Practice per Day...

[chevonee]

I practice atleast 5 hours per day. Since my surgery though that has been cut down by about 2 hours. My problem is staying discipline enough to practice my progressions and scales in every key....EVERY DAY.

[diverse379]

I practice atleast 5 hours per day. Since my surgery though that has been cut down by about 2 hours. My problem is staying discipline enough to practice my progressions and scales in every key....EVERY DAY.

this is exactly why i started the thread on mixing it up

and the one hour practice

I think we try to kill ourselves with the progressions in every key

and the scales in every key

it gets monotonous and makes practice labor intensive

lately I have begun to spend less time on that sort of thing and more time learning how to play songs

and I notice a big improvement


I find that if you spend the whole portion of time on a key that you are not that familiar with
it is better then just struggling through every key for the sake of saying you did it


for example

instead of playing a progression through every key

I may do it in two of my most unfamiliar keys

I may spend 20 minutes doing this all week

what has happened now is that those keys are much more familar

and because each key has a key that is closely related

then I have  become more familiar in two more keys as well

if you rotate the unfamiliar keys you will have spent the same time over the course of time
as you would if you went through each key every day



I think those of us who are self studying need to be careful about drilling to the point of burn out

the goal of playing keys is playing music

so if you can devote the majority of your time to playing music
songs grooves I think that is more rewarding then
drills

[SisterCM]

no less than an hour.

I am a beginner.  I am learning to play by reading sheet music.  My teacher assigns me at least three new songs a week.  This week my assignment was to play the Bridal Chorus from “Lohengrin” and Guanatanamera.  LH and RH extended positions (note reading review) key of C. These songs are teaching theory and solo. 
My hymn for this week is Battle Hymn of the Republic.  I practice at these 15-20 minutes a day on each song.  Each week I learn at least three songs.  I can see myself increasing. 

I also practice some of the simple songs by chords in the keys that I know how to play in.  Now my ear training is at a stand still,  I am not improving much in this area. 

[chevonee]

this is exactly why i started the thread on mixing it up

and the one hour practice

I think we try to kill ourselves with the progressions in every key

and the scales in every key

it gets monotonous and makes practice labor intensive

lately I have begun to spend less time on that sort of thing and more time learning how to play songs

and I notice a big improvement


I find that if you spend the whole portion of time on a key that you are not that familiar with
it is better then just struggling through every key for the sake of saying you did it


for example

instead of playing a progression through every key

I may do it in two of my most unfamiliar keys

I may spend 20 minutes doing this all week

what has happened now is that those keys are much more familar

and because each key has a key that is closely related

then I have  become more familiar in two more keys as well

if you rotate the unfamiliar keys you will have spent the same time over the course of time
as you would if you went through each key every day



I think those of us who are self studying need to be careful about drilling to the point of burn out

the goal of playing keys is playing music

so if you can devote the majority of your time to playing music
songs grooves I think that is more rewarding then
drills

You are absolutely correct. Thanks diverse I really needed to hear this. God bless you sir!

[diverse379]

You are absolutely correct. Thanks diverse I really needed to hear this. God bless you sir!

you are welcome

[T-Block]

Hmmm...I must be a different breed of musician because I absolutely LOVE drills.  I don't get bored easily when it comes to music, so I can easily spend 5 hours on one thing and feel great.

[diverse379]

Hmmm...I must be a different breed of musician because I absolutely LOVE drills.  I don't get bored easily when it comes to music, so I can easily spend 5 hours on one thing and feel great.

yes and no
we all have differing tempermants patience levels etc

I am fond of drills
but I got to a point where They become tedious
I have a short attention span and need to integrate a lot of variety into my playing
so although drills do the job

I am miserable doing them unless I keep them short

or maybe a one month boot camp of drills

but then they have to end

and be transformed to a warm up comprising maybe 20% of my practice time at best.

there was a time in the beginning when al I did was drill but that wasnt music


the way you drill if I remember you are playing grooves

so although they are drills they are extremely musical
so you are in essence composing not just merely drilling

everyone isnt so talented or knowledgable to understand how to keep things in time
how to voice lead so that the chords progressions make musical sense

that is why studying songs is a good way for some to really reap the rewards of their practice

[4hisglory]

Hmmm...I must be a different breed of musician because I absolutely LOVE drills.  I don't get bored easily when it comes to music, so I can easily spend 5 hours on one thing and feel great.

