How can I juggle playing bass, going to school, friends, and exams?

#42
Try to combine activities. If I had it to do all over again I would have studied music in middle and high school. Can you join band in high school?
Find friends that play instruments too and socializing can include music.
You have your whole life ahead of you.
Take advantage of every minute.
Someday you will have more behind you than ahead (like me). I still (at 57, started at 47) take lessons, take classes at the community college (jazz combo), attend music workshops. Like many have said it is a lifelong journey.
Good luck.
 
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#44
School,school,school, right now that HAS to be #1. The picture “justification for higher education” that shows half a dozen high end cars in a garage is no lie. If you must play bass make it the last thing before going to bed. Like brushing your teeth. Ten to twenty minutes every day will do. If you think you could be a rock star have an honest face to face with yourself do you really have that much talent. A guy I know a good guitar player went to Nashville, thought he was going to be a star until he saw guys playing guitars on the street for quarters that were MUCH better than he was. After failing several auditions He quietly came home and got a job.
 
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#45
Read up on Teddy Roosevelt; he was a master of using time effectively and got more done in any day than most people got done in a week. In essence, avoid idle time... even a 15-20 minute break can be used to practice 3-4 songs.
 
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#46
It was pretty simple for me; i skipped an average of one day a week my senior year to practice.

And while I can't technically recommend this, it was great for my musical development. Of course, I also almost didn't graduate.

This thread is full of great advice, and what it comes down to for the most part is time management. Which I am terrible at, so this thread has been helpful for me as well, even at 41 years old.

Long story short, there will always be ebb and flow in your life in terms of available time. Even if you have a lot going on with school work and exams, that is a temporary thing. Devote time to practice when you can, even if that means just playing through one single song, running a few scales, etc. A lot of folks will say to minimize your screen time and a lot more time will open up; this is true, but one of the things I did when I was younger, especially when working on repetitive technique skills was to just watch TV and play bass for thirty minutes.

Also see if there's a way you can work in a directed study/homeroom type thing at school, where you can be playing bass in your free time or for school credit.
 
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#48
misslynn909 said:
For me, it's tough. I don't know how I can schedule bass into my life. I know, If I REALLY wanted to play bass I'd play regardless of school, friends, personal life, or exams. Trust me, I hear it alot. And the thing is, I do wanna keep playing. Hopefully, even make a poopy High school band. Who knows? How do others do it?
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I feel your pain. I work full time and go to school. And work Overtime, a ton in the summer. I also have a house to take care of and I just had my first kid. Just keep a bass near by where ever it is you hang out in the house the most. Pick it up when ever you can, even if it's just 5 minutes on busy days.
 
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#49
Honestly, you know there's something you do that eats up a bunch of time. We all do it, and sure we all need down time, but the focus on music can give you that brain rest. I'm going to venture social media as a likely place to cut back, but what ever it is, you could find 30 minutes to an hour most days that you could put into practicing. Just find that time and find the will to do it.
 
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#51
misslynn909 said:
For me, it's tough. I don't know how I can schedule bass into my life. I know, If I REALLY wanted to play bass I'd play regardless of school, friends, personal life, or exams. Trust me, I hear it alot. And the thing is, I do wanna keep playing. Hopefully, even make a poopy High school band. Who knows? How do others do it?
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My two daughters have been gigging since they were 10 and 12 respectively (now 16 and 18). They were, and still are, very slack at putting aside time for practice but love gigging. For a few years the rule was at least 20 mins of practice each morning before school or we wouldn't book gigs. It's not much time but they progressed and managed to surprise us at least once at every gig.

Over the past few months we've been working on new songs for a festival over in Australia which is now only three weeks away. There's been a few times where they said that they would go over certain parts of songs, solo's etc, and at the next rehearsal they haven't done anything. When asked they make excuses that they haven't got enough time, especially the eldest who just finished school and is now working part-time of only 20 hours a week. My comeback is always the same....... I work a full-time job and still manage to get around an hour of playing in a day.
While at school you have a lot more time on your hands than anyone working full time.

