(CB) [MUSIC] How to Practice (Reply)
Posted by: praisebass <praisebass@...>
I found your treatis on practice very informative. I will put the
information to work during my practice sessions, however, I have a few
questions...
In comparison to most of the ladies and gentlemen on this list, I am
a somewhat-below-average bassist, and one of the major problems I have is
*Discipline*. I seem to lack the (will?) (energy?) (moxie?) to practice
every day, even though I know this is the only way that I know I will
become a more proficient bassplayer. I realize that I am the only one
that can change this, and with some help from the Lord, I intend to.
This brings me to a few questions. I was wondering if you knew of a book
or had suggestions on written music that I could get to help reinforce
your 'method'. I was a very proficient Trombonist before I lost most of
my teeth, and can read in any key. I was thinking that following written
(standard notation-not chord charts-I have a tendency to be a 'root
whacker' when I use chord charts for practice) music might give me some
ideas about building my own basslines for a song. I have never
understood how a 'fake book' works. I looked at one once, and even
though I knew the name of the song, I couldn't make any sense out of the
arpeggios, and the chord symbols that the author was using. I also have
shorter than average fingers, and this makes it difficult to use barre
chords on my bass. Is there a way around this? For the most part I
don't use them, the neck of my bass (a Peavey Foundation 2000 5-string)
is too wide for me to be able to put enough pressure on to get a good
sound, and was considering the idea of going to a bass with a narrower
neck (I don't know how to 'slap', and haven't found a piece that we play
in Church where slapping would work very well.) Thanks for any advice
any of you can give.
In His Name,
Hank Scally