The title of this video is quite an understatement. This is exactly how to practice any musical instrument. My new drums teacher told me most of this about 2 months ago, and I feel like having wasted 9 years with unorganised practice (although I probably wouldn't have managed that mindset anyway during my childhood). Great video and "must watch" for any music student I would say.
Thanks for this mate. I'm 35 and have played since I was 13 but gave up pursuing music at 18 because I wasn't feeling I was "creative" or "talented" enough to be successful despite much encouragement from my teachers and peers. I practiced 4 hours a day without fail, and did many 9 hour sessions, but I realize now that I was letting perfectionism, and inflexibility in my practice habits dictate the rate and extent of my musical development. I set impossible standards for myself without looking critically at how I might make incremental progress from where I was to where I wanted to be, nor appreciating what skills I did possess and pleasure it brought to those who listened. I remember thinking: "Well, Jaco was already blowing through heads after 2 years of playing bass, and Stuart Zender was playing with Jamiroquai after 4 years....I've been at it 5 years (obsessively) and I have no music in me like they did....I should give up." Maybe that assessment was correct, but in retrospect I could have done more favours for myself had I only taken a more mature, reasoned and compassionate approach to my practice. Trying now to get the heart back into the work, with a tired and unstimulated mind is challenging but your advice in this video gives me some hope that better, structured and focused practice could help me get beyond a 17 year plateau. Thanks again, Scott. Cheers, - Jay
I know this lesson is three years old. But I must confess when I get discouraged I go back to this Video to get me back on track. Thanks Scott appreciate all you do to helps others grow as a bass player.
The one which really rang a bell for me was the analysis one: I went to music college (for the flute and piano) and I have been taught the classical way. Then being asked to play what comes into your head, to improvise or to play that blank lead sheet with a couple of chords over the top - AHhhh... “what do you do?’ It took a long time to unlearn that kind of mindset. Now I love bass (James Jamieson was one of the best) but I am such a beginner with this instrument. This is great stuff!!
I'm coming to your lessons from a punk rock (read: non-theoretical and a-technical) background, and have played by ear without reading a note since I was 14. I am now 27 and your lessons are really helping me expand my technique. Improvisation is a huge part of what I do and you're really helping me push my boundaries in terms of fluidity and general palette. so thanks Scott :)
No. 2 is missing some details; I wouldn't want others to get the same injuries as I got. TLDR: 30 minutes, 5 days for a beginner is good, but more may be bad if you're not well informed. I started with 4+ hours every single day for 1 year straight, but since my left hand technique was horrible I started getting infections in my tendons due to some lubricant not being produced. I gradually found ways to adjust my bass (lighter string gauge, lowest action, straight neck) and learned how to develop technique and lighter touch (thanks scott) to lower the tension in my hand. had I practiced less in the beginning, I might've not developed such a recurring injury. I thought this needed to be mentioned, as enthusiasm (frequency) and ignorance (technique/ergonomics) don't go well together. There should be a balance in the learning curve; gradually play more when you know what to look out for. Same for No.1: failing a bassline a 1000 times could also lead to permanent injuries. (for beginners) Of course No.1's goal is devoloping muscle memory, I understand that. P.S. I didn't get a teacher, I just studied other bassists like you, and preferably those who play other genres. I mostly cover J-Rock basslines at 170+ bpm (Tomomi Ogawa - Scandal) I started out with some of their more difficult songs, which I shouldn't have done...
I was fortunate to have spent some time with one of the great trombone teachers back in my college days. His mantra was "Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." His intent with this was not to say that you can play things perfectly from the beginning. It was a lesson about paying attention to each and every note and getting it right by breaking things down and slowing to a speed where you can play a passage accurately. We cannot just simply put in the time if we are going to slop through our work. If you practice things wrong, you will play them wrong later on. Secondly, I like to use an analogy between athletics and music when it comes to practicing on a daily basis. Both have an intellectual component, musical scores vs playbooks for instance and the rules of the game. Both disciplines have a physical component. In sports, it is about building bulk muscles, in music the muscles being developed are smaller but no less important. In both, you have to do the reps to build accuracy and endurance. Thank you much Scott for your videos. I might be a sixty-something old musical crumegeon
Enjoying what I'm getting out of your lessons, always happy to back someone willin to share disregard won experience of knowledge. Typhus is what the internet was made to do. Educating the world, remembers that 90s vision of the internet in 10 years.
