[DaGeek]

Alright, this is pretty pathetic to have to admit to after seven years of playing, but I honestly don't know how to practice my guitar effectively. Hearing some recordings of myself the other day made me realize how boring/unoriginal/same ol' same ol' I sound, and I want to get better. I want to be able to play fast licks well, and I want to practice improv and get better at it. Plus, I am really sloppy right now, and that's just not what I want.

The problem is, I don't have a ton of time with which to do so, so I want to maximize my time. If I can only practice a few times per week for, say, maybe an hour, how can I utilize that time effectively? Ideas/help?

[jeepnstein]

Metronome and a book of scales. An hour a day will do the trick.

[DaGeek]

Originally Posted by jeepnstein

Metronome and a book of scales. An hour a day will do the trick.

Looks like I've already got all of the required apparatus for this method! Simple/cheap isn't a bad option!

[1/2-Fast Player]

Not that I'm making any great progress myself, but one thing that has helped me is having a dedicated practice spot. My music stand is always there holding whatever I'm working on, an electric and an acoustic are sitting on stands, my practice amp is there, I have a tuner and metronome and picks close at hand, and there's a small stereo with CD and mp3 players. I don't lose any time setting up, and whenever I have a spare 10 or 15 minutes I can flip a couple of switches and run through a song or a riff or whatever.

For me, the feasibility of snatching a few quick minutes here and there is a great enabler. Waiting for my wife to get dressed to go out? Grab the guitar. Fifteen minutes to wait until dinner? Grab the guitar. Whatever. It adds up, and I probably get an extra couple of hours of practice this way every week.

Also, this book was somewhat helpful, though it's from the perspective of a classical pianist:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Practicing.../dp/0609801775

[Rainer.]

You know how you freaked out hearing yourself on a recording?

Keep recording yourself.

Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder

[WideAwake]

Spend at least some time practicing standing up, especially if you play live. You lose a level of comfort from sitting down, I find it helps me. I've had too many 'wow that lick/riff/run/whatever was so much easier on the couch' moments. I usually try to practice everything standing up, but I of course noodle and practice on the couch too.

[gtrdave]

This popped up on Facebook yesterday...

Gibson's Skills House: Foundation Lesson - Tips on How to Practice

[DaGeek]

Originally Posted by 1/2-Fast Player

Not that I'm making any great progress myself, but one thing that has helped me is having a dedicated practice spot. My music stand is always there holding whatever I'm working on, an electric and an acoustic are sitting on stands, my practice amp is there, I have a tuner and metronome and picks close at hand, and there's a small stereo with CD and mp3 players. I don't lose any time setting up, and whenever I have a spare 10 or 15 minutes I can flip a couple of switches and run through a song or a riff or whatever.

For me, the feasibility of snatching a few quick minutes here and there is a great enabler. Waiting for my wife to get dressed to go out? Grab the guitar. Fifteen minutes to wait until dinner? Grab the guitar. Whatever. It adds up, and I probably get an extra couple of hours of practice this way every week.

Also, this book was somewhat helpful, though it's from the perspective of a classical pianist:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Practicing.../dp/0609801775

That is a really good idea. I'm going to do that this afternoon. I have a general music area, but nothing's well-established. That'll change. Having my guitar out would be a great move.

Will check out that book, too, thanks!

Originally Posted by Rainer.

You know how you freaked out hearing yourself on a recording?

Keep recording yourself.

Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder

Paiiiinnnnnn... But yeah. I recorded myself the other week singing and playing a song I wrote recently, and I was actually much happier with the vocals than my lead work. That's a first... But it was enlightening. Now, obviously I don't want to record every practice session, but I'm thinking I'll make a recording every week or few weeks to compare. Thoughts?

Originally Posted by WideAwake

Spend at least some time practicing standing up, especially if you play live. You lose a level of comfort from sitting down, I find it helps me. I've had too many 'wow that lick/riff/run/whatever was so much easier on the couch' moments. I usually try to practice everything standing up, but I of course noodle and practice on the couch too.

Yeah, I rarely ever play or practice sitting down. I just can't get the same energy sitting down *shrug*. It's just more fun standing up, anyway .

Originally Posted by gtrdave

This popped up on Facebook yesterday...

Gibson's Skills House: Foundation Lesson - Tips on How to Practice

Thanks! I watched it and will try his method in practice for a little while to see how well it goes.


Got some time this afternoon, so I'm going to start today. I've been looking forward to this all week! Going to spend a good bit of time adjusting my tone, too. I'm not satisfied with it right now. Time to toy around with some different settings.

[DaGeek]

Practice went great today. I actually took time to warm up and stretch out at the start, and that just helped tremendously. I whipped out the ol' metronome and started doing chromatic scales and triplets to it, and I remembered that I'm not great at that yet . I'm going to focus my energy on building up my speed in triplets and quadruplets while keeping it clean, because that's what's holding me back from playing some of my favorite solos. It's great to jump into practicing. After I practiced about half an hour, I pulled out music I need to practice for Sunday, and then I spent a while just jamming out to Brad Paisley's "Welcome to the Future." I even found a tone I'm lovin'!

