How long/often do you practice/play?

[andys]

An interesting subject cropped up in another thread, (prompted by Gerry C in fact).

The question was asked as to how much practice you do a day.

Or indeed if the word "practice" actually sums up the playing you do?

Me personally, I dont practice as such, my playing is more when, where and on what I can. Sometimes I am lucky, and can get an hour or so playing a guitar. Sometimes I go a couple of days without playing. Most of my playing is of the "10 minutes while cooking/kids in the bath", and often on the nearest guitar to hand. As I don't really play much of other folks stuff, my playing is much more my own improvised stuff, purely for relaxation and pleasure. I'm sure if I made my living, or part of it, from playing guitar, I would practice more.

Trouble is with me, is that I am not the most "faithful" of players. For two months before christmas my MM Blues was my guitar of choice, but a new guitar or a mod to it, can sometimes switch your allegience for a bit.
This one is getting a bit of playing time at the moment, as I have discovered the joys of an Esquire

So do you play/practice every day?
So how long do you play/practice a day?
Do you have a "regime" or otherwise?

[wolvoboy]

I'm a firm believer of practicing as often as i can i usually get up around six in the morning have a coffee and get my Harmony acoustic out first as its not too loud and i find its a good time to practice without finger picks,get the wife of to work around 7.30 then i use my Duolian or tricone, i try and perfect what i have already learned and always try and learn something new ,but mainly technique like alternating thumb as i find it difficult to get to grips with,overall i would say on a good day maybe three or four hours.but for me the best times for practice is when my mate come round to my house you always seem to learn more when theres two or more of you.
some people are naturally gifted at playing guitar and dont seem to need much practice,but for me when you hit that wall and you dont feel like you are improving thats when i find it hard you just have to keep going,but i think as long as you are enjoying playing thats the main thing,dont think that you have to play all the time,
then it becomes a chore
wolvboy

[clarke111]

Good thread Andy (and Gerry and Michael!) Glad it got started on its own.

With me I fall into the same camp as Andy to a certain degree. I try to find the time to play everyday for at least 20 mins, and often try to squeeze an hour or so in, though with work etc its not always possible. I find I tend to play about and improvise stuff as well when I play, rather than learning songs etc. When I first started playing some years ago now I used to learn stuff note for note, however I realised everytime I picked up the guitar I was just playing other peoples music. I think a balance between the 2 is the best bet for improving techniques, but I do tend to enjoy just playing, I can improvise for hours at a time and not get bored (well I could whren I had time in my student days!!) I try to practice with the bands a least once a week as well.

Chris

[Gerry C]

andys, you cook kids in the bath?! Social Services know? ;D

Cheerily,

Gerry C

(Home with man-flu at the moment so I've just spent four hours in the company of my Lightning and a couple of Fred McDowell CDs...) ;D ;D ;D

[andys]

Jan 8, 2009 18:57:00 GMT Gerry C said:

(Home with man-flu at the moment so I've just spent four hours in the company of my Lightning and a couple of Fred McDowell CDs...) ;D ;D ;D

Inspired by the new Benylin ad maybe?

[Deleted]

I practise a lot sometimes, such as when learning a new song/rift/ etc. Other times not much.My repertoire is above 40 songs of different styles so if I get stale with the blues I can go to some 'folk' songs or rock songs.

I always refresh songs before I do them in public, and if I get a line wrong don't worry as the buzz of performing always concentrates the mind more than playing to the wall.

[Bill Stig]

Jan 8, 2009 17:18:37 GMT wolvoboy said:

some people are naturally gifted at playing guitar and dont seem to need much practice,
wolvboy

I don't think that's totally true. I've found some people will tell you they don't practice when they probably practice more than the rest of us. For those blues and jazz musicians who are constantly gigging, it could be argued that they are keeping up their chops as they play, but I think you will find that they've had some fairly heavy practice sessions in the past. I've heard of studies, and had personal experience, that say naturally gifted musicians who don't practice are very quickly overtaken by the un - gifted musicians that do. The gifted musicians often give up playing and practicing quite early as they soon get bored.

I found this interesting article about what happens to the brain when you practice:
www.newenglandconservatory.edu/studentLife/documents/PracticingandCurrentBrainResearchbyGebrian.pdf

[Gerry C]

What Bill Stig says is absolutely true. Over the years I've had the good fortune to be able to meet and converse with many of my 'guitar heroes', usually after gigs, occasionally at workshops, sometimes when on the same bill, including guys as diverse as MM, Steve Phillips, Ralph McTell, John Renbourn, Woody Mann, Martins Carthy and Simpson, Steve Tilston, Julie Ellison, Isaac Guillory (RIP), Gary Boyle and Stefan Grossman. In response to the generic question of this thread (but not always asked by me!), often framed as "How the **** did you get to be so good?!" the answer has always been the same: practice. These people are often hailed as geniuses of the acoustic guitar but we 'lesser mortals' tend to forget the old truism about 99% perspiration...