I started playing upright bass half a year ago, but I enjoy watching your lessons anyway,.. because they keep me inspired! also I struggle with practice routine so these are great tips, thank you!
you are a really great communicator, and your passion for the craft is infectious . . I find your lessons to be the most informative , inspiring and accurate . . thanks man. . . it really helps.
My favorite motto form Mike Johnston ''Embrace the suck''. you found something you cant do? awesome! now you can look forward practicing it! thanks for the upload Scott your the man!
There is a very useful piece of software to help with transcription, appropriately named "Transcribe!" It can play the song, transpose it, slow it down, loop fragments, select and mute the bass track via equalization. Great stuff, I like it.
Scott, you have great teaching skills, it's easy to see that you can really feel the issues bass players on various levels have to cope with during playing bass. It's a pleasure to listen to you, I'll try to implement your tips and suggestions and I'm sure I'll progress lightning fast if I really stick to it.
Had to show the first part of this video to my girlfriend. I have been learning some electronic music stuff and my statement to her was "and now I get to continuously fail for several months" and I got a bit of a WTF? in response. She totally accepted my explanation that like learning anything I was going to experiment and suck at it, and it was great to find this and be able to say 'look, another person who expresses learning in terms of failing until you get better!'
I appreciate what you said about failure. My goal since I picked up bass a few months ago was Tommy The Cat from primus and now I finally have it after sooo many times of hopelessness and failure
More on the analyzing tip, I read this linguistics paper that showed that children apply grammar structures outside of the explicit example of the structure that they’ve learned. I really like the idea of learning music like you learned your own language!
Thanks for the video and clarification on transcription technique and analysis. I've heard so much about the need to do it, but I assumed it meant actually writing it down, which can be very time consuming, so I haven't done it much. The way you describe it makes more sense and illustrates the value of it especially when you get into the analysis of the transcription... IMO. I will be definitely doing more of this during my practice time. Thanks!!!
9:30 - From what I've heard, this is essentially The Suzuki Method. We learn music similarly to how we learn verbal communication. We listen, then we imitate, then we can create new content to convey to others.
One of the good things about having to fail over and over in practice is that you might get lots of ideas from what you play by mistake. Another good thing is it helps you decide which riffs are good enough for a song. If you enjoy playing the same riff for hours and hours, it's a good riff. If you get bored with it, it probably isn't. Plus, all the practice time gives you ample opportunities to tweak your amp settings until they're all perfect.
hey scott .. great lesson .. ur one of those guys who makes me wanna pik up the bass n play .. thanx for the inspiration .. now time to get in the shed !!! ..
Great series Scott! One suggestion for 'post production' is to recap at the end of each video with bullet items of the highlights (over-layed on the screen).for that lesson. Keep teaching!
As usual Scott you deliver really great content in your videos. I have been following you for a while and I am really happy that your channel is becoming more and more popular. I think you are a really good teacher and musician, so keep up the good work ! Have a fantastic day ! :)
I like to compare it to a child learning to walk: as soon as it’s capable, a child will focus on turning over, then crawling, sitting up, and eventually standing. ONLY EXHAUSTION, FOOD, & PUPPIES CAN DISTRACT THEM. Learning an instrument takes the same sort of persistent absorption in the process and focus on the learning itself. Ditto language acquisition, as you say…SO MUCH great stuff here - time to make notes!
Hey Scott. Great video as always. I was wondering: when you are transcribing songs how do you you recommend learning them? By ear or with sheets? Thanks a ton in advance :-)
i checked every smoke alarm in my house before i realized the sound was in your video.. lol if you dont believe me go to 8:19. Scott make sure you change that battery :p great video otherwise
Thank you Mike! I was just watching this video and heard the chirps and thought "Oh great! Gotta find the smoke alarm here that needs a new battery!!!" LOL.
