Finding motivation to practice can be hard, especially when you haven't been at it for a while. Little distractions begin to fill your time and slowly take over. Even to the point of becoming a priority. I, unfortunately, reached this apex and it has taken me a long time to re-focus and re-kindle my passion for the double bass.Actually, it was a two-pronged effort that helped bring this into action. First, I decided to join a community orchestra. My greatest weakness on double bass has been classical playing and my arco technique. Being a person that enjoys challenges and discovering new things; I found this to be a suitable endeavor. I love learning new music and sight-reading, plus, I haven't played with a large group of people in many years. I now find that I am practicing every chance I get and there isn't a moment in the day where I cannot think about the many aspects of the double bass. I am currently looking at Bach's Suite1: Prelude for Cello. This piece of work is absolutely gorgeous and to be able to play on the double bass will take some time, but it is something I enjoy practicing. Just on a side note, compositions and etudes by Bach are great for study from a performance and theoretical standpoint if you are interested.
The second part of getting me motivated to practice was more of a materialistic maneuvere. I decided to purchase a brand new bow. Prior to this purchase, I had an old student bow that was never re-haired, was slightly warped and bent, but most importantly, was never taken care of. I am partially to blame for this but that could be due to my ignorace with this device. Over the years, I have developed a greater knowledge with taking care of this instrument which I will hopefully incorporate into my brand new bow. With regards to practicing, this has been one of the greatest pleasures. I never realized how easily playing arco would be with this tool. I felt more confident in my abilities and the tone that it produced was remarkable. Although my pocket and bank account are somewhat less burdened, my playing has reaped the benefits.
Anyway, I guess in some ways you can buy confidence.
