New here and my GF said I should share how much I practice.
Detailed Guitar Practice Routine (5 Hours Average Daily)
Warm-Up Exercises
Finger Sequences:
I practice the 1-2-3-4 sequence on each string, moving up and down the fretboard with combinations like 1-2-4-3, 2-3-1-4, etc.
Slides and Bends:
I slide up and down the strings randomly and bend notes at different speeds and pitches.
Technique Development
Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs:
I practice hammer-ons and pull-offs with pairs of fingers, especially pinky to ring and vice versa, varying speed and rhythm.
Vibrato:
I work on vibrato technique, focusing on control, consistency, and different styles.
Chords Practice
Power Chords and Spider Fingering:
I play 2-finger power chords with spider fingering (1-3, 2-4) and practice smooth transitions.
Barre Chords:
I practice the F major E shape barre chord, moving up and down the fretboard to build strength and calluses.
Open Chords:
I practice standard open chords to improve familiarity and transitions.
Improvisation and Ear Training
Playing Along with Music:
I listen to unfamiliar songs and find the root note on each string quickly, experimenting with fitting notes.
Improvisation:
I create solos and melodies over backing tracks, using scales and arpeggios.
General Practice
String Exercises:
I move around the fretboard using all four fingers in sequences (e.g., 1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8) and skip strings with various combinations.
Strength Exercises:
I use a pointing fist technique to strengthen my fingers.
Reading Tablature:
I practice reading and playing non-chord tablature lines to improve speed and accuracy.
Cool Down
Relaxed Play:
I end my practice session by playing whatever I feel like, focusing on enjoyment and relaxation.
I Became obsessive after Wife died. Had planned on starting together each with instrument on new years day. She died unexpectedly end of 2023. Guitar is almost all I ever do.
Your last sentences make my blood freeze. I am so, so sorry for your loss.
Welcome to the community, Scott. Did I understand correctly that you started playing guitar approx. eight months ago? You list a lot of exercises and training different skills ā¦ Is there a certain style of music you enjoy? Or a set of songs you like playing?
Thatās alot of ground to cover in one day, but then again, everyoneās motivations and circumstances are different.
Just donāt burn yourself out man.
Re the routine itself. The only thing Iād add that has really helped me is to practice in one specific key each week.
So, in my structured practice, I do all my scales, interval work, chords, triads, arpeggios, improvs, solos etc , all say in B major for one week; then C Major the next week etc. Going around the Circle of Fifths can be one good way of doing it.
Apart from helping to nail down your keys, chords in keys etc, I believe this really does aid in developing valuable connections across different areas, and discovering the interconnectedness of it all.
Hello Scott, I feel very sorry for your loss. Tough times you are going through. I wish you all the best to get through, hopefully guitar can give you a bit of relief. Youāve setup an ambitious routine, always good to have a plan!
Shane. No idea how long you have been playing for (quite a while I would think) but at this point in my JG lessons (mid Grade 3) I think that we have only been taught 3 scales and B major isnāt one of them, and we have only touched on triads, arpeggios and improv.
Hi Scott,
I canāt imagine what kind of dark time you must have gone through and what you are still living inā¦ I wish you the best with the guitar and may it continue to help keep your thoughts/brain a bit ānormalā
Greetings,Rogier
HI Scott, welcome to the community forum. I am very sorry for your loss. I hope that you find comfort in some of the songs that you learn and in your explorations of the guitar.
Scott, Iām so sorry to hear about your loss, itās heartbreaking.
On the other hand itās good you found something that gives you some comfort after what you have gone through. Music and making music can help us heal sometimes.
Wish you all the best and take good care!
PS: Itās quite an impressive routine and amount of practice time you have!
I have a fair bit of time. Lost a lung in early 2000s. I actually undersold how much I practice. I get to bed at 4am up at 9. Eating and bathroom is only time Iām not playing it. I keep it totally casual. Just practice barres till hurts too much. Then slides, then bends. Then barres. And etc etc. Sit here with GF watching idiot box, playing along best I can by ear with any song that comes on, but fretting and strumming non stop. I sit and pick in patterns all over the board. Diagonally, left to right, right to left, every possible combination I can think of. Figured out pulls from pinky to ring were tougher night before last, so did it until my fingers hurt, switched off, then back, then off, then back. I use heavy gage
strings to make it harder so as to advance quicker. I also use extra heavy picks to make picking harder. So to learn proper picking angles. Anyone watching my other thread btw, that dumb chord from the song I love you is the same on other tab sites too. 012331. With FM7 written over it. Finally understood what I was being told on here. Omitting the low E. But made my finger bleed trying to get it. I fooled with that stupid chord from 9 am to after midnight configuring my fingers. When I figured it out I also made the observation that my barre was weak. So forced myself to play it repeatedly until I bled again. I love guitar. Its all I ever want to do recreationally. I am learning in a very Karate Kid kind of way. Like I can pick out a scale, but I just play along by ear Sooo much, that I just started knowing where to go on the board. Without officially knowing any scales intimately. Bending to find a pitch in a song, then holding it and moving around on the bent strings. Finding the bend for right pitch, holding it at right amount, change to next fret, bend held still etc. Didnt know how to describe that. Lol. If a song has no solo or short one, I try to make one up. All that and I know I dont know anything yet. Journey 8 months in. Every day its like I learn a new magic trick. Hereās a pic of after the bleeding slowed lol
P.S GF and I have completed Six Feet Under, True Blood, The Wire, Westworld, most of Mad Men, and stuff I cant remember. Every second of every one of those was spent playing, fretting. Sliding, bending, etc.
