Intense Practice !

[roblee95]

Hey guys. The school year finishes this week for me, infact I had my final exam (music it happened to be :P), and my 2 month holidays are about to start. Next year I begin playing with the Young Con Jazz Ensemble (QLD conservatory), and really want to be well prepared for it. SO this holidays im going to be doing some intense practice, many hours, still considering an exact number, but it will be large considering i have no job, or anything else to kill the time. I've had a read through Steve Vai's 10 hour practice schedule, and i picked some good pointers, and it seems like a decent place to start.

So i was wondering if anyone had any tips on approaching a large practice schedule daily? I think what i will do is assign a full hour to work on different things such as chops, sight reading, ear training etc. Any suggestions?

And i was wondering if anyone had tips on mastering the theory side of things? Memorizing intervals and the like... What to write out every day? To get it all in my head?
I really am dedicated to put in the hard yards, i know where i want to be there, and I am going to get there no matter what. So i guess what im asking is what i really need to get around to, that i would usually just put off?
Sorry for the essay, i hope some people can help me out!

Thanks everyone!

[ksjazzguitar]

Hi,

I'm not going to get into "20 minutes of this, 30 minutes of that ..." I'm sure it's been covered many times. Ultimately you know what your weaknesses are and you should be able to tailor your own plan. I will give a few tips.

Try to break it up so you don't get bored. Play some music in there. Schedule in mini-breaks.

Don't blow out your hands. If you are not used to practicing 10 hours a day, then you will hurt yourself. I worked on a cruise ship for a while so I had lots of practice time. I started out practcing 6 hours a day, plus playing 2-5 hours a night. Well, after about a week and a half my hand shriveled up into a claw. Try to ease into it. You can help by taking those mini-breaks and working in some theory work away from the guitar. But if it starts to hurt back off. And if you get any numbness or tingling, Stop immediately!

Talk to your teachers - I'm sure they have some advice on what should be your focus.

And have realistic expectations. In one month, you're not going o rebuild your technique. But you can do some solid groundwork.

Good luck,
Peace,
Kevin

[Soco]

10 hours practice a day is WAY too much.
If are focused 4 hours is plenty. I highly recommend taking breaks-play 45 or 50 min, then take a 10 min break.
At least warm up for 10-15 min each day-playing through all the major scales, quarter notes with the metronome on 40 will work well.

[JohnW400]

I used to do 4 to 6 a day back in college. I used to sit in the kitchen after dinner and go to 12 or 2 depending on when my first class was the next day.

My family still kids me about it because all they ever heard were scales and drills etc etc etc.

[Dad3353]

Originally Posted by Soco

10 hours practice a day is WAY too much...

Good evening, roblee95...
This is true; heed it, please.
As said above, plenty of schedules posted elsewhere. Spend some time listening to music (not necessarily jazz...). Take a few walks, especially if it's fine. Breath. Try (not too hard...) to meet and chat with a few pretty girls (or handsome boys, if you're a girl, how could I tell..?). Certainly, do the work, but don't overdo the work. Enjoy yourself.
Hope this helps.

[bass2man]

All good advice.....

The only thing I would add is, if you don't do so already, try to RECORD what you are practicing...lay down some chords/BIAB and play what you are practicing.

Instant feedback...especially rhythm/swing/groove...and tone..You may surprise yourself for what sounds OK and what needs work...

maybe you are playing a little better than you think ( )..tough sometimes to really hear yourself when you are concentrating on new stuff to practice..

Just a thought..Have fun!!

[roblee95]

Wow guys, thanks for all the advice. 10 hours really is a long time, and i doubt i would really be able to put in that amount of time without resenting the instrument completely afterward. Ill remember to have fun, that is after all why we all play Not to mention health and etc, would hate to have to stop playing completely due to being ignorant about my practice.

Try (not too hard...) to meet and chat with a few pretty girls

ahaha that sounds like some mighty fine advice

And yes, i think i will be taking some breaks between short sessions, keep my levels of focus up. Without focus i guess all that time is a massive waste of my time.
And ill keep in mind the recording thing too thanks bass2man. Should be interesting to hear how i actually play when im no focused on all the scale shapes and stuff.

Thanks all!

[Hugh]

Just remember, many a promising guitarist has set themselves back months and even years by doing too much practicing, if fact, some even having had to give up altogether.
Depressing I know but worth taking heed of.
I used to find that when I played too much, I kinda lost that feeling and edge to my playing and it really just had a negative effect on my playing. When I was first playing guitar, I did'nt have the benefit of the info you get on sites such as this to guide me in the right and safe direction.
Your body will tell you when to back-off and go do something else for a bit.
You will benefit in the long run if you do as these last postings tell you.
Happy playing...Hugh.

[backliner]

Quality vs quantity.

I see nothing wrong with long hours of "burnishing in" licks into muscle memory, but that won't be intense.

I hate drill. I like working on a concept, then leaving the guitar handy so that every time I walk into that room I can pick it up and "re-remember" whatever I was working on.

I spent many hours of many evenings on the road in the seventies lying on my motel bed with the guitar: the TV was on but the sound was off, which gave my brain something to do while I burnished in licks. It didn't seem like drill because my mind could focus on something else (AFTER I had spent the time focusing on whatever was hard). So I didn't get board.

To this day, those pentatonic blues licks are IN THERE! I have no trouble playing what I hear in THAT genre!

Now tghat I'm a geezer my learning curve has gotten quite obtuse, and I have no where near the energy I had in my twenties. So I don't drill. I concentrate, then burnish.

It's not so much how long was the guitar in my hands today? It's, when was the last time the guitar was in my hands today? A lot of little 10 minute segments work better for me, then burnishing, than a four hour session when I'm too tired to concentrate.

[C.A.JO.]

3 hours of technique max...(physical).

then do all the ear training, sight reading, theoretic studies, improvising, and repertoire you can stay focused on (mental).

I've experimented with 6-hour sessions once, and they were composed of 3 hours of balanced technique practice, and 3 hours of all the rest. But when it comes down to it, I've found the max practice for me to stay focused and concentrated is 3 hrs total. But see how much you can handle, but if you get bored, it's better to back down the hours a bit, and find a slot in which you can maintain absolute focus all the way through.

Nowadays I'm lucky to have 30-60 min to practice per day!