How Long Should You Practice Playing Bass Each Day?

You’ve probably already invested a lot of money into your bass and your equipment, so I’m willing to bet you’re looking to invest your time into making yourself as good of a player as possible.

You may find yourself asking, “how long should I practice the bass guitar each day before I’m successful?” The truth is, the answer varies.

First of all, it’s important to define what you consider ‘successful’, because this will mean a completely different thing to two different people. If you’re aiming to become the next Paul McCartney, you’re obviously going to have to put in a heck of a lot more work than if you’re just looking to be able to play your favorite song. Words like ‘successful’ ‘good’ and ‘expert’ all are relative and you couldn’t possibly give a set time to reach a certain level.

This is especially true because we all learn at different rates. People who are already great musicians will pick up and master the bass more quickly and easily than someone who is playing bass as their first instrument. Of course, I’m sure you already knew that. But that doesn’t really answer the question – so how much time should you spend playing bass each day?In all honesty, the amount you practice isn’t the most important factor when it comes to success. The key with truly mastering the bass comes with consistency – that is, playing the bass guitar regularly. Ideally, multiple times a day. If not, at least once a day.

The good thing is, these sessions don’t have to be long at all. If they are, great! But that’s not important. Even if its only for 10 minutes at a time, this is long enough to really ingrain bass playing into your mind. Learning your instrument – it’s feel, it’s style, its tone, all comes from this ingraining. Playing consistently is what teaches you where each fret on your bass is, and what each note sounds like. Learning each note allows you to ‘hear’ the bassline in music and eventually, play it without even looking up the tabs.

The key with these short sessions however isn’t to just pick up your bass and strum, although that’s certainly better than nothing. You want to be as productive as possible to make the most out of your practice session. 10 minutes of focused, productive playing is far more beneficial than 30 minutes of screwing around.

This is one reason why one long bass session isn’t always quite as impactful as several shorter ones – it’s easier to lose focus and screw around if your practice session is lasting multiple hours. It’s hard to maintain focus that long on anything, let alone something that requires a lot of concentration like playing an instrument.

Can You Practice Too Much?

Yes and no. As I said, there comes a point where your focus will diminish and you won’t get as much return on your time. While more practice never hurts, this time could probably be spent better elsewhere. Get up, go do something else you enjoy or have been putting off, and then come back and continue practicing if you’d like. This will refresh your mind and make it easier to regain your focus when coming back to practice some more.

How To Practice Bass More Often (Without Thinking About It!)

Let’s focus on building that consistency. Here are some things you can try to increase the frequency of your practice:

• Keep your bass out of its case. You’ll be a lot less inclined to play it if you have to spend several minutes pulling the case out, taking the bass out of the case, and then getting the case out of your way. I’d highly recommend picking up a decent bass guitar stand like the Hercules GS414B A/G. A good stand will keep the bass safe while also making it easily accessible to you. Let’s be honest here – you know you’ll be more inclined to play your bass when it’s only an arm’s length away.
• Get a good tuner. Like the bass stand, this saves time when setting up and will obviously make your instrument sound a heck of a lot better. The Korg Pitchblack works great in almost all situations and you’ll notice the difference instantly if you’re used to a cheap tuner. Hopefully, you’ll already have one of these, but if you don’t, now’s the time to buy one.
• Listen to music throughout the day. Sometimes just listening to your favorite tunes will inspire you to want to learn them. Inspiration is a great motive to practice.
• Visit this website often. Serious, bookmark the site right now. The more bass becomes part of your life, the more you’ll want to play. I update this site regularly, so there should always be something new for you to read! And of course, subscribe to my email newsletter if you haven’t already. Only in my newsletter do I share my greatest secrets for mastering the bass.
• Have fun while you practice. Playing bass shouldn’t be a chore. If it is, it’s time to shake up your practice sessions!

Your Turn

Finally, I want you to give your own tip, no matter how big or small. Leave a comment down below and help out your fellow bassists. We’re all looking forward to hearing what you have to say!