How to practice proficiently (Mark Hanson books)?

[Bud_Spencer]

Dear Friends,

I'm trying to develop a good technique, but after a couple of years I'm thinking that I'm stuck. An unorganized practice routine, playing exercises and songs to fast, and bad habits were detrimental to the development of my technique.

It's for this reason that I decided to study the Mark Hanson Books again, but this time I want to do it properly and efficiently.

My questions are:

1. How to practice properly and efficiently?

2. Do you follow a practice routine?. Ex. 5m warm up (practice the basics), 5m playing an specfic exercise. 5 scales. 15m repertoire, etc.

3. is it a good idea to move on to a next exercise without playing properly an exercise? Should I play an exercise and song almost perfectly before moving on to a next song or exercise?

4. How to develop speed and dexterity?

I appreciate you help.

[TBman]

Which one of Mark's books are you using? My favorite one was the one with Strawberry Curl in it.

I think a good warmup using Mark's books would be to do some of his pinching and alternating exercises, then move on to one of the tunes in the book. I'd practice them slowly to get the muscle memory in there and then speed up over time using steady playing mixed with speed bursts. Muscle memory has more to do with speed than you might think so practicing something in slow motion over and over has its rewards too.

I wouldn't move onto another exercise or tune if you're making garbage, not music, but if you are getting the feel of something I think it's okay to move on to the next thing if you are getting bored.

I think I've answered all of your questions, but the answers are sort of buried in there. As far as scales go I did a lot of scale patterns when I was a flat picker, but not so much with finger style/travis picking.

Also, try to keep practicing your chord changes, especially barre chords. It's easier to maintain hand strength than to re-build it.

"Do I follow a practice routine"

Sort of. I'm learning to use thumb and finger picks (5 weeks in) after 20+ years of playing finger style with bare flesh and 30+ years of flatpicking.

What I do is first just strap the guitar on, put on my picks, tune the guitar and do some alternating bass/melody things, making it up as I go. Then I grab a tune that I'm working on which has been picked because its either

1. Has elements of dexterity that I need

2. Has #1, but is also a neat tune to play.

Some nights I will pick a tune I'm very familiar with. Other nights I will continue on with something I started and on other nights I will do a bit of everything and also find something new to start. I'm turning to a lot of classical music/etudes right now as it is easy to find graded material that I can play easily with my left hand, but use to train my right hand.

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by Bud_Spencer

1. How to practice properly and efficiently?

Apart from having a routine of sorts, I found over 50 years that knowing what I was trying to learn or improve was key. The clearer I was the more efficient practice became.

Originally Posted by Bud_Spencer

2. Do you follow a practice routine?. Ex. 5m warm up (practice the basics), 5m playing an specific exercise. 5 scales. 15m repertoire, etc.

Yes, although it has changed (and should change) a lot. It's better to practice 3 things in depth vs. breezing through a dozen.

I always warm up for at least 5 minutes. I have had all kinds of exercises over the years that I got from others. For many years I have just made up my own, though I would NOT recommend that to anyone but advanced players.

Originally Posted by Bud_Spencer

3. is it a good idea to move on to a next exercise without playing properly an exercise? Should I play an exercise and song almost perfectly before moving on to a next song or exercise?

Basically yes. The goal is not to 'beat the clock' but to assist putting things into motor memory as well as cognitive memory.

I firmly believe that when we breeze through an exercise and say 'good enough' that we internalize 'good enough' and that reflects in our playing.

That said, one can work too long on something. Switching to something else can be a relief as well as a chance for our brain to assimilate behind the scenes.

Originally Posted by Bud_Spencer

4. How to develop speed and dexterity?

The only things that have worked for me are a) using a metronome b) slowing things way down and inching up the tempo.

When I see people who haven't done this, their 'fast playing' is usually disconnected from any rhythm and reminds me of a cabinet of silverware falling down stairs - no control whatsoever.

[Bud_Spencer]

Originally Posted by TBman

Which one of Mark's books are you using? My favorite one was the one with Strawberry Curl in it.

I think a good warmup using Mark's books would be to do some of his pinching and alternating exercises, then move on to one of the tunes in the book. I'd practice them slowly to get the muscle memory in there and then speed up over time using steady playing mixed with speed bursts. Muscle memory has more to do with speed than you might think so practicing something in slow motion over and over has its rewards too.

I wouldn't move onto another exercise or tune if you're making garbage, not music, but if you are getting the feel of something I think it's okay to move on to the next thing if you are getting bored.