Scott, I thought the doctrine āno pain, no gainā was revealed to be ineffective long time ago?
Keep the wound clean and let it heal, will you? Put an adhesive bandage or two Go easy on those barre chords for a bit, they will still be there next week as wellā¦
Ill be okay lol thank you. Pain is good. One it means youāre getting stronger, and two its awesome when you pick up the guitar and realize you can do whatever now because you put the time in when it was uncomfortable. I take breaks when it hurts too much. Most of my finger trauma yesterday was from trying to lie my finger over the b and not high e. A thousand angles and pressures. The chord is written E1 a3,d3,g2, b1 high e 0. Eventually I gave up the barre and just fret the b1. Only omitted note is low e. And that has to be good enough. You can do it with a crazy barre with your pinky on the 3rd fret A and D strings, using your ring for the b on fret 2, and index and middle for fret 1ās b and low e. But I was exhausted from trying. So omission of low e it is. Roflmao.
When I started I just always alternate picked cause it seemed more practical than always down. I never messed much with chords. I wanted the strength to barre first. So as soon as I could, I started fingering every chord I could find. Suggest some hard ones. I dont fool with fingerpicking yet, suggest a song if you like. Dont make it too hard, dont know full songs, just sections and exercises. (Can play sweet child intro, but not the song, etc.) Songs will come later, but trying to learn more completely these days. Fingers
I think, I know something that might be hard for you - and itās not hard chords or difficult riffs, melodies or solos.
How about you make an experiment. Try to let go a bit of all this enourmous pressure, you seem to be putting yourself under. Music is so beautiful. Itās the most beautiful language on earth. And for the most part, this beautiful language is made up of songs. Just imagine, how good it will feel to be able to play a whole song. It doesnāt matter how easy that song is ( and beyond the surface many an easy song is not that easy after all).
Try to have an open mind, when I suggest the following:
Take a look at Beginner Grade 1. Follow the modules to the letter. Take your time. Progress according to the plan Justin lays out so well. Once Beginner Grade 1 is done, continue with grade 2 etc.
But: Start learning the songs Justin suggests immediately when going through Grade 1. If I am correct, you will soon get a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. And you will get to play songs, songs, songs as e.g. often advocated by Richard @Richard_close2u
Too easy you say? No, I dont think it is. Only A and D chords at the beginning and you are able to do so much more complicated stuff? So what? If nothing else - given that you are so dedicated - you will find ways to spice up these open chords. I can even make it more difficult for you: Start a Learning Log and document your experiment. Reflect there how the guitar skills you
already have, will help you on your journey through different grades.
I did it, and remembered why I dont use the program like that. Youre misunderstanding me. There is absolutely no way what I do is work of any kind. Not a lick of stress. I dont feel alternating 2 chords counts as playing a song. But I did feel my open chords needed work. Can always use harder callouses. So rather than let a click track play or a melody I play said chords to, I played said chords all night within my normal practice. That way no need to fool with my phone. I played an a chord (which really gives great finger pain. Pain feels like progress lol) I donāt finger it the alt way because if I finger an a chord with my mid to pinky to barre my index, that fingering is awkward. I also spent a large part of the evening barring a, d, and g with my ring finger, angling my finger flat enough to let the b ring open. I held and moved left and right to various frets. Till it hurt. Then Iād stop. Maybe do the a chord for a while. Lol. I also learned the verses to back in black. Not at speed. Still working at it. I had my guitar in my lap playing and fiddling just about non stop till 3 am.
At first I was trying to impress a girl. I was so depressed and out of my mind with grief. Drinking a lot. It was too soon, and disrespectful to my late wife to try and meet someone so soon. But my mind was scrambled. Anyway she liked megadeth so I tried to learn a bunch of stuff dave tends to do. Heres 2 power chords! I really couldnāt do anything. Pick out a line maybe. Lol. Then I started liking them myself, and continued to try and observe and learn. I also love The Beatles and Pink Floyd. I love the slow bending, ala the song Day After Day by Badfinger. Iām also a huge Iron Maiden fan, loving to try and pick out the more melodic sections, like the cool bit in The Time Machine. Nice to meet you.
Go easy on those barre chords for a bit, they will still be there next week as wellā¦