The 2 Kinds Of Practice

I find I can jam along with almost anything and get the meat of it, but the syncopation was not there for a while until I really dedicated a few minutes every day to it. Tonight I jammed along with Zack Wylde's Book of Shadows, and got so much of it I am so excited I don't think I will be able to sleep! Two months ago I would not have been able to grab onto this.

It has been exciting to be able to catch on to all these different styles. My favorite thing to practice to is random music. I don't get a lot of that brain memory, but my finger memory is expanding exponentially with the daily playing. I can much better play by feel now than I could even a couple of months ago.

I started 16 months ago dedicating one minute a day to fitness lol and started doing pushups every day. I had been doing them a year when I decided to pick up another positive habit every day and decided on my guitar for an outlet. Now a yr and a half later, I have been invited to play with people who make real music, and suvived to be invited back again

It has been more fun than I can tell you to grow in these directions. I always played some guitar, but now I am playing along with almost anything that comes along, and those blues riffs I sought after for so long are almost painfully slow now Starting to jam on some faster stuff now indeed, and doing well enough to have the wife up beatin the tambourine and dancing!

Early in these lessons I caught one that said play it like you already know it and let your fingers catch up. Some of the best advice I ever got as a guitar student.

As my fingers are catching up, it has gotten exciting to the point I want to come home every night and jam.

Also make sure you have a tuner so you can play in key. That helps exponentially in finding the proper finger position. I tuned by ear for 25 yrs before I got a tuner and Griff here (and my own teacher) told me how to find the key to a song and opened up the whole world of music for me.
Thanks brudda

Memorize the twelve notes on the top two strings (The lowest ones) and then you will be able to find the key to any song.

Also remember that those 7 basic campfire chords have barchords that match them. Once you got that you can move on to majors and minors and open up even more cool stuff to play with and side notes to grab.

Didn't mean to run on, but this is what I practice and it has done wonders for my playing in under 6 months.

Ya'll hang in there and remember, playing guitar is like a learning a new language, first you pick up the letters, then the words, then the phrases, and suddenly you are puttin it together and running off at the mouth like I am now, cuz I am excited! Peace....

Make sure you have a good guitar, it will be more easy!

Practice, pratice and pratice...(I like it)

Hit the nail on the head.

Pratice. A little each day is a good recipe

Very interesting,thank you

Great insight Griff and applies to much of what we do in life. Keep up the good work you are a genius. Sending you all God's blessings

God's Cowboy, Rodger Coale

Griff this so true and the muscle memory really can kick in .....regardless of the song/tune. It's the muscle tone and the soul tone as well.

Hey,
This is a great insight, thanks! I have been kind of approaching this realization for awhile, but this nails it! I'm impressed w/ your level of thought on teaching. Keep it up!
Also, I love your readers' responses. This is a real sweet forum. Yay. Love your instrument--you betcha! That's what it's all about. Also, what can you do w/ one note--that's the exercise of heart.
The only thing I'd add is, listen to some Bach sometime -- it's all there, the geometry of music. There's nothing we do that he didn't do already, almost 400 years ago!

This comment is for Scott the hard rocker. In the blues its not HOW MANY notes you play, its more like WHAT CAN YOU SAY WITH JUST ONE NOTE. Feel the progression, yup most times it's still the same old I-IV-V 12 bar thang and some turnarounds, but place yourself and your innermost thoughts and feelings into the progression and remember the blues is really happy music, not that cryin' in your beer thing that country does so well, or that pent up anxiety go balls to the walls thing hard rock does!!! Try going back to some Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley or Led Zeppelin and re-learn some blues rock. That might be easier for you ( u can still rock out). Try Bo Diddley's song Roadrunner from the 60's slow down and let it flow. Find a blues station on the car radio and leave it there until its imbedded in your bones. I got faith in you,You'll get there! After all the more blues players we can get... the more fun we all have!

I concur Griff. It's funny how the brain works. I can fumble fu*k around with something till it sucks so bad nobody could stand it, at that point I know its useless to try any more cuz my fingers aint gonna do what my brain is tellin' em to do!!! But, somehow after sleepin' on it, when I come back to it the next day, like magic my brain somehow has completed the circuit and my fingers have takin' on a life of their own producing the exact ideas I was stumbling with yesterday. Sometimes I hate the way this works, and I can't explain why it works, it just does.

This might sound a little wierd but love your instrument. Give it a hug. Whisper some sweet nothings to it. You might even want to kiss it. The point is - especially if you are a beginner - don't be afraid of your guitar, it's your best friend. Well, it works for me anyway! It helps me to relax I guess. ( Thats my excuse anyway ). Enjoy!

