I'm a beginning Bassist. I started practicing daily a little over a week ago. I have an instructional book with some nice practice exercises to develop my skills. However, I wanted to know how I should go about learning to play without needing to look at my left hand to see that I'm hitting the right notes. I've started learning what notes are where on the top half of my neck. But I still need to look at the neck to get there.
I was watching the bassist at my church this past Sunday and he barely looked at his bass guitar while playing, accept for a few glances here and there, yet he was moving all over the neck for certain songs.
So, since I'm just starting out, I wanted to make sure that I'm not forming any bad habits. Should I practice all my exercises by not watching my left hand (example exercises are scales, 1-3-5, 1-3d-5 hand positions, etc) after I initially learn how to do the exercise? Is there another way I should go about learning to play without looking at my left hand? I tried it briefly last time I practiced, and ended up hitting wrong notes or pressing on the fret instead of just behind it. It's clear that this skill is something that comes with practice. I just would like to know a good way to practice this skill.
Thanks for your help.
- Cyrus