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17K views 112 replies 39 participants last post by  King Nothing 
#1 ·
Is there anyplace I can find this coveted workout?  I don't know where it originally came from.  Was it in a magazine?
 
#102 ·
Mylo said:
Hmmm is this kinda 10 hour thing beneficiary? As in, not doing JUST 10 hours on technique, but like, learning scales, ear training, technique, chord finding for 10 hours a day? I'm on half term atm for 2 weeks, with sod all to do during the day, so I'm thinking some sort of intensive course might be what I need. I'd appreciate any feedback from people who've done similar things (not just Vai's 10 hour workout) and any good/bad points from their experience.

Thanks people!

~M
as the saying goes mate.... "make hay while the sun shines"
go for it, do as many exercises as you can before the mind numbing boredom of it overwhelmes you :p

seriously though, im slowly working my way through the exercises and for me it makes my fingers do stuff that is a little out of the ordinary, I can feel the exercises re-adjusting my mind to deal with stuff that I wouldnt normally do.
it can only be a good thing !!! :D
 
#105 · (Edited)
OK, time to throw in my 2 cents worth on this subject. Although I surely do not have Mr. Vai's technical prowess (does anyone really??) I do have to respectfully disagree about this type of approach.

Point 1) I order to cultivate and nurture your musical development, you must LISTEN. Whatever style or genre of music, it's importent to absorb as much time as possible to listen to others that have mastered your particular style. Eric Johnson discusses this on one of his videos. (So you can build your own "amalgamation" of techniques from different sources and incorporate them into your own unique pallet that IS your style) I'm not saying copy!!! There will only be ONE Van Halen, Vaughn, Satriani, Vai, Matheny, (etc), but there's much to be learned from these masters. This should all be incorporated into the learning process.

Point 2) Instead of spending 10 hours a day, why not incorporate the idea of "Economical Training"? i.e - practicing 2 or 3 of these topics at ONCE! You can learn scales AT THE SAME TIME you are practicing linear patterns for technique. The same goes for improvising and so forth.

I'm completing my own instructional course and it is based upon this mentality of "Economical Training". The bottom line is that if you look at your development holistically and incorporate several components of what you're learning, you will do it much faster than the parts taken separately.

This concept will reduce the time needed to develop and it will also reduce the risk of these 10 hour sessions.



Anxious for feedback!!!

CHEERS
 
#106 ·
Mylo said:
Hey whatisshredding - you're local! Blimey, I thought I was one of the only Suffolkers on here!

Definately gonna give it a go - drawn up a timetable, now I just gotta motivate myself to get up at 8am - a challenge for a student like me!!! ;)

~M
Yea, I went from Essex to Cambridge, sort of skipping over Sufflok, but Im looking to move to the Sudbury area.....so...

JVal4 has some interesting stuff to say but I think playing is a "little" bit like publicity... i.e: theres no such thing as bad publicity
as long as you ARE playing then WTF... its all good especially if you are playing things that you find challenging.
dont relax and play the same easy stuff that you already know, once you nailed a piece, learn someting thats challenging. GLHF

JVal4 - is your instructional course going to be available?
or is it available to your students only etc;
only ive just returned to playing after a 6 (or so) year break playing rugby.
and id love to see it! anything that could add to my discipline would be great and personally.. yes, in essence I think that you are right, concentrating your learning is a good thing as long as you leave time for that learning to amalgamate itself into your playing.
 
#107 ·
Hey "Whatisshredding', I also took a 6 year hiatus as I was in Germany playing Soccer (Fussball). (I know, Americans and Football- BAD mix,,,,lol)

Anyway, I started up again about a year and a half ago and got my hands on every instructional book and video I could find. Most of them weren't worth the media used to print/ tape them. I started creating my system really out of necessity more than anything. In the late 80's, I could play most anything by the 'Big Hair Bands' (gotta' luv 'em) and after 18 months, I'm far better than I was back then.

Currently, I'm writing/ recording in my home studio and hoping to release a CD late summer. My instructional course will go for final edit the first week of May and will be published soon afterwards. I've been using this method with my students and I have been floored with their progress in a relatively short period.

