Practice Routine?

[Desopolis]

So Ive been playing for almost 5 years, and I can play pretty much any style.

I dont really learn songs though, I just learn bits and pieces.

for the past year I've been going to a teacher, and Ive finaly realized, that Im learning as much as if I were simply playing with a friend..

Im still going, because he helps with simple things that I dont think to learn(IE weird triads, and how they relate)

I really want to improve, and I think a better routine would help me. I had a decent one when I first was learning, but now im falling off.

heres what im thinking:

10 mins: Major, Minor and pentatonic scales

10 mins: various major/minor Arpegios

10 mins: Chords, and chord shape throughout the neck

10 mins:some really hard song(for me) that I play, and will play for a few months untill I dont have to look at tabs.

10 mins: of another one, different style(IE canon in D, then little wing~SRV)

10 mins: Some popular song that I can learn fast, and I play this all week long, so I get used to playing it all the way through ( this being because I hate going places, and having people aske me to play stuff, and I have no clue what to play)

I can do this while watching tv or whatever when I get home..

any other advice?

[Gorecki]

My first suggestion would be 10 mins of anything isn't going to be very valuable. Especially if you've got five years in, I would up the time considerably.

Certainly you can practice things you already know, but it is more productive to practice things you don't know and touch on things you do.

Focus your practice more. Maybe 1 hour (or more) per item on your list and do it over days.

[Desopolis]

well I plan on doing it daily, also, playing a full scale really takes no time at all.. I just couldnt imagine spending a hour on just those.. maybe a hour on the 3 together, but still..

and whenever I play I end up playing for 3hrs anyway lol..

and thats the kind of advice I need, thats just a prelem... thx!

Edited October 23, 2006 by Desopolis

[Lord-of-the-strings]

I just sit down and play for a couple of hours when I get home from school, eat supper, then I'll usually be gone out with friends or whatever and get home later on, and then play for an hour or so and then go to bed. I don't practice really, just play. You know?

[Gorecki]

Certainly you could spend more than an hour on one scale. by:

Playing all notes on every string and every fret available. Making certain you *know* what the note is (ie my signature block)

Playing the modes of that scale the same as above.

Additional scales, Melodic minor, harmonic minor, symetrical

I would also suggest doing arpeggios for all chord times, not just maj/min, as well as extended chords 7s, 9s, dom's and altered dom..etc

Also how's your theory knowledge? That requires study time as well.

[Desopolis]

ughhhh... theory.....

[Gorecki]

ughhhh... theory.....

It's pretty hard to be a Musican if you don't know the language of Music. A person can play and have fun but evenually you'll get bored and a limit gets hit. To be able to fall back on theory and you don't have 'inspiration', there's an arrow pointing right to it.

Guitar players have been led a stray, what other instruments in formal music training don't require theory? Other than percussion (and sometimes they do too), nobody! Because it's an important part of the music training process. Guitar players it became acceptible for bedroom wankers and the limit gets hit and most don't continue.

Have fun!

[Desopolis]

oh I know.. but some times it gets tiresome..

Id rather play styles of music, instead of learing how they all work together..

im pretty much at the point where I have to start learning it, becuase besides sweep picking(witch im starting to learn) I dont really have any bounds..

[sexybeast]

I grab it and play every night. Mostly I just noodle in front of the TV, but when I get serious I work on two things:

Chord Progressions

Metronome and chord progressions.

And now I'm actually learning the fretboard as a pre cursor to theory.

But no matter what, it's in my hands at night. So much so that I SUSPECT, only suspect, that it may be helping me develop arthritis in my left hand.

[jaycee]

I suppose it all depends on where you want to be in 12 months time. Playing the same old stuff half way through and a few more half learnt tunes ? Or having a good selection to play when asked "play me something" I suspect it's the latter

Go with the schedule you have written down it will focus your practise time into a

1. A structured routine.

2. You will actually be learining something

3. Having something down in writing is comitting yourself to learning how to play.

If you let the schedule lapse you can come to your senses and return to it. If you don't have one you have no schedule to return to.

set yourself goals to learn a song completely start to finish in a certain period of time (make sure it is a realistic time period) If you know it off by heart well done, then check the tempo and fluencey of the piece. If youdon't know it off by heart then thats your next song to learn.

Don't beat yourself up just be determined and consistent

And enjoy it

Edited October 24, 2006 by jaycee

[marksound]

Is it even possible to learn to play without (at least inadvertently) learning some theory?

I've always thought that every kid should be forced (at gunpoint if necessary ) to learn to play a "classical" instrument (piano, strings, horn, etc.). The discipline itself is invaluable and no matter how much the kid hates it at the time, he will be thankful for it later in life.

[Desopolis]

Is it even possible to learn to play without (at least inadvertently) learning some theory?

I've always thought that every kid should be forced (at gunpoint if necessary ) to learn to play a "classical" instrument (piano, strings, horn, etc.). The discipline itself is invaluable and no matter how much the kid hates it at the time, he will be thankful for it later in life.

well you do, but without knowing. IE chord names, scale names(my first was a-minor V) and whatever without knowing exactly I was doing.

I've learned notes and fretboard locations, but when I stop playing I start forgeting.

when I was in the third grade I could play piano.

I learned a few songs, mainly Beethoven. but I couldnt tell you what keys are what notes anymore..

