YOUR QUESTION

06/22/2020 James N

Good afternoon Mr Dunn,
I've been noodling away on my bass on and off (mostly off) during this lockdown (in the UK!) and am finding it hard to maintain the enthusiasm to have regular practice sessions - how do you try and continue to make time for your practising? (I'm assuming as a professional its much more second nature than for us mere hobbyists!)
Similarly, what tips would you have for a relatively beginner/intermediate bassist for improvisation and writing basslines, and do you have any resources that you find yourself going back to time after time? I do try to learn and play my favourite songs, but find that many of them have complicated sections that I just simply cannot figure out, which is somewhat dispiriting.
Many thanks for your time.

MY ANSWER

Maintaining enthusiasm and discipline is an age old battle with the self-employed. To me it is essentially the same as maintaining a physical exercise routine or consistent bedtime. I’m saying it wavers. I’m at the point in my career now where I mostly practice with a specific goal in mind — a recording session, a live gig, etc. I also have to balance a writing schedule. There are not enough hours in a day. I make a lot of lists.
The only tip I have for improvising is to do it more and with a variety of people, or paintings or trees. In quarantine times you can improvise to Berio violin duets or Ed Blackwell drum solos. For writing I suggest learning your favorite lines, making variations on them, pushing your limits. Having a teacher or peer help you decipher the complicated bits will further your skills. You’ll soon realize that there is a lot of logic and simplistic foundation to a lot of what is unfamiliar. The dispiriting aspect should compel you to figure it out and conquer it.