Drop me an PM and I'll send you some specific info when it's available.


CHEERS,
Jason
 
#108 ·
lol, fussball..... yes, I know the yanks have crazy ideas about round balls...
OK, not wanting to hijack this thread I wil PM now.
Im just soaking up everything that I can get my hands on (as long as I can afford it)
TBH im easly distracted and have precious little theory behind me.

but I do play until my fingers bleed/ache or I fall asleep.

but thats what having two kids does to ya !

J.
 
#109 ·
My addvice to all the bro's here is just play what you can when you can, & play all the styles of music you can find, if you get stuck on one style of music you will be as good as that style will let you be so don't limit your opptions to one style of music, you will find more joy in playing something you never did before & applying it to your own ways, all I can say is there are alot of top gun players around the world & if you wan't to be one of them big name's mentioned here in these posts then brake the mold & start doing something diffrent with your music be your self not some body who you like & if it's any good i would buy it when you release it out on the market.

Cheers- Jake.
 
#110 ·
to start; no i haven't read this whole thread, so sorry if im repeating something.

you have to remember why you are playing guitar; most likely because you enjoy it (if you do it solely for women, you're pathetic). for someone that generally plays about 2 hours a day, jumping to 10 hours right away is ridiculous. i agree with what steve vai recommends, in terms of what things to focus on, but start out just doing each idea for only 10 minutes a day. once you get in the habit of that, move everything up 5 more minutes.
the amount of time you spend practicing one lick doesnt equate to how good you will sound. for example, if you play lick A for 10 minutes, that should be it. stop. if you try the same lick for 1 hour, your not doing yourself any good. once you lose focus and your mind starts to drift, back off a bit.

the whole thing is, as long as youre practicing, thats all that matters, dont worry about how long you "must" spend on one idea. keep it fun, not tedious.
 
#111 ·
Another great point there vette6600. BUT, remember that some that play are driven become the absolute best that they can be. This motivates them (or should I say US) to put in as much time as possible to become one with the instrument. We can all have different ways to enjoy this beautiful instrument. There are casual players, moderate players/ songwriters, and then those who have this inner drive to "master" the guitar. Everyone has a different level at which they enjoy playing!

IMHO, 10 hours is a bit much and I think you can become quite proficient with less time by having a more directed structure in HOW you practice.


JV
 
#112 ·
JVal4 said:
Another great point there vette6600. BUT, remember that some that play are driven become the absolute best that they can be. This motivates them (or should I say US) to put in as much time as possible to become one with the instrument. We can all have different ways to enjoy this beautiful instrument. There are casual players, moderate players/ songwriters, and then those who have this inner drive to "master" the guitar. Everyone has a different level at which they enjoy playing!

IMHO, 10 hours is a bit much and I think you can become quite proficient with less time by having a more directed structure in HOW you practice.

JV
i agree, i think what im trying to say is that you shouldn't do 10 hours because steve vai does, you should practice as much as you can until you stop enjoying it. going from 2 hours a day to 10 hours is nonsense, because you're probably forcing yourself to play by that 4th or 5th hour. but, if you have that drive and enjoy that feeling of an intense schedule, im not saying 10 hours is too much.

a key point is what you said in your last sentence. i know a few people that have put in some ridiculous hours and they are great shredders, but they only practiced their speed excercises and thrash songs. not really a well-rounded player when it comes right down to it, as much as i respect their technical ability. if you actually do touch on reading, notation, harmony, etc, as well as all those chops builders, you can cover quite a bit of ground if you do that every day (regardless of how much time you put in). if you read for only 10 minutes today, you're already better than you were yesterday.

i think many people have too much urgency when it comes to learning to read (or any other technique/idea/etc. thats new to them), and it gets frustrating when you can play through satriani's catalog, but you're still reading "marry had a little lamb." its easy to get frustrated with it, and go back to something thats in your comfort zone. but just keep at it, and then look back in a week or two, and see how you've improved. if you expect to master reading in a month's time, forget about it. just think about how long it took you to become proficient at what you are best at, it will require that same amount of practice to become proficient with something that is new to you.

so i might have rambled there :) , but hopefully someone will get something out of this.
 
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