For the past year I've been using a spreadsheet format with the days of the week across the top and my scheduled exercises down the side. In each exercise cell I write how long I practiced the exercise, the BPMs and any break throughs or obstacles I encounter.
I've archived all these pages in a binder and found it extremely helpful when I'm loosing focus or having a pity party for myself to go back through past spreadsheets and note, not only how much time I've invested, but how much I've improved. It's a great motivator in the tough times for sure.
Some things I also list on the spreadsheet are:
- Any song ideas I come up with and what the recording name is (This is very handy to find those valuable song snippets from months ago that you can't remember what you called. "Chorus_in_A_021110_a.wav" is catchy, but....:-)
- Any cool licks or phrases I happen upon and the recording names or associated music notation I may have for the lick.
- Any songs I'm working on to add to my repertoire. This helps keep me focused and refreshed on songs I would probably forget about after a week or so. Plus, it keeps a running total of how your repertoire is growing which is another great source of motivation.
- Listing of and notes on any videos or other learning materials I may use so I can go back and track things down months later and get a quick recap from my notes or quickly locate a specific part of a video that I found helpful.
- etc., etc.
It's a pretty personal thing, but well worth the effort.
I know it's a bit nerdy, but it has paid huge dividends.
As Jon already said, "..if it's good enough for Steve Vai...."
