Developing a Practice Routine – A Bassist’s Guide
Any private instructor will tell you there are countless reasons to have a consistent, structured practice routine. You’ll never see progress if you only pick up your bass guitar during your weekly lesson. Whether you take private lessons or not, setting time aside to practice on your own is imperative if you want to be a better bassist than you were a year ago.
But where do you begin, and how do you practice effectively? Do you start with scales and other music theory concepts? Do you focus on navigating the bass guitar neck with dexterity exercises and other ways to advance your technique?
If you have a practice routine, that’s great! If you don’t have a plan yet, then keep reading and don’t be overwhelmed! Let’s look at some tips and resources for developing a practice routine, and why you need one in the first place.
Why You Need a Practice Routine
It develops discipline.
I guarantee you not everyone who woke up this morning and hit the gym actually wanted to. So why did they? Why not hit the snooze button and get an extra 30 minutes of sleep? Because of discipline they’re able to see beyond that short-term gain. They’re able to focus on their goals and push through the discomfort, knowing that the long-term outcome will be worth it.
How often would you practice if you only picked up your bass when you felt like it? For me, I’d only be slightly better than the day I started. Discipline is the key to developing your ear, to play those lightning fast runs you think you’ll never be able to nail, to finally be able to understand those music theory concepts you’ve been struggling with.
Through goal setting (more on that below) you’ll be able to practice that advanced slap bass exercise and push through your inner frustration until you can play it on mental autopilot. And once you start to see results, you’ll enjoy yourself more while your discipline continues to develop.
It helps you get better while measuring and tracking your progress.
Setting goals for your practice routine and using KPIs (key performance indicators) to measure your progress in meeting those goals will advance your development.
Keep in mind that different goals will require different KPIs. For example, use BPM (beats per minute) to measure your progress with a speedy bassline, or use a stopwatch to see how long you can play a repeated bassline without derailing if it’s endurance you’re wanting to track.
If you’re not sure how to track your progress for your specific goal, you can start with journaling or recording yourself playing to see the before and after results when you come back to your video in the future.
How to Develop a Practice Routine
Be consistent.
Thinking back at our physical exercise example, how much progress would I see if I did a two hour workout session once a month? It makes way more sense to exercise three or four times a week in shorter sessions, and it’s no different for musicians. Any music teacher would suggest practicing on a more frequent cadence for 30 minutes rather than practicing for eight straight hours once a month. This allows you retain information easier and stay organized.
Define your goals.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Push yourself, but make sure your goals are realistic. Don’t forget to consider your time commitment – you can’t do everything at once, so pick a few things to focus on and make those your priority. And give yourself deadlines. If your deadlines seem intimidating, give yourself mini deadlines by dividing them up into smaller chunks. So rather than thinking “I want to learn this entire song in one month,” consider shifting your mindset to “I want to learn the first verse in one week, hash out the chorus the next week, etc.”
How Can I Set Goals (And Follow Through) As A Bassist?
Have a plan.
Before you even fire up your amp you should already have a plan and objective for your practice time. This prevents you from noodling; don’t get me wrong, there are times to noodle! But there are also times to focus. There’s no one-size-fits-all plan – it’s up to you to figure it out!
Establish a creative space.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a dedicated area to practice. It can be an office, basement, or even a corner in the living room. Not to say you can’t be creative anywhere, but it helps having a designated place to get away and get in the zone.
This is my current setup. (the only thing not pictured is my pedalboard).
Living in a one bedroom apartment has its spacial challenges, so as you can see I’ve taken the minimal approach! This configuration is located in our living room, nestled nicely in the corner and out of the way. I’m running my bass through my pedalboard, and from there into my Focusrite interface and MacBook Pro.
Another tip: make sure your bass, amp, laptop, or whatever else you need is set up and ready to go the night before. This may sound silly but if you keep all your gear packed away in the closet, forcing you to set up and tear down every time you practice, it makes practice time seem like more of a chore than a fun, educational experience. Try to think of other ways you can make practicing a little easier on yourself and less of a hassle.
Stay curious.
Mix improv and creativity with theory and technique. For example, after watching a video lesson on slap bass basics you may want to play along with a backing track and try to incorporate what you just learned into your improv session. Also, don’t be afraid to venture out and play along with songs from genres you don’t typically listen to. Branch out from your comfort zone – you never know what you can learn!
Analyze, tweak, and repeat.
