Practice structures

phil_b

My practice has been a bit random so far
I realise that for me to improve up a level it needs to be a bit more structured and disciplined

But I'm not sure how to go about it 

Fuengi

@Danny1969 has just been producing some really handy little instructional videos on YouTube. Worth a look. 

mrkb

Justinguitar has some good tips and methods. Basically comes down to:-
1) work out what you want to learn (either specific songs or techniques/knowledge).
2) work out the steps needed to get them
3) put them in a practice plan and make a tracker to keep track of progress
4) find some real music parts that use those techniques to apply them to in a real world context.

Practice a small amount every day, it’s the best way to develop muscle memory and retain knowledge in the brain.

kelpbeds

This is such a huge and often controversial area. I've designed lots of practice regimes for my students and firmly believe that it is massively beneficial. Give us an idea of what you want to achieve and people may well be able to help.

phil_b

I'm still a relative begginer

So far I know some basic chords And two pentatonic scales

Im trying to learn the notes positions on the fret board. 

I can plays quite a few riffs and parts of songs but it would be good to learn some complete songs. 

I also need to work on timing

mrkb

That’s a good starting point. I would look at learning 10 songs. There’s loads of songs you can play with basic chords and a bit of pentatonic. That will embed the chord shapes and note names in your muscle memory and provide a good structure for future learning. Desi Serna’s Fretboard theory book/course lists loads of songs that use basic chord structures - I’m sure there’s a list on here that @bigjon (RIP) created.

Learning whole songs forces to to get quick and clean shape changes, improves rhythm and gives you a sense of progress.

https://youtu.be/WWwMbJRjKJI

kelpbeds

phil_b said:

I'm still a relative begginer

So far I know some basic chords And two pentatonic scales

Im trying to learn the notes positions on the fret board. 

I can plays quite a few riffs and parts of songs but it would be good to learn some complete songs. 

I also need to work on timing

OK cool. So I would devise a pratice routine that focuses a lot on technique including aspects of alternate picking and legato playing and do this to a metronome so that it improves your timing. This should be done religiously daily.
Then work on adding knowledge to your playing e.g. extending to all pentatonic positions and learning all the notes on the fretboard. This video I did will then help you to apply your knowledge of pentatonics to your playing.



Really focus on quality when working on technique and forget about speed. It must be done correctly.

pintspiller

Is there any band/artist you specifically want to play like?

phil_b

pintspiller said:

Is there any band/artist you specifically want to play like?

Not  really. I quite enjoy a wide range in music.