Archive for October 2009
Get A Balanced Guitar Practice
How’s your Practice diet?
Do you have a wide variety of things that you practice. Or do you like to binge? (You know…the type of player who practices sweep picking for a kazillion hours a day but only know three chords)!
Having a Balanced practice routine is essential if you want to become a versatile guitarist. If you just practice one or two things, sure you’ll get great at those things…but you’ll be weak in other key areas.
In this lesson you’ll learn how to create a practice routine that is well-Balanced and will help you work towards your ultimate vision of how you would like to play.
I generally categorise what I practice into one of seven areas:
1. Technique.
2. Repertoire (Covers).
3. Composition.
4. Improvisation.
5. Ear Training.
6. Theory.
7. Music Reading.
Everything that you practice will fit into one or more of the above areas. For example,if you are learning a very challenging cover tune by transcribing it off the CD you are essentially working on your technique, repertoire and ear training at the same time. If you also write down the song in standard notation, you will also be developing your
music reading skills.
Now do you have to practice things in all seven areas? I believe that you don’t have
to if your vision doesn’t require it. For example, if someone wants to become an
awesome classical guitarist and has no desire to improvise, then I believe that they don’t need to practice things relating to improvisation. We all have limited time available for practice, so it’s a waste of time working on things that don’t specifically help you reach your goals.
Let’s go through a few exercises
Exercise One:
Think about the vision that you have for your playing for a few minutes.How would you like to play in ten years time. Make it exact!
Once you’ve done that, brainstorm as many things that you need to practice in order to play like your vision. What specific things do you need to learn, develop and practice? Write them down now.
Exercise Two:
Next to each of the things written down for Exercise One, write down a category next to it. For
example, if you wrote “I need to be able to play faster” then write technique next to it. If you feel that something you wrote belongs to more than one category, then write down all the categories it could belong to.
Exercise Three:
Look at your answers for the previous two exercises. Once you’ve done that prioritise
the categories shown below. For example, if you feel that technique is the most
important thing you need to work on to reach your vision then put a 1 next to it.
**Practice Area Priority Level (1-7)** [Note: 1 is the highest priority].
Technique
Repertoire (covers)
Composition
Improvisation
Ear Training
Theory
Music Reading
Now here’s the important point. You should spend the most time practising your number one priority. I know it’s pretty obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many people don’t do this! I know a few guitar players who would like to be able to play incredibly fast, yet they don’t do a lot of technical practice. Talk about setting yourself up to fail!
Exercise Four:
Decide how much time every day you will spend on each category. Write it down below.
**Practice Area Time Invested Daily**
Technique
Repertoire (covers)
Composition
Improvisation
Ear Training
Theory
Music Reading
All done? Great!
So whats the next step?
The next step is to decide on a specific activity for each practice area.Make sure to write them down.
Here are a couple of examples of what someone might put down…
Technique: I will invest 10 minutes a day on alternate picking exercise one. I will
start with the metronome at 80 beats per minute (bpm) and increase it by 4 bpm daily
(as long as I can play it perfectly).
Ear Training: I will invest 10 minutes daily a day on A minor pentatonic ear training exercise one.
Got the idea? You would have one specific activity for every practice area. If you
have a lot of time to practice you could set more than one activity per practice area.
Give this method a try. I’ll think you’ll be more than happy with the results!
John Pawlett
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/get-a-balanced-guitar-practice-90972.html
Related Articles
Music Book and the Guitar
If you want to learn to play the Guitar you are going to have to put some time in. The fact of the matter is that you are not going to learn to play the guitar overnight. Luckily, there are many techniques that you can follow in order to learn the skills you need to rock out hard.
The easiest way of learning to play the guitar is with a Music Book. Books are a great source of knowledge in the music industry, and this definitely holds true if you want to learn how to play the guitar. There are some things that you will need to know if you want to learn to play the guitar. A few of the more important tips are listed below.
1. You cannot learn to play the guitar unless it is in good playing condition. This means that your guitar will have to be in key so that you can get off to a fast start. After you are sure of this the next step is to find a quiet place that will allow you to concentrate and practice in peace.
2. Knowing your guitar and how it works is a key to success. The more that you know about your guitar the better chance there is that you will be able to get good at playing it. You should search for as much information as you can about the guitar industry. This way you will know what to expect, as well as how to adjust to any problems that may come up.
3. Do not start out by aiming for high goals. Before you can become the next great guitar player you will first need to start at the bottom. Start with the basics that you can learn from a music Book and then move on from there. As long as you do not get ahead of yourself you should be able to move forward in the right direction.
4. Of course it would be exciting to jump straight to the top of the industry, but you should stick with what you know at first. If you enjoy playing a particular song stay with it until you have it mastered. When you do this you will get a sense of pride that you are actually moving forward.
5. You can gain confidence by starting simple and organizing performances. The more practice you have the better you will get. And when you can prove that you can play in front of others it will be much easier for you to gain confidence.
Anurag Pareek
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/music-book-and-the-guitar-85931.html
Learn Guitar Fast: for Beginners
Nowadays, there are many different ways to learn to play guitar Fast, even for beginners. You don’t have to spend hours playing boring scales or even investing in a private teacher – or group lessons. There are a wealth of online resources that will teach you how to play Guitar quickly using proper technique. You can basically teach yourself.