I have been playing hard rock, heavy metal for over 30 years.... why is it so hard for me to grasp the blues.....I thought it would be easy.... yet I feel retarted.... (let me explain) I am used to rifleing through chordial progressions... arpeggioes.... & so forth....... When I try to play blues... it is like a brain cramp....., how can I play like Garymore, or eric, C.

Thanks, this is really helping me to not be so hard on myself. I started learning at a late age and if it didn't love guitar for many, many reasons, would have given up. I am so glad to have come this far, and am happy to have discovered your helpful Website. Wishing you good days.

Well Griff,again a jolly goog show,easy to understand and so right.

Griff.........You have helped me so much. Just wish I could pick it up faster.

I think that your ideas are clarifying, meaningful and conducive to more creative playing. I have definitely experienced finger memory--I think that finger memory is also enhanced by our internal hearing which is important for melodic direction.
Thanks a lot. your advice for me has been been vere helpful.
JBJr.

All excllent points Griff ! and soo true...Thank's for all the advice,tips and such!!

THANK YOU GRIFF AND THAT IS A GOOD PRACTICE SESSION CHEERS

Good advice and well explained, thanks Griff.

Hi Griff,

I have a similar experience when playing a song with one chord, I have to pinch myself to see if I"m awake 'cos I'm somewhere else. I just seem to drift away. Maybe I get bored because it's only one chord.

glad to keep hearing from you. It's one of the good things.

Hi Griff, Just a note of thanks for all the lessons and insights you send us out here. Also, the videos from your field trips are great. Footnote question: Is that a Taylor acoustic in the background in some of your lesson videos?

Griff, Your 2 Kinds of Practice note is excellent insight into how the brain and nervous system work...I believe that kind of understanding is rare on a conscious level, though I guess many people learn things this way all the time without realizing it. Kudos to you for such insight!!

I have bin practicing E7, A7, and B7 I think I almost got it down my big truble is my 3rd and 4th fingers I keep holding my 4th way away from the strings so when its time to put them down its to slow or I miss the strings but I keep doing it over and over and its getting better. The more my fingers hurt the better the seem to work lol. My strumming sucks and what angle to hold the pick is now trouble ing. Could you do a closeup video of your pick hand angle while strumming

seems im always one step ahead of your ideas Griff . I was just thinking this last nite while praticing some old stuff that i needed to upgrade the way i was playing it .this is because ive been learning alot from you. Thus having better ways of playing stuff. I startied to drift to a better stage of playing and noticed my breathing was slowed and the brain said it needed more oxygen. point is dont forget to breath its very important otherwise you will drift off sooner and not making it thru the piece your playing very well.this is just my opinion and not to be taken to seriously folks . thanks to Griff for all that you have passed onto us all . later man. p.s. thoes guitar tab sites are not all cracked up to what it should sound like.

After 50 years of playing electric blues guitar I no longer "practice" per se. I guess my finger memory and brain memory work together somehow, because I am allways more or less free forming a "feeling" that comes from my emotional center. So most of the time, I get that "feeling" to come out regardless of what the notes appear. Bends, hammers, slides, swells, pulls, trills, muting, attack, sustain, bare fingers, pick, etc,. all are as important as the notes. Even silence to let the stuff breath is good.Metaphysics maybe? Very interesting, thank you.

You really have teaching down like no other instructor I've ever heard.

I often struggle to play unless I make a conscious effort to stop my brain 'thinking' too much and just let my fingers do the talking. If I think about it my fingers often stop playing!!!!
Its a bit like driving a car - you dont need to think about steering, shifting gear etc.... but you do need to remain conscious of the fact you are driving!!!
Maybe the trick is to learn how much brain attention is needed to keep your finger on the right track?

To All, This is perfectly correct its the exact same way that works for me and its slowly but surely.
I am just hoping that I become a good Guitarist before its too late?

Good stuff Griff. I have to attest to what your saying as being true even thought I didn't realize what was happening when it was happening. (LOL)

I like your thinking, makes sense. I will relax my brain some and allow my fingers to learn by repetition without the pressure. Playing with the TV on will be on my list today. Thanks for your help, Griff

Hi Griff,
These practice tips help. It seems I am doing exactly that and didn't know. I'm in the mindless stage at the moment. I'm doing scales, improvising over chords and then just playing a few songs in an old book. I have a few thing things going on in my life at the moment. Thats a distraction. Nothing new goes into my head. I need that mindless practice. No thinking . Just Playing. It was good to read these few words of advice.
Thanks Griff
Robbie

