Sunday practice day

[sdbrit68]

So, whats everyone practicing today.........

During the week , I can only find time for about 20 minutes a day, on a rare day I can do 45, so Sundays I take advantage of the house to my self.

I actually started Friday, but officially start today

8 weeks of focused solo practice, as @Griff has said a few times (verbage may be slightly incorrect), 5 minutes of serious focused concentrated practice, is better than 45 minutes of messing around, or something like that.

one of the things I have really realized, I never utilized the jam tracks well, so I go to a jam, I know what to do, I am all ready, then the beat or rhythm changes and I get screwed up, and I am sitting here on about 100 jam tracks on my computer. This has really I think held me back, I know my chords, I know my boxes, i can do my slurs, and even slower legato licks, the missing piece is, I don't hear how to fit a lick in melodically, live, I have trouble fitting in what I play to sound right for the song. ( The solo to knocking on Heavens door in G, doesnt sound right payed over Talk to your daughter very well)

So today

1) warm up - entire Penatonic scale mastery book
2) Pentatonic boxes - 10 times each box, build up speed each time, from very deliberate slow, to hammer on speed building
3) 2 string at a time forward and backwards hitting all notes in the box (I.E. Aminor E string 5 to 8 to 10 to etc etc, then come backwards on the B)

45 minutes

Afternoon practice

1) classic rock speed builders
2) some of the easy solos courses

45 minutes

Evening practice

1) solo over jam tracks
2) work on solos from different songs (current one is the hawaii five o theme)


Sounds like a lot, but it really isnt, during the weekday, I break them up into smaller chunks.

 

[Bob630]

That’s seems to be a very comprehensive practice session. For me it’s quite simple BBG first licks and Sitting Easy Blues. I m sure things will get more detailed as I move n.

 

[sdbrit68]

That’s seems to be a very comprehensive practice session. For me it’s quite simple BBG first licks and Sitting Easy Blues. I m sure things will get more detailed as I move n.

For me I have too, I just dont have time during the week. Weekdays its more about some repetition and keeping my fingers going, sunday is when I have the time to learn new things and focus on skills. The short times during the week are a benefit.....................but damn I am ready to retire...lol

 

[Bob630]

For me I have too, I just dont have time during the week. Weekdays its more about some repetition and keeping my fingers going, sunday is when I have the time to learn new things and focus on skills. The short times during the week are a benefit.....................but damn I am ready to retire...lol

Retirement is a wonderful thing, I did it 3 times. The only problem is you can get very busy doing all the things you have always wanted to . It really becomes a matter of priorities.

 

[JohnHurley]

I am not yet retired but as my long distance competitive running/racing career is winding down try to get 15 up to 20 hours of practice in a week.

I always take one day off no guitar

But most work nights i can fit in 90 minutes maybe.

I think most of us know to get better we have to work in drills and scales along with a lot of fun stuff.

Playing along at full speed to Duane and EC and Peter Green fills in both practice and fun!

I mix in major and minor full scales also and some strumming songs ( Van Morrison Brown Eyed Girl etc ).

Gotta do Animals House of the Rising Sun 3 or 4 times a week its a beautiful song and great technique practice!

Sounds like you have a good thing going!

 

[Walt H]

Nice work SD!

I have a fair amt of free time so I generally work on geetar for 2+ hours per day. I am working on the AGBU course and am quite deep into it.

I have several things I do.

warm up is

Work on my boxes
Play through my blues songs 2x Currently have 6 that I own
play all the notes on the neck via the circle of 5ths (all the c's, g's, d's etc).

then I work on my current song or lick/ whatever I am trying to tackle.

 

[jmin]

Thanks for the inspiration - at least I practiced today! I think it’s good to have some sort of schedule/goal, to keep from too much noodling! (If there is such a thing...).

 

[sdbrit68]

I feel the same, but about 80's rock..........at 51, I am still stuck in the 80's, an

Nice work SD!

I have a fair amt of free time so I generally work on geetar for 2+ hours per day. I am working on the AGBU course and am quite deep into it.

I have several things I do.

warm up is

Work on my boxes
Play through my blues songs 2x Currently have 6 that I own
play all the notes on the neck via the circle of 5ths (all the c's, g's, d's etc).

then I work on my current song or lick/ whatever I am trying to tackle.

That is something I really need to work on, once I am in a box, I can find the target notes, but I dont really know where they are if you ask me to point to them, I have to find my reference point first

 

[sdbrit68]

Thanks for the inspiration - at least I practiced today! I think it’s good to have some sort of schedule/goal, to keep from too much noodling! (If there is such a thing...).

my goal, is always to be better for the next jam, so I look at the game tapes and see where I lacked at the previous one, and work on it for the next one

 

[Walt H]

I feel the same, but about 80's rock..........at 51, I am still stuck in the 80's, an


That is something I really need to work on, once I am in a box, I can find the target notes, but I dont really know where they are if you ask me to point to them, I have to find my reference point first

This came up in lesson 3 of ABGU. Griff emphasized how important it is to know the note names. I took it to heart. So I worked on it every day. It only takes a few minutes. Literally every time I picked up the guitar it was the first thing I did. I got dialed in after 2 weeks. Just commit to it...it is totally worth it my man!!!

