who wants to do a 40 day practice challenge with me?

I feel practice is what you make of it. I just try to focus on what I want achieve, as in my OP.

Now onto the update:

Day 10 & 11: Regular practice. Nothing special except I've made really good progress on my ragtime piece. I can play section one (out of two) without errors.

Day: 12: Recording night. I did my repertorie, a run through the new song and then I recorded these:
http://soundcloud.com/tripleohdoug/o...ppy-i-am-redux
http://soundcloud.com/tripleohdoug/manhattan-rag
The first one is a re-recording of a piece I recorded last week. I wasn't happy with it so I tried again. I think it turned out better. Plus I recorded a new one Manhattan Rag.

Tonight: Tackle section two of my new song. Upwards and onwards!

[delb0y]

Great stuff, J-Doug. I think that version of O Glory was tighter tempo-wise and you really nailed the little syncopated bits that kept cropping up. They spice it up a treat and really sound good. Love the Manhattan Rag too - what a great arrangement that is! It felt once or twice like it was just speeding up a tiny bit, but then you'd go back to the original tempo. Hard to notice really, so it's hardly worth mentioning - just trying to find something constructive to say!

For me, I've managed to work out some technical stuff this evening. I copied Ragtime Annie onto my PC, slowed it down to about 190 bpm (according to Transcribe! the original is at 250!!) and have then transferred this onto one track of my little Tascam DP004 meaning I can now record myself playing along to the original and see where all the flaws are...

That's me done for the evening. I'm off to have a beer and watch a Bryan Sutton DVD

Derek

Thank you so much for the kind words Derek! I'm glad you enjoyed them. Manhattan Rag was really tough for me to record (one of the worst yet!) so I believe when you say there were some tempo "adjustments'. Sometimes I just have to say good enough and post it.

Enjoy your beer! I may have one too.

[delb0y]

I've been wondering if my focus on just a single piece for 40 days is a bit overkill...then I listened to a recent FGM Podcast in which Dale Adkins explained how he spent an entire winter just working on Whisky Before Breakfast and of the benefits gained. He also talked about the practice recommendations of many other greats and they all tie in with what I'm trying to do in these 40 days - co-ordination between the hands, playing slowly and really trying to let all the notes ring out, not cutting off notes too early, rhythm...

It was a good podcast (they all are) and has reassured me my time won't be wasted.

For today (14) I spent half an hour before work just going over the tune again to make sure it, and all the subtle variations, are in my head, and then I broke out just a couple of bars for specific attention.

Do some more later...

[delb0y]

Day 16... Not sure if anyone else is still doing this or reading this, but I'm pushing on with the plan. Interesting how when one thinks one 'knows' a piece then tries to play it at 190bpm... any gap or hesitation in the knowing is hugely magnified and revealed. Clearly a massive amount of work to do. I'm almost there with the beginners and intermediate choruses at this pace, but have yet to have a go at the advanced. Still focussing on one or two areas where the right hand work is toughest, and at 190bpm I'm aware of some tensions creeping into the right hand and arm. So loads still to do - but luckily another 24 days to go!!!

Can't imagine ever being able to play this at SK's original pace which I think is closer to 250bpm...but you never know

[mc1]

i've been trying to get some playing time in this week, but it's been tough. i might have averaged an hour of quality time per day. so i'm a little dissapointed about that.

i think i've gotten current arrangements sorted out which took a few hours of time.

i don't count tuning time, stretching time, bathroom, water breaks, etc, so it adds up slowly. i kind of want one of those chess game timers to press just before i start playing and just after i stop.

i'd also like to read through and listen to the stuff in this thread.

Originally Posted by delb0y

Day 16... Not sure if anyone else is still doing this or reading this, but I'm pushing on with the plan.

I'm still hanging in there!

Day 13-16: same old same old, but I feel I haven't put enough time into my new piece lately. So I spent some time last night with the first part of the second section. I have to say it's pretty tricky and the tab does not follow the video much. I'm definitely having to cut new pathways in my brain for this one!

Tonight: more of the new piece and solidify what I know so far.

[Scotch]

This seem's like a brilliant challenge.

