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  #1  
Old 03-26-2018, 10:59 AM
SecondCity SecondCity is offline
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Default Practice Schedule/Tracking Practice

I'm curious if guys (and gals) here have any sort of formal practice schedule, tracking system they'd be willing to share.

I'm working through Beginning Fingerstyle Blues and Mark Hanson's Contemporary Travis Picking. (I'd like to learn to fingerpick.) I figure once I'm through those, then I'll figure out the next steps.

My question is how people structure their practice time, and do you track it? I'm contemplating something like the following (all of it with the metronome):

Pentantonic Scales - 5 min
1 min chord changes (ala Justin Guitar) - 5 min
Guiliani Method - 5 min
Beginning Fingerstyle Blues drills - 5 min
Beginning Fingerstyle Blues "songs" - 10 min
Travis Picking drills - 5 min
Travis Picking Songs - 10 min

I figure a piece of graph paper where I keep the dates, what I did, and the metronome speed I managed would be helpful. I'm hoping a few months of something this structured should get me into shape as I work through the various books. But I thought I'd ask if anyone has another system that works for them.

The forum isn't just for fueling GAS, right?
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:06 PM
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I've been playing for a few years and I just concentrate on playing 3 to 4 finger style songs with an eye on memorizing them. If I do more than that I get too spread out and nothing gets memorized.

As far as scales, I'll do some chromatics for warmup, it doesn't count as practice time.

Because the kids are grown and out of the house, practicing for a couple of hours a night is possible for me. Sometimes I'll spend most, if not all, of the time just on one tune.
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:09 PM
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No.

I'm also not a fan of those fitbit tracker wristbands.
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:16 PM
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fazool fazool is offline
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no nothing that structured.

I find that type of forced structure makes this feel like work.

When working on a particularly difficult passgae I will make a point to practice it deliberately any time I am playing my guitar.

When learning a piece I try to be methodical and cover a passage over-and-over until I have it 80% down, then I add the next passage. Usually I'll go with about 4 measures at a time. But I've been working on really simple piece that confounds me because it's a different style of play so I've been stuck on the first 8 measures for a long time.
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:24 PM
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I think you have a good plan. I’d agree with Barry about scales at this point. Use a scale practice only for warmup. As far as chord changes, you probably only need to focus on first position chord CAGED chord shapes and then as you get into songs that use new or alternate chord shapes, integrate into your muscle memory/chord library. I don’t know what your personal schedule is like but if possible you should try to practice/play at least 2-3 hours a day. Many times I’ll get up an hour early and do my woodshed work in the morning and then work on songs in the evening.

Another book I just started using for woodshed work is Scott Tenant’s Pumping Nylon. While written for the classical guitarist, the exercises in it are excellent for developing fingerstyle mechanics both for classical and steel string.

I set up my practice/play schedule in 3 week blocks. I take a Skype lesson from Mark Hanson every three weeks so I typically update the schedule after or just before a lesson. I use an Excel spreadsheet and I’d be happy to share mine with you if you are interested. The spreadsheet is nice once you set it up because it’s quick to update.
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:29 PM
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I never have in the past, but I recently joined Tony’s Acoustic Challenge (TAC) with Tony Polecastro, and there’s a lot of different methods to approach your practice regimen. There’s a daily lesson every day, so I always try to complete that, but then there’s different ‘academy’ courses and libraries.. I’m working on the library that focuses on Key Chords, which basically breaks down the major scale of each key and focuses on the different chords that come from it (major, minor, accidental, etc etc). I find that it’s good to work on chord transitions as well as really strengthening my knowledge a bit, as I’ve always played pretty much by ear and didn’t have a solid basis in theory..
I don’t necessarily “structure” it as detailed as you mentioned.. I just bounce around to different areas I want to improve, until I complete it or get bored, and then move on. I’ve always been skeptical of online lessons, but without shamelessly plugging, I have to say that I’m extremely impressed with their system, the quality of their content, and the sheer amount of it. I was worried that as an intermediate player, I might run out of stuff or it might be geared towards beginners, but.. such is not the case. Awesome, awesome system and totally worth the cost.
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Old 03-26-2018, 02:04 PM
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Yep...I have a daily practice schedule I go through every morning. 1 1/2 hrs of playing time broken up in 10-15 min sections. I take a 10 min break after an hour to make sure I’m not building up tension in my shoulders/hands. With the break and noodling I do between practice sections takes me almost 2 hrs to complete.

