How do you practice?

[Azrael]

Hey everyone. I'd like to know how you guys/girls practice from day to day. Do you have a special practice regime?
I'm currently working on the book "Speed mechanics for lead guiatar" by Troy Stetina. I think the book is really great and has alot of good exercises in it. I've said to myself " every day I'm gonna practice for an hour from this book".

So.....how do you practice?

[pawel]

I practice in the middle of the night suspended from the ceiling upside down...but only if there is full moon...

[Azrael]

Originally Posted by pawel

I practice in the middle of the night suspended from the ceiling upside down...but only if there is full moon...

Sounds good Have a special bondage that you use?

[pawel]

Goat intestines work pretty well...

[krizz]

Originally Posted by Azrael

Hey everyone. I'd like to know how you guys/girls practice from day to day. Do you have a special practice regime?
I'm currently working on the book "Speed mechanics for lead guiatar" by Troy Stetina. I think the book is really great and has alot of good exercises in it. I've said to myself " every day I'm gonna practice for an hour from this book".

So.....how do you practice?

I have the same book (I started out with 'Total Rock Guitar' but wanted more, Troy is a good teacher) but I'm so busy my practice regime is different from day to day. Once in two weeks I visit my guitar teacher to show what I've done and he shows me some new excercises, also I have to compose riffs and small solos for every lesson (works really fine).

[Viper-sfm]

I'm not the best example for thing, but in general for an 1 hour practice, I spend about 20 minutes doing simple 1-2-3-4 exercises and speeding up, and I also do the initial stuff on The Rock Discipline. After that, it's just improvising on modes and pentatonics, and playing a couple of songs from start to end. I also spend about 10 minutes on arpeggios, just to keep things clean

That's usually the time I have when i'm having classes at the university. Now that I'm on vacation that time extended so I've been trying to follow the Rock Discipline stuff more, and I also got the Eric Johnson Art of Guitar Videos that can give you some light on the stuff I also keep the two little lessons from Satriani, and the 10 hours workout from Vai around for reference and ideas

[Drew]

Badly. Why do you ask?

[Azrael]

I ask because I was wondering if I did the right thing to learn......still ain't good at playing the guitar although I play it alot......and I wish I was because there is so many stuff in my head that wants out but I can't play it. And it annoys me......ALOT.......

[Drew]

Well, a less flippant answer...

"Speed Mechanics" is a good source for working on your technique, but think while you're practicing- it's not a book of drills, it's a discourse on the physical process of playing guitar in the most efficient manner possible coupled with drills to help you build efficiency (NOT speed). For example, the first series of drills aren't really drills for improving your legato technique- I mean, they'll do that, but unless you're really focusing on keeping your fingers close to the fretboard at all times and fretting with the very tip of your finger (he doesn't specify, but it gives a cleaner release for hit-ons and poull-offs), you're robbing yourself of their true benefit. Likewise, with the three-note-per-string variations in that section, the idea isn't to practice playing triplet groupings; rather, the idea is to practice keeping a finger close to the strings even when it's completely, utterly at rest and not playing a single note in the exercise.

Also, take Troy's comment to heart- "What makes you think that if you practice a lick 100 times sloppily you'll magically get it cleanly on the 101st?" Start SLOWLY. I use a metronome program that allows you to have it adjust the tempo up or down every x period of time by a given increment, and I start it off at 60bpm moving up 1 bpm every 30 seconds. I can play MUCH faster than that (last night, I was doing a 1-3-5 pattern up and down the neck, and I went from 60 to 162 (meant to stop at 160, but then I followed the pattern all the way back down to the first fret and stopped then), and even then it wasn't that I couldn't follow the tempo, it's just that after 52 minutes, my hand was pretty tired. ), but you're looking for accuracy, not speed, and it's harder than you'd think to play perfectly accurately at slow tempos.

Ricky Garcia was the one who turned me onto that program, by the way- it's called YMetronome. Google it or something and see if you can find it, great free app.

finally, technique only counts for so much. Also spend some time jamming out over a few backing tracks. I recorded a bunch of my own- playing Satch or Vai solos over and over again over their backings will onl;y help you learn to play their songs. Get some backings that you DON'T have any preconceived melodic ideas over, and just wing something over the top, to work on your phrasing and improvisation. And do some transcribing on the side, too- maybe take on a few David Gilmour solos, or if you want to whip your bending into shape, try some Albert King (the guy can bend into a note ssix or eight tims in a row in a solo and make it sound different each time), idea being that this will help you solidify the relationship between the pitches you're hearing, and how you can get your guitar to make them.

How long have you been playing, by the way?

-D

[Wis Redz of Silvanost]

Truth be told, I no longer can practice as i was in the summer. because of the school i don't have the time to follow a practice plan. i usually play when i don't have any school-related affairs and i study new songs. Back in summer, i used to wake up at 4 am and follow 10-hour workout daily till 2 pm, then i'd go out to meet friends...

