Practice

I've lived in Calgary since March of 2000. I was born in Kingston (Tragically Hip, indeed) in '52 and moved to Ottawa in '75. It is possible to be happy in Ontario. But I don't miss the weather, the humidity, or the squishy-pink socialism. Calgary is different, not necessarily better.

I 'practice' properly for between 1 & 2 hours a day, but probably play for another couple so the total guitar in hand time is higher. 'Practice' as in furious concentration and pushing myself

I keep finding more to learn. At the moment I'm doing all sorts of 2 handed tapping stuff which I never really used to be interested in... using every finger on each hand in different combinations is a challenge - trust me...

I've been obsessed with guitar for 22 years now, and I don't know if I'll ever feel like I know enough... or when I'm playing fast enough / clean enough / whatever. A while ago I decided my fretting hand wasn't in the best position, so I spent months focussing on it and having to re-learn bits and pieces. It paid off though... :cool:

:D

I practice about 12 hours a week. The guys I play with practice 4 hours on Tuesday and 4 hours on Thursday. I try to squeeze in at least 4 hours on Saturday.

:)

Hi everyone,

I usually practice at least one hour per day. But I do very focus and intense practice session. Every 2 weeks, I make a master list of things I want/need to practice/learn and then I keep a track of everything I do. It works well for me :)

now I know why I suck :rolleyes:

I don't think I have ever "practiced." Just played what sounded good and picked up a few things along the way. Learning other people's material is about as much practice I get.

But I probably average 3 hours a day. Give or take. Usually give.

Yeah, I don't practice. Band practice on Tuesday and Thursday is the only time I have set aside, and that's for bass. And sometimes we just watch TV.

God I love the Greasy Knots.

Originally Posted by: Jean-F. RenaudHi everyone,

I usually practice at least one hour per day. But I do very focus and intense practice session. Every 2 weeks, I make a master list of things I want/need to practice/learn and then I keep a track of everything I do. It works well for me :)

Good advice on the list Jean, I could stand to be more focused myself.
I normally practice a couple of hours a day.

Originally Posted by: iihollyJust out of curiousity how often do you guys practice? I practice daily atleast 30 minutes.

The most I've gotten in practicing is 5 hours. My average is 1 to 3 hours a day. You guys better remember my name and ur gonna say "that guy practices a lot! :eek:!!!!! I better pick up that stringed thing I have and play it...what do you call it again?" LOL :D

Practicing is tough I have realized. I could say i practice about an average of 3 hrs a day, but It's really more just jamming and "playing" than practice. I finally found something that works for me while practicing, which was a big help after being stuck in a rut of repetition for the past few months. I found that for me, I need to... get out those old scale worksheets that my teacher gave me, work on especially stuff thats hard for me to do (work the pinky!). Also play CLEAN. No effects or anything, not even reverb, so that I can troubleshoot my mistakes. This isn't so ba in my case considering the fabulous fender clean channel, but still. And also play around with some songs to keep your interest, but break em down and find out whats happening theory wise. Worked for me, might help someone else. Peace.

Originally Posted by: WeslabaPracticing is tough I have realized. I could say i practice about an average of 3 hrs a day, but It's really more just jamming and "playing" than practice. I finally found something that works for me while practicing, which was a big help after being stuck in a rut of repetition for the past few months. I found that for me, I need to... get out those old scale worksheets that my teacher gave me, work on especially stuff thats hard for me to do (work the pinky!). Also play CLEAN. No effects or anything, not even reverb, so that I can troubleshoot my mistakes. This isn't so ba in my case considering the fabulous fender clean channel, but still. And also play around with some songs to keep your interest, but break em down and find out whats happening theory wise. Worked for me, might help someone else. Peace.

Bout a year ago, I would just jam for hours and not do solid practice. Then, I realized just practicing my shredding and not practicing scales, jazz, classical a lot wasn't helping me improve. I've gotten overthis, and I agree that using just clean helps you trouble shoot your mistakes.

Ya. I actually practice clean quite a bit, but i think I progressed more from my practicing just last night, then I have in a very long time. Working on the scales never hurt anyone. I have this picking exercise sheet that was given to me by my teacher. Not to mention it deals with all these other crazy arpeggios and whatnot, but It was compiled by Steve Morse, and it's based on things that he himself needed to work on. Lemme tell ya, that came up huge. Helped me more than I ever could have believed. I haven't used my pinky that much in my whole life.

