-
I performed solo guitar for two hours last Saturday and it went very well. The positive audience response makes me want to continue and improve my solo playing.
But I find it difficult to organize my practicing and set lists for maximum progress. Some questions for the solo guitarists:
1) How many tunes do you try to keep well-practiced and current at once? 10, 20, 50, 100, or - ?
2) Assuming I have, say, two to three hours a day I can practice: should I focus on one tune for the full practice time, or go up and down a list of 20 or more tunes, working on each one for a short time? Obviously there is little need to work on tunes I know well.
3) Do you keep a journal or record of your practices, day by day? In what form: paper, computer spreadsheet, or - ?
I find these questions to be at least as difficult as music playing itself! I've played for many years but always had trouble with organization. Thanks for any replies.
-
-
Are you playing set arrangements, improvised or somewhere in between?
Each approach will likely engender a different set of preparation strategies.
-
I have a notebook where I keep track of what I practiced. I also have lists, so many lists, future exercises, tunes I know, tunes I want to know, tunes I need to learn for a gig.
If I'm running a set I'll make sure I can play 3 rounds of each tune, melody, comping then improvisation, one chorus each. If I'm crunching I'll skip the improvisation, I can always embellish the melody and it'll sound fine, honestly that probably sounds better than my improvisation at this point, but it's still good to practice it.
This way I can get through an hour set in about 15-20 minutes.
I would say I keep a nights music well practiced and current. I'm a hobbyist who gigs, I have a regular job, kids in elementary school and don't give lessons, so I just do what I can.
If I don't have a gig coming up I learn things I want to learn, and I try to learn it all by ear. And right now, it's slow, very slow, like 20 minutes to get a head, not even a hard one, but like Take the A Train. But a month ago it took me 20 minutes to get a few bars of anything.
This is all what works for me though. When is your next gig? That should dictate what and how you are practicing.
-
Thanks for the replies!
I have a repertoire of basic arrangements of a few standards and some very old pop tunes. I am able to rhythmically groove on these tunes, which is a good thing. I can improvise simple chordal patterns in swing and/or reggae rhythms. Pretty chords in a toe-tapping rhythm make people smile, which is good.
The solo thing is fairly new to me, though I have a background in bar bands, wedding combos, and vocal/guitar duo. My recent gig was at an art gallery, so I was lo-volume "wallpaper", which suits me fine.
AllanAllen, thanks for the excellent suggestions re notebook entries. No gigs lined up yet, but I think there is potential.
-
KA PAF info please
Today, 11:52 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos