Practice Schedule for Jazz Guitar

[Ausjazz]

A lot's been said so I'll keep it brief. I've been getting better results when I've been splitting my practice time up into concentrated blocks. Work on the ear for 15-30, sight read/scales 15-30, progressions 1 hr etc...

But, at my beginner jazz level, most of this is trying to get the sounds in my head onto the guitar. I know some people refer to it as the 'ear', but I think it's slightly more (fretboard recognition, technical ability, also improving what lines my head hears) and a lot of what I do is trying to marry the two together.

[Gilles]

So Jamey Aebersold mentions two books regarding this subject:

"How To Practice Jazz" by Jerry Cooker
"Practicing Jazz: A creative Approach" by David Baker

Has anybody read any of this..? Are they worth reading..?

Yes, I own them both and they're good books to read.
To that I would add :
"The Jazz Musician's Guide to Creative Practicing"
David Berkman

You can also read this (very helpful) article :
Guitar Practice : The art of improving... your improvement!

[C.A.JO.]

Well, I'm a strong believer in the Pareto Principle (80 percent of the results come from 20 percent of the inputs.) I believe a strong ear can compensate for nearly everything else. (...) In the end, I tend to think I've isolated the Pareto Principle in guitar playing, and I think it's the ear.

I completely agree with you. Having a great ear is for me the greatest asset for the improvising musician.

I believe the main priority for the practicing jazz musician is to listen to records, figure out the melody, chords and solos by ear. After that is mastered you "lift" the lines you like, take them through the 12 keys, experiment with fingerings, incorporate them into tunes you know. After a while you'll start changing a note or two, the rhythm, the phrasing, etc., and now the line is "yours". It's only at this stage I really think knowing basic theory pays off. If you know a few scales, intervals, chord construction, etc., it's much easier to analyze what it is the soloist is doing, and why the line works.

Personally, I only notate the solo AFTER I've mastered it on my guitar. I think that if you notate it while you're transcribing it, you'll forget it quite fast, and you take "out" yours ears to soon in the process.

Practicing this is my "baseline" practice session if I only have 30-60 min. pr. day. I practice 1 thing! I got the idea from Kenny Werner's book "Effortless Mastery". But you really get a lot done by practicing only 30 min. pr. day for instance:

- Improve your ears, technique (if the solo is pushing you enough), phrasing, tone, rhythm, repertoire, vocabulary.
- If you notate it you also improve your theoretic skills along with improved musical notation skills.

Of course all of this can be practiced in isolation if you have more time. But if you schedule is busy, I think learning tunes and solos from the records on you guitar by using your ear is THE best way to hit a lot things in accordance with the Pareto Principle.

[Billnc]

A lot's been said so I'll keep it brief. I've been getting better results when I've been splitting my practice time up into concentrated blocks. Work on the ear for 15-30, sight read/scales 15-30, progressions 1 hr etc...

But, at my beginner jazz level, most of this is trying to get the sounds in my head onto the guitar. I know some people refer to it as the 'ear', but I think it's slightly more (fretboard recognition, technical ability, also improving what lines my head hears) and a lot of what I do is trying to marry the two together.

Yes, when people mention 'ear' I think what they really mean is ear, brain and hand coordination.

[fumblefingers]

i would say be careful about playing the instrument more than 4 hours a day, depending on your "level" (beginner, intermediate, advanced, master). if you really have 4-6 hours per day to play and study music, consider yourself rich and get to work.

i would say reserve your ear training and theory studies for a time of day when you are not at your peak energy level. listen to music every day (dont count that time as part of the 6 hours )

play the guitar when you are freshest/strongest. develop several practice routines (not just one) and alternate them on different days. always tackle 3-4 subjects per day. (technique, tunes, improv - or - technique tunes, reading, etc) what you practice the most should be based upon your level (or weak area, so to speak).

finally, ease into this marathon training schedule if you are not doing it already. ramp it over several months.

[hot ford coupe]

i would say be careful about playing the instrument more than 4 hours a day, depending on your "level" (beginner, intermediate, advanced, master). if you really have 4-6 hours per day to play and study music, consider yourself rich and get to work.

i would say reserve your ear training and theory studies for a time of day when you are not at your peak energy level. listen to music every day (dont count that time as part of the 6 hours )

play the guitar when you are freshest/strongest. develop several practice routines (not just one) and alternate them on different days. always tackle 3-4 subjects per day. (technique, tunes, improv - or - technique tunes, reading, etc) what you practice the most should be based upon your level (or weak area, so to speak).

finally, ease into this marathon training schedule if you are not doing it already. ramp it over several months.

Good advice. I'll generally do about 1 hour a day since that's all my hand can take before becoming sore. Some days we take my sister in law downtown for adult day care. Since it's a distance from home to the center, we go to Barnes and Noble's Starbuck Cafe where I bring my instrument and practice for about 2 hours playing songs. Since I'm a finger picker, I don't disturb the other patrons with loud music (with the conversations, people on phones etc, you can barely hear me). Sometimes I even get a compliment or two. Just remember if you try this, keep your case closed. You don't want to look like you're panhandling.