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Just curious, and I mean practice and not just playing stuff you already have down okay. What kinda hours seem to be the average on here? If you e.g. don't practice as much now because you've developed a pro technique and make a living from music, what is the highest amount of time you've put into practicing on a regular basis in the past?
Anyone wants to give rough breakdowns of how that time is spent, that's also useful.
My current practice depends on the day - always get a minimum of an hour or two in, but I like to do as much as I can on any day provided I don't "hit the wall" (i.e. there's only so much new info I can take in, so some days I'll do lots of hours, but may only do 2-3 hours of really new concepts or things like that, the rest of the time will be rehearsing repertoire, or stuff). I try to include scales and arpeggios, some sight reading (this always seems to be the first thing that gets dropped...not good), some theory, some improv, some improv, and some transcribing. I rarely manage to do all of these on any given day, but some things get daily work (e.g. scales and arps right now) while others its every other day (improv, sight reading).
Some days I do very little practice, but that's cos I'm rehearsing with my quartet, and our rehearsals are always booked for 10am-12 noon, but we've yet to stop before about 3pm or so. Also, if I'm playing out somewhere, I tend to make sure I do some technique work, scales, etc., but also run through a few tunes as prep. Even if we don't play those tunes, it gets me out of "practice mode" a little, and more into "playing mode".
Sent from my iBreak (from practicing..)
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04-02-2010 04:53 PM
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1-3 hours of daily focused practice. Some days 1 hour, some days 3 hours... most of the time it's somewhere in between.... 90-100 min.
I don't have a set time (quantity), I focus on quality instead. I believe it's better to have 1 hour per day of serious and focused practice than 6 hours of noodling. My mantra instead is consistency: PRACTICE SOMETHING EVERY DAY. No matter if it's 10 min or 3 hours... not a day goes by without I haven't done something to better my art.
I organize my routines' activities in percentages instead of minutes. This way I always practice in sync with my priorities whether I have 1 hour or 3 hours to practice. For instance I focus 20% of my practice time on chords and harmony studies, 25% on general technique, 15% ear training, etc. Of course these numbers change as my skill develops, interests change, and so on.
My areas of practice are:
left and right hand technique (legato, vibrato, 2 hand synchronization, economy picking, finger independence, upstrokes, finger picking)
harmony/chords (practicing voicings, progressions, voice leading, studying theory)
ear training (every day! working with chords, scales, arpeggios, intervals, scat singing while improvising, transcribing, etc.)
reading music notation/analysis (to keep the skill intact)
improvisation (often my "warm up"+"cool down". the best way to start and end a practice session: melodic improvisation, expression)
repertoire (Often connected with reading notation and improvisation)
Scale sequences/arpeggios/licks (used for connecting technique, harmonic theory, ear training, fretboard knowledge)Last edited by C.A.JO.; 04-02-2010 at 06:45 PM.
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from the time I was about 13 till I had to start supporting myself (about 19), so like 6 years.... I would practice (transcribe and play along with recordings) at least 4 hours every single day. It wasn't all jazz, really anything would do. Now that I make a living doing music, I usually practice my own personal stuff about 30min a day or for a few hours on the weekends. I practice other peoples tunes and songs for different projects about the same amount. I usually spend 9-12 hours per week in a rehearsal and another 20-30 hours teaching (solidifying what I've learned). I also set aside time to work through text books in preparation for grad school scholarships, usually a few hours a week.
When I practice my own stuff I work on playing solo without dropping or compromising the meter. I work on all the same stuff everyone else does, but I try to always be tapping my foot and try to keep the groove as the #1 priority.Last edited by timscarey; 04-02-2010 at 07:00 PM.
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04-02-2010, 08:02 PM #4TommyD Guest
Until my fingers ache. My small and short pinky, which I use a lot in single-string work because I don't want to be one of those players who make do with three fingers, actually gets sore. That's too much practicing! But hey! No sacrifice too great for art, right?
Before I play, I try to make time to soak my hands in hot water, like Glen Gould did.
Vladimir H.
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I get about 2 1/2 hours in every day, on average, playing the guitar. Probably 75 minutes of that is scales and chords, about 20 minutes sight reading, & the rest of that time is spent playing or learning new tunes.
I also play the piano for 45 minutes a day.
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That's definitely a great attitude to have! I haven't done very much the last two days as I've had really bad toothache and can't get to the dentist until next week.
Originally Posted by C.A.JO.
But I have done an hour each day of practice despite this. I'm also finding that general attitude can seriously affect your ability to focus well - stuff like having clear goals for each day's practice, clear longer term goals for those practices to build up to, returning to material and focussing on different aspects of it (e.g. playing scales in groups of four, or harmonizing them, etc., etc), and just generally being clear about what you want to achieve and why....all that really helps you focus more to put in the time on a daily basis. I'm finding I can work longer and more productively now than I ever could before. Well, aside from the last couple days, that is... 