It’s okay if your plan evolves over time. My personal practice routine has already changed since the beginning of the year! Originally I had aimed to practice on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday; however, in an effort to stay active and healthy I was trying to run during some of those nights as well. I wasn’t leaving enough time for other things in my life, so I decide to reorganize my schedule so that I’m either running or practicing bass each night – not both.
Check out my weekly practice routine below to give you a breakdown of what this currently looks like.
My Practice Schedule
Day 1
- Dexterity exercise (5-10 minutes)
- Scales (5-10 minutes)
- Blither material (10-20 minutes)
- Slap technique exercise (10-20 minutes)
Day 2
- Dexterity exercise (5-10 minutes)
- Walking basslines (10-20 minutes)
- Improv/groove/jam time w/ looper (5-10 minutes)
- Chord voicing experimentation (10-20 minutes)
Day 3
- Scales (5-10 minutes)
- Tone tweaking (5-10 minutes)
- Blither material (10-20 minutes)
- Slap technique exercise (10-20 minutes)
Day 4
- Walking basslines (10-20 minutes)
- Video lesson (10-20 minutes)
- Chord voicing experimentation (10-20 minutes)
- Pick a song to learn in it’s entirety (10-20 minutes)
- Improv/groove/jam time w/ jam tracks on Spotify and YouTube (10-20 minutes)
How to Practice Bass Quietly
If you’re an apartment dweller like me, you know it can be challenging to rock out AND keep your neighbors happy at the same time.
The good news? Playing an electric instrument has the advantage of volume control without actually having to play quieter. There are several ways to practice your bass quietly: with headphones, without headphones, and… without a bass?
How to Practice Bass With Headphones
- Headphone mini amp. I can’t say I’ve personally used one, but with an average of 4.5/5 stars I’d say the Vox amPlug 2 is a solid investment for the musician looking to practice without disturbing others. Just use the 1/4” jack to plug the mini amp directly into your bass, grab some headphones, and you’re set! Oh, and it’s Victor Wooten approved.
- Audio interface. Most of us associate audio interfaces with recording/mixing/engineering, but did you know they make good practice tools as well? You can still use one without a DAW – just plug your interface into your computer via USB and you’re good to go (keep in mind you may have to adjust your audio output settings on your computer). I use my Focusrite Scarlett Solo on a weekly basis. With this setup my bass and my laptop audio are coming from the same source, allowing me to hear everything in my headphones. This is super handy for playing along with video tutorials or jam tracks.
- Headphone jack w/ amp. Almost every modern combo amp nowadays has a vital feature for the musician striving to respect the neighbors: the headphone jack. When the sun sets and you’re not ready to put the bass down just yet, plug your headphones into the headphone jack on your amp. In addition, most amps have an auxiliary input jack. Use an aux cord to feed audio into your amp from a smartphone/tablet/laptop/etc. – same concept as using an audio interface.
- Bass preamp. Some bass preamps even have a headphone output. Darkglass Electronics and Gallien-Krueger both make products with this feature.
How to Practice Bass Without Headphones
Not ideal, but if you don’t have any of the above resources you can always turn the volume down on your amp. Keep in mind that with the volume cranked down your low frequencies can still be heard and felt, so be sure to EQ your sound appropriately by cutting your bottom end and elevate your amp off the floor.
If you want to take the amp out of the equation you can practice unplugged, although I would advise against this. When you practice unplugged you can’t really hear noises caused by errors in your technique, such as string muting. You may be in for a shock when playing through an amp after practicing unplugged habitually for a long period of time!
Playing with headphones allows you to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly so you can pinpoint what flaws need to be corrected in your technique.
How to Practice Bass Without a Bass
Is this actually possible? Well, sort of. Although drummers have this advantage more than any other instrumentalist, bass players aren’t totally limited.
One way I practice at work or in the car that’s specific to bass guitar technique is picking out the bassline of a song and play along with my right hand, using my table/steering wheel/etc. as if I were plucking the strings with my index and middle fingers. Although this is more rhythmic rather than melodic it’s still a great exercise to practice timing, allowing you to internalize and lock in with the drums without a bass in your hands.
Aside from technique, your ears are your greatest asset for “practicing” without an instrument. Listen to podcasts, music, and other resources to educate yourself on music theory, history, and more.
I hope this post has helped you realize the importance of discipline and given you helpful tips for developing your own practice routine. I’ll leave you with a list of resources I’m currently using to practice and stay organized. Best of luck!
Resources
- iCal for MacBook and iOS
- Spotify
- YouTube
- Metronome
- No Treble
- KZ in-ear monitors
- Focusrite Scarlett Solo audio interface
