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travelin travis
New member
when you stopped practicing? i play and experiment a lot but haven't practiced in a long time. i'm thinking it would do me some good.
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danny.guitar
Guest
I've been playing for roughly 6 years and I've never actually sat down and practiced. 
I mess around a lot and play other people's songs but I've never, until recently, sat down and practiced scales, or technique, or anything like that.
It's obvious on my recordings, or when playing with other people a lot better than me.
I mess around a lot and play other people's songs but I've never, until recently, sat down and practiced scales, or technique, or anything like that.
It's obvious on my recordings, or when playing with other people a lot better than me.
gcapel
boom box recordings
I guess you have to practice if your writing songs. I usually come up with a part and some times the next part doesn't come so easy.
EdWonbass
pull the goalie
You mean I can stop now? 
I have a 16 year old son that plays a couple hours a day. He reminds me of when I was his age. I still gig regularly but I really only practice when I'm learning songs. My guitar playing hasn't improved in 20 years I would say.
My bass playing always gets a little better but I really only play guitar to write songs.
For the last year I practice drums more than anything.
I have a 16 year old son that plays a couple hours a day. He reminds me of when I was his age. I still gig regularly but I really only practice when I'm learning songs. My guitar playing hasn't improved in 20 years I would say.
My bass playing always gets a little better but I really only play guitar to write songs.
For the last year I practice drums more than anything.
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travelin travis
New member
EdWonbass said:
My ear has improved (not as much as it could have!) but my technique stopped improving long ago. I dread metronomes, scales, and work.
jpw23
New member
If you are doing anything with the guitar in your hands( noodling, dickin' around, working on a song, trying to learn a part) you are practicing!!!! You don't have to play scales to practice.
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travelin travis
New member
i should have stated 'practicing technique'. throwing something in the cd player and learning it note for note has been good for my ears (if my technique is up to it). when i was younger i would work out the parts that were physically/mentally challenging. now i just improvise.
jpw23
New member
TravisinFlorida said:i should have stated 'practicing technique'. throwing something in the cd player and learning it note for note has been good for my ears (if my technique is up to it). when i was younger i would work out the parts that were physically/mentally challenging. now i just improvise.
IMHO...anyone can copy, make the song your own, develop your own style, I never did like to be in a cover band that did things note for note....just boring!
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travelin travis
New member
jpw23 said:
I have my own style (I think?) but some times my hands can't keep up with my imagination. I'm just trying to talk myself into practicing some picking sequences.
jpw23
New member
TravisinFlorida said:I have my own style (I think?) but some times my hands can't keep up with my imagination. I'm just trying to talk myself into practicing some picking sequences.
You worry to much.....work on your own style and don't force it, it all comes with time. The world is divided into two groups...listeners and players....it would be a boring world if we all played the same.
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travelin travis
New member
jpw23 said:
Good advice. I'll continue on with my lazy ways. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Track Rat
Just Your Average Sized Member
I play every day but I don't know if you could classify it as "practice". It's more like wanking around for fun (read therapy). It seems to me that through the years I hit a plateau skill wise and stay there for a while and then step up a bit. I credit that to gigging (there nothing like fucking up in front of 100 people to make you say to yourself "I'll never do THAT again").
Dogman
Unkle Ticklefingers
I got my first guitar in '85.....I have never actually practiced.
I practiced piano back in the early 70's.....and still play that like shit.
I practiced piano back in the early 70's.....and still play that like shit.
rory
New member
I started playing when I was 10 and practiced every day. You couldn't get me to stop (I didn't have many friends!). I played in a few bands in high school and we played once or twice a week publicly and practiced as a band two times a week. I'm 24 now and still practice about 3-4 times a week.
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tdukex
Man of the Muse
"Practice! We're talking about practice?!" A. Iverson.
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hungovermorning
Dr. Caveman.
Does noodling = practicing? Or does practicing mean playing a songbook and scales and stuff. If practicing means sitting around and playing notheing in particular just to play, I still practice all the time.
cephus
Slow Children Playing
I sorta recently started practicing, believe it or not.