Awesome video. I have at the least 15 mins a day. The most 60-120 mins(if I’m lucky). There’s so much to take in so it’s nice to hear how to make practice time efficient
Awesome tips, Scott!! This lesson got me inspired to practice more and in a more organized and efficient way (and fill in my practice log within the Academy more frequently..:)
Hey scott. You should do a video on the flamenco technique or bass playing styles. I'm listening to a lot of Geddy Lee stuff and would love tips on how to play that way.
I really love the 'transcribing' tip, I think a lot of people (including me :P) should do that way more often! One thought came to mind though: I find it very hard in a lot of songs to hear the bass clearly, especially in metal songs. How do you deal with that?
zeldamage001 it takes a good ear to listen carefully to the bass. In metal, you will often find the bass following the guitars, the kick drum, or a combination of both. Additionally, the bass is made to be felt, not so much on being heard. Even great metal bassists like Geezer Butler, Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, and Alex Webster would understand this, despite their bass sound being more audible in their songs.
Great lesson, Scott. Helped me get really centred. Got a non-bass question, tho. Noticed your really cool watch on this video. Mind sharing what it is?
I'm still a little confused on what you mean by transcribing - is it learning a song by ear? or learning it in any way possible? to me it still just means writing it down!
Hi Scott, thank you very much for all the videos you upload. I have been following the youtube page for years and they are all excellent. In this video you talk about transcribing but, at least on RUclips, there are not many videos of you in which you talk about perceptual audio and how to develop it from scratch to higher levels. If you could give us a hand, for people like me who are hard of hearing, I would really appreciate it. Greetings from Argentina
With regards to transcribing, what would you suggest for a new player who has trouble hearing the bass lines. Does using a tab book count as "transcribing" of should you try to do it by ear? I know when I try to do it by ear, I get frustrated really quickly when I can't get what seems to be relatively trivial stuff.
Love the Video. "Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.”
― John C. Maxwell
Goth JigSaw Fall often but fall forwards, that was a good one. Don't be put off.
Goth JigSaw yes man! :)
Goth JigSaw you are so correct man
Failure is crucial to music! Your failure to sound like your influences is what helps you develop your own style and sound.
Scott, you have no idea how much I needed to hear all of this. So good!
Timfine Keep groovin' Tim! :)
Haha thanks!
The title of this video is quite an understatement. This is exactly how to practice any musical instrument. My new drums teacher told me most of this about 2 months ago, and I feel like having wasted 9 years with unorganised practice (although I probably wouldn't have managed that mindset anyway during my childhood).
Great video and "must watch" for any music student I would say.
Thanks for this mate.
I'm 35 and have played since I was 13 but gave up pursuing music at 18 because I wasn't feeling I was "creative" or "talented" enough to be successful despite much encouragement from my teachers and peers. I practiced 4 hours a day without fail, and did many 9 hour sessions, but I realize now that I was letting perfectionism, and inflexibility in my practice habits dictate the rate and extent of my musical development. I set impossible standards for myself without looking critically at how I might make incremental progress from where I was to where I wanted to be, nor appreciating what skills I did possess and pleasure it brought to those who listened.
I remember thinking: "Well, Jaco was already blowing through heads after 2 years of playing bass, and Stuart Zender was playing with Jamiroquai after 4 years....I've been at it 5 years (obsessively) and I have no music in me like they did....I should give up." Maybe that assessment was correct, but in retrospect I could have done more favours for myself had I only taken a more mature, reasoned and compassionate approach to my practice.
Trying now to get the heart back into the work, with a tired and unstimulated mind is challenging but your advice in this video gives me some hope that better, structured and focused practice could help me get beyond a 17 year plateau.
Thanks again, Scott.
Cheers,
- Jay
WTHFX i hear ya bud! Right there with ya, keep it up and hope alls good with you!
I know this lesson is three years old. But I must confess when I get discouraged I go back to this Video to get me back on track. Thanks Scott appreciate all you do to helps others grow as a bass player.
You're one of my #7 guys, Scott. Thank you!
Cheers from Italy :)
Manuel Spagnolo Manuel... keep groovin'! :)
The one which really rang a bell for me was the analysis one: I went to music college (for the flute and piano) and I have been taught the classical way. Then being asked to play what comes into your head, to improvise or to play that blank lead sheet with a couple of chords over the top - AHhhh... “what do you do?’ It took a long time to unlearn that kind of mindset. Now I love bass (James Jamieson was one of the best) but I am such a beginner with this instrument. This is great stuff!!
