# Funny or terrible ways in which you used to practice guitar



## Moonfridge (Oct 6, 2011)

Just remembered today one of the ways in which I used to practice alt picking when I first started playing guitar. I used to go up and down the neck using the 'spier excercise', but instead of playing to a metronome, I used to put on a timer and see how far up the neck I could get in 30 seconds. 

Needless to say, this didn't help me improve at all. 

Do any of you guys have any funny memories of bad ways you used to practice?


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## StratoJazz (Oct 6, 2011)

I used to practice walking around my house. I'd play a couple songs over and over and over again. Looking back on it though, i wouldn't really say it was totally ineffective practice because i learned how to execute material effortlessly.

Lol, my parents would call my "practice" serenading rather than actual practice.


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## Winspear (Oct 6, 2011)

I've always been able to sight read tabs very very easily if I knew what the song sounded like, even fairly easily if I'd never heard it before. 
I spent years jamming with tabs and thinking I could play the song just because I never went badly out of time and hit the notes pretty much right. Needless to say my technique was awful and sloppy and it's taken a good lot of work to actually learn to play properly. It is fun being able to sight read most stuff though, but I do have to pay attention and make myself work out proper fingerings and picking patterns etc. rather than just playing something in a hurry.


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## Moonfridge (Oct 6, 2011)

At least your ones probably helped you in the long run!


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## AySay (Oct 6, 2011)

I used to think you should ONLY downpick in metal, because Metallica fanbois said so. So that's what I did...until I found my Lord and Saviour J...ohn Petrucci


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## niffnoff (Oct 6, 2011)

playing at 180 bpm and missing every other note.... yeah ... :|


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## SirMyghin (Oct 7, 2011)

Playing way too many exercises, sure you can play those fast, but there is no context and you don't really learn anything


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## Maniacal (Oct 7, 2011)

Picking with my thumb only.


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## starslight (Oct 8, 2011)

I used to play Dave Matthews. 

In defense of ol' Dave, though, I did learn an awful lot of interesting and unorthodox chord voicings.


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## Cabinet (Oct 9, 2011)

When I started tremolo picking I muted all the strings with my fretting hand except for that one particular fret and moved my wrist up and down as fast as I could.


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## Dayn (Oct 9, 2011)

I wouldn't call it terrible, but funny at least... My computer desk at the time had a plastic binding around the top part with a small little bit at the top higher than the flat of the desk. Perfect height, I thought... so I grabbed my pick and practiced my picking technique on it.

It gave me a new perspective and helped me understand how I was picking, at least. 

Other than that, I probably elicited a few funny stares last night on the train as I listened to my music with my eyes closed and subtly air-guitared/drummed.


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## Lagtastic (Oct 18, 2011)

Playing sitting down with my legs crossed and the guitar sitting on my right leg. Talk about back pain.


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## Blasphemer (Oct 19, 2011)

Dayn said:


> Other than that, I probably elicited a few funny stares last night on the train as I listened to my music with my eyes closed and subtly air-guitared/drummed.



I definitely air-finger things I know how to play when I'm walking around campus with my headphones on. I feel like this happens every time I go by someone:






But, fuck it; Haters gonna hate!


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## Sephael (Oct 19, 2011)

I'll walk around and air pick with my thumb and first finger working out picking patterns in my head.


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## Handbanana (Oct 21, 2011)

before i knew how to properly palm mute, I used to lay my middle finger from my fret hand over the frets to simulate a palm mute and just pick wildly with the right.....Took a while to break that habit and learn to pick properly.


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## stevemcqueen (Dec 4, 2011)

I used to think that pinches were done by using the ring finger of your picking hand lightly resting on the string, right below where you picked, to create a harmonic. It did create the harmonic!


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## Alimination (Dec 4, 2011)

Those silly finger strengtheners... instead of actually practicing guitar. 

Seemed like a good idea at the time.. haha


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## texshred777 (Dec 5, 2011)

^
I had one of those too..lol. I didn't use it in lieu of practice, just while driving. Did it help? Maybe, I practiced a lot too.


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## idunno (Dec 5, 2011)

I used to tie a sock around my guitar and just randomly tap and wank all over the neck with the neck pickup and thought it sounded awesome.

I still do this sometimes because it DOES SOUND AWESOME haha


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## Pooluke41 (Dec 10, 2011)

idunno said:


> I used to tie a sock around my guitar and just randomly tap and wank all over the neck with the neck pickup and thought it sounded awesome.
> 
> I still do this sometimes because it DOES SOUND AWESOME haha




So you were being Synster Gates? 