A few months ago, I met this guy who wanted to start a "funk" band. It ended up sucking, but the process that we went through to get it out has made me a better player than I've been in years.
For instance, we were thinking of doing "Don't stop till you get enough" by Michael Jackson. I was really interested in playing the little chromatic-ish string runs with a nice saturated heavy metal kind of tone. So I learned it (Hey, it's not chromatic after all) and practiced the shit out of it so i could be playing the rhythm guitar clean, change to fuzztone and jump up the neck to play the almost chromatic licks. The song sucked because I couldn't really sell that falsetto vocal thing and couldn't do it with any conviction or power. It's just an example of how learning something that you wouldn't normally play (or want to play) while you're noodling on the couch can give your skills a shot in the arm.
A few months ago, I met this guy who wanted to start a "funk" band. It ended up sucking, but the process that we went through to get it out has made me a better player than I've been in years.
For instance, we were thinking of doing "Don't stop till you get enough" by Michael Jackson. I was really interested in playing the little chromatic-ish string runs with a nice saturated heavy metal kind of tone. So I learned it (Hey, it's not chromatic after all) and practiced the shit out of it so i could be playing the rhythm guitar clean, change to fuzztone and jump up the neck to play the almost chromatic licks. The song sucked because I couldn't really sell that falsetto vocal thing and couldn't do it with any conviction or power. It's just an example of how learning something that you wouldn't normally play (or want to play) while you're noodling on the couch can give your skills a shot in the arm.
gibson59neck
Villiage Idiot Keeper
I believe that whenever you are playing it's practice. Yeah, you might be out gigging, but you're still gaining experience when you're playing. I've been at this now for some 24 years, with a few extended breaks in there somewhere, but in the last 3 years, I've been able to jam regularly with a bass player and many other guitarists, singers, & drummers, trying to find those that I work well with. Now that I've actually managed to put together a steady group, which practices 2x/week, our technical skills are all improving fast. Having a full band to work with is a HUGE way to get better. With the songs running as many times as I need them to, they allow me to work the solos out so much faster. The same for them - I'll play a steady riff, over and over, so they can experiment, too. That is hopefully going to pay off soon and get us out there with a good sound that people will enjoy...(For the greatest kick-ass rock and metal covers of the 90's thru today, along with their own crushing originals, it's NINE-VOLT MOJO, baby, coming soon to a dive bar near you, or actually, near us, in Western Mass...NVM, NVM...!!! )
Aside from the 2x/week with the band, I usually "practice" on the weekends after the wife goes to work and the kids are asleep. This is when I go thru the songs we cover, trying to make sure I'm getting them tight as possible, and also when I work on scales, picking speed, and writing.
)Aside from the 2x/week with the band, I usually "practice" on the weekends after the wife goes to work and the kids are asleep. This is when I go thru the songs we cover, trying to make sure I'm getting them tight as possible, and also when I work on scales, picking speed, and writing.
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thewanderer24
New member
I practice a minimum of an hour a day sometimes as much as 3 hours a day, whether I have gigs, rehearsals, etc. or not.
Practice is generally focused with bits refining existing technique, some working on new technique, some on harmonic/theory development, some scale stuff of course, some transcription stuff at times.
There is at least 3 lifetimes worth of stuff on my list of things I'd like to add to my back pocket, so I don't foresee running out of ideas on things to practice. the trick is focusing and to keep finding productive ways to practice.
Practice is generally focused with bits refining existing technique, some working on new technique, some on harmonic/theory development, some scale stuff of course, some transcription stuff at times.
There is at least 3 lifetimes worth of stuff on my list of things I'd like to add to my back pocket, so I don't foresee running out of ideas on things to practice. the trick is focusing and to keep finding productive ways to practice.
dragonworks
Banned
I have been practicing almost every day for over 40 years. It hasn't gotten me very far. I used to practice 4 to 8 hours every day between the ages of 12 and 22.