Why the heck would anyone dislike this video?! Great stuff. Keep it up Scott.
I'm coming to your lessons from a punk rock (read: non-theoretical and a-technical) background, and have played by ear without reading a note since I was 14. I am now 27 and your lessons are really helping me expand my technique. Improvisation is a huge part of what I do and you're really helping me push my boundaries in terms of fluidity and general palette. so thanks Scott :)
Your bass lessons are EXTREMELY informative and useful for me though I'm a guitar player. Thanks Scott!
Thank you Scott!
Great as usual!
Olando McCall Cheers Olando :)
No. 2 is missing some details; I wouldn't want others to get the same injuries as I got.
TLDR: 30 minutes, 5 days for a beginner is good, but more may be bad if you're not well informed.
I started with 4+ hours every single day for 1 year straight, but since my left hand technique was horrible I started getting infections in my tendons due to some lubricant not being produced. I gradually found ways to adjust my bass (lighter string gauge, lowest action, straight neck) and learned how to develop technique and lighter touch (thanks scott) to lower the tension in my hand. had I practiced less in the beginning, I might've not developed such a recurring injury.
I thought this needed to be mentioned, as enthusiasm (frequency) and ignorance (technique/ergonomics) don't go well together.
There should be a balance in the learning curve; gradually play more when you know what to look out for.
Same for No.1: failing a bassline a 1000 times could also lead to permanent injuries. (for beginners)
Of course No.1's goal is devoloping muscle memory, I understand that.
P.S. I didn't get a teacher, I just studied other bassists like you, and preferably those who play other genres.
I mostly cover J-Rock basslines at 170+ bpm (Tomomi Ogawa - Scandal)
I started out with some of their more difficult songs, which I shouldn't have done...
thank you for your tips! i'll difinitely do this.. now im really inspired. it opened up my mind. "mabuhay ka" scott im from philippines
Great tips for any musicians, not just bassist!! Thanks! - Hunter
I was fortunate to have spent some time with one of the great trombone teachers back in my college days. His mantra was "Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." His intent with this was not to say that you can play things perfectly from the beginning. It was a lesson about paying attention to each and every note and getting it right by breaking things down and slowing to a speed where you can play a passage accurately. We cannot just simply put in the time if we are going to slop through our work. If you practice things wrong, you will play them wrong later on.
Secondly, I like to use an analogy between athletics and music when it comes to practicing on a daily basis. Both have an intellectual component, musical scores vs playbooks for instance and the rules of the game. Both disciplines have a physical component. In sports, it is about building bulk muscles, in music the muscles being developed are smaller but no less important. In both, you have to do the reps to build accuracy and endurance.
Thank you much Scott for your videos. I might be a sixty-something old musical crumegeon
Enjoying what I'm getting out of your lessons, always happy to back someone willin to share disregard won experience of knowledge. Typhus is what the internet was made to do. Educating the world, remembers that 90s vision of the internet in 10 years.
Fantastic teacher. Speaks so much sense.
I started playing upright bass half a year ago, but I enjoy watching your lessons anyway,.. because they keep me inspired!
also I struggle with practice routine so these are great tips, thank you!
I want you back... It just made my life a little bit better! awesome
you are a really great communicator, and your passion for the craft is infectious . . I find your lessons to be the most informative , inspiring and accurate . . thanks man. . . it really helps.
My favorite motto form Mike Johnston ''Embrace the suck''. you found something you cant do? awesome! now you can look forward practicing it! thanks for the upload Scott your the man!
I really like the though about the school/teach system!!!
No 8........having a decent instrument helps a great deal too, I've just upgraded to a Yamaha TRBx 304 and the difference is amazing
True master , a true teacher.
There is a very useful piece of software to help with transcription, appropriately named "Transcribe!" It can play the song, transpose it, slow it down, loop fragments, select and mute the bass track via equalization. Great stuff, I like it.
Scott, you have great teaching skills, it's easy to see that you can really feel the issues bass players on various levels have to cope with during playing bass. It's a pleasure to listen to you, I'll try to implement your tips and suggestions and I'm sure I'll progress lightning fast if I really stick to it.
