Members and Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 Lately I've been "practicing" guitar while watching TV, which mainly consists of me running through a bunch of scale patterns, or simply noodling. As a result, I have noticed some increase in speed, but it's pretty much only for the licks that I'm already comfortable with. Is it possible to get a semi-efficient practice out of playing guitar while watching TV, and how?
Members 1001gear Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 Learning to do anything requires attention to details; eking out that progression of small gains. With musical instruments; especially so. Ain't gonna happen watching tv.
Members mosiddiqi Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 If it's the ONLY practise you're doing, I'd say no. But, anything is better than nothing. I wouldn't stop what you're doing, I'd just make sure you spend some time with the guitar with no other distractions. Just play more!. One thing that you can do whilst watching TV that WILL help you, is play along with the ads..make up solo's and harmonies on the spot...lots of fun and will help your ear.
Members BydoEmpire Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 I think you can definitely get something out of it if you're working on 'mechanical' types of things. Obviously not as efficient as focused practice, but if that's the time you can get then so be it. If you're using 20% of your attention for guitar and 80% for the TV then you'll get 20% of the improvement you'd see versus spending that time totally focused on guitar. But it's still 20% and that time adds up over the course of a year. I think you can get more out of it if you organize the practice before hand. If it's just noodling you're not going to get much, but that's true of noodling in general. Decide ahead of time to spend half an hour on melodic minor patterns, half an hour on arpeggios, 10 minutes on vibrato, etc. You can also mute the TV during commercials and totally focus on guitar during the breaks - try to 'review' what you've been working on with some focus. That might make it more effective as well. It depends what you're working on as well. For more 'mechanical' things like memorizing scale or arpeggio patterns - gaining muscle memory - I don't think it's bad at all. Some things just require time on the fretboard, and you can definitely get that while being a bit distracted. For aspects of music that require more concentration it's going to be less effective, obviously, and like you said, you won't have a metronome so you won't be keeping yourself honest rhythmically. You can also use TV to practice ear training - try to pick out the melodies in commercials or shows by ear. Challenging and fun! Totally agree with mosiddiqi that ideally you've got some time each week to focus on guitar, so you can work on those things that require concentration.
Members 1001gear Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 I don't think one should rely on a ratio per se. You could miss vital cues in your practice not to mention it's not even practice, as well as missing the tv content. The good news is that no one will care if you watch tv lousy. On the other hand, you aren't required to be any kind of guitarist either. If you have no such goals, knock yourself out. You might develop some film scoring chops. lol
Members and Posted January 29, 2012 Author Members Posted January 29, 2012 I like the playing along with ads idea - I do that every once in a while when a good melody comes up.
Members scolfax Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 Van Halen has said that he spent a lot of time watching TV and movies while practicing.
Members 1001gear Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 Because he practiced continuously?
Members RockViolin Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 Yeah, Ithzach Perlman has claimed he watches baseball while he practices. The thing is, it's about the 'finger memory' I think. The pressure is very high, to perform very hard music, at the very highest level all the time. Doing the reps, even if not paying much attention at times, still puts the fingers through the paces. But doing the Tchaikovsky cadenza 500 times just for assurance, when you already damn well know it is really boring, so you watch TV, the birdfeeder, whatever. I know that at times when performing, sometimes the mind wanders, the brain farts, the memory slips, and such events can be almost magically survived by fingers that have been trained. They keep playing anyway. But, if your at a stage where concentration and focus is key--I don't think any distractions are good.
Members jonfinn Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 I've practiced while watching TV. It's fine for some things, but I've found it important to practice while giving it my full attention.
Members jeremy_green Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 I would seriously be wary of how much time you play thoughtlessly.. You are training yourself to play this way. Lots of pros can get away with stuff like this because as said they play all the time. Lifting the ads as they go by is fine, but wanking... I would avoid it personally
Members RockViolin Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 You are training yourself to play this way. And in the case of a pro, he's training himself to survive weak moments. No matter who you are, no matter how hard you try, the mind gets tired and concentration lapses. But anyone in the early stages of the climb is training themselves to wank. I agree.
Members dvuksanovich Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 Having the guitar in your hands is better than not having the guitar in your hands, but if you're not focused on it you won't get nearly as much out of it as you could. Personally, I like to put some sporting event on the TV and then turn the volume down really low. I focus on practicing and then if something exciting happens the announcers will start yelling and I'll look up for a few minutes, and then go back to practicing.
