Bass Guitar - Practicing and Improving

Question

I've been playing bass for about four years now. Before that I had some experience with guitar and piano but once I picked up a bass I loved it.

I'd consider myself at about an intermediate skill level. I have some basic scales down, can throw in some fills here and there, and come up with some basic bass lines off of a chord sheet.

My problem is when I'm not playing with a group I'm not sure what I should really focus on to practice and improve. Should I really focus on scales? Playing along with some of my favorite songs? Or something different all together?

Any advice would be really appreciated!

Answer 1

My advice is to learn the bass parts of songs for which you wish you had created that bass part instead of the player who actually did. For example, I spent a good part of my late teens pretty much learning every bass part on Blood Sugar Sex Magik, because I thought everything Flea played was awesome. After that, it was onto Sly & The Family Stone songs, etc. etc.

Try to get every detail correct---not just the notes, but the timing, the inflection (did he slide up to that note? hammer on? re-pluck it?), and everything else that went into making that bass part. In this exercise, your goal is to be able to re-create the bass part so completely that if you could simply replace the recording with your own playing, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. You'll see the scales that you already know begin to emerge in the context of actual bass parts, and that way you'll learn how they all fit together to make actual music.

Answer 2

Since bass guitar predominantly provides a supporting role in bands, practicing against a rhythm is probably the best way to improve as a bassist. Use a drum machine and practice against different beats at different tempos. It will improve your ability to play with a band (a drummer at least) and will inspire creativity in your playing.

Answer 3

My opinion, mirrored by many bass greats, is that your timing can never be too perfect in practice. So, timing exercises, such as playing scales to a metronome at varying tempos, are always good to include in an at-home practice session.

You can also never be too familiar with your fretboard. Sightreading music in standard notation may not be a skill you'll need in practice very often, but knowing how to play off a staff both increases your overall music reading skills, AND increases your knowledge of the fretboard by rote.

Other than that:

• Train your fingers to know how to get to the next note at least 2 different ways. Different patterns of major and minor scales are great, especially if you play them in two octaves.

• Coordinate your left and right hands. Your left hand fretting the note at exactly the right moment means nothing if your right hand isn't plucking that note, and by the same token, plucking the right string exactly in tempo means nothing if your fretting hand isn't where it's supposed to be.

Answer 4

In my personal opinion, one of the best skills you can have is being tight. Practice with songs you like and be extremely critical of your timing. This will help you in the long run a lot.

Also, there is no point in knowing scales and other stuff if you can't do them on time. Use a metronome when practicing your scales and don't give yourself any leniency. In a band, if the bassist isn't on time, the rest of the music becomes weak. It's almost as bad as a drummer with bad timing.