2-4 hours a day on guitar. Somtimes its less or more, and 3 hours once a week with my band.

Hmm...

An hour of actual practice, where I nail down licks for my own music and stuff. I need to write too, so that's another 2 hours a day about, then about 2 or so just playing around while IMing or on the phone....

So about 5 - 5 1/2 a day.

I don't practice at all. The only time I play is when I'm recording, then I put the guitar down and don't touch it for several weeks.
When you've been playing for tons of years it just comes back to you as soon as you start playing. All ya need is a few minutes to get up to speed.

Originally Posted by: schmangeI don't practice at all. The only time I play is when I'm recording, then I put the guitar down and don't touch it for several weeks.
When you've been playing for tons of years it just comes back to you as soon as you start playing. All ya need is a few minutes to get up to speed.

Not to sound like a turd, but that's kind of not the attitude you should have. Victor Wooten has been playing bass since age 2, which would add up to a full 40 years of experience. He still practices every day, and doesn't settle for being anything less than the best. He's always trying to improve on what he knows, and learn even more than he does now. There are a lot of people like that (Derek Trucks, Joe Bonamassa, etc...) and again, not to direct negativity towards you, but I doubt that anyone on this site, or any internet guitar site could show up any of those three guys. If they practice, why shouldn't we? :rolleyes:

Have you heard Mr Taylor play? Whatever he's doing seems to work for him... :cool:

The time you have to give to practice varies with circumstance - I don't have as much time to practice as I did years ago. No-oness saying 'don't bother practicing kids'... but once something is ingrained after many years of playing you no longer need to practice it.

I don't need to pick up a new technique for every recording, so not so much need for the woodshedding...

That said, I do play every day unless something very out of the ordinary happens...

Originally Posted by: WeslabaNot to sound like a turd, but that's kind of not the attitude you should have. Victor Wooten has been playing bass since age 2, which would add up to a full 40 years of experience. He still practices every day, and doesn't settle for being anything less than the best. He's always trying to improve on what he knows, and learn even more than he does now. There are a lot of people like that (Derek Trucks, Joe Bonamassa, etc...) and again, not to direct negativity towards you, but I doubt that anyone on this site, or any internet guitar site could show up any of those three guys. If they practice, why shouldn't we? :rolleyes:

I'm not saying don't practice. If that's what you need, go for it.
I've got my equipment on 24/7 and do recording and loops about 16 hours a day so practicing for me is too much like work. It depends on the situation too. If I'm playing live, I'll practice the full set every night and then go through it once more on the day of the gig. If I'm recording a song, I'll practice a part a coupla dozen times until I get it right. If I'm doing a lesson for guitar tricks, I redo it as many times as I need to until I get it perfect.

But the thought of sitting down and doing scales or practicing after being a player for about 30 years of playing makes me wanna cringe. There's no point in it unless I'm trying to learn something new. All the stuff I already know is there whenever I need it so all I gotta do is warm up a bit and it comes back to me.

When I'm not recording, it's like taking a vacation. I'll go for 3 weeks or more without touching the guitar cause I get burned out. However, I'm always working on something to do with recording, like mixing, mastering, playing synth etc...

Just an addition to this though.... since I started playing I've never had a regular practice schedule.
My way of doing things is to always leave my guitars out and ready to go. The amp's turned on, my main computer is always open to Cubase and ready to record, my acoustics are all over the place.
Basically... the thought of practice makes me feel like crap... it's too much like work. I enjoy playing enough that I pick up the guitar for the pleasure of it.

In retrospect, if I'd practiced 8 hours a day for the last 30 years, I'd probably be a lot better than I am now but I would have hated every minute of it.

I only play when I feel like it. Like sometimes, I'll pick up the guitar... play a few chords and just go "ugh...." and put it back down. No inspiration to play at all.
Other times, I'll wail away for an hour. Especially if I get uptight about something. There's nothin better for anxiety than smashing your guitar around for an hour. :)

Alright, just the way you said it led me to believe that you would only pick up a guitar and play every few weeks. Now knowing that you record for a job, that changes things quite a bit.