What are your practice sessions like?

Manitou · June 2006

I am currently working on Santana's Europa.
I have ongoing stuff I'm working on...technique wise, and my interest in alternate tunings. My biggest problem has been dicipline. I'm not following through learning songs complete. I have so many bits and parts of songs, and when it comes to the difficult stuff...I put it off. I need to stop that.

The GNX might have also burnt my brain. I'm only practicing about an hour a day right now, vs. 3-4 hours a day...a month ago. I'm just in a funk.

I suck at rhythm. I think I'll move from shred technique to rhythm for awhile. I will maybe find some passion and energy that way. I'd really love to play the rhythm section well. I should also switch over to acoustic for that matter.

What are your practice sessions like? What are you working on? Do you do anything in particular to keep motivated?

yochillman · June 2006

\Manitou\ wrote:

I am currently working on Santana's Europa.
I have ongoing stuff I'm working on...technique wise, and my interest in alternate tunings. My biggest problem has been dicipline. I'm not following through learning songs complete. I have so many bits and parts of songs, and when it comes to the difficult stuff...I put it off. I need to stop that.

I suck at rhythm. I think I'll move from shred technique to rhythm for awhile. I will maybe find some passion and energy that way. I'd really love to play the rhythm section well. I should also switch over to acoustic for that matter.

I am just like you (almost), disipline is my biggest fallback, which in turn, makes every other aspect of my playing fallback.

I've been playing for about 6 years now and I feel I'm stuck in a rut. It's like, not much I play or learn thrills me as it did during that 1st year of dicovering this amazing instrument.

But I am more a rythem player and less a soloist, so me and you are total opposites in that area. I can do solos and stuff, but i don't practice in vein of that (in vein of Yngwiee Malstein for example (sry about name spelling lol )) ... I do feel satisfied with my rythem playing and consider myslef more a \"rythem guitarist\" then a \"lead guitarist\". One thing I would like to explor more, rythem-wise, is odd time signatures. They are way cool! I was in a mudvayne cover band for a few months doing shows, and if you look past their heavyness, they have some amazing time signature changes! Just they way they put songs together is amazing (I'm speaking of their older stuff BTW, L.D 50 ). So I think a little of that has rubbed off on me since I was playing it and listening for a bit there, but I'd like to learn more of that weird time signature stuff and more scales and how to use them nicely. Probably the latter first, but for now I just read my guitar player magazines and do the short, 1 page lessons in those. They are excellant for getting yourslef to touch all bases of technique, styles etc.

At the moment I'm coping *awesome* acoustic doors cover out of \"Guitar World - Acoustic\". The arrangements have all the bands instuments included in it, so \"Light my fire\" for example, begins with the keyboard intro fingerpicked, hybrid style. Just cool stuff, sounds amazing!

Hear it for yourself!

http://www.guitarworld.com/archives/2006/04/let_it_roll_bab.html

(Click Fig. 1 and so on, there are four songs within those examples)

partch · June 2006

I Mainly Aspire to play Lead guitar. I see the need to develop both not to be just one or the other, but to develop as a better overall guitarist. I play in a Worship band at Church so the bulk of my practice focuses on this weeks Worship Order. We mainly do about 5 Songs a set. Anything from Modern Christian Worship to Clasic 4 part Hymes with our modern feel to them most of the time. Some times we do them very traditional just not that much. I Start by recording Rythem guitar for each Song. Sometimes I use the GNX Drummer with a loop just to help with timming. I'm not the greteast with rythem and timming!! But I get better all the time!! Glory Be to God!!! I then Sing the Melody to the best of my ability. Of course I have saved all these tracks into a project to open at a later time and play them back & Practice my part over them, the lead guitar Electric part. This takes up most of my time preparing for rehersal on Thursday nights, and Live Worship on Sundays. But in my remaining time or desires to practice more: I'll put the GNX Drums on and work on Scales, Lead Patterns and stuff. Sometimes I'll record a progression on the Memory card and play it back and Solo over that. Sometimes I make a loop and keep on adding new things to it until it just gets to much going on then I clear the loop out and start over. I wish there was a way for that to loop say 3 chord progression and not keep adding the new parts your playing to the loop!! I'm sure there is I just have not found it yet?? Lastly I work thru Fretboard Logic SE as I have time and have come up to speed on what I have been working on I move on to new material. Thats about it for me for the amount of time I have with a young family I just can't give as much time as I would like!!! I would like to do more learning from recordings!! Working on my ear I just don't have the time to put the emphasis on that with the other more important areas I have to work on a weekly basis. Anyhow that's were I'm at right now in my musical life.
God Bless All!!!
Partch

