Off Topic: Out of shape :)

[tommyindelaware]

how well you practice is just as important as how much you practice. i'm trying to teach my son that practicing must very much include working on things you suck at. he cant stand to listen to himself suck for long at all so he switches to something fun cause he already can do it...........then he wonders why he isnt advancing fast enough.he got it honest. haha. but this concept of working on things you think you cant do and finding that you actually are capable of alot more than you thought is VERY motivating once you have a little success w/ it . go analyze your weak spots and get to work. it can easily become a great PART of your life.

[Matt Gillis]

Since I'm going to school for music at the moment, my time (and the school's facilities) allow me to practice a fair bit, and prevent it from being too redundant. Even then though, I can practice upwards of 8 hours on a typical day (sometimes more if I'm REALLY into it), or I can just get by with "practicing" for an hour or less to keep my chops in place. Personally, I think a dynamic schedule is the most effective, since you are achieving your goals while maintaining the attitude that you want to practice.

Going to school has taught more than just a mundane routine though (even though those mundane routines ARE useful), but I've learned that getting better is often synonymous with the more extraneous traits of music, such as being in the right mindset, or being around other musicians that push you to get better. I've also been fortunate enough to attend a lot of workshops where you here really accomplished musicians talk about various practice routines that are successful. Without writing a book, here's a few ideas that I've found useful:

1) Technical practice is easy, because you are just developing your hands (or your body, as it was drummer that was talking about this), and while it can difficult to progress, you at least know what to do to get better. Practicing creativity is a little harder because it's more intangible, and it changes from person to person. The cool thing about practicing creativity though, is that you don't even need your instrument to do it. You can just write down some musical figures and play them later (if you can read and write music), since you aren't relying on technique to write your songs for you. Anyway, there are tonnes of ideas that I won't list, but just be creative about thinking about them, and you'll get the idea of it.

2) I once heard a clinician say that practicing is "being able to articulate exactly what you are achieving". What he meant by this, was that if at the end of your practice session you can't confidently say you got better at something, and what you got better at, then you likely weren't practicing--you were playing. It's okay to play obviously, but in order to practice efficiently you should establish weekly goals that you want to tackle. He also noted that 45 minutes of efficient practice can often be better than 3 hours of playing, since you are addressing technical and creative challenges directly, not indirectly.

3) You should always have a tuner, metronome, a clock/stopwatch and a practice schedule and a pencil. When making a schedule, you likely would want to include the following: warm-up of some sort. Something you want to get better at. Another something you want to get better at. Breaks at least every 20-30 minutes. Time to actually play/sing/release whatever you are feeling. Stretching/body work.

When you're making a schedule, you shouldn't get lazy, so don't just write "warm up". Write something more akin to "warm up, 8th note triplets on open strings, 2 minutes for each string, 8th note=80. Count 1&a2&a3&a4&a. Watch posture. Both arms relaxed/released, listen for attack and consistency".

The same theory applies to learning songs. Don't simply write "learn Bach invention #8" or "learn Dream Theater's Under a glass moon". Get more specific, such as "read melody at quarter note=52. Careful articulation, play 2x's. Watch tension in my neck". For scales it might look like this: "Pick three scales between D major and Ab major. Two octaves as eighth notes, quarter note=104. 3x's each, breath through each scale carefully".

It sounds daunting sometimes, but the idea is to make the schedule BEFORE you practice, so that way you are worry free, and you get rid of all of the stresses of your life in the warm up. It's just as important to warm up mentally to prepare your mind to learn as it is to warm up physically. The mundane warm up should be used to calm you so you can forget about the person that yelled at you that day, or whatever the problem may be. Also remember that the schedule is flexible, so don't get caught up in something like "damn, I can't play 16th notes at 126, I suck". Instead, bump the metronome down until you CAN play them clearly and evenly. By doing this (and writing it down), it also shows where you are at, that way you can actually see your progress technically. Another thought to ponder is that, instead of approaching your instrument as "I suck, but I'll get better. Then I'll get a little better, then I'll be great some day", approach it more like "I can't play 16th notes at 126, but I CAN play 16th notes at 112, with each note sounding clear, even and great" The idea is that a) it's an emotional boost, but b) by adjusting your concept of greatness, you're more likely to progress, as you're more focused on yourself, and not the amazing feats of your idols.

I guess what I'll say finally, is that it's also okay to have more or less structure than what is listed here. Personally, I like a little more freedom in my practices, and keeping journals can be a bit much for me at EVERY practice. For others I know, they write in even MORE detail than what I've written here, simply because they think they need the structure. It's ultimately up to you to be honest with yourself and figure out how much structure you need to get better.