I like drills also BUUUUUTTTTT first I have to seee and UNDERSTAND how it will be APPLIED first.

[sjonathan02]

I like drills also BUUUUUTTTTT first I have to seee and UNDERSTAND how it will be APPLIED first.

Ahhhhhhhhh, now we may be gettin' somewhere.

[diverse379]

I like drills also BUUUUUTTTTT first I have to seee and UNDERSTAND how it will be APPLIED first.

thats interesting

I am definitely different

I do the drill without too much question and discover the uses in time

I think it comes from my martial art days

I would do a drill and find that it had several functions not just one

I also found that it was in the repetition that the true learning took place
it became automatic
and because it was automatic I could respond instintively which was far better then having to think about it


I used to do a form that required my waist to move and twist with every motion
I never questioned why I had to twist my waist with every move I just did the form as depicted inthe book

one year prior to learning this form I sparred a brown belt who fractured my sternum

a year later i sparred him again
and although he hit me in the chest several times it didnt hurt

after we were done I thanked him for not hitting me as hard as he did before
he answered
I hit you harder you just werent there

The twisting of the waist with every move prevented him from landing a clean blow

sometimes if you are looking for answers before you learn the method
you may never learn what you really need to learn to save your life

well in music not your life

but I hope you get the point

maybe people dont know how to articulate all the blessings you will derive from the drills

maybe they left something out
maybe the benefit is just something you will attain

I think I just do my research on who the best authors are
the best drills that the masters did

And I just do what they did
having faith that I will get similar results

[Fenix]

sometimes if you are looking for answers before you learn the method
you may never learn what you really need to learn to save your life


I think I just do my research on who the best authors are
the best drills that the masters did

And I just do what they did
having faith that I will get similar results

You know what, this is absolutely correct. I noticed that too when i first started playing guitar. I was trying to rush and play advanced stuff before i even knew the basics. Of course i was frustrated and disappointed. However when i slowed things down, i noticed that i got better day after day simply by doing the exercises fully and doing them well. Drills may be boring, but they really help when you notice that your playing is MUCH better than it was.

Now i am convicted to going back to picking up my guitar books and going through them again.

[T-Block]

the way you drill if I remember you are playing grooves

so although they are drills they are extremely musical
so you are in essence composing not just merely drilling

everyone isnt so talented or knowledgable to understand how to keep things in time
how to voice lead so that the chords progressions make musical sense

that is why studying songs is a good way for some to really reap the rewards of their practice

Yup, that's me all the way.  My whole thing about drilling is understanding.  Once I understand something, it no longer becomes a drill in the sense of the word.  So, maybe u are right D, you've taught me something here.

[akikodean]

Oh God! I have to "practice"!! (ToT)

[musallio]

Hmmm...I must be a different breed of musician because I absolutely LOVE drills.  I don't get bored easily when it comes to music, so I can easily spend 5 hours on one thing and feel great.

Drills,imho, are the best way to practice!!! U don't even feel the hours go by.

I was surprised for instance, that I practiced for..lemme c...1,2,3,4.. 7 hours yesterday & it felt I had only just started because I had so much I still wanted to do..My studies forced me to head to the library.

Today I did 4 hours & studies cut my fun short

Practic eeveryday?: Depends on whether the board is ready to be played or safely tucked in its case..
I prefer it being ready because I don't spend over an hour..I just "snack" on it throughout the day.
If it's packed, then I "feast" once-and-for-all for the day..