Was considering starting tonight but in a few months planning to get a new guitar. So might try this challenge then just to wear in the guitar

[mc1]

Originally Posted by delb0y

... I think one of the reasons learning Ragtime Annie is proving so hard is that I'm not just learning a tune and chords, but I'm learning someone's note for note arrangement, and often the lines are very similar with just one or two notes in different orders so I have to remember where in the tune each tiny variation appears. It's that which is making it so hard to learn. If I was just to go off and play the tune and improvise around it and not worry about every single eighth note then it would be easier. But then that's not the task.

...

i think memorizing the nuances and minor differences does make learning the piece slower. it does have its benefits, as well. but for learning i think it's a good approach, and then someday you can just play it differently whenever to feel the whim.

Originally Posted by delb0y

... so I've rustled up a quick etude that focuses on just these elements.

Here it is. Comments welcome!

Kind regards
Derek

that was good! lots of tricky picking going on.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by Picking Moose

I have been practicing at least 2 hours a day for quite a while already so there's no point in joining in but what I like to know is how any of you would define "practice".

To my students, specially the youger ones, I suggest to break the practice time into 3 sections:
1- warmup/exercises- these includes scales, arpeggios and studies
2- study a piece in detail
3- play whatever you love most without worrying too much about technique (just have fun)

The amount of time allocated to each section would vary according to needs, day schedule, feel, personal needs.

for me, i think of practice as anytime i am playing the guitar with focus. so mindless scales or blues wankery maybe not so much. 3 above, playing just for fun, i think counts.

when my practices are most productive is when i am playing through a piece and can step back and objectively analyze what is or isn't working, musically and technically. it's amazing how i can seem to ignore the same problem over and over, like it will somehow correct itself without conscious effort. then one day a light goes off and i realize there is a issue there.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by clintj

Update: making good progress on my songs. The flash cards are going well too in helping me learn some of the notes, at least to the point that I can more rapidly pin down a few and then know how far to move to get the desired note from there. Got my copy of "The Art Of Contemporary Travis Picking" and am working on the inside-out and outside-in patterns this week. Still feels awkward at the beginning of sessions but my speed and fluidity are improving by leaps and bounds. I'm also developing far heavier calluses than I had before. This was a good idea.

sounds like pretty good effort and results to me.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

...Day: 12: Recording night. I did my repertorie, a run through the new song and then I recorded these:
http://soundcloud.com/tripleohdoug/o...ppy-i-am-redux
...

this is much improved from the earlier version. the rhythm is more solid and the playing is more assured. it kind of goes to show how important it is to get the piece under one's fingers, i.e. develop some muscle memory.

Originally Posted by mc1

this is much improved from the earlier version. the rhthym is more solid and the playing is more assured. it kind of goes to show how important it is to get the piece under one's fingers, i.e. develop some muscle memory.

Thank you for the kind words mc1!

[delb0y]

Day 17 & 18...continuing to work on playing along with the original version at 190 bpm. Though this is slowed down from 250 bpm it's still fast and it's been a shock to the system and how rapidly those 8th notes keep coming!

That said, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere now... finding a few places where I can let notes ring and beginning to work in a bit of 'feel'. Though I haven't even reached the halfway point in the challenge I'm getting a feel for how much work I ought to have been putting in to every new song. I went through a stage where I could have quite happily never have heard this arrangement again...but now I'm really enjoying it on a deeper level. I just close my eyes and play and listen.

Still a few problem areas but verdict so far is positive.

[delb0y]

Day 19 (yesterday) - was lucky enough to have the house to myself last night sp spent a couple of hours working through the Advanced section at pace, and then adding all the sections altogether. I figured out the tag ending and am now almost there at being able to recall and play the whole thing at 190bpm.

Day 20 (today) - the halfway point in this challenge. Haven't picked up a guitar yet today as the house is full of sleeping people, but later today I will be trying to play the whole thing over and over all the way through at 190 and identifying the areas where true focus is needed.

It's a really good place to be at the half way mark - the song in my mind and under my fingers at a decent pace. That'll give me the second half of the challenge to make it sound good, try and relieve some of the tensions that are creeping in when I play at this pace, think about how the tone could be improved, etc etc