# I don't know how to practice



## jordanscotisdead (Jan 15, 2012)

After reading through some threads here today, I have come to realize I never practice the way a lot of really good players do. 
I've been playing for a year and a half and all I do is practice other peoples music or jam ideas in my head. 
I use the on-board metronome in tux guitar while I ramp up/play to tabs but I don't know how to use one otherwise.
I don't know how to sum up my playing ability so i'll just name some songs i've learned. 
The Ghost Insides discography (a song takes me maybe 3-4 attempts to have at 100% speed and 2-3 more to be clean).
Everything off BoO's The New Reign minus sweeps. These were all challenging for me.
Veil of Maya - Unbreakable is the most recent thing I've learned, it took a good 3show hours to get down clean. 
I've also attempted a few more VoM songs, some Periphery, and Haunted Shores but the chords/string skipping riffs give me the most trouble.

So, I guess I have a few questions: 
1. How do I use a metronome with exercises?
2. What are some good exercises for someone newer to guitar?
3. How often should I be practicing exercises vs learning songs to increase my capabilities? Are exercises always better to be practicing with?
4. How long should I practice something with minimal improvements before I take a break from it?


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## brutalwizard (Jan 15, 2012)

1. the same way your using it to learn songs....
2. steve vai 10 hour workout, john petrucci rock discipline
3. you will probably get more use learning songs properly, but exercises are important to get down certain abilities. 
4. if your having minimal improvement take a few steps back, consider the problem. find examples similar and build back up to what you were trying in the first place.


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## jordanscotisdead (Jan 15, 2012)

The problem with 1 is that the program sets it up to the tab, so I have no control over it. 
So I hear it and I understand how the song fits with it but I don't know how to put things i'll just be playing on my guitar over a click on my pc.
As for the rest, ill check out those videos asap.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Jan 15, 2012)

www.amazon.com/Korg-MA-30-Compact-Digital-Metronome/dp/B0002E2O2Q/

Also, check whether you can set the tempo on your program.


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## brutalwizard (Jan 15, 2012)

METRONOME ONLINE - free!


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## jordanscotisdead (Jan 15, 2012)

Not what I was trying to say haha.
I mean I don't know how to correctly play to a metronome unless I can hear what I'm going to be learning played to one beforehand. Maybe that makes more sense?


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Jan 15, 2012)

Er, you match the beat with the music. If the beat is slow, the music is proportionally slow. If the beat is fast, the music is similarly fast. Have you never counted off a tempo before?


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## jordanscotisdead (Jan 15, 2012)

Nevermind, tinkered with it for a few minutes. I just wasn't sure how to do it for oddly timed stuff with tempo changes but I figured it out.

Anyways, still looking for some good exercises. I'll be downloading them all in February when I get home internet back.


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## skeels (Jan 15, 2012)

My advice to you: play with other people.
I know - kinda old fashioned right? 
Seriously, I practiced for years and never got any good at music.
Music is like any language - speak it with people. 
Whatever you do is your practice.
What are you gonna practice at?
Sitting in your bedroom?
Or getting out there and rocking?

Go forth and rock, young Jedi ...


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## Solodini (Jan 17, 2012)

What I find useful as exercises is taking things you know how to play and playing them differently, be that playing them in a different place on the fingerboard or using different fingerings, or playing them using different techniques. In terms of the first one, this can even be using your middle finger of your fret hand where your index would usually be and fitting the rest of the notes around your reach from there, then try it again but using your ring finger in place of where the index finger usually is. This can help to improve your knowledge of the fingerboard and your ability to use your fretting fingers evenly.

I think you should practise exercises as long as it takes for you to learn the method of the technique and then go straight on to using it in music.

If you become bored then reimagine what you're playing to make it more interesting. If you feel that you're not getting it then taking a break probably isn't the most effective way of dealing with it, but finding the source of the problem. It could be that the exercise you're using isn't optimal, or it could be that you're misinterpreting it so if you're not progressing then analyse why not or find someone to help you to do so. Take breaks when you feel too tired/hungry to keep practising.


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## JosephAOI (Jan 18, 2012)

OP, I feel like we're almost at the exact same level. I'm learning TNR right now and the hardest stuff I can play is like Unbreakable and Mowgli. I'm not sure exactly where Akron is, but if you ever make it down to Louisville, KY with your gear, you're perfectly welcome to come over, hang out and jam! Like some other guys are saying, sometimes that's the best thing for a growing musician!


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## jordanscotisdead (Jan 23, 2012)

Haha yeah, we probably are then! I just spent the last weak learning the Constellations cd by August Burns Red. My string skipping exercises can be played near double bpm from last week. Check out that cd if you're skipping isn't phenomenal!

Dude that would be tight if i'm ever there, or if you're ever up this way. I started jamming with this dude from a local indie band recently, learning a lot of interesting chord shapes and progressions out of my comfort zone. I dig it.


