Practice Routine

jgibb · April 22, 2012, 11:33:30 PM

So I've been stuck at the same level of mediocre guitar playing for the past 4 years. I have tried and tried to become better, but I just don't know what to do. Can you guys tell me some of your practice routines that have helped you improve? thanks! I appreciate it.

Heady Jam Fan · April 23, 2012, 11:20:18 AM

Check out the guitar lessons forum, start with the Levine Jazz Theory PDFs - depending on your current level, and the Dunbar book will also really open up some new ideas for almost anyone. I always thought macroanalysis was really helpful too - not only learning a song, but why things work in relation to music theory.

What kinda stuff are you doing / comfortable with? Where do you want to get?

fulltone1989 · April 23, 2012, 11:34:39 PM

I like to pick a Key a day as a warmup, and to set a metronome and just do 1/8th notes of all the modes and other scales.

jgibb · April 27, 2012, 05:43:14 PM

I don't know too much about music. I know the generic chords, power chords, the major scale, and the minor penatonic. that's about it. I want to be able to know any note on the guitar and what notes construct a chord, etc. Once I get that down, I want to be able to create solos that aren't so boring, lack of rhythm and slow as mine are now. I am very good at practicing and will do anything I can to succeed.

dabomb · April 27, 2012, 07:20:52 PM

My best advice is to take a lesson on good bending and vibrato. It makes all the difference

dabomb · April 27, 2012, 07:29:44 PM

I guess what Im saying is that more theory will not make you sound better.

Heady Jam Fan · April 28, 2012, 03:04:08 PM

Quote from: jgibb on April 27, 2012, 05:43:14 PM
I don't know too much about music. I know the generic chords, power chords, the major scale, and the minor penatonic. that's about it. I want to be able to know any note on the guitar and what notes construct a chord, etc. Once I get that down, I want to be able to create solos that aren't so boring, lack of rhythm and slow as mine are now. I am very good at practicing and will do anything I can to succeed.

If by generic chords you mean open or barre chords, that is a really good start - I know it might seem basic, but it is fundamental; learn those chords up and down the neck, using your index finger to 'bar' the notes where the open strings ring out at the neck. It really opens up the guitar, especially when you start combining that with the various scale shapes and paying attention to the arpeggios (the notes from each chord and how they map to each scale). So, for example, the open G-shape G chord (by fret starting in low E: 320003) can be play in C (G-shape C Chord: 875558).

manicstarseed · April 28, 2012, 03:27:15 PM

Quote from: jgibb on April 27, 2012, 05:43:14 PM
... I want to be able to know any note on the guitar and what notes construct a chord, etc.....

The CAGED system is a great tool for "unlocking" the fretboard. There are multiple resources out there. I used Bill Richards' Fretboard Logic for my go-to reference. The system identifies the repeating chord patterns up and down the fretboard. If nothing else, it really helps orient oneself to the notes (or chords/shapes) on the fretboard. Its more of a mapping system, not a music system and is unique to guitar.

Once I got some CAGED under my belt musical growth was enabled because I am now rarely lost. If you say play a scale/mode in a particular position, I can get there. The trick is to get there in an instant.

cactuskeeb · April 30, 2012, 11:29:28 PM

I prefer not thinking about or doing anything except playing for at least a few hours straight with no breaks. I try to focus completely on the playing and not do any practice runs, scale analysis, or think reflectively about theory while actually playing music. I'll just play the stuff I already know really well, and do so over and over, hearing and honing in on the tiny details of each musical passage. This is the only kind of practice behavior that ultimately allows me to transcend perceived "plateaus" in my playing.

jgibb · May 02, 2012, 05:46:25 PM

What do you play? Do you play a bunch of songs over and over? or do you jam over songs?

cactuskeeb · May 02, 2012, 08:01:37 PM

I used to jam over songs. Now I play my favorite parts of songs, continuously, with nothing else going on, loop- or song-wise, in the background. Eventually your comfort level with what you are playing kind of stabilizes and you start to hear more in the way of nuance in your playing, which is always sort of an eye-opening experience. At least, that's what happens to me. Also, it may help to plug straight into your amp, bypassing effects, and turn it up loud enough so that your amp is really cooking. That being said, you should add a little reverb if possible, unless your practice environment provides this effect naturally.

Happyorange27 · May 02, 2012, 09:37:27 PM

Cactus also lights a fatty so big that he hears all the effects in his mind.

fulltone1989 · May 03, 2012, 01:44:23 PM

...Theory does make you sound better, or at least like you know what you're doing.

dabomb · May 03, 2012, 08:28:56 PM

My point is that if you can't sound good playing pentatonic (which the original poster said he knew), you have to look at why. Working phrasing, bending, and vibrato may make more sense than trying to incorporate more theory in order to sound better.

I'm all for theory, but if you don't sound good with what you got I don't see the point of adding more vocabulary.

fulltone1989 · May 03, 2012, 09:09:11 PM

Quote from: dabomb on May 03, 2012, 08:28:56 PM
My point is that if you can't sound good playing pentatonic (which the original poster said he knew), you have to look at why. Working phrasing, bending, and vibrato may make more sense than trying to incorporate more theory in order to sound better.

I'm all for theory, but if you don't sound good with what you got I don't see the point of adding more vocabulary.

How would any of licks make sense if you didn't know how to apply them?