for the purpose of improving or mastering it, as in the phrase ‘practice makes perfect’. Sports teams practice to prepare for actual games. Playing a musical instrument well takes a lot of practice.” They even included a spot for musicians in their article. In fact, practice is exactly what Wikipedia says it is – the frequent repeating of techniques and theories with the purpose of learning them.

The truth is that you cannot just play a scale over and over like a machine to learn it; you have to actually think about what you are doing and analyze why you are messing up as well as how you can fix it. As a beginner, you might not know what you are playing right or wrong. The best way to figure out your errors is to watch your favorite guitarist over and over and study their technique, unless your favorite is Ritchie Blackmore (don’t destroy anything). Pay attention to things like posture, hand positions, fingerings, and the location they are playing on the neck. The first few months of your practice should include technique. Technique is the physical ability to play your guitar and make it do what you want it to do, like scream or gently sing. Avoid slouching when you sit and practice, and make sure you are holding the guitar correctly as demonstrated in the previous lessons. 

When you are practicing, you will have times when your hands and fingers may hurt. The only tough part is building up calluses on your fingertips. The first few weeks, your hand muscles will get sore and your finger tips will hurt also; this is normal and will go away with time and hard practice. After your fingertips and muscles are in shape, there should be no other pain related to playing guitar.

You will also have times when you are practicing a technique or theory and you absolutely cannot figure it out for the life of you. This is completely normal and will mostly likely happen more than once. Like any other hobby or sport, playing an instrument has its own same hurdles. If you are having troubles with something, give it a good practicing. Then, practice something else that you are more comfortable with to give yourself a break. Finally, go back to the concept that was frustrating you later. Sometimes you will not master a technique for a month or even more! Players are constantly gaining skill the more they practice. Even professional bass players are constantly gaining skill and knowledge. There is no “end” to learning an instrument. There is also no “end” to any particular aspect of an instrument. If you are learning how to play slap, there isn’t a level where you are the best you can be. There is always something better, the possibility to improve yourself, but whether or not you achieve “better” depends on how willing you are to practice your bass.