[Wiz]

I know this has to be one of the most popular topics out there and I also know it's a big topic on magazines such as guitar world (like the 10 hour steve vai workout and stuff like that), but I still think it'd be interesting to hear about everyone's latest choices.

In other words, how do you guys split your time when practicing? Even better, how do you practice?

When I had time back a year ago I used to do a bit of what Petrucci mentions on his Rock Discipline, which is basically to find anywhere from half an hour up to as many hours as you can and then just split that in sections of half-an-hour each, each dedicated to something in particular. Basically one section could be reviewing / studying scales, another one would be to improve one's impro in certain genres, another would be sight reading, and so on and so forth for 30 mins.

What do YOU folks do?

There was a thread about this just a week ago.

[Wiz]

Aww I'm sad

[lordofthesewers]

learn songs too and play them along cds or powertabs/guitar pro tabs. marty friedman said something along the lines: Technical acrobatics aren't the basis for songs, it is knowing how to play rhythm guitar will make you a good song writter!

[Maniacal]

Where guitar is concerned I do this....
warm up for 10/15 mins which includes warming my hands and wrists up, stretching off the guitar, stretching on the guitar, chromatics, melodic minor modes, scales in different groupings, string skipping chromatics, all the 3 and 5 string arps, then a couple of 6 and 8 string arps.

Then its straight onto riffing
usually spend 4-7 hours on this a day but I also include other things such as endurance workouts for picking, speed workouts for picking and control workouts for picking.

After that I spend an hour or so doing legato with my right hand which is basically all the stuff I do on my left hand....but with my right.
Then I do some sweeping and sweep tapping for 20 mins or so. Usually I just make up licks and play them over and over.

The last part of my practice is either Allan Holdsworth music (chords only) and a lot of jazz progressions OR legato lines. This is either Holdsworth, Derryl Gabel or my own licks. I spend a lot of time mixing 3/4/5/6/7/9 note groupings along with wide stretches. Legato really does take ages to master.

Ive done all the shreddy shreddy stuff when I was 16-18 and I came to realise its fucking boring and hardly ever required unless you have a youtube account. For this reason I focus mainly on metal rhythm, tapping which will open up anyones playing, chords which are the best things ever, and legato which is awesome when used with riffing.

Please excuse my english, I am english but I am also tryin to play guitar now too

I think every guitarist needs to spend a lot of time on their picking hand. Guitarists I have met rarely spend any time on it and accept that their picking is pretty bad.
I used to spend 6 hours a day on it.....they were very long days indeed.
But it really paid off.

And I dont agree with what Marty says. You have to learn the technique properly before you can apply it to music. Learning by trial and error will only result in unreliable technique and possibly injury.

There are many exercises that will greatly open your playing and help you break out of learning other peoples licks and sounding EXACTLY like everyone else.

Jon

[Drew]

Lately?

Wake up at 10. Wish I had my guitar.
Get a cup of coffee and log onto sevenstring.org. Wish I had my guitar.
Lay out in the sun on the roof deck and read and listen to my iPod. Wish I had my guitar.
Eat lunch
take a shower.
Get ready for work. Wish I had my guitar.
Work from 3-11:30, training and supporting staff. wish I had my gutiar.
Hang out at the office till 1, catching up on emails I've missed and posts here. Wish I had my guitar.
Go home. Wish I had my guitar.
Go to bed. Dream about my guitar.

[distressed_romeo]

Originally Posted by Drew

Lately?

Wake up at 10. Wish I had my guitar.
Get a cup of coffee and log onto sevenstring.org. Wish I had my guitar.
Lay out in the sun on the roof deck and read and listen to my iPod. Wish I had my guitar.
Eat lunch
take a shower.
Get ready for work. Wish I had my guitar.
Work from 3-11:30, training and supporting staff. wish I had my gutiar.
Hang out at the office till 1, catching up on emails I've missed and posts here. Wish I had my guitar.
Go home. Wish I had my guitar.
Go to bed. Dream about my guitar.

Fuck, I feel your pain, believe me.
All work is death...

[Drew]

Fuck the work. It's more being away from home on business for seven and a half fucking weeks, with not enough room to pack a guitar. :/