 

[PatrickUnderwood]

I am a rank beginner (again) but this time I've been pretty steady since i started June 1. Trying to play at least a few minutes every day (that "minimum effective dose" thing) but so far have averaged around 4 to 5 days a week, still pretty good. Usually get two to four hours on the weekend. It goes by fast once I get started. I have this 4-finger walkup thing I think I got from Griff, and then I do this 10-minute workout thing from David Mead, and then it's either CGU or BBG (concentrating on BBG the last several days).

I am seriously ADD so keeping on something for two months is a big deal. Weirdly starting to feel like Griff is part of the family.

 

[JPsuff]

I've never been a big fan of regimented practice.

I have two basic rules about practice:

1. Practice when I'm really into it.
2. Stop practicing when I'm not.

I often go for days or even weeks without playing, but when I do play I'm totally focused on it and eager to learn new things.
Sure I may noodle from time to time while I'm watching TV, but when it comes to going upstairs and really sinking my teeth into something, I have to be psyched for it. And there ARE times when I may not feel that burn but I'll go ahead and flip on the amp and some pedals anyway and break out the backing tracks to see if I can get a fire lit and sometimes that really works out (which is why I give it a fair chance).
But more often than not, I need to "feel it" beforehand and if I don't, then that's that.

On those occasions when I'm really into it, I can go for hours and span a wide range of styles and genres and be totally on auto-pilot.
But then at some point the bubble bursts and I'm no longer in the zone and that's when I stop, I shut everything off and go do something else because to continue at that point would be forcing the issue and nothing good comes of that.

When I practice because I want to, I get so much more out of it than I ever would if I practiced on a set schedule.
To me it's basically a "Quality vs. Quantity" thing.

I learned that long ago back in my "golf junkie" days when I'd practice nearly every day and play all weekend.
But even with that kind of schedule, I'd practice with a club or a particular type of shot only until I "got it".
Then I'd hit two or three more to make sure and then move on to another club or another type of shot or just wrap it up for the day.

I learned that if I kept going for too long, I'd eventually start to embellish or otherwise change what I came to work on and too often that just devolved into poor results and I'd come away with more questions than answers.

Same thing with guitar.
Once I get to a point where I feel as if I'm either mailing it in or trying too hard (which may be minutes or hours), it's time to walk away because to continue would likely end in mediocrity and me focusing on how much I suck. But if I stop just as the "vibe" disappears (preferably just before), I come away with nothing but positive feelings and a big smile on my face for how awesome (to me) I sounded and THAT is the image I want in my head when I'm done because I can only build upon that the next time I play.

It's a lot easier to build on positivity than it is to build on "not sucking so much"

Cheers!

 

[JohnHurley]

Hey JP wow thats so different than me! Thanks for writing it up.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[sdbrit68]

@JPsuff for me, I would respectfully disagree, but I think it depends on what a persons goals are. For me, I love playing out with others, so, I need to have a structured practice

 

[JPsuff]

@JPsuff for me, I would respectfully disagree, but I think it depends on what a persons goals are. For me, I love playing out with others, so, I need to have a structured practice

Absolutely.

When I was in bands as a drummer, I had to learn tunes and be ready to go and in THAT case, I would practice quite a bit.

But just trying to drill things into my head for the sake of fulfilling some "to do" list is simply not my thing.

 

[sdbrit68]

Absolutely.

When I was in bands as a drummer, I had to learn tunes and be ready to go and in THAT case, I would practice quite a bit.

But just trying to drill things into my head for the sake of fulfilling some "to do" list is simply not my thing.

I love the challange

 

[Dr. Ron]

I don't always practice my guitar; but, when I do I need a structured practice.
Stay thirsty my friend.

 

[Jack]

I've been working on "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks / Fleetwood Mac. It's always been a minor favorite of mine and I went to the beer store a while back and it was playing on the radio - that darned song was stuck in my head for weeks afterwards So I guess I'm supposed to learn it lol.

I'm playing it on 12 string acoustic, fingerpicked. Haven't played much 12 string in the past so it takes some getting used to. The verse of the song is actually pretty easy, the chorus is an entirely different matter though. I really need to memorize it - I've got sheet music spanning the entire width of my desk and it's just kind of ridiculous.

 

[Jalapeno]

I've been working on "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks / Fleetwood Mac.

I learned that once it's such a good song. The guitar parts are classic Travis picking exercises, I don't remember which ones off the top of my, I think it starts with "pinch, outside, inside" pattern. Having spent a few months practicing Travis picking patterns I recognized it right away when I got the sheet music.


Eric

 

[sdbrit68]

I've been working on "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks / Fleetwood Mac. It's always been a minor favorite of mine and I went to the beer store a while back and it was playing on the radio - that darned song was stuck in my head for weeks afterwards So I guess I'm supposed to learn it lol.

I'm playing it on 12 string acoustic, fingerpicked. Haven't played much 12 string in the past so it takes some getting used to. The verse of the song is actually pretty easy, the chorus is an entirely different matter though. I really need to memorize it - I've got sheet music spanning the entire width of my desk and it's just kind of ridiculous.

nothing like going after something really intricate, and I thought it was tough learning rock n roll hoochie coo

Landslide is top of the chrts hard