If you want to do it you will....... if you don't really want to do it you'll find excuses to do other things.
 
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#52
kesslari said:
Wait until you get older and get to juggle Work, Family, Friends, Music, Hobbies, and Other Responsibilities... It doesn't get easier.
You just do it. Or you don't.
It helps to manage your time well. If you haven't, read up on time management.
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This is exactly it. There's really no secret formula...you just get it in, or you don't. Count yourself fortunate that you're starting at such a young age where you don't have a lot of life's competing priorities.

If you decide to get married and have a family, then it'll get real fun. You'll learn what's important and what can be eliminated.

However, you don't have to wait until then to start learning what to prioritize and what to eliminate. For instance, if you spend X amount of time texting, snapchatting, facebooking, or whatever it is these days, shave 10 minutes of that off. Shave 10 minutes off of your YouTube/TV show/music video time. Shave 10 minutes off of hanging out time. Add that up and you have 30 minutes of gained practice time.
 
#53
Welcome to TalkBass!

2 pieces of advice. Never let responsibility stand in the way of a good time. And don’t listen to me. :)
 
#54
15-Juggle-The-Low-End.jpg
 
#55
misslynn909 said:
For me, it's tough. I don't know how I can schedule bass into my life. I know, If I REALLY wanted to play bass I'd play regardless of school, friends, personal life, or exams. Trust me, I hear it alot. And the thing is, I do wanna keep playing. Hopefully, even make a poopy High school band. Who knows? How do others do it?
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Prioritize and compromise. There are 24 hours in a day. You may have to go through a season where you may touch your bass or see your friends less than at others.. Music will require the time.. There is no way around it.. if you want to play bass you will have to play bass.. but you can set minimums and maximums.. You touch your bass for a minimum of 20-30 minutes a day more if you can work it in between your other responsibilities but then you also make time so that at some point during the week or the month bass is your focus and you give it as much time as you can.. There is no magic formula ....
 
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#56
It s a marathon, not a sprint If you dont have time at the moment because of your exams, don t worry you ll have more time at some point. Some of us older folks have kids and can manage to get some practice time, for sure you will manage as well

Even 30min a day of practice is ok. If you are motivated, don t worry it will all work out
 
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#57
As a kid I was one of 3 bass players in a school. I also was first Chair bass in orchestra. Loved it. Everyone wanted me to play because everyone needed bass. I started playing in bars and in Church in the 9th grade, Again, loved it. My friends... musicians. I was carrying at least 3 more classes than I was supposed to because I was in so many music classes. (again, everyone needed bass). Could have graduated early if I wanted to.

Senior year, the jazz band instructor (who was a jerk) told me I had to practice the jazz band stuff more and if needed drop something else. I looked at him and told him. "I'm maxed out. Are you saying I need to quit something?" He responded yes...

I walked down to my counselor and told them I wanted to drop Jazz band, (At the time we were ranked 1 in the state.) He tried to talk me out of it, but I just told him I was doing what the Jazz band instructor told me to and that I had too many classes as it was. Eventually I just told him that overall the BL was a jerk and I was sick of him.

I learned that music can make you happy, and people can suck the life out of you while all you're trying to do is be happy playing music. Also, life is too short for weasels.

Me, I went on to be happy.... the school BL... ended out fired for messing around with a student.

The point... be happy. if that means you have to put the bass in the corner once in a while to keep treading water... do it. If you need the life preserver when it gets really bad... sometimes that bass will do the trick.

But if you become a teacher one day... and relations with students is what makes you happy... better to not be happy.
 
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#60
When I grew up music was almost as important as breathing and eating and sometimes even more important than eating. I was extremely lucky though because my father was a working bass player and he always encouraged us to pursue music.
My brother is a drummer, and I had access to bass, guitars and other instruments ever since I can remember and believe me that is a long time. My schedule was... school, play music with my brother, eat dinner, do homework, sleep and repeat with an occasional day off to play outdoors. (Do young people do this anymore?)
 
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