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1 or 2 hours a day, after work
I practice playing my Ibanez GB10
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Mmm.... damn fine instrument Originally Posted by tuxtux
It shouldn't be hard to find time to sit with that baby!
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Yes, and it's an old one that GB10, I bought him in 1979 or so Originally Posted by C.A.JO.
Mmm.... damn fine instrument It shouldn't be hard to find time to sit with that baby!
Last edited by tuxtux; 04-04-2010 at 10:38 AM.
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I practise 6 days a week for about 30 minutes, then I play for the pure fun of playing until my fretting hand can't take the pain any longer. I play an Ibanez AF-125.
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Actually, I'm buying a GB20 (the rare model) from one of dad's band members. My dad's a musician too, and his guitarist is a guitar collector. One of his archtops is this rare Ibanez model called GB20. It's from the 80's I think. You can read more about it if you google it. George Benson is seen playing this model quite a lot also. Anyway, he knows I'm into jazz so he's promised me not to sell 'till I get enough dough to buy it from him Originally Posted by tuxtux
Yes, and it's an old one that GB10, I bought him in 1979 or so I've tried it many times, though. I believe it's a full sized archtop, spruce top, ebony fretboard, 1 pickup (neck)... it's looks a bit like the Ibanez PM35. It's one of my favorite guitars to play!
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I have two young kids and a job which takes a lot out of me, in terms of being able to actually acheive something practise-wise after I get home from work, but I guess that's the same for most people.
I get around 20 minutes a day of real practice where I feel like I've improved a tiny bit. I also steal little bits of time here and there which probably makes it up to around 40 min or so, but a lot is just noodling for 5 min.
However, I try to make all my playing as focussed as possible. Before I sit down with the guitar I have something in my mind that I want to work on, and I always feel like I've learned something afterwards. Plus, I only know a few songs, and concentrate on applying new ideas and techniques to those songs. I can't maintain a collection of 50 songs in my head with the amount of playing I get to do, so at the moment it's about 10 songs or so. I'm very much a beginner at improv.
The way I see it, with a young family I don't want to miss spending time with them, and I know in the future I will have plenty more time to play guitar. Any progress I make over the last couple and next few years I see as a bonus.
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Sounds like you've got your priorities pretty straight. Bravo! Family is #1; Music is secondary. Originally Posted by abracadabra
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+1. Originally Posted by FatJeff
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I'm in week 10 of Howard Roberts' Super Chops course. So, I'm doing at least an hour a day of practice six days a week. It's a good course because there are tons of new chord grips to learn, and there's discipline in being able to lay down fairly hard changes for ten minutes straight without making mistakes, then in playing something over them for ten uninterrupted minutes. Unfortunately some days (between work, school and what little social life I have), it's all I'm doing with the guitar in a day. Even more unfortunate is realizing how much more time I need to spend with the guitar to make playing over changes like those in the course sound more musical.
It doesn't help that I bought a pretty nice classical guitar and want to learn the proper technique for playing that instrument. I think I need to find some more time to play guitar! I think the problem is this "work" thing that keeps getting in the way.
I mean, it's nice to be able to afford nice guitars and all, but at the cost of having time to play them?
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Not as much as I'd like. On a good day I'll get 2 hours, but that's rare. Most days 45 minutes to an hour. I almost always practice in slow motion with my hands TOTALLY relaxed. I gig about 8 times/month and my technique ALWAYS feels like a tortoise when I practice, yet somehow at the gig it just happens and I start to play and the hare seems to come alive. I guess playing in a band with great musicians just pulls it out of you in a way. Can't really explain how that works.
I am scouting around for a place I can practice on my lunch hour at work. I've got a cheap Strat clone I can throw in my car and use for that. If nothing else, it would be good to learn a new tune or two each week.
Also, I've found I can work on improvisation by thinking through a song's chord changes (in slow motion) with no guitar in my hands. I sometimes will do this while driving. I've been doing that this week for FLY ME TO THE MOON. I'll just think through the changes and imagine where I could go on the fretboard (e.g. how I'd switch to melodic minor 1/2 step up for some of the dominant chords and where those fingerings are). I find this mental exercise really helps when it comes time to play the tune at a gig.Last edited by SwingSwangSwung; 04-06-2010 at 03:18 PM.
