Playing great Bass Guitar isn’t just about the noise. Here I share with you 3 tips that will enhance your play, improve your technique and really make you a Bad-ass Bass player. Enjoy!

Tip 1

Practice Schedule

Give yourself a practice schedule.

What I do is organize all the things I want to study for example, Technique, Eat Training, Fingerboard Study, Sight reading etc then from there

Every time I practice I document what I am working on and where I stopped. That way next time I practiced that topic I can understand clearly where I finished last time and continue from that point.

Being organized with how and what you practice in my opinion is the most important thing in aiding your development. I used to practice up to and over 12 hours a day and found my lack of growth and direction frustrating which resulted in me not enjoying my practicing and made everything feel like a waste of time and energy.

I quickly found that organizing and documenting my practice schedule allows me to stay fresh and focused on what I’m working on, I find myself practicing less and growing more with time for other things in my life.

What I do is organize all the things I want to study for example, Technique, Eat Training, Fingerboard Study, Sight reading etc then from there I break down each thing I want to study and split them into 30 min sessions. I split up the lessons that are more technical and mental so I don’t over work a particular thing back to back. This way my muscles can rest while I work on other things. You will find most lessons cover more than one skill for example when practicing soloing you are also working on technique as well as ear training and fingerboard knowledge.

I like to have a practice schedule that cycles over 2 days. This keeps your practicing feeling fresh. It’s important to understand that time away from your instrument is vital as your body and mind need to absorb things and that comes with space.

Music is about expressing life and emotions, if you spend all your time practicing and feeling frustrated there becomes a limited intake of inspiration in which we all need to create.

Tip 2

Warm Up And Stretch

Practicing is a physical and mental exercise that requires your muscles and body to be in good shape, it is so easy to pick up repetitive strain injuries due to not warming up properly. In this course I will be bringing in an expert in fitness and physical conditioning to help you learn some quick and simple warm up and warm down exercises before and after you practice along with a good posture for practicing in.

The benefits you will gain by understanding these exercises are so important and beneficial to you. They will help you stay clear of injuries and give you a lot more energy to practice with.

I’m not a doctor but have suffered greatly with tendonitis in my arms and shoulders for many years now due to over practicing, not warming up properly, having a negative attitude whilst practice creating bad energy and having a bad posture when practicing and in life generally.

My practice habits have changed a lot over the years after my injuries and extensive research on what the best way to absorb information and retain it.

I was aimlessly practicing hours a day because I wanted to be the best I could be.

After 2 hours or so your body switches of and becomes lazy with bad posture, your mind switches off from learning and it just ends up with you going through the motions of practicing without any real solid growth.

The enthusiasm is amazing but with proper planning, technique and posture you can find yourself improving and growing in a healthy, and fun way in no time at all.

Tip 3

Learning And Studying Different Styles

Being able to play different styles authentically can be a lot of fun and can lead to many opportunities as a musician. As a bass player it is our job and function to define the style we are playing. Our note choices and rhythms that we play make up the style. Also a good understanding with a drummer and being able to recognize what they are playing is vital when trying to play a specific style of music.

For example a typical Rock style may require a driving straight 8th note feel where as a Jazz feel would require a swing triplet feel.

As a professional musician opportunities to get your dream gig can be few and far between. The more gigs we have the more chance we have of being seen or picked up. The famous saying “you never know who is in the crowd” is a very true one. If you have to turn work down because you are not familiar with a style, or even worse if you do a gig and have no idea how to play that style can be disastrous.

In the music business reputations travel fast, for example who to call and who not to call etc. Just showing respect to understand different genres can get you far in your musical journey.

Here is a list of some of the benefits of learning different styles:

• Build confidence in yourself.
• More opportunities will come your way.
• Enhance your reputation.
• Improve you knowledge of music and your instrument.
• Expose yourself to different cultures and musicians.
• Learning different styles can help you develop your own unique voice.
• Improve your writing and compositions.

So there you have it. My Top 3 tips! Share your favorites with me below!