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  #16  
Old 03-12-2018, 05:14 AM
Nymuso Nymuso is offline
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Originally Posted by BobbyMocha View Post
This constitutes my practice hour.
I found your problem.

Pick up the guitar when you want, play what you want, put it down when you want. Don't restrict yourself to a time frame or a specific practice time. If you approach this as a job that is all it will ever be.

I started in the early '60s and am entirely self taught. I listen to all advice but never accept instruction. It's worked for me and I believe it can work for anyone who has the fire.
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  #17  
Old 03-13-2018, 04:33 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Pick up the guitar when you want, play what you want, put it down when you want. Don't restrict yourself to a time frame or a specific practice time. If you approach this as a job that is all it will ever be.
This!

There's a reason why we use the word "play" to describe performing music ("jouer", "spielen"). It's not "work". Not even when it's your job!

Actually, when music is your job - and it's mine now - the word "work" is what we use when we're not enjoying it.
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  #18  
Old 03-14-2018, 12:35 PM
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KDepew KDepew is offline
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I think what you have here is good. I always tell my students that they should practice something they don't know and are not comfortable with at least 5 minutes a day. Just to challenge themselves and not get bored. I agree with an earlier post that a break through may be just around the corner for you....
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  #19  
Old 03-15-2018, 06:04 AM
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SprintBob SprintBob is offline
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I’ve been playing 5 years this spring and feel like I have a good play/practice routine that rarely feels stale. Your routine is similar to mine the first 2 years I played.

What really helped me was figuring out my main interest was fingerstyle music. That helped me focus on what I needed to work on and allowed me to set attainable goals. It also helped me narrow down the teacher I was looking for.

If you really want to progress, I think you need to dedicate more time to it. Most good players feel like 3 hours a day minimum is required to move the ball down the field. I’m lucky in that with no kids in the house, it’s easier to find that time. Be creative in that if you can’t do 3 hours in the evening, get up early and do an hour before the sun comes up and do 1-2 hours in the evening. I love playing music so I never find the time commitment to be a drag.

I second the advice on when working on a song, identify and isolate the trouble spots and sort those out where you can play them without thinking about it. Your progress will dramatically increase. And always, always make it a habit to play in time whenever possible. A metronome should become your friend .

I did not have a teacher for three years but now I take a Skype lesson every three weeks. It’s money well spent and my teacher is bigger than life in my guitar room on a 32” flat screen and I see everything he does and he sees everything I do.

I used to play scales a lot but you have to have a reason to play scales in the context of what you are working on and this advice is not from me but from my teacher who has played for over 50 years and is a professional musician. I do a lot of woodshed work but much of it is not related to just playing chord shapes and scales. One recommendation I would make is to check out Scott Tenant’s book Pumping Nylon. While written for the classical player, the exercises in it are some of the best I have seen for improving right and left hand technique especially if you aspire to be a fingerstyle player.

Good luck!
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  #20  
Old 03-15-2018, 06:26 AM
BobbyMocha BobbyMocha is offline
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Originally Posted by SprintBob View Post
I’ve been playing 5 years this spring and feel like I have a good play/practice routine that rarely feels stale. Your routine is similar to mine the first 2 years I played.



What really helped me was figuring out my main interest was fingerstyle music. That helped me focus on what I needed to work on and allowed me to set attainable goals. It also helped me narrow down the teacher I was looking for.



If you really want to progress, I think you need to dedicate more time to it. Most good players feel like 3 hours a day minimum is required to move the ball down the field. I’m lucky in that with no kids in the house, it’s easier to find that time. Be creative in that if you can’t do 3 hours in the evening, get up early and do an hour before the sun comes up and do 1-2 hours in the evening. I love playing music so I never find the time commitment to be a drag.



I second the advice on when working on a song, identify and isolate the trouble spots and sort those out where you can play them without thinking about it. Your progress will dramatically increase. And always, always make it a habit to play in time whenever possible. A metronome should become your friend .



I did not have a teacher for three years but now I take a Skype lesson every three weeks. It’s money well spent and my teacher is bigger than life in my guitar room on a 32” flat screen and I see everything he does and he sees everything I do.



I used to play scales a lot but you have to have a reason to play scales in the context of what you are working on and this advice is not from me but from my teacher who has played for over 50 years and is a professional musician. I do a lot of woodshed work but much of it is not related to just playing chord shapes and scales. One recommendation I would make is to check out Scott Tenant’s book Pumping Nylon. While written for the classical player, the exercises in it are some of the best I have seen for improving right and left hand technique especially if you aspire to be a fingerstyle player.



Good luck!


Thanks bob. All good advice. I know I may have to find a way to get in front of a teacher. I’ll work on that. I too love finger style but I want to learn to strum and play rhythm too. I’ll look for Scott tenant’s book today
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