Just curious, what kind of practicing tips does anyone have? Does anyone have any cool methods that have discovered to help them get better with their instrument?
Page
1
posts 1–8 of 8
+0
permalink
One thing I was told early on, and which I still stick to, is to make practicing like brushing your teeth: You don't go to bed without doing it. Even if it's for 15 minutes, that every-day mentality seems to be crucial.
I know Carter Logan of the Jerks went more than a year practicing at least four hours a day on the banjo. I can't even imagine that.
+0
permalink
Expanding on what Sam said - beyond just making practicing an every-day habit, schedule your practice times. I treat my guitar practice as an appointment on my calendar that's just as important as a doctor's appointment or a meeting. Non-negotiable. If you use a PDA or Outlook calendar to organize your time, block out that time and don't allow anything else to encroach on it.
It also helps for days when you don't feel like practicing - it's on your calendar and you only have to do it for an hour (or four, if you're a serious banjoer...) and then you can go do something else.
+0
permalink
practicing is what you get out of it.
I went by the Charlie Parker mentality, which I still hold to today. Practice EVERYDAY....I never go to the point where I was practicing 15+ hours a day like Charlie, but at my most I was doing it for 6-8 hours a day. And that was for about 5 years. It was tough, but I didn't have a life outside of it (obviously). haha. Now its AT LEASED for an hour a day. If I'm doing saxophone, those shorter practice periods are for scales, etc....more time = songs, etc. If I'm practicing DJ'ing it's mostly scratching/juggling and some "mock playing."
keep your chops up!
+0
permalink
Also, to be clear, playing Guitar Hero for three hours a day does not count as practice.
+0
permalink
^^^^ haha. yeah I was talking to a little kid the other day, and in conversation I asked him if he played any instruments...his response was:
"yeah, guitar!"
"what kind," I asked
"Guitar Hero," he responds....
+0
permalink
I guess this is more for group/band practicing than individual practicing but something that has helped Highway Jackson tremendously is sectional rehearsals with the entire band. We'll all get together and play each song "clean" (as opposed to full level distortion with the guitars) with a metronome according to parts. So the drums and the bass will play the song with the click and the guitars and vocals will actively listen while they play to make sure everything is correct and in time. That way there are atleast 2 ears listening along with the players to catch anything fishy. Hope this helps, any other tips?
+0
permalink
using a "click" in practice was always one of my favorite things. determining the bpm was always fun. we could argue about just one or two, even though its barely noticeable at that point.
the coolest thing though, is once the full band is playing together again, CRANKING the click, but then hearing it disappear because everyone is dead on time-wise. just awesome.
Page
1
posts 1–8 of 8
This Topic Is Locked To Guest Posts
It's been a while since this topic was active, if you'd like to get it going again, please post as a registered member
