I have been working through Grade 3 modules and focusing on the elements, techniques, etc. I want to carry forward.
Curious on average how many practice sessions others do per each module? I know there is no rule to this but just curious of others’ experiences. Of course this applies to any Grade level or module.
Do you work on one module until you have it really integrated/mastered?
Do you work on one module until you get a solid understanding and feel for the content/material and then really integrate/master the content later in the final consolidating module?
I typically do around 12-15 practice sessions (45 minutes to 1 hour long) with each module to get a good feel for the lessons, learn the song (i.e. Greensleeves, etc.) and how to effectively practice the contents, etc. I know I will be REALLY working them in during consolidation phase at the end of the grade.
How do others typically work through a given Grade?
I’ve been spending a LONG time on some modules. Really trying to get good at the techniques. However some things I drop super quick. The chord explorers I only do for a handful of sessions before getting bored with them and dropping them from my routine. Other things I’ve carried through and still practice daily (legato pentatonics, solo blues).
TBH most of my practice is song practice and plenty of those songs have grade 4 techniques. So I’m sitting having done the most recently completed modules in grade 3 waiting for the later modules to be completed, and thinking I might just do what has been published already then start chipping away at grade 4.
Thanks for sharing your process jkahn. There are certainly some lessons I drop or don’t do at all in some modules. Chord explorer, transcribing, guitar tone amp/pedal lessons, etc. I don’t spend much time on. As a former intermediate righty, I have a good understanding of many of those items.
Like you I practice techniques a lot as well as work on songs trying to get my left handed playing, coordination, etc. better. Based on your progress and videos I have seen, you are a bit ahead of me. It’s nice to see your progress currently in grade 3.
In grade 1, I probably averaged around 2-3 weeks per module, grade 2 grew in duration. Grade 3 is certainly more, probably 6 weeks per module, but I am somewhat newly into it - around the middle of module 16. Daily, I spend around 20-30 minutes each morning and up to 120 min in evenings. Mornings are for technique and lessons, evenings, if I get them, are for songs and fiddling.
In Grade 1, I could cover all the lessons in a module in one sitting, then incorporate them into practice. By the end of grade 2, I still had carry-over from grade 1, like 1-minute changes or basic exercises for technique that I needed to keep working on, so the practices were getting fairly long and a complex mix of topics. I also started to need to take fewer lessons before starting in.
In grade 3 now, I have poor mastery of some physical topics, basically hitting the right strings with either hand, and I still carry over a lot of that work. I need a lot of work on the more physically complex ideas in grade 3 as well, so I spend a couple weeks on just a couple of lessons.
I am adding in the music theory classes as well. I don’t find these mentally taxing, but they do tend to make me fiddle with alternate fingerings, creating chords that we haven’t learned yet, examining why solos sound good, etc. This is a lot of time, and I cannot do much of it each week due to work and other demands.
So, this means I am now spending a far greater time per module. It is ok, I like the variety. I do wish I could improve the physical part faster, however. I would love to play more complex stuff.
Learn, practice, consolidate, apply. Takes as long as it takes.
Practice what you have learnt while learning new skills.
Consolidate what you have practiced when you feel you’ve nailed it.
Apply to songs.
Expect to have 3 or 4 lessons being covered by this approach. At the end of the module ?
Assess, review, consolidate, verify application. If its all good, move on.
Carrying items through to the next module is an absolute must for any musician. They do have daily practice regimes for whats REALLY IMPORTANT.
Justin said, “theres no need to practice a chord change if you dont really need it”, uncommon changes. - Basically learn it WHEN you need it.
Trying to compare Einstein to a pethet to see who spends longer on one problem is just a waste of your time as EVERYONE is different. !
IE: Theres no way I can spend as little time that you yourself use per module, Even in grade 1.
Techniques on instruments will demand far more attention over long periods in order to maintain that skill (palm muting, hammer ons , pitch bending and such) compared to doing a chord change.
How am I working through a grade.
Break it in half - Chords and changes need to be learnt in order to play a song . So when I feel I’m at a sufficient enough level with each chord and change speed I will add the song practice part into MY regime. The song practie and skills needed for my choice of songs is TO ME , demanding. Therefore grade one could take quite a long time.
12-15 hours for your modules…AWESOME…I should be so lucky lol…I think theres a song in there
In Grade 1 there was a How to Pass Grade 1 video with clear metrics to gauge if you were ready to move on to Grade 2.
In Grade 2 there were not really any clear metrics to “pass” but rather just a list of items that you should have explored before moving to Grade 3.
Will Grade 3 also be sort of nebulous in it’s recommendations for moving on? It will be interesting to see if Justin will have any sort of playing “milestones” to be achieved at the end of Grade 3.
I know it is difficult as there are SO many topics, techniques, music styles, etc. but it would be helpful to have some general guidelines to gauge one’s progress at the end of Grade 3.
As Grade 3 is still incomplete, guess that is a hard one to call at the moment. But its also worth considering that this is all new material and before Justin rewrote and refilmed all the Beginner and Intermediate “stuff” there was no bridging section (ie Grade 3) in between. You consolidated the BC then started the IM. So in a way, effectively going from Grade 2 to Grade 4. So my take would be that until some definitive measurement is stated, move on if you feel ready but keep an eye out for new Grade 3 modules and lessons and slot those into your practice. Having completed the old BC and IM plus others I adopted that approach with the new Beginners lessons in G1 and G2 and now taking my time with G3 but still working the IM+ stuff.
Thanks for the input. I am for sure not ready to move on past Grade 3 as I still in the middle of Module 18. I was sort of thinking out loud and wondering for sake of discussion how Grade 3 will end up.
Overall feeling ok about my progress even though we all want to develop quicker