Members dvuksanovich Posted January 29, 2012 Members Posted January 29, 2012 Oh... and definitely start using a metronome. You don't have to do it all the time, but it's really hard to build speed without learning to play in rhythm. Working with a metronome can get you focused on the guitar and off the TV... give it a shot.
Members pinkvoid Posted January 30, 2012 Members Posted January 30, 2012 i practice trils and playing small pieces faster when watching tv/distracted/bored.
Members JonR Posted January 30, 2012 Members Posted January 30, 2012 I guess it's better than watching TV and not practising... But it's a bad sign that you want to do both at the same time anyway. If the TV program is good, give it your full attention. If it's not that good - switch it off! If you want to play along with broadcast music (not a bad idea) do it to the radio, not the TV. No visual distractions then.
Members RockViolin Posted January 30, 2012 Members Posted January 30, 2012 Having the guitar in your hands is better than not having the guitar in your hands, Yeah well, I'd be careful sleeping with it. You might get splinters in funny places.
Members Skrap Posted January 30, 2012 Members Posted January 30, 2012 If you practice a lot while watching TV you'll only be able to play while watching TV. Some bands might get away with having a TV on stage with them but if you're not in one of those I'd recommend not to do this. :poke:
Members jeremy_green Posted January 30, 2012 Members Posted January 30, 2012 But it's a bad sign that you want to do both at the same time anyway. If the TV program is good, give it your full attention. If it's not that good - switch it off THIS!! TV sucks man. Turn it off and watch what grows in the time. You WILL fill that otherwise wasted time with something of much greater quality. I never watch it, bugged my wife for years, she finally did. Before long she was a published writer in magazines, started her website, all kinds of things budding. Boredom is the fuel that feeds art. You eliminate all your boredom, in doing so you eliminate the time you would be creating.
Members Virgman Posted January 30, 2012 Members Posted January 30, 2012 TV is very important and I can completely understand why you would not want to miss any of it. TV is really good. Especially sitcoms. I have learned so much from TV.
Members BydoEmpire Posted January 30, 2012 Members Posted January 30, 2012 I understand the majority sentiment here, but I can give a concrete example of how you can get something out of it. I watch almost no TV, but I do like football. There was a Sunday night game earlier this year that was really close and I wanted to watch the end. I had also been struggling playing a certain sequence of arpeggios back to back because it involved a bit of barring with my pinky and the tempo was quick. For about half an hour while I watched the game, I just ran over that sequence over and over and over, with enough attention to not let myself play it 'wrong' over and over. The next day I went to play the solo that had those arpeggios and I nailed it, and I've had it ever since. It was one of those things that just took some time to drill. I'm not trying to come off as "pro TV," because generally I don't like TV and don't watch it much, but if you're going to watch you might as well do something productive with your time. As long as you work on the right things you can get some benefit. It's more time with your hands on the fretboard. Just my 2c.
Members jonfinn Posted January 30, 2012 Members Posted January 30, 2012 TV is very important and I can completely understand why you would not want to miss any of it.TV is really good. Especially sitcoms. I have learned so much from TV. You're a dork. Reality TV is THE thing these days. It's so..... REAL. My favorite is either "The Bachelor" or "Cheaters":-)
Members girevik Posted January 30, 2012 Members Posted January 30, 2012 I understand the majority sentiment here, but I can give a concrete example of how you can get something out of it. I watch almost no TV, but I do like football. There was a Sunday night game earlier this year that was really close and I wanted to watch the end. I had also been struggling playing a certain sequence of arpeggios back to back because it involved a bit of barring with my pinky and the tempo was quick. For about half an hour while I watched the game, I just ran over that sequence over and over and over, with enough attention to not let myself play it 'wrong' over and over. The next day I went to play the solo that had those arpeggios and I nailed it, and I've had it ever since. It was one of those things that just took some time to drill. I'm also an NFL fan. Similarly, there was a line I was working on that I was only going to get to tempo with repeated practice. Most of my practice is in a room away from the TV, but there are times that I get sucked in (football, continuous news reports during the hurricane, etc.), so I'm with you there on making use of that time.
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