What are your practice habits?

[jrs146]

I have to admit that I'm a little frustrated with my inability to find enough time to practice consistently. Obviously that has slowed my development quite a bit.

Prior to about 6 months ago I was a very casual guitar player. But recently I've really tried to step up my knowledge and skills. I'm taking lessons twice a month and I try to practice whenever I can. Unfortunately with all my daily obligations, finding time can be very very hard.

I'm sure I'm not the only one in this predicament. So I was wondering... what do you do to build strong practicing habits? How much time are you able to commit to practicing?

Josh

[HHP]

I set time aside every day at about the same time, roughly 5:30 till 6:30 to do a primary guitar practice. Sometimes add some time for mandolin or I'll just pill out the mandolin during the evening to get some time in.

I devote the time to playing existing pieces and learning new pieces, maybe focusing on a particular technique I may need for new pieces.

[TBman]

I play songs. Sometimes I'll pick a song that's over my head so I'll make exercises out of the sections to get me up to speed. Once in a while I'll do Barre chord drills too.

[BrunoBlack]

My routine is ~8:30 AM - 10:00 AM for practice. I usually play for 1-2 hours later in the day, time TBD depending on what's going on.

[Llewlyn]

I practice daily about 45 mins after breakfast, before going to work. I find that my brain is fresh enough so that it's worthwhile to try to learn something new. In the evenings when I don't go out, I play songs over and over.

Ll.

[The Bard Rocks]

That's good advice - to set aside regular time, whatever you feel you can afford, and then stick to it, no matter what. Not that I have ever done that, a case of "Don't do as I do, do as I tell you to do."

[CaineIsCarter]

I play songs that I haven't fully nailed. There are a lot, where I can play most of the song but stumble over certain passages. When I slow down and work through the bits I can't yet play, I make good progress. But too many times I try and play it at full speed, even though I know I'm not there yet. It's stupid; I somehow tell myself that I can suddenly play it, even though I haven't acquired it.

[HOF dad]

I guess it depends on how you define practice.
I am recently retired so I have plenty of time and I probably play a couple of hours every day.
My challenge (especially in the summer when I have lots of other things to do) is to learn things that will further my playing abilities. Whether new songs or techniques, I can get complacent easily.
I can roll through the stuff I already know for 2 hours a day but tend to get bored after a while.
So - a long answer to a short question. I guess if you're playing, you're practicing.


Dan

[Rev Roy]

One of the few things good about waiting until you retire before taking up the guitar is that you have plenty of time to practice.

Every mornings I spend at least 1 1/2 - 2 hrs going thru my practice schedule. I literally have an ever-changing list - practice such and such for 10 mins, that for 20 mins, etc, etc...and I use a timer to make sure I put in AT LEAST that much time on each song/exercise/strumming pattern/whatever. Then around cocktail time I grab a guitar for 15-20 mins of completely unstructured fun.

Works for me...

[Silurian]

Everyone's circumstances are different. For me, work and family (wife, four kids: 16 months, 6, 9 and 12) has resulted in practice time reducing in inverse proportion to number of children.
These days I just grab a guitar for 10 minutes when I can. No structured routine.
Of course limiting time on guitar forums might help somewhat.

[bozz_2006]

When I'm trying to learn new skills, I don't spend much time rehearsing/learning material. When I'm working on learning material I don't spend much time trying to learn new skills. When I'm predicting techniques I usually do that in the early morning. When I'm rehearsing I tend to do that in the late evening.

Never had a set schedule, I play when I want, stop when I want. No routine, no scales, just songs. Seems to have worked out.

[jrs146]

Originally Posted by Silurian

Everyone's circumstances are different. For me, work and family (wife, four kids: 16 months, 6, 9 and 12) has resulted in practice time reducing in inverse proportion to number of children.

These days I just grab a guitar for 10 minutes when I can. No structured routine.

Of course limiting time on guitar forums might help somewhat.

I struggle with the same issue. With a six month old and a 3 year old it's hard. Add o top of that being a small business owner and all the commitments associated with that and there is the struggle. I've been recently thinking about working on songs that my 3 year old likes because then I could include him and make it part of family time. Hopefully that would even influence him to take an interest!

[jrs146]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

One of the few things good about waiting until you retire before taking up the guitar is that you have plenty of time to practice.



Every mornings I spend at least 1 1/2 - 2 hrs going thru my practice schedule. I literally have an ever-changing list - practice such and such for 10 mins, that for 20 mins, etc, etc...and I use a timer to make sure I put in AT LEAST that much time on each song/exercise/strumming pattern/whatever. Then around cocktail time I grab a guitar for 15-20 mins of completely unstructured fun.



Works for me...

Sounds like a great routine. I guess I have something to look forward to during retirement!

[StephenHD35]

I play as much as I can, which is not the same as practicing, I realize. I spend between 30 and 45 minutes each day, slow and with a metronome, going over problem passages of whatever piece I'm working on. It doesn't sound like much, but even short amounts of highly focused, deliberate work on a particular problem can yield surprising results. I spend the rest of my guitar time playing entire pieces, or anything I please really.