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## summit101 (Feb 1, 2012)

THIS IS (more then likely) EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR... 



to put things into perspective a little bit; In johns early days, he (and bassist) would practice 6 hours everyday no matter what. but you could probably practice 3-4 hours a day and still have a VERY tight technique.

anyone can probably practice the exercises in this video at any tempo they want. he will show you how to stretch, warm up, and do metronome work. 

also, you can simply make up a riff that includes these picking techniques all in one lick. its just a way to make your practicing a little more creative and interesting. and in case this video "seems" intimidating, you can apply these techniques to any style you play. you don't have to be "Mr. shred" to learn these techniques.


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## straightshreddd (Feb 1, 2012)

This might be of use. It's a little demanding but try it out. I thought it was pretty sick.

Guitar Study - Schedule, Organize Your Guitar Study


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## Maniacal (Feb 2, 2012)

That routine looks next to useless.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Feb 2, 2012)

Agreed. I don't know where to begin with criticizing that regiment, it has you jumping around everywhere. I like "Ear training - 10 min".


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## Solodini (Feb 2, 2012)

Thirded. Motion passed. Memorisation of scales by fret positions alone is bad, the descriptions are very nonspecific and beyond initally learning a concept, there's not much use in just drilling something like scales every day. Use it! You're never going to play up and down a scale repeatedly in a performance/composition.


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## Maniacal (Feb 2, 2012)

so, you never practice modes/arpeggios/chord inversions all over the neck?

That is the basis of my entire routine. 

How do you approach note choice when improvising then?


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## Solodini (Feb 2, 2012)

I practised simply playing them when I was learning them but now that I know them I practise playing music with them.

I approach note choice as notes from within a key or specific intervals in relation to what's going on in the rest of the piece but that can be done without playing up and down a scale repetitively every day. The notes stay in your head fine if you're using them in the context of songs/compositions.


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## Maniacal (Feb 4, 2012)

Interesting. My method is to play through every mode/arpeggio that I want to use, all over the neck. I will play it with different sequences/subdivisions and techniques. After that, I will improvise. 

It is quite tedious, but it helps me play all over the neck with relative ease.


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## Solodini (Feb 4, 2012)

Yeah, my method is more based on remembering the tuning and finding notes by intervals from open strings. I switch tunings that much that I find working intervals to be more constructive within my style.


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## Guitarchitect (Feb 4, 2012)

As usual there's some good feedback here just a few practice based things to consider.

1. Have clear goals of what you're trying to do. You can't get too far if you don't know where you're trying to go.

2. Practice what you're going to play. I knew guys who got the 1-2-3-4 chromatic thing down cold and when the went to solo - guess what came out? No guess how interesting it was to listen to.

3. For technical things, I recommend sitting down with a timer, a time keeping device and a practice log. Try (multiple) 5-10 minute sessions at first and really pay close attention to the 3 T's (Timing, Tone and (Hand) Tension).

4. Remember that scales, arpeggios or any other musical devices are only tools in making music, and not music in and of themselves. The way that all of these things really kicked in for me was studying them in conjunction with learning tunes and solos by ear. So try working an ear training/transcribing/learning things by ear component into your practice sessions.

You can also try going here:
Blueprints &#8211; or what you&#8217;ll find here « Guitarchitecture.org

and scrolling down to the practicing section. There are about 10 practice specific posts there that fill in a lot of the things I'm outlining here in much more depth.

Finally remember that 1 hour 7 days in a row yields much more benefits than practicing 7 hours one day a week.

Good luck!


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## jsl2h90 (Feb 5, 2012)

As much as I despise a set of boring exercises I do advise using John Petrucci's Rock Discipline book to simply build chops. Also, as random as this sounds, I read a Dimebag Darrell article where he mentioned that using trills during his warm up helped him play better/faster. It seems to be true for me as well, you can practically feel your fingers burning off after the first 5 minutes even after running a very simple "1-2-3-4" chromatic up the strings. Hope it helps.

As far as actual practicing, the best advice I can give you is to be sure you're spending your practice time on something you're not good at. I've failed pretty hard the last 2 years at this and now I'm kicking myself realizing its the reason I've been at a plateau for so long. I used to sit there and play something I was comfortable with all the time; when you do this you're not forcing yourself to improve and you're defeating the purpose of practicing.


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## pushpull7 (Feb 6, 2012)

jsl2h90 said:


> I read a Dimebag Darrell article where he mentioned that using trills during his warm up helped him play better/faster. It seems to be true for me as well, you can practically feel your fingers burning off after the first 5 minutes even after running a very simple "1-2-3-4" chromatic up the strings. Hope it helps.



I'm interested more in this but have a tough time w/o visual references. When you say trill in the context of practice are you saying 1st/2nd fret then 2nd/3rd fret (utilizing the 4 finger positioning?)

EDIT: I really didn't know that "trills" are considered by so many to represent hammeron/pulloffs (so what I thought) I thought "trills" were the sliding of the finger between two frets.


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## Solodini (Feb 6, 2012)

Both methods will give you a good workout. Usual practise regimes are trilling 1&2 then 1&3 then 1&4 then 2&3 then 2& 4 then 3&4. Trill until you can trill no longer!


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## Maniacal (Feb 6, 2012)

Alternate picked trills are good too. Even better is to do 4 beats of legato trills, 4 beats of alternate picked and so on...


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## pushpull7 (Feb 6, 2012)

This place is like crack, thanks guys!


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