Had to show the first part of this video to my girlfriend. I have been learning some electronic music stuff and my statement to her was "and now I get to continuously fail for several months" and I got a bit of a WTF? in response. She totally accepted my explanation that like learning anything I was going to experiment and suck at it, and it was great to find this and be able to say 'look, another person who expresses learning in terms of failing until you get better!'
I appreciate what you said about failure. My goal since I picked up bass a few months ago was Tommy The Cat from primus and now I finally have it after sooo many times of hopelessness and failure
Learning music is indeed like learning a language: imitation precedes understanding.
More on the analyzing tip, I read this linguistics paper that showed that children apply grammar structures outside of the explicit example of the structure that they’ve learned. I really like the idea of learning music like you learned your own language!
Great, great, great!
I greatly appreciate all the useful information here Mr. Scott. They really work...when applied. Thank you very much!
Thanks for the video and clarification on transcription technique and analysis. I've heard so much about the need to do it, but I assumed it meant actually writing it down, which can be very time consuming, so I haven't done it much. The way you describe it makes more sense and illustrates the value of it especially when you get into the analysis of the transcription... IMO. I will be definitely doing more of this during my practice time. Thanks!!!
Great tips! Love your teaching style. I see your neighbor still hasn't replaced his smoke detector battery :)
9:30 - From what I've heard, this is essentially The Suzuki Method. We learn music similarly to how we learn verbal communication. We listen, then we imitate, then we can create new content to convey to others.
One of the good things about having to fail over and over in practice is that you might get lots of ideas from what you play by mistake. Another good thing is it helps you decide which riffs are good enough for a song. If you enjoy playing the same riff for hours and hours, it's a good riff. If you get bored with it, it probably isn't. Plus, all the practice time gives you ample opportunities to tweak your amp settings until they're all perfect.
So true, I’ve started doing this with backing tracks I’d play guitar to
Love this guy. We are sooooooo lucky to have something like this for free
Thank man really enjoy you cheers
hey scott .. great lesson .. ur one of those guys who makes me wanna pik up the bass n play .. thanx for the inspiration .. now time to get in the shed !!! ..
Thank you Scott! Your effort is really improving bass players’ skills.
Greetings from Prague.
Great lesson Scott, top advice!
Great series Scott! One suggestion for 'post production' is to recap at the end of each video with bullet items of the highlights (over-layed on the screen).for that lesson. Keep teaching!
As usual Scott you deliver really great content in your videos. I have been following you for a while and I am really happy that your channel is becoming more and more popular. I think you are a really good teacher and musician, so keep up the good work ! Have a fantastic day ! :)
Love your lesson, I wish I had seen this when I started playing bass guitar. It would have saved a lot time.
Much needed video. Thank you maestro.
This is brilliant ❤️👍🏻 thanks Scott
Your 7 tips are great for all instruments!
Thank you so much for this! It's been helping my playing a lot! I'm addicted to your channel...
I like to compare it to a child learning to walk: as soon as it’s capable, a child will focus on turning over, then crawling, sitting up, and eventually standing. ONLY EXHAUSTION, FOOD, & PUPPIES CAN DISTRACT THEM. Learning an instrument takes the same sort of persistent absorption in the process and focus on the learning itself.
Ditto language acquisition, as you say…SO MUCH great stuff here - time to make notes!
lmao, listening to scotts breathing during the intro 🤣 Although, breathing is an essential part of playing
you just answered my lifetime question, thanks scott!
Hey Scott. Great video as always. I was wondering: when you are transcribing songs how do you you recommend learning them? By ear or with sheets? Thanks a ton in advance :-)
Going to fail over and over and over again is a wonderful thought, you are so right. But who cares, your only practicing!
i checked every smoke alarm in my house before i realized the sound was in your video.. lol if you dont believe me go to 8:19. Scott make sure you change that battery :p great video otherwise
Mike Blasutti I thought I was losing my mind
I checked all mine too lol
Thank you Mike! I was just watching this video and heard the chirps and thought "Oh great! Gotta find the smoke alarm here that needs a new battery!!!" LOL.
