Members LIAR-502 Posted August 15, 2005 Members Posted August 15, 2005 ok. I've asked this question before but never really got any straight answers i have about 6 hours practice time a night. now that is with interruptions but generally 6 hours. what things should i practice every night to become great. I play rock/hardrock/metal. but i'm not just interested in chop building i want to be a great musician as well as a great guitarist. so....what techniques should i work on each night? how long should i focus on technique? what other things should i do. Should i only learn songs by ear. I really want to get some help so i can plan out a practice shedule so please help me. I'd really really appreciate it. thanks alot.
Members Terje Posted August 15, 2005 Members Posted August 15, 2005 Things that some of us tend to overlook... * Develop your ears. Play along with recordings, sing along with what you're playing, learn how different intervals sound. * Rhythm is so overlooked it's sad. Work with a metronome, learn everything you can about chord voicings. Nobody wants to play with you if you can only play fast leads (unless they're super fast and incredibly musical) but everyone wants to play with a good rhythm guitarist. * You learn the most from playing with others. It'll teach you right away what you need to work on next/the most. Get out and jam as much as possible. try especially to play with musicians that are better than you. * Learn lots of songs. Anything, all styles are OK. Any song you can think of and can't come up with a good reason not to know is good.
Members Little Dreamer Posted August 15, 2005 Members Posted August 15, 2005 I find Troy Stetina's stuff very useful. His Speed Mechanics book is great for technique (it's really improved mine since I started using it), and his Metal Lead Guitar Volumes 1 & 2 take you through a lot of progressively harder solos while explaining some theory along the way. He also gives a lot of good tips on various approaches to writing solos. There's also Metal Rhythm Guitar volumes 1 & 2 as well. He's got a lot of books delving into the styles of various musicians too. Additionally, you should learn songs and work on writing your own stuff. I usually follow my regular practice routine during the week, then devote the weekends to writing and recording my own songs. It breaks up the routine and lets you devote a large amount of time to creative persuits. You probably want to study theory from an actual theory book. Bruce Arnold's Theory Workbook For Guitar Volumes 1 & 2 are my favorites for theory. Ear training is really important as well. That's just the stuff I use, there are a lot of other good books on theory and technique as well. You'll pretty much have to split up your time however you think is best. Start out with everything getting equal amounts of time, then see what helps you the most, devote more time to that. A few minutes of ear training every hour or so, some theory studied while you're away from the guitar, etc. Enjoyment is important as well of course. For what it's worth
Members ugly steeple fear Posted August 15, 2005 Members Posted August 15, 2005 Listen and learn tunes from players outside of your arena. I'm not into hard rock or metal at all these days, but I'm working through some of the books listed in the post above.I'm not a jazz player, but I try to pick on jazz material. I try to learn sax and trunpet, and even guitar solos.Learn to read music. Indispensible. Make up melodies. Write chord melodies. Always play in time. Learn to play ahead and behind the beat. Play songs as slow as possible. Learn to play a solo backwards. Get Mick Goodrick's "Advancing Guitarist" and work your way through that. Pick up the George Van Eps books and work your way through those. Play with as many people as possible, in as many situations as possible. Learn to sing. Learn to play and sing. Have fun. Don't burn yourself out of the technical portion of being a musician. Try not to get down on yourself if you aren't where you need to be.
Members MrSteed Posted August 15, 2005 Members Posted August 15, 2005 If you really want to be great, you need to have great fundamentals. www.guitarprinciples.com. In actuality, Stetina's book has nearly ZERO technique. Lot's of good exercises, but in terms of taking you through the nitty gritty of how a particular move is executed, he mostly leaves you on your own. I can guarantee the guitar principle materials will pay for themselves very quickly -- get the book and DVD.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.