Double Bass Maintenance practice when life is crazy

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I read a book recently called "Spark" which extolls the virtue of a vigorous daily AM workout.

I haven't read the book, but that resonates. I'm a troll in the mornings when I don't take the time; there's always a hydration component to the ritual that i think is also good. I suppose I could get up earlier, but then I'd be cutting into sleep. LOL at practicing on the treadmill... that sounds like a recipe for disaster, but would be a pretty funny way to go.

Sidecar: Agree with all you said. There's the issue of a lingering elbow injury from playing BG on an international trip this summer, and I think that daily technique practice is what is needed to get me back into shape in that regard. But you guys know the drill - you can still play, and you even realize that it's likely that the only person who notices what you have lost is you... but it still smarts not to feel fully calibrated.

 

[Don Kasper]

This is my usual mantra that I use anytime I touch the bass, esp., if I've been away - (Post Tuning, of course). See below.
It is done WITHOUT a metronome or any DRONES. It is done Arco. I'm really trying to narrow the focus and not do too much, here.
It helps me:
1. (re)establish a tactile feel of the Left Hand for the 3 upper strings (it involves the A, D, and G strings), over a fairly large portion of the instrument: from 1st Position up into Thumb P.
2. It helps get the Left Side mechanics to recall and refresh the large movements of the Arm, etc., from Low to High, and High to Low.
3. It helps disperse the newly applied rosin. (Yes I will play on the E string, as well, to get some sticky there.)
4. It helps my ear get tuned into the (hopefully!) Perfect Fifths/Fourths that are explored.
5. There are available Harmonics available to check intonation: for ex. - on the second A & E, the E (played with the 4th finger) can be held, while the 1st finger can be lifted slightly to play the Harmonic located there - playing a Double Stop will then sound a P Fourth. Then, on the highest A, the Thumb can play the Harmonic D, and a Perfect Fifth (D & A) can be sounded and fine-tuned. The lowest (first) A & E can also be played as a Double Stop.
(Again - NO Metronome - I'm not trying to "complete" or "compete" with a predetermined pulse. This is more of a Chant than a Song. I will dwell on any portion of the exercise until I feel that I'm connecting with the instrument, physically and aurally.)
6. No metronome is also great for bow changes - I'll freestyle or abandon any tempo, so that I'm ONLY concerned with how the Down/Up - Up/Down bow changes are feeling and sounding.
Looks Easy, doesn't it?
Thanks.

 

[damonsmith]

You have a bow now, right? Early low end Simandl with the bow, plus a few two octave scale or etudes.
Pizz octaves really get the hand in shape quickly. I like to do E on the D string plus open E, then F and low F with middle finger still on the E. Same of A-A then Bb-Bb.

 

[Jay Corwin]

Even since my last post, I've found myself adapting my practice approach out of necessity. Before my life got busy, I would pick a time to practice that didn't have an end time. In other words, nothing on the schedule that day/night that I would be worried about getting to - so much more focused practice without time restrictions. It's a complete mental thing for me, as I prefer the option of being able to work on something until it's done, rather than - "oh you have 45 minutes to work on this". The later makes me feel rushed before I ever pick up the bass.

I guess I'm evolving as a human being! Now I take my 45 minutes, and focus intensely on whatever it is I'm trying to accomplish. When the time is up, the time is up. If I get the job done as I saw it in my head - great! If I don't, I just try to pick up where I left off next time. At times this is exceedingly frustrating to me, but I've given into the reality that it's going to be this way for a while.

A good example would be the latest batch of material I have to get ready for to record. We have a good process with the group I'm playing with given that we live an hour and a half away from each other. They demo stuff, then share it with me on the interwebz, and I work out my ideas at home. Then we get together and assemble the details.

Last year I had about 2 weeks to get an album's worth of material worked out that I hadn't heard before. I also had all of the time in the world. I knocked it out over a long weekend by practicing in shifts of 2-3 hours during the day, then I'd jump in the pool for the afternoon, grab dinner, then knock out another 2-3 hours. In three days I had my work done and was ready to rehearse the whole thing.

The latest batch of stuff I got last weekend, and I've only hashed out about 1 complete song, and started another. That was all last night in between taking the beagle to the vet, and waiting for my wife to get home from work. Sometimes it really is about working smarter.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Even since my last post, I've found myself adapting my practice approach out of necessity. Now I take my 45 minutes, and focus intensely on whatever it is I'm trying to accomplish. When the time is up, the time is up. If I get the job done as I saw it in my head - great! If I don't, I just try to pick up where I left off next time.

Sometimes it really is about working smarter.

Quoted for truth, and wise words. It's nice to always have a goal that is set from outside, like a bunch of charts to learn for an upcoming gig, concert, or recording session. But in between those things, it's also smart to have a default fall back - basically a "practice queue" - to feel that there is a direction to it all. Like you, I used to have multiple house at a time for practice with the end time being basically "when I decide to go to sleep". Those days are on hold for a while, and as I get older the sleep becomes more strategically important, so I may not get that back until I retire. So for now, my "practice queue" includes metronome/drone exercises and Bach excerpts.

 

[gerry grable]

You have a bow now, right? Early low end Simandl with the bow, plus a few two octave scale or etudes.
Pizz octaves really get the hand in shape quickly. I like to do E on the D string plus open E, then F and low F with middle finger still on the E. Same of A-A then Bb-Bb.

And then what when you've used all four open strings?

 

[damonsmith]

And then what when you've used all four open strings?

You let life's responsibilities wash over you.

 

[matt holt]

I have found the "Arpeggios for Daily Practice" out of the Levinson's School of Agility book to be a really great "maintenance" practice routine. It did take me a while to get them together, but after going through them I really feel like I've covered the basses (pun intended) for the day.

 

[hdiddy]

In the end, when time is tight and you have experience underneath your belt, I don't think it's necessary to have a routine or regimen. Running scales every day is a luxury. Having clear, concise, and a small set (like one or two) goals becomes critical. I play bebop heads for warmups - they are my Bach excepts. I play Very Early in TP as my excerpt for intonation. These things work for me.

The past couple years I think there's a certain amount of physical conditioning that must be maintained as a bigger part of technique to me. Scales make the left hand work hard but there's nothing that can substitute for soloing fast and clearly over a bright tune. I'm gravitating more toward left/right hand coordination these days than just learning more scales. Focus on relaxation and clarity goes a long long way.

 

[damonsmith]

The first part of my practice routine takes less than five minutes.
I do all 12 majors in the low register.
I take the two octave Simandl excercise in G major, #6 on page 37 in the red book and transpose it up an octave so it goes straight up the G, then I do it on the other 3 strings then I do the first Petracchi exercise in D, starting on D on the G string, move that to the other 3 strings and I do the triad across two strings with the index on root, thumb on the 3rd, ring on the 5th (this is valuable both arco and pizz). I move that around and do some pizz octaves all the way up the bass.

If I have more time I do long tones, some Bach from memory read more Simandl, walk with the metronome on all four beats. This can take 10min or hours!
After that I work on solo rep and whatever short term goals I have.