Bass day (1h 20m)

Chord tones (Phil Mann)
- All triads (major / minor / diminished / augmented) in all inversions around the cycle of 4ths at 70bpm — 30m
- Major 7th chords in all inversions around the cycle (without click, then at 50bpm) — 15m
- Minor 7th chords in all inversions around the cycle (without click, then at 50bpm) — 15m
Walking bass lines (Scott Devine)
- Partido Alto pattern + improv over jazz standard played with Latin groove (Be My Love by Nikolaus Brodzsky) — 20m
- Uptempo Cha cha cha over Miles Davis’ stuff that turned out to be too hard, so I switched back to Partido over simpler song

Observations

Seems like I’m finally getting a grip on inversions! Yay! Also trying to adjust session time a bit to make some room for production stuff I have going on. But keeping the 5-min rest in the middle though!

Bass day (1h 30m)

Eh, what was that? I skipped two days of practice which I could have explained with being busy producing my tracks and recording bass for other people, but that would’ve been just an excuse as there’s always time for at least 30m practice session. So, I just bailed, let’s admit it. Back on track now.

Chord tones (Phil Mann)
- All triads (major / minor / diminished / augmented) in all inversions around the cycle of 4ths — 30m
Walking bass lines (Scott Devine)
- Dominant 2-octave walking bass line exercise over cycle progression in all keys —30m
- Cha cha cha pattern over jazz standard (Nardis by Miles Davis in E-) — 30m

Observations

Practicing whatever and for any amount of time is always better than curling up in your bed, declaring yourself powerless and feeling miserable just because you had a bad day. I tried it, it works.

Bass day (1h 20m)

Chord tones (Phil Mann) — 30m
- Major triads in all inversions without stopping around the cycle (60bpm)
- Minor triads in all inversions — same
- Diminished triads in all inversions — same
- Augmented triads in root inversion
Walking bass lines (Scott Devine) — 50m
- Major & minor ii — V — I patterns recap in G-
- Applying patterns + 1 — 3 — 5 — chromatic notes to the new standard (Adam’s Apple by Wayne Shorter) in D
- Latin rhythms: Partido Alto pattern over Adam’s Apple in D

Observations

A little bit overwhelmed with production stuff these days, but trying to keep up the practice at the same pace!

Bass day (1h 30m)

Skipped one piano day because of the production deadline (I played piano during the process anyway, so there’s an excuse, lol)

Chord tones (Phil Mann) — 1m
- Major, minor and diminished triads in all inversions around the cycle of 4ths (gradually increasing tempo with each pass)
- Augmented triads in root inversion around the cycle
Walking bass lines (Scott Devine) — 30m
- Recap ii — V — I lines in G-
- ii — V — I shapes over Autumn Leaves in Eb-

Observations

Tempted to hang out in the “new comfort zone” — right outside the old one — need to move on to the next course!

Bass day (1h 30m)

Chord tones (Phil Mann) — 40m
- Diminished triads in all inversions around the cycle, spelling the notes out loud (40bpm), silently (60bpm)
- Major and minor triads in all inversions around the cycle at 80bpm without stopping, only saying the root
Break
Walking bass lines (Scott Devine) — 50m
- Partido Alto (Latin pattern from George Lopez & David Keif book) over Autumn Leaves in D-
- Recap ii — V — I lines in G-, over Autumn Leaves in G-
- Ghost notes exercise

Observations

Latin patterns are a ton of fun! You can take one and play it over a jazz standard that and it will make it sound completely different. Also it’s just so much fun to play (not only to a backing track, but also to a raw clave).