Cheerily,

Gerry C

[melp]

I guess on average I spend a couple of hours a day, both playing and practicing, most days, sometimes much more. As I am quite new to slide playing, only started at the end of July last year, I do have regular specific practice times and objectives.

What I practice is mainly what I learned during blues week, there were many things that became aware of, but could not do during the week. So many of the specific practice sessions are spent on these.

The sort of 'things' I mean include, getting a better slide sound, so all the slide techniques that Michael taught us during the week. Improving finger thumb independence and therefore better coordination between bass and melody parts. Controlling the timing - not speeding up and slowing down. Playing on a different area of the string to control the different sounds. Trying to make right hand damping work around the biscuit cover!

These are the sorts of things I will spend 10 Min's on once I have warmed up. In addition I try to select tunes that need the elements I am practicing.

I am currently following the Bob Brozman DVD series on bottleneck blues guitar, so this is leading me into some of the core tunes.

What I have found is that its important to have variety, so if I am working in Open G, with the BB DVDs, I will also spend some time playing in Open D or at least doing something different, away from what I am currently practicing.

I also try to include time for experimentation, the other day I spent about an hour just trying to slide slower and at different rates, so slow to start and increasing toward the note I was going for.

This was not only quite good fun, but brings about a major difference in how you sound.

Oh yes, I try to record myself at least every few days, I have found sometimes that what I think I am playing is not always what I am playing, the recording and review is a good check.

Sometimes I have found that its a good idea to leave something alone for a few days, especially if you are finding it hard going, rather than just trying to beat it to death! After reading the article that Bill provided, thanks by the way very interesting, I may start to understand why.

But it can help a lot, after a few days 'rest' I sometimes find I can do what I could not, or at least get closer.

Thinking about it I realise that I quite enjoy practicing, especially when it ends up in increasing my ability.

[robn]

Hi Bill,

That was a very interesting article!

It very much confirms that "practice makes permanent" rather than "practice makes perfect". And how important it is to be very discriminatory in what you actually want to learn.

I wouldn't say, however, that forging the link between auditory and kinesthetic cortex is purely the reserve of musicians as this part of the article suggests.

"The other amazing thing that happens in musicians’ brains as new synapses form is that our motor cortex gets connected to our auditory cortex. Think about how strange that is. For most people, what they hear doesn’t cause them to have automatic associations with movement, and moving certainly doesn’t cause them to hear things in their heads. But if a musician listens to a recording of a piece they know and play well, not only does their auditory cortex light up on a brain scan (called an fMRI), but the portion of their motor cortex devoted to their fingers does too."

I have seen this relationship in many other fields of skill acquisition, and in my own coaching work with aircrew instructors. You'd be surprised at how much learning to fly a complex fighter aircraft such as a Tornado is similar to learning to play something by Son House Also, there is some interesting work going on with surgeons at present using verbal links such as chanting to match intricate hand movements in operations.

I think that the skill of being able to analyze what you want to play is probably the most crucial skill to learn. That ability to recall the auditory pattern you are about to repeat. Because of the cortex linkage, "flow" comes from playing by ear (which is a skill that can be learned) If you can hear it (in your mind's ear) - then you can play it.

Initially, my practice was mostly about motor skill acquisition - getting the feel of the guitar, the picks, the slide etc. Much of my practice now involves listening - and, with practice, my listening skills are improving. For example - I'm learning a few Seasick Steve numbers off the "I Started out with Nothing..." CD. The title track has a very specific riff/rhythm. I must have listened to that track 100 times - often on repeat - while I was cycling - or last thing at night - whenever I couldn't "hear" it if I tried to recall it I would reinforce the song by listen to it again. I've not "practiced" the riff for more than say 90 mins including working it out. But I know I can lay it down every time I pick up my guitar because I can hear it and that sound is already linked to my fingers. In fact, if I "think" about how I actually play the riff rather than simply "hearing" the riff then it all goes horribly wrong

Mel - I think that you certainly have the right idea (so does Michael on his DVD) of working on building blocks that are then adaptable to different situations. It's a system known as "varied practice". Initial, using "varied practice", the progression towards the end state (playing songs?) is slow compared to repetative or blocked practice. However, in an "open skill" like playing music, varied practice will enable more complex, dynamic and responsive playing to be achieved earlier. Eg. You may not know many set pieces at first but you should be able to jam with anyone!!!!!!

The reality is that playing music, like flying a fighter aircraft, is too "quick" and complex a task to be cognitively processed. It has to be undertaken at the "unconscious competence" level. Some people will have more of a natural ability to unconsciously understand and assimilate this process than others (they will have a higher level of musical intelligence). However, research would suggest that musical intelligence can be developed - so there is hope for us all. We just need to keep practicing - only it has to be the right type of practice

Robin

[Stevie]

An interesting thread because (for myself) it appears that there are sub themes going on here. I don't practice at all. What do we mean by practice? My partner forced me to convert a room for musical use. How lucky is that? Then she bought me a digital piano for my 50th. There is so much to choose from that I end up a little like Jack of every trade and competent of none. Now I just pick up whatever is my current twang in that room and give it a couple of minutes. Even if I sit down for a while and go through whatever is foremost in my mind, it usually ends up with many mistakes that I gloss over and hence does not improve my ability. I very much know what andys means about mods and latest instruments.

