Structured playing session

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zepp76zepp76 Frets: 2534
So, how do you go about your solo playing session? When you are playing alone at home how do you structure your session to get the most out of it, do you just noodle or pick a favourite song to practice? I'm struggling to stay focused and end up just farting about so any advice is welcomed.
Tomorrow will be a good day.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14321
    At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious, if you have no set goal for your practice session, it should come as little surprise that you lack focus.
    Be seeing you.
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  • imalrightjackimalrightjack Frets: 3723
    I tend to just noodle about and put songs on with GoPlayAlong (tabs with mp3s synced). The noodle might involve playing patterns or arpeggios but never with a metronome or anything. I have done that but now am at the point that I just want to have fun. It all depends on your ultimate goal.  Do you have one?
    Trading feedback info here

    My band, Red For Dissent
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  • zepp76zepp76 Frets: 2534
    I tend to just noodle about and put songs on with GoPlayAlong (tabs with mp3s synced). The noodle might involve playing patterns or arpeggios but never with a metronome or anything. I have done that but now am at the point that I just want to have fun. It all depends on your ultimate goal.  Do you have one?
    Do I have a goal? That's a good question but I'm not sure I have an answer to! I'd like to be a faster player, I like my blues/blues rock but also like some metal but I try to play some and my fingers just don't want to know so after a while I just give up and mess around. I guess I need some kind of structure but I'm not sure where to start.
    Tomorrow will be a good day.
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  • imalrightjackimalrightjack Frets: 3723
    Trading feedback info here

    My band, Red For Dissent
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  • tony99tony99 Frets: 7076
    Who's the uptight european guy on youtube, looks like Bradd Pitt? Klaus or Helmut or something

    should watch some of his videos for picking up speed, he's quite good, mad the way his guitar floats as well
    Bollocks you don't know Bono !!
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  • allenallen Frets: 699
  • tony99tony99 Frets: 7076
    allen said:
    Claus levin
    That's the guy, bit technical like but talks sense
    Bollocks you don't know Bono !!
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  • sev112sev112 Frets: 2739
    zepp76 said:
    So, how do you go about your solo playing session? When you are playing alone at home how do you structure your session to get the most out of it, do you just noodle or pick a favourite song to practice? I'm struggling to stay focused and end up just farting about so any advice is welcomed.
    Have a look at the book "guitar aerobics" by Troy Nelson

    one lick a day for a year.  All in different styles and themes

    short and sweet each day, so easy to see progress each day. And you look back after a few weeks and what you thought was difficult to start out with you can now do easily


    i found it immensely valuable in giving me something that was not massive that I could focus on, I saw immediate improvement and added guitar styles I would never have considreed

    very very good book for this purpose
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    Structure your practice sessions and you will be brilliant in 30 years time. 

    That's what I didn't tell myself 30 years ago
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    edited May 2017
    zepp76 said:
    I tend to just noodle about and put songs on with GoPlayAlong (tabs with mp3s synced). The noodle might involve playing patterns or arpeggios but never with a metronome or anything. I have done that but now am at the point that I just want to have fun. It all depends on your ultimate goal.  Do you have one?
    Do I have a goal? That's a good question but I'm not sure I have an answer to! I'd like to be a faster player, I like my blues/blues rock but also like some metal but I try to play some and my fingers just don't want to know so after a while I just give up and mess around. I guess I need some kind of structure but I'm not sure where to start.
    Find a good teacher.
    All the books in the world won't help you if you have a couple of technique problems that can be fixed in 5 mins by someone who can accurately observe your technique.
    And I can almost guarantee you that you will, because almost everyone does.

    Beyond that, it is a matter of practicing at a tempo that allows you to input the correct information before trying to accelerate the tempo.
    It has to be clean- being fast by itself is next to useless otherwise.
    Concentrate on playing cleanly and accurately- the speed will come with time.

    If you prioritise accuracy over speed and speed will follow naturally.
    You should play every day- at least 20 minutes- hard work will always trump talent.
    You need to know what to practice though- this is where we come back to having a teacher.
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  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    Get Youtube up in front of you and with judicious use of the pointy thingy and a quick tap on the space bar of your keyboard you can quickly work through stuff.

    Don't always take 'How To' vids as de facto though - many mistakes and myths prevail.

    I also use Transcribe! utility for slowing down and key changing for awkward tunings fiddly stuff.
    <Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
    __________________________________
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  • DesVegasDesVegas Frets: 4510
    Have you a looper? They help for sure. Record a simple chord progression then pick a new scale and play over the loop
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  • Paul_LPaul_L Frets: 52
    I am only really fairly intermediate on the electric guitar but I have started to have a plan before each practice to get better. At the moment I am working on crossroads. First I worked on the basic riff for a couple of sessions. Then the mini solo. Then I worked on the general arrangement of the song. Then moved onto the 1st solo and set myself a few bars each session. Now I am working on playing the solo reliably. Basically a little goal for each practice but I also like to spend a bit of time just noodling. Today I looked at some SRV style licks in the same key as Crossroads and then combined the SRV style licks with the Crossroads licks as a bit of fun. Doing it this way has stopped my farting about, a trap I often fell into.
    Maintained it for 20 years. This old guitar's had 17 new necks and 14 new bodies in its time.
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4943
    On your own you can only go so far.  That is my experience anyway.  So search out other musicians to work on songs together.  Playing is not a competition so in that band situation, work out parts for each member to play.  Play as many different styles of music as you can, especially in the band.  Assign lead guitar to all the members on separate nights as you all become more proficient.  Whatever you do - always enjoy your playing.  That is why you bought a guitar/bass........
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • BarneyBarney Frets: 614
    edited May 2017
    I just write down what i need to work on ...it could be 5 different things and spend a minimum 10 mins on each if something is going well i will spend more time ...maybe will repeat this a few times throughout the day if i can ....when get things learned i will add other things in that i need to work on

    I find the best way to see what you need to work on is record your own playing and try and be a bit self critical....not so much that it makes you hate guitar and never want to pick it up again though...lol
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  • bingefellerbingefeller Frets: 5723
    I just learn songs these days.  Right now I'm working on Savatage - Of Rage and War, Ratt - Nobody Rides For Free, and Michael Schenker - Rock You To The Ground.  

    Sometimes I end up just farting around with my Zoom G3n and programming new patches in but, mostly, i try to focus on learning and memorising the songs.  

    These days I don't try to learn any techniques which I'm not good at and focus on the stuff which I can do ok,
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  • DulcetJonesDulcetJones Frets: 515
    Working on songs helped me way back when.  I learned to play several of the easier popular songs of the day that allowed me to sit in with other people and play along.  My playing became more focused and lead me to a point where I could jam and improvise with other players.   Being the fastest isn't as important as it's cracked up to be.   Team players get invited to join bands and come out to jam sessions more readily than show offs.   There is a lot of good advice so far on learning technique etc.. but don't lose sight of the big picture.

    “Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay


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