So true. Being a novice that plays by ear. I can listen to a song and pick out the notes, bars etc. I want to play. Dont ask me what they are cause I wouldnt have a clue. Thats when the memory kicks in and I listen and practice till I can simulate the same sound. I still dont know what chords or notes Im playing (if any) which may sound strange but Im usually pleased with results after trying several attempts.
One day Griff, your going to teach me true chords, notes, scales etc. so I can pull all this talent together. I still find your teaching methods the best for me to learn and practice from. Keep those email and videos and any suggestions coming.
Leo (alias "Determined")

thanks Griff. You are an amazing professor. I bought 2 other courses just so i can pick-up and feed my brain more, but i have to laugh for reasons i can't disclose. However; one i feel should be shipped to the moon and i'll leave it there. I and many others alike pay our money for the purpose to learn, read and play music the right way. Anyway, i've learned more with you than all combined. I started playing electric guitar in 1968, and even played in a couple of bands. Just never learrned to read music, most of us poor back in the days and no computers we learned by ear. Anyway, you're the best and i'm sticking with you. I'm serious about learning this right and i have little time for games. Now retired, i'm going to do this if it's the last psssion i do on earth. thanks, ron! disabled veteran. Serious about my Rock music.

Thanks for the information. I find with music you really can't ever stop learning and you will never know it all. I have the blues guitar unleashed videos and they are great. I am advancing through it at a slooow pace. I pick up the guitar and turn on the video and then think of something I need to learn for the next gig. My field is country music but when I'm just picking around I'm playing the blues and I enjoy that very much. I always look forward to your e-mails and always learn something from them. Thanks again

Everyday I work spider drills for finger memory. I work with a metronome. my goal is to get to 200 beats a minute. I work up and down the neck. THen I practice the riffs I know and work on chord combos. then I work on learning something new.

The last paragraph sums up what I have always believed and gone with, the brain has sponged up for that time frame all it's going to just like when I eat too much, it's time to put the fork down and digest what I've eaten. Same for learning guitar, digest what I've learned, then come back when I feel the hunger pangs kicking up again.

Thanks Griff for this informative reminder! Have a great day!

Thanks Griff for the input. I am a drummer having played for for over 40 years (yikes!) and I know this to be true. It is the same as approaching drumming skills. You practice playing rudiments (scales,licks) untill you are able to play them without total concentration because at a certian point you can just use them to make music. It is like developing muscle memory to the point that you now no longer need to think about the mechanics of what your playing you just play it and your brain is at a point where you are thinking about the music, dynamics, feel, groove , and listening to the other players in order to blend. I use this same concept in developing my guitar skills. I was not aware that others had the same approach so this is a nice bit of confirmation that I am on the right track. Thanks again Griff.

thanks Griff I just learned something new Love your tips and triks very helpful already have the blues package and its great
Rohn

I memorized a few licks from a Keith Wyatt cassette tape more than 15 years ago. Even though I can't really "play guitar", as soon as I pick one up those riffs just come out as if I knew what I was doing.

Mark

This is what I'm finding in my learning process. In fact I find that once my fingers have learned something, if I watch what they are doing I muck it up. So it might take a lot longer but my fingers are now in control of the fret board and my brain (what's left of it) creates the music. I suppose it's a bit like a ship, the captain knows where the ship is going but without the engine room, the mechanical bit, it's go nowhere,

Hmm maybe not, who heard of a ship playing the blues?

Thanks griff,Now I know why Im having so much trouble,I need a new brain ha. and possibly think of a way to get old man artherities to take a one way trip. Len.p.s. I can't decide which guitar I like to play more the j-160 or the 339..

Good stuff Griff ! I didn't know it but thats how I already practice, I can chill out and noodle around without my brain in gear, next time I pick up my fingers seem to have a mind of their own ! Then I engage the brain and pick out a new lick or chord to practice. I'm too old to be a rock star! But since I invested in BGU, my ability and inspiration has increased no end ! Thanks and keep the tips coming... Robert. Gold Coast Australia

Hi Griff:

Excellent explanation of the two kinds memory. Some people call "finger" memory "muscle" memory. But in either case - you hit the nail on the head. There are times when frustration will come with both types of learning. Being able to recognize when that is and to change up at that point is definitely key.

Thanks for all the groovy material and your continued support!!

John

I have been playing for some time but it is not structured. What do you suggest to get structure yet still have fun learning?

Thanks for the practicing tips.I find myself starting out practicing bar chords and when I can't get them to sound right,I find myself going to things I find easier to play.

Hi Griff,,,
Just to say thanks for your help,,,!
Stay Well

trying to learn basic blues solo sounds but on your own and with limited time its not easy.

great stuff

Oh sooooo true thanks griff

I've played for many year and you're right Griff. It happens to all of us. Love your emails by the way. Very helpful.