Practice Routines?

Jon Nygren · From: Wisconsin, USA

Lately i've been thinking I need to develop a more effective, structured practice routine. I've been doing alot of transcibing, which is nice...but i've also caught myself getting distracted at times and devoting too much time to 'noodling'. IMO, it's probably time to structure my practice time a bit better- incorporate some exercises to improve my 'raw' skills like right and left hand technique.

Any suggestions from anyone who does this? Do you have a 'warm up' period, followed by some exercises and then working on songs? Any good exercises you can recommend?

David Soreff · From: North Las Vegas, NV

One good exercise that I find has helped me in learning and "navigating" is trying to learn melody and/or licks in two different octaves. One high and one lower. It takes you out of the comfort zone a bit and makes you really think things out...besides getting you acquainted better with the neck.

Twayn Williams · From: Portland, OR

There's nothing wrong with "noodling"! It's an important part of being able to improvise and should not be neglected.

OTOH, these are always good ideas:

1. Scales -- major, minor, dorian, mixolydian, major/minor pentatonic
2. Arpeggios -- major, minor, diminished, augmented, major 7th, dominant 7th, minor 7th
3. Melodies -- get a Real book and start learning the melodies, in 2 different octaves (as per the post by Dave Soreff)
4. Sight reading -- see #3 above
5. Right hand exercises -- Classical guitar technique books are littered with these
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Jon Nygren · From: Wisconsin, USA

AJ Azure · From: Massachusetts, USA * R.I.P.

Mark Mansueto · From: Michigan, USA

i agree with all of the above statements and I incorporate most but I still get in a rut at times. One thing I notice though is that when I'm forced to learn several new songs for a gig, especially songs that I normally wouldn't play, my skill level always seems to go up a notch.
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Tom Gray · From: Decatur, GA

Something I've been working on lately is phrasing like a singer. I download Ray Charles, Aretha or other great singers on iTunes and try to work with them several times a week. There's a lot to learn.
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Josh Cho · From: New York, NY (orig. Honolulu, HI)

Wanna raise your level of playing? Get out of your comfort zone at least once a week during practice. Try to transcribe and play something that just makes you go==="How the ______????? does HE DO THAT???

Sol Hoopii is great for me personally in this respect, but also trying to transcribe & execute non-steel melodies and solos is a great way to come up with completely new right and left hand techniques.

Here's an example of one such exploration I filmed for my website last winter :

http://www.steelguitarmojo.com/hotelc6lapsteelguitar.shtml
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Anthony Locke · From: Texas, USA

I usually start out with simple right hand exercises, really slow, with a metronome. When I can do them clean and with relative ease, I speed it up to the point where I start flubbing. Then I slow it down just short of flubbing speed, work till I can get it clean, then go back to the speed which is/was giving me difficulty, and do different right hand picking patterns with the metronome for about an hour, sometimes longer. Then I work on heads of tunes, and melodic phrases, and chord melody. This is what I've been doing for a while and it has seemed to help me, although i'm not where I want to be just yet. I have a sneeking suspicion that if and when I get there, there will be something else on the horizon for me to work on and the whole process will continue...

Steinar Gregertsen · From: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.

Lynn Oliver · From: Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.

I was taught to diagnose, isolate, and fix. Which means finding any problem area, isolate it to a short phrase that can be repeated, and work through it until you have it mastered.

One tip that I got from Chad Graves that surprised me by how much it helps: set a metronome to a very slow beat such as one beat per second; play one note per beat but exactly on the beat.

Try keeping a practice log.

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

I've discovered that unless I have a drum & Bugle Corps. trained DRUMMER.......with great big heavy sticks, I have a difficult time anymore, acquiring a good beat.

Without him shouting out with his LOUD CLICKS, I just can't even start a simple musical scale or whatever.

Things seem to get worse, the older one gets.

Edward Meisse · From: Santa Rosa, California, USA

I always learn my melodies not just in two different octaves but also in at least two different scale positions. [/b]
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Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

PETE GRANT – Steel Guitar Forum, 1999 – HOW TO PRACTICE
“Accuracy first. Take something you're trying to bring up to speed (or just get faster) and find the most comfortable tempo where you can play everything in that piece well. If there's a stumbling block, work it out; fix it. Then fan out the tempo: play it a little faster, then a little slower; then play it faster yet and slower yet. Continue that until your slow is very slow. The slow gives you the precision. It also gives you the opportunity to play LOUD with your fingers. This gives you a greater dynamic range. You need that. If you can pick loud, you can always pick softer. If you always pick soft, well...you can pick soft or softer. The technique really works, and it works faster that continually pushing your speed.
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Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

Some really great suggestions in this thread! One thing that really helped me when I was starting out, I realized I was "practicing" every thing I knew or could find to work on and not retaining so much. When I focused on very specific ideas, like ways to move from I to IV or V to I chords, then brought that into the gig and shoehorned it into every possible scenario, I started seeing a lot more tangible progress.

Mark Roeder · From: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Great ideas. I would echo the practice of learning slow and bringing up the speed. If you practice too fast you just teach yourself mistakes. I would add the practice of looking ahead to your next move before you finish the lick you're on. It will help in speed and accuracy.
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Bill Creller · From: Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)

I believe the big factor is practicing often. If a guitar is set-up to play by just turning on the amp, it helps save time fooling with cases, cords etc. A handy list of tunes you play can be helpful. Every time you play them you will improve your technique, and get a better handle on your tuning. When the fretboard and tuning get really familiar, you will find that you may sometimes play a tune differently, with the same notes of course, but a different approach. Switching keys is a great way to do that also, like mentioned above.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

I decide on a daily goal of practice time. Let's say 3 hours. Then I draw 6 circles each representing 30 minutes and cross them off as I get to them. Put whatever needs work into each circle. Lately I have been spending the first hour on intonation by playing very slowly along with drones.
If you are super busy have each circle represent 15 minutes and draw 12 of them. I sometimes write the goal for each circle next to it to keep myself on track.
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Jon Nygren · From: Wisconsin, USA

Great suggestions everyone!

Bob, thats exactly the kind of idea i'm looking for- sounds like a good way to structure practice time. Thanks for sharing that.

Eric Philippsen · From: Central Florida USA

Here's a common problem which keeps all of us from practicing...........and a solution that works wonders for me.

The problem is that one thinks that when they practice they should devote x-amount of time to doing that. I say to myself, "Oh, I should devote a half-hour, an hour, whatever, to practice, but I don't have that block of time RIGHT NOW so I can't. Maybe later. I promise."

But later doesn't come and a day slips by again without practice. And then another.

I now do this and, darn it, it works! First, I always have a steel set up and accessible, such that I never have to pull it out of it's case, plug it in, etc. It's already on a stand plugged in, sitting nearby, ready to be picked. All I have to do is sit down and go. THEN, and here's the important part, I tell myself this: "I'm only going to practice for 5 minutes." That's right. Five minutes. Not 10, not an hour. 5 minutes.

But what always happens is that I practice for MORE THAN 5 minutes. Sometimes a lot more. But I only promised myself 5 minutes. Works great.

Jim Mathis · From: Overland Park, Kansas, USA

Something that has been a big help to me has been to always, or almost always, practice with a drum machine. I bought a used Alesis SR-16 and since then my sense of time has improved dramatically.
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