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Share your favorite guitar exercise! Videos/links help too. I've recently begun a daily practice routine to improve my playing and I'm looking for ideas for things to work on. free netflix tech news Wow, you guys really came through. There's a lot to digest here, but I'm going to take my time and try to make it through everything, see what suggestions already parallel my routine, see what I can add, and hopefully get some ideas I would have never come up with before. This is the best. Thanks!
Last edited by Heera; 02-16-2019 at 12:45 AM.
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02-08-2019 02:48 AM
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Looks like you got lost trying to navigate the internet
Originally Posted by Heera
But to answer the question, I have not found a single exercise that is "the best".
But I've found some methods and approaches that work on a broad range of exercises and difficult passages in pieces.
It's in general good to isolate stuff and make an exercise out of it. Focus on playing precisely (slow it down if you're getting flimsy), and break town and simplify as much as you need.
For example if you have a (4/4) bar with 16x16th notes You can break them down to groups of 4 or 8 (or whatever amount) at a time, and repeat one group at a time over and over.
I found a lot of useful methods and tips in the book "Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar" by Troy Stetina.
Even though his style is rather some kind of 80s guitar hero shredding the principles for how to practise can be applied to any style. Some of the exercises and runs are inspired by that style of guitar playing but there are also finger exercises that guitarists of all styles use.
I've seen a bunch of books on the same subject, with similar topics and exercises.
(there is one in the eBooks section of this site called Monster Chops for Jazz Guitar, which I've looked at but I've used Troy's book more)
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Practice whatever you want to get good at.
The guitar is very specific and skill in one area of the guitar does not readily translate to skill in other areas.
Play 1-2-3-4 and you get good at it but it will not help you playing chords.
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The one technical thing i ve found very useful is always practice with some time reference, either a metronome or a cd. I still do the 1-2-3-4- thing on one or all strings for warmup. Also practicing very slowly, paying attention to your sound in chords and scales. Basically practicing with full concentration, even on scales or exercises. Practicing with half attention, tv on etc, will give you half results.
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I worked in that book years ago. Lots of good exercises in there, as you say. And some good advice. One piece: separate the hands. (Sometimes the problem lies in the other one!) Another: if you make a mistake, you are playing too fast. Stetina is not the only person to say this but he's where I first encountered it. And boy, if I had only listened, I would be so much better today! Originally Posted by orri
Related to that, if I have a piece with a trouble spot, I find at what tempo I can play the trouble spot well and slow the whole thing down to that tempo. It's really the only way to get through the whole piece without mistakes.
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I've been playing for quite a few years, but not specifically jazz. Rock, classical, some blues, mainly.
The last 2 1/2 years I've really just focused on jazz guitar.
But I also took the drums up about 2 years ago, and that also has had a big impact on my playing/time feel. Something I wish I would of taken up years ago. imho I now think all serious musicians should take up at least some drumming.
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Not really an exercise, but Bert Ligon says to tape the words "on-before-after" onto your music stand and practice all vocabulary and soloing ideas on all parts of the beat. That's helped as much as anything else.
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The connecting game from the Joe Elliot book.
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What comes to mind is this.
Using IRealPro. I pick a tune, set it for 13 repeats and a key change by a 4th every chorus.
Practice the melody, soloing and comping. 12 keys and the head again for the 13th repeat.
If I get stuck on something, I slow it down, get it under my fingers and then speed it back up.
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That was the one I was going to mention also. Helps in 1) connecting one arp (or arp to scale or lick etc.) as it says and also helped me to 2) feel and keep track of the downbeat of the next measure. I needed to improve in both of those areas. Originally Posted by morroben
Really that whole 1st half of the book (which is as far as I got). Both the connecting game and lick writing.
OP asked for an example. Here is a video that is full of connecting game ideas and some of the licks I wrote while going thru the book.
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The goal is to really know the intrument to play songs and or improvise.
What really helped me know the intrument better is practicing intervals all over the neck: WHere’s the 5th below the root? The 9th? 2nd? 10th? 11th? How do you go from 6th to 10th to 13ths? Tritone? harmonizing any scale by various intervals helped teach me the neck, which made me more comfortable with the instrument. Being more comfortable with the instrument means I can improvise and play songs better.
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Apologies if the following is a bit basic, but I've been very pleased with my progress lately. I'm relatively new to the jazz world after playing rock, indie and punk music for years and still in the process of working to map the fretboard.
Reading music has been huge for me. This includes transcribed solos, heads etc. If it is a head, I'll try to learn it in as many octaves and places on the neck as possible. I know there are differing opinions on whether this is an essential skill, but it has helped me really understand the fretboard by having to figure out which location to play the note to suit the melody, tempo, fingering etc. This has really accelerated my understanding of intervals both up/down and across the fretboard.
With chord playing, I work to find the closest voicing possible for the next chord. I'm specifically referring to voicings on the top 4 and inner-4 strings because many of these shapes are relatively new to me. This has helped me really understand exactly which intervals change from chord to chord, and has helped me learn more about harmony.
The third thing which has really helped me is transposing tunes to as many keys as possible (of course all keys are possible, but I sometimes get bored.)
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Metronome from 180-380. Ticks are the syncopes. Try to play all kinds of stuff like that.
Got to be sharp and well-rested for over 260
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Technique? The exercise is not important. What is important is that you tolerate no deviation from perfect form at any point. Originally Posted by Heera
I've always just tried to play music. Usually there's a few difficult notes in there that you can loop into some horrible exercise.
Etude books are for people with more time than I got.
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I could do with doing that.... Good exercise for improvisation. Originally Posted by matt.guitarteacher
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Being able to read well has opened a lot of doors. Most guitarists, including some way above my level, don't read well. But,, there are a lot of situations in which reading is essential -- and it gives you a way to compete. Originally Posted by AlexG335
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For many years I tended to avoid legato playing. Recently I thought this is a string I should add to my bow and I started doing some exercises. Very standard stuff, 3nps hammer ons and pull-off, scales and some improvising against modal backing tracks.
The unexpected payoff was that after a few weeks of this I noticed a discernible improvement in my technical aptitude generally. Anything technically challenging felt a bit easier. I can only assume the exercises had improved hand strength and flexibility.
I'm never going to be a great technician but I'm maybe 5 percent better than I was a few months ago and it's a pleasant surprise.
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Oddly enough, what makes me aware that I'm playing "better" in all aspects is when I get into a groove of playing/practicing 4 to 6 hours a day! After several days of spending as much time as possible with the instrument, I'll play something (with ease) that I just know I could not have played 2 weeks ago. I'll be playing a run of 8th notes and without effort will drop in a few 16th note triplets and when I hear it it surprises me! If I let myself get lazy, maybe watch a TV show or movie because I'm tired, that sort of behavior tends to repeat itself and before I know it, my guitar time is reduced by half or more, and I do not hear myself play anything with greater skill than I could a few weeks ago.
As long as you are actively working on something, what ever you're pursuing or studying at the moment and not just repeating what you already have down, you will see improvement.
The subject matter doesn't matter at all; if you work on something that needs work for you, that will be the best use of your time.
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Slow playing, as prescribed by Warne Marsh. You play being aware of what you are playing.
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Slow playing, as prescribed by Warne Marsh. You play being aware of what you are playing. Another even slower version is to sing then play.
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