I think I've answered all of your questions, but the answers are sort of buried in there. As far as scales go I did a lot of scale patterns when I was a flat picker, but not so much with finger style/travis picking.

Also, try to keep practicing your chord changes, especially barre chords. It's easier to maintain hand strength than to re-build it.

"Do I follow a practice routine"

Sort of. I'm learning to use thumb and finger picks (5 weeks in) after 20+ years of playing finger style with bare flesh and 30+ years of flatpicking.

What I do is first just strap the guitar on, put on my picks, tune the guitar and do some alternating bass/melody things, making it up as I go. Then I grab a tune that I'm working on which has been picked because its either

1. Has elements of dexterity that I need

2. Has #1, but is also a neat tune to play.

Some nights I will pick a tune I'm very familiar with. Other nights I will continue on with something I started and on other nights I will do a bit of everything and also find something new to start. I'm turning to a lot of classical music/etudes right now as it is easy to find graded material that I can play easily with my left hand, but use to train my right hand.

Thanks, this was very helpful. Right now, I'm working with the second book "Contemporary Travis Picking"

I have a more question, should I wait to play an exercise or song at full speed before moving on to a next song or exercise? or should I move on to a next exercise once I'm able to play the exercise or song at a low/medium speed?

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Bud_Spencer

Thanks, this was very helpful. Right now, I'm working with the second book "Contemporary Travis Picking"

I have a more question, should I wait to play an exercise or song at full speed before moving on to a next song or exercise? or should I move on to a next exercise once I'm able to play the exercise or song at a low/medium speed?

I'd try to get things to 75% of "performance" speed, but with zero mistakes.

Boredom is your enemy. It makes us move on to the next thing without really mastering what is in front of us. Everyone has to deal with the patience thing so you're not alone.

Once a week, if you have a cell phone, record yourself playing/practicing. It's an eye opener.

[A Scot in Otley]

As an alternative to the useful replies so far, my approach is different - originating in my consistent failure arising from boredom to succeed in the slogging methodically through exercises in books method. I've covered everything (Rock, Pop, Jazz, Folk, Blues, Americana).

Books ARE good, but I now just use them as resources to steal from, picking out what sounds good to my ears. So -

a. learn the finger pattern you like and one or two basic patterns for chords

b. apply them to (1) the song you like hearing and are learning, or (even better)(2) apply to a song that you write for yourself (start with three chords -more can be added later like seasoning)

c. when comfortable, start experimenting by hammering on; pulling off; leaving off strings; adding on strings - all to see what sounds good. New chord voicings (see below) I cannot stress all this bit enough - it's what makes music happen.

d. perform them in public if you can - open mics/folk clubs etc (this is the motivator that stops boredom setting in)

The above gave me the confidence to perform in public - BUT, the guitar accompanies my warbling, so I'm not a solo fingerstyle guitarist. I use flat pick, and thumbpick with fingers. But same principles apply to both. I always start my practice with the new pattern i'm learning to use in a song, then run through the stuff I know. Key thing as mentioned is timing - I find foot tapping my friend - a metronome is too fussy for me.

Hope there is some small idea in the above that might help you.

The Hanson Travis Picking book is very helpful. Also an earlier one (beyond basic fingerstyle) which has some really interesting chord voicings which make you sound cool. The Solo Guitar Picking book made my head fall off - only for serious fingerpickers. PS have a look at Kenny Sultan's books - fingerstyle blues - but very approachable and good for relatively simple dexterity.

[srick]

After 16 years of practicing (I didn’t start until my 50s), I have found that listening carefully and parroting back phrases has been the best strategy for me. I recently purchased a Vidami pedal which is a foot controller for YouTube etc. ( you don’t have to take your hands off the guitar) and can now learn a technique, or phrase in a fraction of the time (just a very happy customer here). Once your thumb is on autopilot, the melody can then take center stage.

There are all sorts of different learning styles. Some folks are visual, some are auditory, but ‘getting the phrase’ and repeating it, are at the heart of our craft.

As far as the Hanson books to, there’s a lot of love for them here. They never caught my fancy, but as far as Travis picking goes, IMO, these are the components:

1. The bass line, of course… you have to be able to let your thumb go on auto pilot.
2. The melody - which is all important. You have to be able to ‘split your brain’ and play the melody while at the same time the thumb is on autopilot
3. The syncopation - it’s the toughest part AND it’s what makes your music swing

As time goes on, you start seeing that artists have their ‘pet styles’ and ‘pet moves’. You begin to see phrases that were borrowed and chord shapes, extensions and progressions that are standard parts of the vocabulary.