The first thing you’ll need, of course, is a guitar. Depending on whether you want to Learn acoustic or electric guitar, you’ll need different equipment. acoustic guitar means you’ll only need the guitar itself; if you want to play electric guitar, you’ll eventually want to invest in an amp and probably speakers. It’s a good idea to have some rubbing alcohol on hand to keep your fingers in good shape once you start getting calluses.
The second thing you need to do is find a good online resource that will work for you. Some programs are geared towards more advanced players, but most of them are made for beginners. There are many different ebooks, online courses, videos, and other materials online that can teach you to play guitar as a beginner. Do a little research ahead of time to make sure you get the right one.
The last thing to consider is how much real time support the program you choose offers. If you’re someone who works best with a real instructor, you’ll probably want a program that has round the clock email or even phone support from real guitar teachers. If you’re good at teaching yourself using just the materials provided in the course, you probably don’t need to worry about that much.
If you want to Learn to play guitar fast, there are plenty of resource for beginners that will help you. In just a few days, you can be playing your favorite songs if you find a good program, a good guitar, and are willing to practice.
Shane
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learn-guitar-fast-for-beginners-1249240.html
Songwriter Confessions #2
Any real Beatle fan knows that Stu Sutcliffe was the original
bass player,who died of a brain embolism before the Beatles
became famous. But what if it hadn’t been Stu with the deadly
weakness, but rather…?
There is very little time left now. The meeting will take place
in a matter of hours: an event so significant for future
generations that nothing can be allowed to change it in any way.
I have found the boy: a cheerful soul with wide eyes that
question the world with amusement. He does not yet know the path
that is set for him, or the tiny thing inside his brain that
brings me here through the oceans of time. We agreed that it is
a task that must be done for the peace of souls everywhere. From
my place of concealment across the square I wait for him to
appear on this cloudy day. In the skies I see a vortex that
promises more storms but the people around me, simple people
with low reception levels they do not understand, pass by in
their life patterns. Once the boy is in sight, my timing will
allow me to meet him at the shop window where he pauses without
exception every day to stand and admire. I am programed with
every trace of memory from the projection undertaken by the
finest minds in our universe. There are no randoms not accounted
for: no variations not calculated to the infinite degree. I see
him now. The boy comes around the corner whistling a tune of his
own making, with eyebrows high in delight as the activity in the
square greets his vision. For a moment he slows as he passes the
shop they call the baker, but then resumes his journey across
the square directly towards me where I stand close to the shop
that intrigues him so. Every step he takes is more important
than he can ever know, but his cheerful smile shows none of this
as he reaches the window of the store that sells instruments of
music and stops with hands in pockets to stare in familiar
routine. If he were to look at me, he would see only another boy
his own age, but his attention is unwavering and complete on one
of the items in the window. He leans forward until nose touches
glass. Hofner…he says out loud to nobody. Loovely, he says and
his focus is so complete that I take three swift steps towards
him, swirl the cloak of transformation over him and the deed is
done. I turn away from the shop window and resume my journey. In
my mind are random thoughts of how to get enough money for the
music instrument, with bursts of spontaneous melodies in the
background. A part of my mind sees images of playing a guitar
sitting on a bed in a small but friendly room. I walk on. It is
30 minutes later and I have come to an open field which a small
festival has filled with music, banners and the chatter and
laughter of two hundred people. I have only just reached the
first stall when someone calls my name and I turn to see my
friend Ivan smiling at me while the activity of the fair flows
around him. Come over here, he says, I’ve got someone you should
meet. I follow him deeper into the fairground to stop in front
of a small and rickety stage barely three feet off the ground.
Sitting at the corner with legs dangling over the edge is a
skinny youth in a black shirt and jeans with hair combed back in
extravagant sculpture and a cigarette dangling from the corner
of his thin-lipped mouth. His left hand is adjusting the tone of
the strings of the guitar he cradles on his legs while his eyes
measure me with care. Hey, Johnny…Ivan says with a measure of
casual excitement to the skinny figure…got someone you should
meet… he’s a guitar player too… Johnny squints through the
smoke of the cigarette at me. Oh yeah?…he says. Yeah…says
Ivan and throws his arm around my shoulders. Johnny…says
Ivan…meet Paul McCartney…
Copyright – Bill Dollar 200
Bill Dollar
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/songwriter-Confessions-2-3363.html
Related Articles
- [WATCH]: Fat Rant 2 : Confessions of the Compulsive …
- [WATCH]: Video Game Confessions: Chell from Portal …
- [WATCH]: Lindsay Lohan Talks About Confessions Of A Broken Heart 2005 …
Trackbacks
Solo electric guitar lesson arpeggio blues rock over chords
http://www.nextlevelguitar.com/pages/videojamtracks/
Click the above link to get three free jam tracks from Next Level Guitar.
In this lesson we teach how to play arpeggios over chord changes for a very different and sophisticated sound. The licks are played over a jam track – be sure and get the free jam tracks and start practicing your licks.
For many more lessons go to our full on instructional website at http://www.nextlevelguitar.com
Duration : 0:10:56
