Bass Guitar Practice Tips

Bass guitar practice may not be something that you look forward to, but the only way to get better at anything is to practice. It doesn’t matter how expensive your equipment is, if you don’t practice, you will not improve. The skills you do have will deteriorate. Now I know that the thought of practicing scales for hours at a time doesn’t make you want to rush over and pick up your bass, does it. Well practice needn’t be dull and boring, and shouldn’t be.
Here are a few tips to help keep you on the right track and make practice more enjoyable.

Practice frequently
Little and often is preferred. It is better to practice for 15 minutes each day than two hours once a week. We learn by repetition and by doing something every day our brains learn better. Approximately 30 minutes to one hour daily would be about right. Even if it is only 5 minutes, do it every day.

Set a time and stick to it
Try to practice at the same time every day. Saying, Oh yeah, I’ll practice when I get a chance doesn’t work. You end up missing a practice once then twice and before you know it you are not practicing at all. Set a time when you will not be too tired. Practice will be less effective when your brain is tired. If possible, try to practice in the morning when you are fresh and alert. Get up 30 minutes earlier if necessary.

Start slowly
The saying practice makes perfect is not correct. By practicing something you are learning it, so if you practice it incorrectly, you are learning to play it incorrectly. Play it as slowly as you need to until you can play it correctly every time. Only then can you begin to speed up, but don’t go too quickly. Remember that

Practice something that you like
Although it is necessary to practice scales, practice doesn’t have to consist of nothing else. Find a song with a bass line you would love to play and learn it. Remember to learn it slowly at first.

So make practice a daily routine like brushing your teeth. Keep it interesting and introduce new things to work on. Try to structure it. 10 minutes for scales, etc. and 20 minutes learning a new song or a riff from a song.