The official Warm up-and-Practising thread

[kris]

I practice a lot on the guitar and I would like to make more progress without spending so much time.

[StringNavigator]

Stop practicing and start playing.

[AllanAllen]

All that groundwork to get to a point I can run a melody through 12 keys is worth it.

[jazznylon]

On the off chance I don't spend time with my guitar I use these forearm extensor things that work on your extensor muscles. Good for building agility!

Amazon.com

Now only if there is a way to practice in your sleep...

[Jimmy Smith]

If you want to make faster progress, study with a top pro.

[AllanAllen]

If you want to make faster progress, study with a top pro.

Wish I had one in 25 miles.

[Litterick]

If you think you will make money from playing jazz, study with a top pro.

[kris]

If you want to make faster progress, study with a top pro.

Good joke.
Every pro I've dealt with has told me you have to practice a lot to get better, and that's the way it is with every musician.
"A small percentage of talent and a large percentage of hard work."-that's what the top pro used to say at school.
Show me a pro who doesn't exercise and makes progress. There aren't any.
I only know work titans - top jazz musicians.
Every top pro work a lot and they have it very well arranged and planned...
Also, it's a very, very individual thing.
Do you have any idea how much time top players spend on practice?
Mike Stern exercises practically non-stop.

[kris]

If you think you will make money from playing jazz, study with a top pro.

One of the top pro asked me to help organize a gig for him.
money?
After each meeting with a top pro, I only have more material to practice.
And one said "you are on the right way now just keep practicing."

[kris]

And I want to get to the TOP........

[Litterick]

What I meant was that jazz guitar is obviously not a way to make money, given that top professional jazz guitarists are giving lessons.

[kris]

What I meant was that jazz guitar is obviously not a way to make money, given that top professional jazz guitarists are giving lessons.

...but I guess Scof makes money...
He is my idol.

[supersoul]

How can anyone be mad at practicing? I love practicing! If I don't practice for a day I feel mad that I didn't practice.

[kris]

How can anyone be mad at practicing? I love practicing! If I don't practice for a day I feel mad that I didn't practice.

You did not understand.
I meant making progress when you practice a lot.
There is a period when you practice a lot and stand still.
And then you will be "mad'.

[don_oz]

I think once that you have enough facility on the insturment, you can benefit a lot more from practicing 2-3 hours a day by just setting time limits on specific activities such as technique, learning songs and playing songs and transcribing. Different strokes for different folks. The best practice is to get together with a rhythm section and play for a couple of hours, do that as frequently as you can. Then it's not so much practicing and it's more fun.

For example, if you wake up early and practice for 2 hours then go and have a session with a rhythm a section for 2 hours that's 4 hours of playing done.

[kris]

My warm up exercises take about 2 hours.

[supersoul]

You did not understand.
I meant making progress when you practice a lot.
There is a period when you practice a lot and stand still.
And then you will be "mad'.

But I do understand. I definitely know the feeling of not progressing! But just because I feel like I'm not progressing doesn't mean I'm not. Perhaps I've just progressed in a way that I didn't expect and haven't even yet realized. Or, perhaps I can improve how I practice.

I wouldn't just practice the same thing over and over again. Sometimes I'll practice the same tune for a couple of days and hit a point where I'm not going anywhere. I'll put it aside, and when I pick it up again a few days, weeks later suddenly I realize that I have gotten a lot better. I just needed some time for my subconscious to sort it out.

[kris]

But I do understand. I definitely know the feeling of not progressing! But just because I feel like I'm not progressing doesn't mean I'm not. Perhaps I've just progressed in a way that I didn't expect and haven't even yet realized. Or, perhaps I can improve how I practice.

I wouldn't just practice the same thing over and over again. Sometimes I'll practice the same tune for a couple of days and hit a point where I'm not going anywhere. I'll put it aside, and when I pick it up again a few days, weeks later suddenly I realize that I have gotten a lot better. I just needed some time for my subconscious to sort it out.

But it's also time...

[Jimmy Smith]

Wow, I wasn't expecting such a true statement to generate mad responses.

Wish I had one in 25 miles.