Mmmmmmm, methinks I'm in love with my guitar again .

[chad.clifford7]

Originally Posted by DaGeek

Practice went great today. I actually took time to warm up and stretch out at the start, and that just helped tremendously. I whipped out the ol' metronome and started doing chromatic scales and triplets to it, and I remembered that I'm not great at that yet . I'm going to focus my energy on building up my speed in triplets and quadruplets while keeping it clean, because that's what's holding me back from playing some of my favorite solos. It's great to jump into practicing. After I practiced about half an hour, I pulled out music I need to practice for Sunday, and then I spent a while just jamming out to Brad Paisley's "Welcome to the Future." I even found a tone I'm lovin'!

Mmmmmmm, methinks I'm in love with my guitar again .

After playing for 11 years, I took my first guitar lesson yesterday. I definitely know how you feel. I got to the point of boredom. The teacher I found (at my local music shop) knows where I was coming from and has set up a lesson plan to expand my ability and creativity. Starting out with scales. Alot of folks seem to think scales are boring. Not knowing anything about them before yesterday, I think they are great. I must be weird sitting on the couch watching the games and picking scales and actually enjoying it. I see it taking my playing to another level and that brings excitement.

A majority of the material I play throughout the week is the PW stuff for the next service. I've never got the feeling I cannot do better on any given song so each time I practice them, I try to do better each time, even adding new little nuances each time. Being a fan of Dave Matthews, I also mess around with his stuff as well which brings its own level of frustration and gratification equally.

Congratulations on your newfound love once again.

[martinedwards]

I just got audacity working again and have been having a LOT of fun with it.

I've been a strummer for nearly 30 years, but I'm finaly learning some lead chops.

I've downloaded a drum loop, added some rhythm tracks and its a great opportunity to solo.

(and find out what my Variax and POD XTlive and really do!)

[jlynnb1]

practice stuff that you struggle with. a lot of people "practice" by simply doing what they know over and over. challenge yourself both technically and creatively. Also, always leave time to just have fun. it will wear you down quick if you aren't enjoying yourself at all.

[chad.clifford7]

Originally Posted by martinedwards

I just got audacity working again and have been having a LOT of fun with it.

I've been a strummer for nearly 30 years, but I'm finaly learning some lead chops.

I've downloaded a drum loop, added some rhythm tracks and its a great opportunity to solo.

(and find out what my Variax and POD XTlive and really do!)

Do you have links handy for drum/rhythm tracks you import into Audacity? I know I could probably find them via google but if you have an inside track on what you know works, that would be great!

[FwuffyBunny]

Since this thread isn't quite a month old, I figure I'll bump it a bit with some advice.

I've been teaching guitar for maybe six years now and have seen this come up a lot over the years with students who try to practice and either lose patience or they bust their butts only to find that they just aren't making progress. Here is what I tend to tell/give them to get those guys moving along again.

First thing is first: Do not practice mistakes. A lot of guys will try and play something over and over and over thinking that time is the most important thing. Instead, it is QUALITY time. When playing scales, if you make a mistake, start the whole scale over. Lead runs? Start the entire passage over. Learn perfection and you will play perfection.

Secondly, get into some theory. Some of these guys have partially got it right in that scales are an awesome way to start. But you kinda need to know where to start and where to go afterwards.

I would suggest this order: Pentatonics and all patterns -> major scales and all modes -> harmonic minors and modes -> melodic minors and modes -> exotic scales

The hard part with this is that so many people get caught up in trying to take more than they can cope with at once. Don't try to learn all the modes of the major scale in a week. It just won't happen. Once you have gotten the major scales down, start learning some chord theory. Learn why a 7 is different from a maj7 or a m7. Learn why an add9 is different from a 9 and how to build each one. Then learn how to use them. Once that is out of the way, approach arpeggios and start working on finding unique ways to play and apply them.

Often times, guitarists hear something and say, "MAN! I wanna do that!" but don't realize that you ultimately play what you listen to. Start digging into some high end virtuoso playing (Vai, Satriani, Becker, etc) and working on learning some of their music and techniques. I recently just finished learning Altitudes by Jason Becker and it has brought me to another level of technicality in my playing. It is, however, important to know that technique is just that. It helps with playing the instrument, but not actually PLAYING it if that makes sense.

Finally, pick the brains of guitarists who are better than you and play with them when you can. Most guitarists are often glad to talk about music and give out tips to other guys. I've gotten great sweep tapping tips from the lead player of Mutiny Within, practice ideas from Steve Vai and pieces to work on to improve chops from The Great Kat. You would be surprised how many people respond to e-mail or will talk during autograph signings. But heck, even the local players around town will probably have ideas for you.

Books to use for reference and learning: The Guitar Grimore (both chords and scales books) by Adam Kadman, Chord Chemistry by Ted Greene and Complete Course in Jazz Guitar volume 1 by Mickey Baker.