What's your practice routine?

[arob16]

What does everyone's practice routine look like? Scales practice, learning specific songs, song writing, finger exercises etc. I am trying to change this part of my guitar life up a bit. Currently I just go to the music room and noodle around without much structure to my routine. I'm looking for some inspiration! Interested to hear how you all structure your guitar practice/routine.

Adam

[rllink]

Almost every day around 4:00 I mix a drink and grab my guitar. I take lessons so first I warm up a little with some scales and then I focus on my lesson for awhile. Maybe a half hour, give or take. I don't watch the clock or a timer, I just go until I get my fill. Lessons give what structure and accountability there is to my practice.

Then when I feel like I got enough of that I play and sing some songs. They might be old ones off my play list that I've been playing forever or new ones that I think sound fun. I work in walk ups, slides, pull offs and hammer ons, different chord voicings and little riffs to see if I can fancify them up. I just have fun with them. My wife is a bass player and often times she will come down to play them with me. That's good practice in itself. This whole thing lasts maybe an hour or more. Sometimes less if I have something else I need to do. Like I said, I don't punch a time clock. I seldom miss a day though and it is always very relaxed.

Often times if I'm feeling it, I'm retired so I have a lot of time, I take a guitar out on the patio or the front porch and just play it. Songs that I know by heart or maybe play little riffs, just play whatever comes to me. I also do that in evenings when my wife is gone for her exercise classes or whatever she does. But that isn't practice, that's just playing. I would say in all I'm playing a couple hours some days between practice and just entertaining myself.

[rstaight]

I try to play at least 30 minutes. Often it goes longer.

I play out of my notebook of jam songs. When there is something I want to work on I will go through it 3 times. No more then 3 because then I am re-enforcing the same mistakes.

After the 3rd time through I go to something else. Then I may come back to it for 3 more times.

[davidbeinct]

Come home from work, snuggle the critters for a bit, then feed them and do a little food prep. Play for a half hour or so, a mix of something old and something new. After the wife gets home cook dinner, eat, and watch a little TV. After she heads to bed to read I’ll go play for an hour or so. Sometimes up to two. I pretty much only work on songs. I feel like I should do scales and other skills drills but I don’t.

[Nymuso]

I pick up the guitar at random times, often when I'm on hold, and play. If I am learning a song, I play that song. When I'm done I put the guitar down until next time. I've always done that, even as a beginner.

I like to keep my routine arduous and unrelenting.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

To me playing is practice. I play just about every night and most mornings. I'm a song person. I have an every-increasing play list and I try to add to it with songs that challenge me a little bit.

[CityPickn]

Warm up - chord changes, chromatic drill, single note drill, a few etude in keys, a bunch of g runs and I finish with a few fiddle tunes I'm polishing.

Actual Practice - 6 songs, 10-15 minutes each, then I go over the songs I'm polishing.

Before bed when groggy - play over backing tracks or just improvise while I record it for ideas.

Then there is just noodling while watching tv. I don't count that.

[thefsb]

I am so inconsistent that I don't think I can call what I do a routine. It makes me feel bad in a guilty kind of way.

With respect to this guilt, there is some relief to doing scales. Right now I'm working on melodic minor in seven different positions ascending and descending in 3rds. Staccato and legato. Straight and triplet swing feel (shuffle). It's not very musical but when I notice progress I feel a bit better.

[Toby Walker]

My daily routine is this:
Warmups - these usually consist of little phrases in songs that I'll need to practice. I'll start out very slow and move up the speed using a metronome.

If I'm preparing for a tour or an upcoming gig I'll go over a number of songs that I'll plan on using.

Whenever I work on a new instrumental I'll devote at least an hour a day for a few weeks. If it's a new song it usually takes me a few days, depending on the complexity of the piece.

All in all I'll practice for a couple of hours on a daily basis.

[Skip Ellis]

I don't unless I'm learning a new tune for a gig or working on a score for a theater production. I rarely pick up a guitar unless there's a purpose and, lately, there hasn't been one. I'm not the type of person who can play for myself - I need an audience. After 60+ years, I know lots of tunes and once I learn one, I rarely forget it, and, I've not lost any physical dexterity at 77 yrs old, so I can pretty much play whatever I need to when the need arises. The need has not arisen much, lately, however.

[Br1ck]

Work first, reward later. If time is short, skip the reward.

[joeappel]

I always have one or two of mine out on a stand next to me in my office. When the spirit moves me (like when I get tired of looking at the computer screen) I work on songs that I'm learning and will pick a couple out that I already know.

In the evening I'll play more purposefully. When I get tired my playing gets sloppier and more frustrating so I don't usually go too late.

I just signed up for a class at the local school of folk music which begins next month. I'm excited for that and the variety it'll bring.

[Martyn Eden]

I always start with Brandon Acker's warm up, which takes 5 minutes. Had I discovered it earlier, I'd be a much better player today.
https://youtu.be/NgY2S_zoPoc

[Mr. Jelly]

I'll preface this with it depends on what you want to learn.

As for me it's pick up the guitar and warm up. That is holding the guitar, feeling the fret board, lightly pick this or that and do some runs or whatever. That works into actual playing and going over a perspective tune I'm contemplating and arranging. From there I play tunes I'm going to play at my next show. If I feel like it, I'll keep going. For me it's a balance of energy and physical limitations. I don't want to trash my fretting hand and be out of the mood to play when I do a show. I will visit my guitar here and there throughout the day working on perspective material but that's more like noodling.

[rick-slo]

For whatever tune I am working on that I am serious about it will be repetition, repetition, and repetition. Not much into exercises on their own.