thehootman · June 2006

Yes you can use the looper on the gnx4. When you are about to finish playing your 3 chord progression, get ready to press the play footswitch. Press the play footswitch when the progression starts again (ie 2, 3, 4, 1 - on the one) and it will begin looping. You then can add more and more tracks to your loop.

Speaking of weird time sig, changes, i am playing in my school musical. One of the pieces changes from 4/4 to 5/8 to 7/8 to 9/8 to 12/8 and back again in the space of 5 bars :shock: its not fun when you have a whole orchestra to keep in time with.

I think if you make it too disciplined then it becomes less fun.

Tal Rules · June 2006

I am trying to get more Horizontal in my playing..
Playing lead key changes in about a 3 to 4 fret area.
Forces the mind to see one area of the fret board as a spring board to multiple keys..

Also working very hard on 3 ocatave arppegios of 7,9,11, and 13 chords.
As well as arpeggiated diminished and augmented runs.

.

Am also back to listening to my man Chet Atkins again..
Feel some major inspiration coming.. 8)

Whenever I feel like I'm stuck in a rut, I listen to the great ones.
Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Chet Atkins, Skunk Baxter, Tal Farlow, etc...

I always find something neat those cats are playing and start thinking...
\"How in the Hell did he do that?\"..

That gets the mind to working as well as the fingers and the next thing you know I'm out of a rut.

Also,
Try this for a rut breaker..

Just sit back and jam on a 12 bar blues..

Play major licks, minor licks, Pentatonic, change keys with your licks with the chord changes..
I always get a chuckle when I hear players talk about going as far as they can with \"Blues\"...

There's a lot of guys out there in jazz, rock, soul, funk, etc.. who jam on the blues everyday and are still learning.. 8)

See Ya,
Tal.. 8)

yochillman · June 2006

\partch\ wrote:

I wish there was a way for that to loop say 3 chord progression and not keep adding the new parts your playing to the loop!! I'm sure there is I just have not found it yet??

After you record the looping, three chord prog., hit stop and then play and solo over it or rythem with it without it recording that .... I'm pretty sure I am misunderstanding what you're saying ...

I'm enjoying this topic so far .... 8)

partch · June 2006

yochillman- Yeah thats how I do it when I don't want it to keep on layering or adding everything I play to the loop. I just have to keep hitting play when the loop is over. If I record the loop in the way that it continues to loop rather than hit play each time it ends then it continues to add all new parts I play to the loop. What I would like to see is for me to not have to keep hitting play when loop is done, but for it to keep looping the progresion without adding what I'm currently playing over the loop. I'm sure you can do this in Pro Tracks But I would like to do it just on the GNX??
Thanks though!!!
God Bless!!!
Partch

partch · June 2006

thehootman
Thanks Bro!!! I new this could be done and I thought I did hit the play footswitch when I wanted it to loop?? Well that works just like it should!!! thanks again!!! I think I may have been hitting footswitch 2 instead of 4?? Anyhow all works great now!!!
God Bless!!!
Partch

Manitou · June 2006

I know this is off topic, but I could use some help.
:? I bought this computer that is suppose to teach me how to turn a woman on.
It doesn't come with instructions.
I'm blowing fuses and getting shocks ....please any advice????

