This article is written by Toru Hoshino, a jazz bassist and instructor based in Japan who teaches online lessons to students worldwide. In this article, he shares what three years of practicing upright bass in public parks taught him.
Sax and trumpet players, string players on violin, cello, or upright bass, singers doing vocal warmups — it’s pretty common to see musicians practicing outdoors in parks. These are all instruments that are simply too loud to practice at home without bothering the neighbors, and parks also save you the cost of renting a studio space.
Musicians are, generally speaking, always looking to save money. I practiced in parks myself for about three years, and whenever I see someone else out there gamely practicing in a park, I can’t help but slow down and take notice.
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Picking the Right Park
Not every park works for instrument practice. Tiny neighborhood parks tend to carry sound straight into nearby houses, so they’re best avoided. Look for something large — the kind of big, open city park where you can find a spot far enough from foot traffic and houses that you won’t bother anyone. A few hours of research into large parks near you goes a long way.
Parks that are great for instrument practice tend to share a few things in common: they’re large enough to put real distance between you and nearby homes, they’re not packed with foot traffic on weekdays, and ideally they have some open lawn or tree cover where the sound won’t carry as far. Parks to avoid: ones where instruments are explicitly banned, ones that are constantly packed with crowds, or small neighborhood parks tucked right up against houses.
5 Rules for Practicing in a Park
1. Your Sheet Music Will Fly Away
Sudden gusts of wind will send your sheet music flying. Use clothespins to clip it down. For practicing after dark, a clip-on LED light for your music stand is also genuinely useful.
2. Set a Firm Time Limit
This matters most in summer and winter. Practicing in a park for too long without a clear cutoff is a fast track to catching a cold or, in summer, heatstroke. Personally, I never went past about 90 minutes — I’d set a timer on my phone and stop the moment my focus started to slip.
3. Plan Your Practice Routine at Home, Beforehand
Since you’ve made the effort to go outside, save any fiddly prep work — writing things out, sorting sheet music, and so on — for home ahead of time, so you can devote your outdoor time purely to actually playing.
4. Practice in the Shade, Near Trees, Whenever You Can
This protects you against sudden rain and heatstroke alike. If there’s a covered spot that won’t get in anyone’s way, make use of it.
5. Dress for the Weather — Properly
Spring and fall are easy, but summer and winter are no joke. Here’s what to keep in mind for each:
Summer:
- Skip sandals (mosquito bites)
- Bring bug spray
- Wear a hat
Stick to the shade as much as you can, and keep drinking water throughout.
Winter:
- Layer up — seriously
- Tights under your pants
- Two pairs of socks
- Boots
- A thermos of hot tea
No matter how many layers you put on, the cold seeps into your whole body after about an hour. If you absolutely have to practice for longer, bring hot tea in a thermos. I practiced through winters myself, eventually splurging on some genuinely expensive thermal tights just to make it bearable — and they were unbelievably warm and held up well over time.
A Few More Things to Keep in Mind
Keep Up with Instrument Maintenance
Humid months are hard on your instrument when you’re playing outdoors. Use a backup instrument if you have one, and if you only have your main one, stay on top of maintenance.
Avoid Cherry Blossom Season and Sports Events
Crowds and noise from games or festivals make it impossible to concentrate, and in summer you’ll sometimes run into people setting off fireworks nearby — distracting at best, and a little alarming if one heads your way.
Skip It When You’re Not Feeling Well
Summer and winter conditions outdoors will make you feel worse, not better. Stick to practicing at home during those times.
If Someone Heckles You, Just Stay Confident
I’ve never had a run-in with anyone genuinely dangerous, but I’ve definitely had drunk passersby comment on my way past — “what is that, a cello or something?” (it’s an upright bass, for the record). Once in a while a tourist mistakes it for a street performance and leaves a tip. Either way, the key is not to let any of it get to you. Don’t be shy about practicing in public, even as a beginner — there’s something genuinely great about the feeling of your sound resonating outdoors. Enjoy it.
Even with all the outdoor practice in the world, the thing that’s genuinely hard to catch on your own is what your playing actually sounds like to someone else listening — which is exactly where a teacher comes in.
Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?
This is exactly the kind of thing that’s hard to fix alone — and where having a teacher makes all the difference.
At Line on Bass, I offer an online lesson service where you send me a video of your playing, and I give you specific, detailed feedback — every single day if you want.
Students from around the world are using this to fix exactly these kinds of issues and steadily improve their jazz bass skills.