And at the end of the day, if your in a rut technically or creatively, it's sometimes best just to play along to some EASY songs. And I don't mean "Far beyond the sun is pretty easy, I'll play that!", I mean some really simple things that get your mind and body back into shape, such as a chordal song you already know, etc. something that is way below your level so that you can focus on details like pick attack and perfect timing (slow songs are often harder than fast ones in that regard). Instead of going for the highest BPM mark right away, focus on making everything sound the best you can that day, in that moment, and the speed will come back when it's ready. And don't stress yourself out bout having an 8 hour practice a day--sometimes it'll happen, sometimes it won't. I know I sure as hell won't practice for more than 30 minutes if I don't feel like practicing. 4 distinct practices of 15-20 minutes piece, strewn throughout the day can be more effective than the same time played all at once. It's mostly because your approaching things with a different mindset after you've had time to think, and your mind has time to rest in between breaks. I'm sure most of us could have a 15 minute practice while we are waiting for our coffee to be made in the morning, or before going to work/school, etc. Don't waste your time, but instead use it effectively to achieve your goals and make yourself feel better about your life. Music is meant to enjoy after all, so you shouldn't stress out too much about it.

Sorry for the book Hope it helps in some way or another!

[Jonny Dubai]

wow. Thanks.


J

[Smellybum]

I get 20 minutes a day if I'm lucky, a metronome or play along with 3 tracks from a CD..... I have mixcraft 4 and use the loops on that,

this all probably explains why I suck as a player!

JD - I've heard you fella, you're on your game.

[azazael]

I get 20 minutes a day if I'm lucky, a metronome or play along with 3 tracks from a CD..... I have mixcraft 4 and use the loops on that,

this all probably explains why I suck as a player!

JD - I've heard you fella, you're on your game.

Well if you want total honesty.
You are total hindered by the fact that you seem to refuse to learn to alternate pick. I am not being mean I am trying to be truly helpful here.
You will progress leaps and bounds in no time at all as soon as you sit down and force yourself to alt pick.

[Jonny Dubai]

Cheers.

[tommyindelaware]

Vinnie Moore told me strict alternate picking is too hard.......

[Sweat]

how well you practice is just as important as how much you practice. i'm trying to teach my son that practicing must very much include working on things you suck at. he cant stand to listen to himself suck for long at all so he switches to something fun cause he already can do it...........then he wonders why he isnt advancing fast enough.he got it honest. haha. but this concept of working on things you think you cant do and finding that you actually are capable of alot more than you thought is VERY motivating once you have a little success w/ it . go analyze your weak spots and get to work. it can easily become a great PART of your life.

Wow sounds like me, but i am almost 50 Those are the reasons I am now taking lessons with a quality instructor

[bkrumme]

how well you practice is just as important as how much you practice. i'm trying to teach my son that practicing must very much include working on things you suck at. he cant stand to listen to himself suck for long at all so he switches to something fun cause he already can do it...........then he wonders why he isnt advancing fast enough.he got it honest. haha. but this concept of working on things you think you cant do and finding that you actually are capable of alot more than you thought is VERY motivating once you have a little success w/ it . go analyze your weak spots and get to work. it can easily become a great PART of your life.

Good advice here. Thanks, Tommy!

[agt]

Since I'm going to school for music ...

Sorry for the book Hope it helps in some way or another!

Great post, Matt. Very good advice. Thanks!

[edrod]

I like to warm up for around half an hour. This makes a big difference for me. Also being relax and stretching helps me as well. I'll do a couple of chromatic runs and picked arpeggios.

[ProtoChicken]

so did gambale and yngwie

Joe Stump too. Strangely both Yngwie and Stump use economy picking when ascending and strict alternate when descending.

As Troy Grady's hi speed/ slo-mo camera made clear, there are a lot of guys who think they are picking one way, when in reality they are doing something totally different at high speeds.

[D.K.]

You can go around alternate picking, You can sweep pick and legato it to death. And still - just listen to Steve for alternate picking. Many of those things can't be done without it, and I'm not even talking acoustic or classicla playing, where You have to do it the hard way...

[jamminjim]

this all probably explains why I suck as a player!

That and that kilt.... LOL

[Smellybum]

Well if you want total honesty.
You are total hindered by the fact that you seem to refuse to learn to alternate pick. I am not being mean I am trying to be truly helpful here.
You will progress leaps and bounds in no time at all as soon as you sit down and force yourself to alt pick.

I can't do the box step either, and I wheeze when I run fast....