EDIT: Sorry about the Necro!

It's 3:03 in the morning here and I've just walked from the Pub to my abode... So sorry...


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## ghostred7 (Dec 11, 2011)

Slightly different format in the mid 80s, but I used to practice/jam along with the local weather on The Weather Channel. When they went to local weather, they always had jazz playing in the background and I used to just sit there and improv over top of it.


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## SirMyghin (Dec 11, 2011)

^^ That is awesome.


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## freepower (Dec 11, 2011)

Anything that was alternate picked I used to "spazz pick" by tensing up my elbow massively.

2 years down the drain!


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## Adari (Dec 11, 2011)

ghostred7 said:


> Slightly different format in the mid 80s, but I used to practice/jam along with the local weather on The Weather Channel. When they went to local weather, they always had jazz playing in the background and I used to just sit there and improv over top of it.



I used to do the same thing with the little musical interludes between the scenes in FRIENDS.


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## rug (Dec 11, 2011)

I like to play along to the Cialis commercials. Sometimes I'll sit in the groove and play something appropriately porn sounding, other times I'll just play the main riff and play absurd "too many notes" fills in between the chords. Never fails to get a laugh out of my bandmates whenever there's a break in practice.


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## mikemueller2112 (Dec 12, 2011)

EtherealEntity said:


> I've always been able to sight read tabs very very easily if I knew what the song sounded like, even fairly easily if I'd never heard it before.
> I spent years jamming with tabs and thinking I could play the song just because I never went badly out of time and hit the notes pretty much right. Needless to say my technique was awful and sloppy and it's taken a good lot of work to actually learn to play properly. It is fun being able to sight read most stuff though, but I do have to pay attention and make myself work out proper fingerings and picking patterns etc. rather than just playing something in a hurry.



Oh man, I did this exact same thing until summer this year. I've put loads of effort to break this habit, and it's helped tons. Slopped my way through songs far too much.


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## AvengedESP (Dec 12, 2011)

When I started out, I just learnt a ton of Drop C/B metal songs and blundered my way through them all without learning any theory, or even using a metronome. Needless to say, it hasn't worked wonders for my playing.

Now I'm having to undo years of terrible technique, and am currently trying to persuade my right hand to alternate pick as it only seems content to go one way... going back to basics is difficult when all you've done is alternate chugging and power chords for 4 years.


Thanks Killswitch Engage.


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## Osorio (Dec 12, 2011)

For about the LONGEST time I practiced guitar without using a metronome; just knowing that I could count time and didn't need it. Now, I'm studying classical piano for college and I have the hardest time keeping time (specially if I'm trying to sight read something on both clefs).
I am always told to tap my foot to the metronome, but due to a disproportional amount of air drumming, I can't seem keep my foot tapping in /4, instead of, say /16-ish. Damn you, double bass


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## Mordacain (Dec 12, 2011)

starslight said:


> I used to play Dave Matthews.
> 
> In defense of ol' Dave, though, I did learn an awful lot of interesting and unorthodox chord voicings.



There's nothing wrong with Dave Matthews. Dude does use a lot of interesting chord voicings and makes a lot of interesting material with otherwise pretty basic ideas.

As far as my own practice routines....can't say I really find any of them funny, though recently I've started doing picking exercises while watching the Biggest Loser. Not sure why, but that show is actually helping my alternate picking speed improve rather dramatically.


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## Rockyoursocksoff (Dec 13, 2011)

When i started to learn to sweep pick i tought i was really good when i was able to sweep like herman on this vid 
SO i continued to do it, untill a few days later i realised that i was horrible.


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## 27duuude (Dec 13, 2011)

I used to just play songs that were tuned down in whatever tuning I wanted. That combined with mid-scooping a strat with a distortion pedal made everything sound like shit. but I didnt care at the time


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## rchrd_le (Dec 17, 2011)

I used to not use my pink(not good) when I practiced, I tucked my pinky behind my neck haha!


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## texshred777 (Dec 17, 2011)

When I was a beginner, I didn't use my pinky at first(except for chords). Then, about a year and a half into playing I severly broke my left elbow. After my arm being in a cast for weeks my left arm and hand had withered to nothing. The nerve damage made my pinky "stick" to my ring finger. 

It was kind of a blessing, I literally had to start from square one and retrain all the muscles in my hand. It was during that time that I discovered Steve Vai, and in doing so I started over doing it right.


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## Grimbold (Dec 21, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Playing way too many exercises, sure you can play those fast, but there is no context and you don't really learn anything


BUT once you put them in context they help a lot!


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