Practice Approaches

[Bill]

Hi Everyone,

In a recent response to a post I had made, Jamie asked me to post something on my practice approaches. So, here goes:

This has been something of an evolutionary process as I have always kept practice notebooks were I would record various elements of practice together. This January, I decided to make some changes in my practice record keeping which is then for review.

There seemingly are two different philosophies regarding practice: the first is to practice an arbitrary amount of time per day making the practice session time oriented; the second is to make daily and specific goals for a practice session and once those goals are reached – practice can end.

In reviewing the various practice logs on the market place, I found many had different things I liked but they didn’t necessarily share all of the same elements. So, I purchased two different logs (The Musicians Practice Log & The Practice Revolution’s Practice Planner) both which illustrate the two above philosophies.

The Musician’s Practice Log http://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Practic ... 0918316049 tracks daily, weekly, and even monthly time spent in practice, and a weekly summary regarding feelings, degree of completion and whether you are stuck without a teacher or not. It also includes a laminated daily practice organizer/practice time management sheet that you can change daily with an erasable ink marker. This is invaluable as you can plan your practice and the goals that you wish to achieve for that specific day and then easily change it for the following day. Additionally, you can track the time spent on your weekly practice on the opposite side.

The Practice Revolution Practice Planner http://www.practicerevolution.com/pp-tour1.php & http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Revoluti ... 0958190526 is goal oriented. There is a portion within it called the Piece Coach where you can write notes for a piece or exercise on a dedicated page so everything is together and ready for easy daily, pre-practice review.

In my own practice, I decided to try both to see which notebook I prefer and to blend in these two different philosophies. I am currently using The Musicians Practice Log but made copies of the Piece Coach from PR’s Practice Planner.

For instance, today my goal is to go over the webcam lesson I had with Jamie last night, write out the various points made then apply them into my practice plan for tomorrow and the following weeks.

My usual daily practice is of 2.5 to 3 hours broken into 30 minute segments for the three pieces, the Blues Course and Hammers/Pulls. I actually use a timer so that I don’t become so absorbed in a piece that I forget to move on to something else when I need to. After the timer goes off, I may spend a few more minutes on it but it acts like a two minute warning in a football game.

By doing this, I try to give equal attention to the songs, the Blues Course & Hammers/Pulls so of the things I am working on, nothing gets neglected.

For each piece, The Blues Course, & Hammers/Pulls I have goals written out that I want to achieve. These goals are guidelines as issues may come up in the session that need attention or further investigation. So, the goals are flexible and can change as the session demands it.

At the very least, I try to have a break at least once every hour, generally, at the end of a session.

During or at the end of the session, I write out the notes, discoveries, problem areas that need to be worked on tomorrow in the Piece Coach. All of the songs, the Blues Course and Hammers/Pulls have a dedicated Piece Coach.

In my first lesson with Jamie three years ago, Jamie pointed out that my picking was weak and inconsistent and that you want to develop the ability to pick loudly at high speed. Usually as picking speed increases the loudness of the picking diminishes or the down pick is louder than the up pick.

I was having difficulty applying and developing the “pushing through the string” feeling that you want to achieve in picking. For myself, I needed to know the specific steps of application of pressure applied to the pick and then released as you pick.

In the forum a 2-3 years ago, specific tips on the Gradual Pressure technique were discussed by Ney and clarified. This helped greatly and lead to greater improvement in my own picking.

In fact, there has been a wealth of information discussed on the forum where I applied this information and it has been of tremendous help.

Lastly, over the years, I have spent allot of time on the fundamentals of the Principles of Correct Practice and I think it has helped greatly and will continue to be foundation of my practice as I apply it.

I apologize for the length of the post but if you made it through this far, I hope it has been helpful.

All the best.

Bill

[Jamie]

A great model of a thoughtful approach to growth on the guitar.......Attention & Intention!

[chefrusso]

Great post Bill!

I'm actually going to look into those practice log books because I need to get a little more organized in recording and evaluating my practice regimen. I also love your idea of the timer also. Often times I get so absorbed on the exercise or the piece that I'm working on that I turn around and too much time has passed for me to devote the same amount of time and attention to the next "job" on the list. Thanks for sharing your ideas!

[greishlee]

Thanks for sharing, Bill!


I've been playing piano since I was 5.
All of my borthers are guitar players, and Im the only one in the family who knows piano. I've become interested in learning guitar, so I asked my brother to teach me. I've been playing guitar for 6 months now.

The secret to a successful practice is focus and determination. Practice, Practice, Practice!!! You have to keep an ear on the notes. I practice everyday, the time that Im really feel the rush to play guitar. You dont have to burden yourself that "uh, I have to practice again and again", but practice whenever you have such focus.

[N E Y]

.



Good job Bill!


When students come to see me for lessons from all over the world in my Washington DC studio, I sometimes show them my old practice logs from the 80s, the era in which I vanished from the public eye and devoted my time to practice. I used a binder and a kitchen timer which I still have for the same reasons you mention...Very effective...(Chef Russo might prefer another type of timer for variety sake ).. I recommend both highly for any player. Have a great time using them



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