Robin, I had a real run of learning Martin Simpson pieces a couple of years back and unless I keep play them all the time, I have to re-learn them. I have mentioned a piece by Martin in another thread, it's only in dropped D but I have to keep at it all the time. Martin Simpson calls it "Muscle Memory" I don't know what I'm doing and I certainly cannot slow the piece down and still play it. I know what he means but like me, the muscles seem to forget unless I exercise them regularly so for myself, at least, practice does not appear to make permanent! When I saw Martin play it live (on request) it was the only piece that I saw him deliberately sit down to play and concentrate!

When all those little jobs are ticked off the list, perhaps I'll be more focussed on "practice"

As I said, a can of worms!

Stevie.

[smoochimoto]

Hi everybody!
My practice routine is on the fingerpicks vs fingers thread but I wanted to expand briefly and add my 2 cents re the gifted vs persistent discussion. My wife reminds me that I drive her nuts watching movies by Akira Kurosawa. The reason I do this is because his main music composer was Masaru Sato. His music is so diverse and melodic there is just too much good material to steal, which is basically what I do. I steal from as wide a variety of sources (Sato, Astor Piazolla, Jelly Roll Morton, Stephane Grapelli, Lonnie Johnson, Pat Donahue) stir it up, play it backwards, invert the melody, then keep what I like and throw out the rest. I also try to come up with as many variations on a melody as possible because I think doing that is a lost art, and I end up playing fewer licks (and less in general) which I've found is usually a good thing.

As far as the whole talent issue, I've always been the worst guitarist/musician in whatever group of people I've played with. Even today, making a middle class income almost exclusively from playing, I'd lump myself in the "average" category. Most of the astonishingly talented people I met were either bored with music and pursued other interests, or were very obnoxious about their greatness so nobody would play with them or help them climb the music biz food chain. I just always tried to be as flexible as possible, learn as much as I could, and tried to keep it fun as opposed to drudgery. I've also tried to never belittle (even accidentally) anyone else's creative pursuits, and I try to be KIND to everyone, even when they don't reciprocate. (That happens often in the segment of the music business I work in.)

By the way, when I wrote in the other thread that I practice 6-7 hrs/day, I almost always break it up into 3-4 chunks of 1-1/2 to 2 hrs at a time. Much more than an hour and my attention starts to wander unless I'm really under the gun.

Smoochimoto

[wolvoboy]

This thread is getting very interesting, i was chatting with a mate about this thread,he practices a couple hours each day, and he also does a acoustic set at a local folk club,i said to him i would love to do that but i dont have the confidence to get up and do it ,as i feel no matter how much i practice i never feel good enough to play in public,so adding to this thread how do you make the step from being a bedroom player to having the confidence to play in public.
also adding to the thread tuition ,how often do we need it and whats the best, one to one or workshop's or both.
wolvoboy

[Deleted]

Very Interesting,

2 points. I couldn't play at all for 12 years. When I was able to resume only the timing had gone a little. Within a few hours I was better than before I had to stop. My right hand technique especially was far better. I had certainly thought about playing a lot. The left hand knew exactly what to do.

Mental practise seems to work. When learning proper breathing techniques for singing and then teaching them, it's clear that this is such a whole body exercise that it requires quite a lot of thinking about before actually doing it. The thinking makes the doing easier.

I going to the Croydon folk and blues club tomorrow evening. I may not have time to play the Deco before I go, but I've been thinking about what I shall play and that will be enough. It's a prolonged floor spot anyway!!!

Barry

[Gerry C]

Wolvoboy: getting up to play in public before people can be difficult, even if it's 'only' an open mic or folk-club floorspot. I put 'only' in commas because even if you're only going to play a couple of songs, two things need to be borne in mind: (1) you must enjoy it. If you don't, there's no point (unless you're into S&M!). (2) The audience should enjoy it too, even if some of them are thinking 'He's not very good but he's better than some I've seen and at least he's given it a go.' The essential thing to remember, and this is the crucial difference between playing in your bedroom and performing in public (Stop sniggering at the back!), is that you are communicating with other people. As a performer, you do that in all sorts of ways: smiling as you step up, saying hello, looking around at people, briefly introducing the song, saying thanks afterwards... At an open mic a few weeks ago I saw a lad of about 18 get up to play two songs. He said nothing when he came up, did not look at the audience, played reasonably well but sang into the side of his guitar with dreadful diction so that no-one could make out a word he sang, did not say thanks when applauded.... At no point did he even acknowledge there was an audience present. Now he may have been painfully shy and withdrawn but... His two mates were telling him how good he'd been and I really felt like going over and saying "Well, actually,..."

There are a couple of websites which deal with this kind of issue. One of them is caled something like 'solo performer' and it's pretty good, as I recall: may be worth googling.

Cheerily,

Gerry C