Fiddle tune, Blues, Bluegrassish county strumming/picking, New Age/Jazz (“Hydro Genesis”)... it’s a pretty eclectic daily journey.

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Old 03-26-2018, 02:23 PM
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justinguitar.com has some sheet templates that might help you. They are not pre-populated but, they are already formatted so you can put in your own information. Nothing fancy but, they are free of charge.
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Old 03-26-2018, 03:29 PM
lovgren lovgren is offline
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In my opinion, one should balance: Theory, Technique, and Tunes.

Not necessarily 33% each, but I would concentrate on each and track each. Knowledge / memorization, physical facility with the guitar, and output as something meaningful to play (repertoire). Just knowing which of these you're attempting to improve during any one minute of practice is a big step. Otherwise you can feel like you're practicing but you're really just messing around and years go by...

Keep in mind, there's a difference between just getting through a song and playing it with all the detail you want. So repertoire has multiple levels even with the same song list. As soon as you can play a song in its most basic form, add it to your song list. When you add a riff or other nuance to a song, that also counts as adding to Tunes. I'd say playing a song live is also a big milestone for Tunes.

I don't use a tracker but I should.
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Old 03-27-2018, 12:15 AM
51 Relic 51 Relic is offline
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Default Practice Schedule/Tracking Practice

I have divided my set lists into four sections and play through one every night , so each week I’ve played all my finger style instrumentals . Two days i use to learn new songs and scales etc . I also have to learn new hymns etc for Sunday worship . I normally play for two hours a day
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Old 03-27-2018, 08:02 AM
gfspencer gfspencer is offline
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I just pick up a guitar and start playing. That has worked for 50+ years.
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Old 03-27-2018, 08:24 AM
Riverwolf Riverwolf is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kh1967 View Post
justinguitar.com has some sheet templates that might help you. They are not pre-populated but, they are already formatted so you can put in your own information. Nothing fancy but, they are free of charge.
When I first started five years ago it was with Justin.
I made my own form in MS Excel and still use it daily.
It is used as a diary of sorts, and can be a motivator if I see not much has been written that day.
It is nice to look back and see progress or to note how long a particular song has been in the pipe.
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Old 03-28-2018, 07:45 AM
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I practice for about 5 minutes a day. Practice meaning working on something new that I don't know already or have trouble with. Then I play for awhile. Whatever songs I am working on learning or memorizing and singing along to. I encourage my students to write down what they practice each day and to try and do 15 mins a day every day when first starting out. the key is consistency, not duration. at least when starting out. In my. opinion.
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Old 03-30-2018, 08:49 AM
jaymarsch jaymarsch is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KDepew View Post
I practice for about 5 minutes a day. Practice meaning working on something new that I don't know already or have trouble with. Then I play for awhile. Whatever songs I am working on learning or memorizing and singing along to. I encourage my students to write down what they practice each day and to try and do 15 mins a day every day when first starting out. the key is consistency, not duration. at least when starting out. In my. opinion.
I find this to be true as well. In my own experience, I get a lot more out of practicing for shorter times on a consistent schedule than scatter shot binge practice sessions of longer duration.

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Old 04-02-2018, 05:14 AM
815C 815C is offline
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I think it's great to have a strategy and to track it. The only tweak I'd recommend is to prioritize what you practice so that you start with those things which will have the biggest impact on your goal(s). That way in the event you can't fit everything in on some days, you'll work on the most important things.

I try to prioritize SONGS I'm learning that I'll perform at gigs or recordings, and make the theory/scales/etc. a lower priority.
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