I knew I should have looked for a comment about this before posting mine
always quality tips! cheers from the Philippines Scott's Bass Lessons
Awesome video. I have at the least 15 mins a day. The most 60-120 mins(if I’m lucky). There’s so much to take in so it’s nice to hear how to make practice time efficient
you're a great teacher! thank you!
This video = instant #7 ;)
What a great lesson once again Scott. You keep outdoing yourself!!
Awesome tips, Scott!! This lesson got me inspired to practice more and in a more organized and efficient way (and fill in my practice log within the Academy more frequently..:)
and of course, exercise your musical imagination. Great video Scott.
Thank you for your vids they have helped me a lot as I am totally self - alone- learned- bass.
Man, play bass is so hard! But I try on! LOL
Thanks, Scott, great tips. I just wanna understand better english... :/
See ya
New player here. Started mid December.. 1.5-2hours a day. Sometimes more. At least 6 days a week so far.
Great lesson. Thank you!
Glad I'm not the only one. Kept standing in different rooms trying to locate which smoke alarm needed it's battery changed. Haha!
Thumbs up for the mushroom soup mention!
Haha, thanks again Scott.
I am joining the academy in the next couple of weeks, I can't wait! See you soon.
Hey scott. You should do a video on the flamenco technique or bass playing styles. I'm listening to a lot of Geddy Lee stuff and would love tips on how to play that way.
Great stuff. Really great. Thanks.
Great take on failure!
The only difference between a beginner and a master is that the master has failed a million more times!
Thanks for the video! Have you made a gear video? I'm interested in what you use.
The seven habits of highly effective bass players... Awesome.
Really interesting.
Espectacular, gracias!
***** Cheers Fabian :)
Thanks for you help. I feel like you and need to organize my practice.I also like you analyze your music part.
I really love the 'transcribing' tip, I think a lot of people (including me :P) should do that way more often! One thought came to mind though: I find it very hard in a lot of songs to hear the bass clearly, especially in metal songs. How do you deal with that?
zeldamage001 it takes a good ear to listen carefully to the bass. In metal, you will often find the bass following the guitars, the kick drum, or a combination of both. Additionally, the bass is made to be felt, not so much on being heard. Even great metal bassists like Geezer Butler, Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, and Alex Webster would understand this, despite their bass sound being more audible in their songs.
Great tips, thank you!
Great...thanx a lot Scott. Really cool and helpfull lessons. Keep up the good work :)
Mario Mišmaš Cheers Mario :)
talking about inpiration, have to say that your very inpiring to me scott. thx
Scott! this was really great! ♫♪
Great video. But man that chirping smoke alarm. 😂
Love it!
Great tips, thanks!
Great video - lots of helpful advice in there
thanks!""
Great lesson, Scott. Helped me get really centred. Got a non-bass question, tho. Noticed your really cool watch on this video. Mind sharing what it is?
Great as usual! Greetings from Italy :)
Parseval Cheers man :)
Lot of good advice there!
I'm still a little confused on what you mean by transcribing - is it learning a song by ear? or learning it in any way possible? to me it still just means writing it down!
Anthony Lewis I think it's either writing it down or just learning it by ear.
Timfine Yep, you gotta be learning it by ear - that's the key! :)
Hey Scott, do you have a video on transcribing or a resource that you would recommend? Thanks for another great video!
Hi Scott, thank you very much for all the videos you upload. I have been following the youtube page for years and they are all excellent. In this video you talk about transcribing but, at least on RUclips, there are not many videos of you in which you talk about perceptual audio and how to develop it from scratch to higher levels. If you could give us a hand, for people like me who are hard of hearing, I would really appreciate it. Greetings from Argentina
Hey Scott thanks for another great lesson! Guess I have to go work on the scary stuff now.....
Earthcraft Band Official Me too, lol ;)
Really useful, i will start soon and i'm 30 :( so your tips are very very important for me. Thank you.
you are amazing!
That's a really nice J bass
Great lesson Scott :)
Federico Morandi Thanks for watching Federico! :)
I'm definitely joining the academy :D
very helpful!
With regards to transcribing, what would you suggest for a new player who has trouble hearing the bass lines. Does using a tab book count as "transcribing" of should you try to do it by ear? I know when I try to do it by ear, I get frustrated really quickly when I can't get what seems to be relatively trivial stuff.