A female friend of mine on the otherhand, started playing the background music to goldeneye 007 as she talked to someone on the phone who was playing it..

suddenly, I was like... is that bond? in the water caverens?!?(I played way to much)

anyway, I had a talk with my teacher.. I told him that I enjoyed playing with him, and the licks I was learning were fun to play, but only challenging untill I played it a few times through. And that I needed to learn either what it was I was playing, or somthing that will let me learn and improve on my own, otherwise I was just going to get a book.

We copyed some major and minor arpegios down, and im going to play those through and force myself to learn what each note is corisponding. along with a few songs I want to learn, and some that are challenging enough that it will take me a while to learn.

[Desopolis]

BTW heres my teacher's bands myspace..

he plays mostly bass in bands, but hes on keys as well.. weird..

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...endID=115221672

most of the time when I walk in hes playing classical though..

recently he bought a kramer bass amp bigger then anything ive ever seen..

had a steel horn and was padded in leather..

we call it, "Thunder in a box".

[A different Brian.]

I'm a 43-year-old guitar player. I understand what you're talking about. A lot of us search for daily activities that will bring us the fulfillment that we're looking for. When I look back, I can see clearly what I should have done with my time- at least as a long-term goal.

"CREATE ORIGINAL, FINISHED PRODUCTS"

A saying I've lived by is "You get good at EXACTLY what you spend your time doing". If you spend ALL of your time building your techniques, you have good "tools", but how you utilize those tools can end up being immature. Sorta like a great workshop that has never built a guitar. I didn't spend enough time working on my own music because as I got good at playing, I fell into the trap of wanting to impress people, including myself, with my skill. It feels good to be able to play well. That feeling is sort of a immediate gratification, like a drug. When I tried writing my own music, it ended up sounding too "beginner-ish" for my taste. I wrote some interesting parts to songs, but nothing finished. I didn't spend much time on it because I didn't want to feel frustrated.

My oldest son is in 3rd grade right now. He's the best piano player in his grade, and probably the next couple of grades. I'm encouraging his creativity every chance I get. Soon, we'll start recording some songs on the computer. Some people would have him wait until he was really good and could write better music. My feeling is that we all have to be a beginner before we can be advanced. Now is the time for him to be that beginner and write simplistic songs. His songs will get better with experience.

My advice is to continue working on technique, but work in goals for writing (and completing) your own music. Remember to let yourself be a beginner, and have confidence that experience will improve your abilities. FINISH songs and move on. Get yourself a way to record yourself and do it regularly. I used to say that performing an hour on stage was worth 2-3 hours of practice because you are more conscious of how you're playing. Recording is similar. You can't be sloppy when you're recording.

...just my opinion.

[wylde1919]

oh I know.. but some times it gets tiresome..

Id rather play styles of music, instead of learing how they all work together..

im pretty much at the point where I have to start learning it, becuase besides sweep picking(witch im starting to learn) I dont really have any bounds..

1. Change the attitude that boundaries are limited to specific techniques.

2 . realize that you have way more to learn in every aspect of your playing than you could ever learn.

3. If you are watcing TV while you practice, you aren't practicing right. Practicing while your mind is otherwise occupied only serves to increase muscle memory, but does nothing to improve the most important part of playing, your mind.

4. Keep asking players around you for advice and tips (just like you are doing now), reagrdless of whether you are a "better" player than the perosn you are asking.

5. Most importantly, remeber that techniques are tools. Theory are the instruction books that go along with those tools. But at the end of the day Tools and instruction books don't make anything, it is the human factor that builds and creates. Think of it like the builders around here, I can have Jeremy's workshop and all of his notes and instructions, but I have don't have the vision and the creativity I am not going to create anything worth mentioning.

I hope this does not come across as snotty, but I see you making some of the mistakes I have made, and if I can help someone else avoid them and be a better musician, then I am a happy camper. Plus if you learn form my mistakes, you may be able to help me fix them!!!!!

[Desopolis]

not snotty at all, very sound advice, and its exactly what I need.

[wylde1919]

not snotty at all, very sound advice, and its exactly what I need.

O one peice of advice I forgot to give is to ignore my horrible typing!

The one draw back to the internet community is that we don't have a very good way of sharing our music with one and another in a live setting, I am sitting here thinking how cool it would be to jam with some of you guys, imagaine what we could all share with each other.

[Gorecki]

not snotty at all, very sound advice, and its exactly what I need.

O one peice of advice I forgot to give is to ignore my horrible typing!

The one draw back to the internet community is that we don't have a very good way of sharing our music with one and another in a live setting, I am sitting here thinking how cool it would be to jam with some of you guys, imagaine what we could all share with each other.

Sure we do!

http://www.ninjam.com/

[jaycee]

I looked into the writings of jamie Andreas recentley and I think what he has to say about practise is very good, so interested was I that I have bought the book $42 there abouts which includes shipping to the UK. Now I am not one with plenty of cash to spend in fact its the opposite but from what I read after printing out 15 of his essays made sense and helped me memorize pieces of music which I didn't believe I was capable of.

If any one is interested www.guitarprinciples.com.

[wylde1919]

Jaycee, I would love to hear what you have to say about it when you are done reading it all. I have been toying with buying the books myself.