[Drew]

you're just making excuses for yourself, then- you don't need ten hours a day to practice. It's nice if you have it, but a daily 30-minute workout, rotating through different drills every few days, will have much more long-term impact than the occasional marathon 10-hour session (and take much less of a toll on your tendons, too).

You'd be amazed what you can do with just 30 minutes a day.

-Drew

[jemsite]

LOL. 10 minutes of humming melodies in your head is 100x more useful than a "10-hour workout". ...glene

[Adagio_777]

Haha.

[Azrael]

Originally Posted by Drew

Well, a less flippant answer...

"Speed Mechanics" is a good source for working on your technique, but think while you're practicing- it's not a book of drills, it's a discourse on the physical process of playing guitar in the most efficient manner possible coupled with drills to help you build efficiency (NOT speed). For example, the first series of drills aren't really drills for improving your legato technique- I mean, they'll do that, but unless you're really focusing on keeping your fingers close to the fretboard at all times and fretting with the very tip of your finger (he doesn't specify, but it gives a cleaner release for hit-ons and poull-offs), you're robbing yourself of their true benefit. Likewise, with the three-note-per-string variations in that section, the idea isn't to practice playing triplet groupings; rather, the idea is to practice keeping a finger close to the strings even when it's completely, utterly at rest and not playing a single note in the exercise.

Also, take Troy's comment to heart- "What makes you think that if you practice a lick 100 times sloppily you'll magically get it cleanly on the 101st?" Start SLOWLY. I use a metronome program that allows you to have it adjust the tempo up or down every x period of time by a given increment, and I start it off at 60bpm moving up 1 bpm every 30 seconds. I can play MUCH faster than that (last night, I was doing a 1-3-5 pattern up and down the neck, and I went from 60 to 162 (meant to stop at 160, but then I followed the pattern all the way back down to the first fret and stopped then), and even then it wasn't that I couldn't follow the tempo, it's just that after 52 minutes, my hand was pretty tired. ), but you're looking for accuracy, not speed, and it's harder than you'd think to play perfectly accurately at slow tempos.

Ricky Garcia was the one who turned me onto that program, by the way- it's called YMetronome. Google it or something and see if you can find it, great free app.

finally, technique only counts for so much. Also spend some time jamming out over a few backing tracks. I recorded a bunch of my own- playing Satch or Vai solos over and over again over their backings will onl;y help you learn to play their songs. Get some backings that you DON'T have any preconceived melodic ideas over, and just wing something over the top, to work on your phrasing and improvisation. And do some transcribing on the side, too- maybe take on a few David Gilmour solos, or if you want to whip your bending into shape, try some Albert King (the guy can bend into a note ssix or eight tims in a row in a solo and make it sound different each time), idea being that this will help you solidify the relationship between the pitches you're hearing, and how you can get your guitar to make them.

How long have you been playing, by the way?

-D

Thanks ALOT......I'm going to make sure from now on that I'll keep my fingers close to the fretboard at all times. Also I'll start to practice alot slower then I do now. I'm going to check out that program by the way....

I hear so much stuff in my head but it can't come out. In my head it sounds great but on the guitar I can't express it for some reason. I think it is my lack of clean technic that is my problem. I don't play fluidly enough and I don't play clean enough. I miss some emotion (well , in my fingers then)

At the moment it kind of sickens me......wish I could play better.....I'd love it...

By the way. It's not speed I'm looking for. I'm looking for a very clean playing style. Speed will come ofcourse but it's not my main goal. My main goal is being able to play everything that gets in my head and wants to get out.
I love how Steve Vai plays.....every note sounds so connected.....I do not always like his music but when he plays slow it sounds so fluidly and full of emotion. Love it...

I'm playing guitar for 2 years now. And I'm still far from good and know people that play for 1 year and play better (although they kinda lock themselves up in their rooms to play for a very long time ) but still......I want to progress faster.

[ibanezlover]

Here is one exercise that i do for warming up everytime i pick up the guitar. Its called the 6 minute trill exercise. You are trilling(hammering/pulling off) using your 4 fingers on the 1st four frets. Start with you 1st finger on the first fret and your pinky on the fourth fret. Trill for 1 minute with your pinky. Keep your hand as relaxed as possible. Also don't go too fast, it can get tough at the end. Once the first minute is up, switch to using your 1st finger and your ring finger. Then use your 1st finger and your index finger. Then keep your 1st finger and index finger down and trill with your pinky. Then with 1st and index finger down, trill with your ring finger. Then here is the toughest one to do at the end. Trill with your pinky on the fourth fret with your 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers down. Do this every day and you'll get results.