Hi All,
As some of you have read, I am recovering from a repetitive stress injury, and due to this I have be digging deep into the science of practice (i.e. evidence based conclusions based on brain research and other scientific experiments) alongside of trying to learn from guitarists themselves to see what is the best and most efficient way. For example, Julian Lage using the Alexander Method.
I wonder if the following information is what you all do and if you do something different what do you do? Btw this has been gathered from multiples sources as referenced in the previous paragraph.
Practice should be:
1-Deliberate (ex. having mindful practice without distractions, for example )
2-Goal directed (ex. have specific SMART goals). SMART means: specific, measurable, achievable, related and time-bound
3-Reflective and solution based (Practice means learning new things, of course, however, if you are learning a song, for example, don't just play the song over and over again until you get it right. You should notice where you are struggling and work on that part/few bars etc. and then once achieved then add the other parts in.)
4-Slow (ex. practising at such a slow pace that you are not baking in bad habits)
5-Time Sensitive (ex. playing for long, long stretches (my mistake) without taking breaks to stretch, reflect, get up and move around isn't effective. As one gets tired technique can suffer leading to injuries (Hi! that's me) and focus diminishes and leads to noodling).
What are your experiences? What are you thoughts on the 5 points?
If you wouldn't mind, would you share how you practice when you are at an intermediate or an advanced level?
P.S. As a result of my experiences and research I have not reduced my practice routine from 2 hours on weekdays and weekends at 4-5 hours to a 1 hour session on weekdays, and 1-1.5 hours on the weekends. As well I am implementing the 5 points of practice
Finally, (I know this will make Tomo happy), I have abandoned couch playing completely and solely am playing on a proper stool to keep good technique and posture etc. And I'm learning to apply the Alexander Technique in playing and life. And, of course trying to follow Tomo's GW mottos.
Thanks for reading everyone!
Be Kind to Yourself, Don't Expect Too Fast, Don't Worry, Don't Compare.
Love this, Michael! I'm letting it sink in before I fully reply. Stay tuned!
Thank you Michael for sharing your experience and a lot of inspiration!
Hope many members will share with you.
When I was a student at Berklee or before that... These are my priority.
1) Intense listening one album or same song for one hour or more to internalize with music.
Without this. Nothing will comet from me!
2) Practice techniques. Solo etudes or solos from transcriptions. Practice rhythm guitar etc.
3) Rhythm guitar with R 3 7 on Blues, Jazz Blues and Jazz Standards.
4) Scales & Arpeggios. Once I can play them smoothly. I never touched them. But I made sure that I can play them so smoothly in any sequencing. Do Mi Re Fa, Do Re Mi Do etc.
5) Record myself everyday! Once my Karate teacher wrote me "What to practice 10 things.
Number 10 is like this " Record yourself. Definitely you will disappoint your playing so go back to Number 1!
Thank you.
Tomo
Thank you Sammi!
Yes! So good! Great share!
Tomo
Hi Tomo,
Thanks for your reply. I see a lot of areas of focus but it leans more towards what rather than how.
For example, with R37, how would you practice it? Would you set a goal of what you wanted to accomplish? What tempos might you be working at? How long might you practice it? What degree of mastery would you reach before thinking you could go on or add more to the session? What signals would you watch for to see if you needed to slow down, or redo, or maybe set another goal? What physical signals might you look for to see if you were practising effectively?
With scales and arpeggios what does it mean to play smoothly exactly?
When you recorded yourself what aspects did you look for? Probably not all things but mostly like a few things. What were those?
Thanks for your reply Tomo!
You're very welcome Michael.
Which R 3 7 video did you watch? I just made more detail version of R 3 7 Swing Groove so these videos will show you how & more details.
1) Techniques: Left hand muting technique and wide stroke of right hand.
You should do this super slow so your techniques will sink in.
2) Once you can control these techniques then you can use a metronome.
Set your metronome around 50 per beat.... then you can go 55,60,65,70,75 etc.
Then try 50,52,54,56,58...
3) Once you can do 2) really well then you can set your metronome at 40 on 2 & 4.
Make sure you can control your techniques. If you cannot do, then just go back 2) & 1)
So you always review all materials.
For chord progressions:
1) Simple Blues Chord Progression.
Bb Blues, F Blues etc.
2) Jazz Blues
Bb Jazz Blues, F Jazz Blues
3) Jazz Standards
https://tomovhxtv.vhx.tv/jazz-standards
You can search more lessons.
Yes. Record yourself and check all the details.
For instance, slow swing groove, make sure you play all upstrokes.
Play it smoothly means, musically sounds pretty good. All the notes are played well.. no miss notes or muting techniques... no noises from fingers or strings.
Thank you.
Tomo