July has been a rough month in terms of practice, in part due to my moving out of the house eating into the first 2 weeks of July, and in part due to settling into a new environment and a new training regime. So this update is light, and carries a resolution to myself to recover my practice in August.
Double bass
I did at some point work through the entire piece of Norwegian dance, paying attention to my weak spots (staccato, accents). The problematic areas highlighted the need to get better with my control of the bow, as well as develop articulation. I also did get through all of the scale variation exercises in the key of Bb major, so that's a little win to celebrate there.
Goals for August
- Add new pieces to work through
- Change up my focus when drilling scales to the key of A (with a micro-shift from F to G#)
- Get back to a more regular practice routine (even if it's just 15 to 20 minutes of practice)
- Aiming for a minimum practice time of 4 hours/week
Electric bass
I did nothing here, having packed my AC cable for my Rumble in the wrong bag when moving - and I did not pick up the instrument for the whole month. I finally got my lazy bum to the store yesterday to pick up a replacement in time for lesson this week.
Goals for August
- Warm back up with scales and arpeggios
- Practice Cannonball Adderley's walking bass of Autumn Leaves
- Aiming for a minimum practice time of 2 hours/week
Guitar
Goals for August
- Continue knuckle awareness exercises
- Practice Legend (an exercise piece from Steph)
- Practice 2 new pieces from CGC
- Continue adding time with Kinkachoo and Lullaby (both pieces from Philip Houghton)
- Aiming for a minimum practice time of 4 hours/week