Connect online lol.

Good joke.
Every pro I've dealt with has told me you have to practice a lot to get better, and that's the way it is with every musician.
"A small percentage of talent and a large percentage of hard work."-that's what the top pro used to say at school.
Show me a pro who doesn't exercise and makes progress. There aren't any.
I only know work titans - top jazz musicians.
Every top pro work a lot and they have it very well arranged and planned...
Also, it's a very, very individual thing.
Do you have any idea how much time top players spend on practice?
Mike Stern exercises practically non-stop.

I think yours is the joke. Did I say if you take lessons suddenly your progress won't be proportional anymore to your time put in? No, I said you'll progress faster. A student is guaranteed to progress better at advancing past his dumb novice habits if he studies with someone really good compared to dicking around on his own.

[Christian Miller]

Lage Lund once says that he has very little time to practice. So he picks just one 15m practice activity and does that without fail whenever he gets a chance to pick up the guitar. Given how much his playing seems to be evolving it clearly works, although he obviously went through a period of serious eight hour practice sessions or whatever at college. I think it’s rare that pro musicians in adult life have that much time. On the other hand they are doing music A LOT with great musicians which is just as good if not better.

(Practice is the buy-in to playing with good musicians btw.)

Recently I’ve had fewer gigs and more practice time which has allowed me to go down some avenues that I didn’t have time to when I was playing a lot. No idea when they’ll show up only gigs. But I feel it’s been good to go deep in stuff that was bothering me and get inspired by new stuff.

One thing I’ve tried and might go back to us interleaved practice. That’s meant to ingrain stuff more solidly over the medium term than blocked practice.

I heard one piano teachers once say that if you need to practice for more than three hours a day you lack talent. Ouch.

there’s also a give and take between routine (which can get things done) and variation (which can shake things up).

I can personally throw any amount of time at various musical activities. It’s fun.

[kris]

Wow, I wasn't expecting such a true statement to generate mad responses.

Connect online lol.

I think yours is the joke. Did I say if you take lessons suddenly your progress won't be proportional anymore to your time put in? No, I said you'll progress faster. A student is guaranteed to progress better at advancing past his dumb novice habits if he studies with someone really good compared to dicking around on his own.

I don't think you understand what the problem is.
And read all my posts carefully.

[Jimmy Smith]

You're complaining about progress taking forever regardless, I get it. But you'll still progress faster if you get a good teacher.

[grahambop]

I practice a lot on the guitar and I would like to make more progress without spending so much time.

I’d be happy to spend more time on a beach with weather like that right now.

[Christian Miller]

You can take the guitar to the beach!

[kris]

Lage Lund once says that he has very little time to practice. So he picks just one 15m practice activity and does that without fail whenever he gets a chance to pick up the guitar. Given how much his playing seems to be evolving it clearly works, although he obviously went through a period of serious eight hour practice sessions or whatever at college. I think it’s rare that pro musicians in adult life have that much time. On the other hand they are doing music A LOT with great musicians which is just as good if not better.

(Practice is the buy-in to playing with good musicians btw.)

Recently I’ve had fewer gigs and more practice time which has allowed me to go down some avenues that I didn’t have time to when I was playing a lot. No idea when they’ll show up only gigs. But I feel it’s been good to go deep in stuff that was bothering me and get inspired by new stuff.

One thing I’ve tried and might go back to us interleaved practice. That’s meant to ingrain stuff more solidly over the medium term than blocked practice.

I heard one piano teachers once say that if you need to practice for more than three hours a day you lack talent. Ouch.

there’s also a give and take between routine (which can get things done) and variation (which can shake things up).

I can personally throw any amount of time at various musical activities. It’s fun.

So it's a very individual thing - practicing on an instrument.
It's interesting that there's a lot of talk about practising not about some kind of rigor.
Is anyone sure of their technical form without practicing...?
I personally feel more confident when I practise a lot.
And yet I have a kind of wanting that I could do something more interesting.
But I've just spent too many hours doing other exercises.
It's for sure that they are more talented than me and they catch it all faster.
But generally the listener doesn't care.
You go on stage and you play.