Practice Scenario:
You’re learning a new song and part way through your bass practice you make a mistake.
Do you…
A) Push on and finish playing the rest of the song, or
B) Go back to the top and play it again?
Here’s why I believe from my years of playing and teaching that the best approach to this dilemma during your bass practice is: NEITHER.
Here’s why:
Transcription
Question: Ari, should I start from the top when I make an error or keep pushing on?
Answer: Neither – don’t start from the top and don’t just keep going.
Why? The obvious fact is that errors don’t improve on their own. So, what can you do about it?
Step 1: Precisely identify the spot. You can either do that by using a marker on a chart or set markers on whatever program you’re using to learn the song.
Step 2: Identify the issue. Identify the problem means I’m doing “X” but I should do “Y”.
Step 3: Practice to fix it. Imagine you’re explaining it to somebody. Imagine you are teaching it to somebody. Now you know what to work on. Practice precisely that. Change the fingering; learn the rhythm without the pitches; do whatever you need to do to fix that section.
Step 4: Put it in context. Practice going in and out of that section. Now, if that strikes you a bit cumbersome and slow, let me tell you that in the end, it gets you there faster. [ 🎵 🎵 🎵 ]
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