Practice

[CaseyVancouver]

I recall reading about a music study that determined 20 minutes is the efficient limit for the brain during practice.

I break my 20 minutes practice down with fretless or upright intonation, scales (!), bowing technique, reading and actually playing tunes or pieces (classical). Each 20 minute segment is timed and I take a break between them.

Works out well as I enjoy each type of practice segment. I mix up the sequence to what suits me and if I feel like a longer segment or eliminating something it's no sweat.

Yesterday instead of organized practice I grabbed the fretless Alembic Essence, grabbed a cold beer, cranked up the Bassmaster xs800/Powerhouse 410 and fired away at volume!

[David Houck]

Thanks, Chris!

[edwin]

Another aspect I have found important in my practice, is practicing very slowly. When there is a passage that I cannot play, I really slow it down a lot, focusing on every little detail, staying as relaxed as possible. Consciously taking in the information so that down the road, it will become sort of an automatism. It really works for me, but requires a lot of discipline and focus that I dont always have.
   

Practicing slowly is always useful. Practicing fast is rarely useful. This is something I have to work on a lot with my students. I even have some of them practice long tones on the electric bass, like a wind player. It sounds odd, but it's really worth it.

[dtothec]

When I first sit down to learn new music I first learn the notes and the fingering the first way they come to me, then I go back and explore the most efficient fingering of those notes and passages. I also periodically go through our playlist for a hour and a half to two hours straight to build up and maintain endurance for gigs, which are 3 to 4 hours ,long so that I don't feel like I've run a marathon and need time to recover after gigs.  Adrenaline will only carry these old fingers, back and brain so far!

[keith_h]

When I first sit down to learn new music I first learn the notes and the fingering the first way they come to me, then I go back and explore the most efficient fingering of those notes and passages.

I'm the opposite. I try to work on fingering from the start as I find it harder to unlearn a particular pattern after playing it often enough to learn the piece.

I also periodically go through our playlist for a hour and a half to two hours straight to build up and maintain endurance for gigs, which are 3 to 4 hours ,long so that I don't feel like I've run a marathon and need time to recover after gigs.  Adrenaline will only carry these old fingers, back and brain so far!

I used to do this too when I still played gigs. I would try to go straight through the list at least once a week and usually twice. 

[gtrguy]

When teaching martial arts I found out that to unlearn is usually harder than to learn in the first place for many folks.