But at the heart of all this is listening and repeating. After 16 years, I’m finally getting it. I hope you’re a faster learner than me!

Best,

Rick

PS - being a ‘sloppy’ learner, I have a very limited appetite for exercises. I learn better when I am working on a song. I probably will never win a technical excellence award (or any others o that matter) but if I can make the song sound good, I’ve achieved my goal.

[musicman1951]

[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Bud_Spencer

Dear Friends,

I'm trying to develop a good technique, but after a couple of years I'm thinking that I'm stuck.

1. How to practice properly and efficiently?

I don't believe "proper" practice is going to be the same for every person. I had a HS clarinet player who could lock himself in a practice room for 45 minutes with a metronome and one difficult part and have it down pat at the end of the period. But I don't know a lot of people who could do 45 minutes of concentrated metronome work on one piece.

I think of efficient practice as eliminating difficult parts, which does require that concentrated metronome work (starting at a painfully slow speed and gradually increasing), but it doesn't have to go on seemingly forever until the part is perfect. You can work in more reasonable time increments and keep taking a bite out of the apple every day until you're up to speed.

2. Do you follow a practice routine?. Ex. 5m warm up (practice the basics), 5m playing an specfic exercise. 5 scales. 15m repertoire, etc.

Again, it depends a bit on your personality. All those areas should be covered, but many people would be unhappy with a strict time interval.

3. is it a good idea to move on to a next exercise without playing properly an exercise? Should I play an exercise and song almost perfectly before moving on to a next song or exercise?

There is a happy medium between "without playing properly" and "almost perfectly." Musically is a much better goal than perfectly. Humans don't do perfect well. But there is very little to gain by slopping your way through an exercise in order to do it again with the next exercise. Use some judgement: exercises (as opposed to compositions) have something to teach you. If you've learned the technique and do it well at a slightly slower tempo and are bored to death I'd move on. If it still needs work but you're bored to death play it for a few minutes a day (until you have it) and add the next exercise.

4. How to develop speed and dexterity?

Speed and dexterity come from good technique (which you mentioned at the top) practiced carefully and with many repetitions. Everything has a price. If you can't play it well at a slow tempo you're not ready to add speed. But if you're practicing slowly with poor technique (hand position, fingers flying too high) it's going to be a long slog. You seem very serious and it wouldn't be a bad idea to have one lesson with a quality teacher to make sure the basics are covered. Whatever you do often you do well, but you can also become great a poor technique with enough repetition. Just go to any golf course driving range to see a perfect example of practicing poor technique.

It's hard to beat a metronome for speed work. A standard practice is to set the speed quite a bit slower than you can play the exercise and increase a couple of bpm with each successful repetition.

Ultimately, you need to assess your personal goals for improvement and devise a reasonable plan. In this case I define reasonable as one that doesn't turn your love of music into drudgery. Find your own balance, and be sure to end each session with an enjoyable song or three that you can play well.

[Bud_Spencer]

Originally Posted by musicman1951

Speed and dexterity come from good technique (which you mentioned at the top) practiced carefully and with many repetitions. Everything has a price. If you can't play it well at a slow tempo you're not ready to add speed. But if you're practicing slowly with poor technique (hand position, fingers flying too high) it's going to be a long slog. You seem very serious and it wouldn't be a bad idea to have one lesson with a quality teacher to make sure the basics are covered. Whatever you do often you do well, but you can also become great a poor technique with enough repetition. Just go to any golf course driving range to see a perfect example of practicing poor technique.

It's hard to beat a metronome for speed work. A standard practice is to set the speed quite a bit slower than you can play the exercise and increase a couple of bpm with each successful repetition.

Ultimately, you need to assess your personal goals for improvement and devise a reasonable plan. In this case I define reasonable as one that doesn't turn your love of music into drudgery. Find your own balance, and be sure to end each session with an enjoyable song or three that you can play well.

This is interesting, but I have some doubts.

1. How should I use the metronome?
- Some people say that you have to lower the speed of a song two times than is normally played it. Ex. If the the song is played in eight notes, you have to practice it in quarter notes. Then you have to increase the speed by 10 bpm until reach its normal speed.

- Others argue that is not necessary to lower the speed until that extreme, they say that you just need to find a speed that is comfortable for you and work from there.

2. How many times repeat an exercise and how to repeat it?
- Should I repeat an exercise 3, 5, or 10 times before increasing the speed? or should I combine exercises, and practice them an specific number of times? Ex. Practice exercises 1a, 2b, 3b, in one round three times instead of playing each exercise five times.

3. How to know when is time to move on to another exercise?
4. Should I review material that I have already practice?