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How's that going? Have you noticed an improvement in your general playing and/or improvising since starting? I have the book, but haven't started the course yet - I feel I'm not good enough and would just frustrate myself if I tried now. I don't think I'd improve that much doing it now, compared to a few months down the line when my chops are a bit more together. But I found the intro info on technique and the description of you fingers coming down like a typewriter really useful anyway. Originally Posted by dkaplowitz
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I'm toying with the idea of doing the course, too. But it seems like 50 minutes a day is not really the truth - most of the guys in that thread are talking about spending 2-3 hours a day minimum on the material. If that's the case, I'm not in a position yet to commit to that. I've got a job and a family on top of this little jazz guitar hobby, and music school has its own requirements that I must meet first.
I was originally thinking I would get this SuperChops thing started this summer, but I'm wondering if I wouldn't just get more mileage out of transcribing and playing tunes, along with focusing on the David Baker bebop material.
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I looked at the charts and the "find a speed you can solo over them with no mistakes" instruction and thought "my metronome doesn't go slowly enough to ensure that right now!" I'm not convinced my speed would increase any/much as the course progresses because of that. But I think it's definitely a good idea - one reason I want to develop good speed is to improve the speed I can improvise at (I'm thinking by being able to play improvised lines at a faster speed, I'll be able to think lines and play them faster than my current speed for that, if that makes sense), I just don't have the fundamentals solid enough to get the most out of this course just yet I think.
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If I'm lucky I get 60-90 minutes a day. Some days I can only manage a half-hour.
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I put in at least an hour a day during the weekdays but more on weekends. I'm a fan of slow relaxed practice. If I can't play it slow, I can't play it fast.
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Scrybe,
I have the Howard Roberts book but have never studied specifically his songs. I have used his methodology of playing in one rhythmic division at a time with no mistakes using songs that I needed to know anyway. I also played using a single rhythmic phrase and as well as played with a set number of multiple notes.
You can use his methodology with a song or progression that is within your ability, even if it is a 2 chord vamp.
You can also use slower rhythmic values. He is advocating a kind of improvised etude method that is addressing both physical and mental aspects and our ability to find the sounds we hear and execute them in a relaxed manner. Like with any concept, it needs to be adapted to where we really are at the moment if it is to be effective.
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Fair point bako, it's just that I've realised I keep pushing the beat when I play. Maybe I should start a new thread for this specifically, but I'm feeling a little wary of doing too much while I'm still dealing with that problem (I want a lot more control over playing on beat, before, and ahead) in case I'm just entrenching that further. So, beyond covering the repertoire I need to know for my quartet, I've switched to mostly just doing rhythmic exercises, scale technique, and singing stuff whenever possible. Plus the usual sight reading and theory (applying it to the guitar as I work through the Jazzology text). Any thoughts on that?
It's probably the hardest practice regime I've ever had, just in terms of having more of the least interesting stuff in it than ever before, but I'm keeping my cool about it and looking to the future. Once I have solid pick control and solid rhythm, I'm feeling it will be a lot easier to incorporate new melodic and harmonic ideas, as well as to make the stuff I can already "do" sound a LOT tighter.
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Scrybe Re: pushing the beat
One thing I've practiced that might help you with this issue.
I set the metronome on 30. METRONOME ONLINE FREE - Highly accessible version of metronome has a metronome that goes down to 30.
16:1 is the equivalent of sixteenth notes at 120.
I play in rhythmic divisions from 1-16 parts per beat.
I want to hear each division clearly. I can start simple strumming muted strings or a single note. When comfortable I move the notes around and play accents and figures within the division and eventually polyrhythm groupings. Then I try to move freely between the divisions.
It is not unusual for me to miss something but I ask the simple question "Is it too fast or too slow?" I make the adjustments and try again.
The reason this kind of work helps with time is that a division of 9 is a rushed version of 8 and 7 is a behind the beat version of 8. So even if you have little intention of playing these less common divisions, they can help build hyper awareness of time feel. Pushing or relaxing the beat is a highly expressive tool when used with control.Last edited by bako; 04-08-2010 at 12:45 PM.
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I'm just a serious amateur but I try to get in about 3 hours a day.
I try to get an hour in, in the morning before going to work where I work on repertoire, simply playing tunes that I have memorized and maintaining them. I'm not gigging or anything, but I've got this little project going where I want to be able to play 2-3 hours of tunes without any music in front of me. Very difficult but it's become a bit addictive.
At night:
1-1.5 hours on material from my lessons.
0.5 hours working on technique things that my teacher did not give me. I'm doing the Mickey Baker book and some funk rhythm stuff in this block.
0.5 hours working on a new solo tune that will get added to repertoire.
I'm not super strict about doing everything every day. If I miss an item one day, it's no big deal - I just try not to miss the same item on two consecutive days.
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Any Archtop guitar shows?
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