I know the GNX4 is a tough one to learn...but this thing....GOOD GOD....it's driving me NUTS.

Heh heh....I certainly would appreciate any advice.

...zap......owwww.

...zap.....OwwH...hehehe.

...ditzzzzAP....OUCH...hey now. :evil:

...ZAP...SNAP!!...Boooyah...oww..ooouuuie. :shock:

...ditzZAK...bizzzzzzzzzDAPPLE...CA CHOW howhow ouchooouie.

(....snot...tears..snivelling...shaking...stars)

...ZAPPCRACKLEPOP...ZOT..ZACK..SMOLDER..DITZPOP...DEEDODAH!!
.....(fuses blow)

OOOWWWHOWOOOWWWHAHE...
....AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

(big hurt)

thehootman · June 2006

Lol. Thats great!

yochillman · June 2006

LOL

I can get that machine to work

WOGS858 · June 2006

manitou---one of these days the men in blue are a comin

I have to work in the desert this week(105 degrees outside)--means I'll be playin lots of guitar. I'm gonna try to tackle TRIUMPH'S mid summer daydream---if you've heard this song then you know it's a beautiful classical inspired piece. PROBLEM is that it's a totally different style then mine.BUT thats a good thing I know.

something that worked for me for years was to leave my guitar out --all plugged in and ready to go---I would say to myself (i'll just play for a few minutes)but the time would fly and hours later I'd find myself happy and getting better.

One thing that I find to be true-If you pick out 1 phrase or chord --the notes of that chord scream out for accompaning notes and chords and also harmonies call out. If you just listen for them. We are all filters of the music that we enjoy listening to and when we make our own music those influences come out .
Right now I like to spred it out
To learn a classical piece is hard for me so I'll expect to take a long time.
So i'll spend some time doing that
I have a few chord phrases that Iam working with
also I am fascinated with the sound of the harmonic scale so i'm playin with that alittle

Oh and having 4 sons keeps me busy --so I don't get to play as much as I want to, and have to put others needs first. OH well such is life.

ROCK ON 8)

grathan · June 2006

I'm trying to focus on traditional folk and blues arrangements with lots of 2 note (other than root 5) harmonies and quick moving basslines.

Tal Rules · June 2006

Manitou...

ROTFLMAO...
Good one bud..

Manitou · June 2006

\yochillman\ wrote:

LOL
I can get that machine to work

yochillman...THANKS...I knew I could count on a Bro to HELP me!!
All the Ladies I asked were either too busy to help...

...or I tried the \"just be myself\" approach...
and got a lot of doors slammed in my face.

HEY BABY.....GRRRRRRrrrrrrrrr

Thank you!!
regards Manitou

WOGS858 · June 2006

oh boy gary
I'd say that chick a sprintin !
Thats a TRUE MULTITASKER FOR YA
stay away from the busy type

Manitou · June 2006

WOGS...
I'm going through all my Satriani songs focusing on the rhythm sections. They sound easier than they really are....at least for me. Of course Satch uses lots of alternate tunings too...so it has me both involved and like you said....you get immersed. (paraphrased)
This is really good for me right now. I was in a rut. My practice got so stale, and that GNX kinda burned me out alittle. I don't like having to use my brain so much.

....no...the 60's weren't too rough!! :P

P.S....it's not the boys in Blue I worry about. I work with them everyday. Even use to be one myself years ago. It's those fella's in White with the padded Van.
But...they'll NEVER take MY donuts alive. They better bring a Straight Jacket, a Muzzle...and a Hand Truck.

Kewlpack · June 2006

I'm still relatively \"new\" to the whole guitar thing actually (started back up in summer of 2002 after about a 11 year break).

I find myself slumping into a rut when I don't have music to work on. If I have something to work on - no matter what it is - I seem to do much better. Like Partch, I also play in a church P&W band. I'm the lead guitarist for now. We have an acoustic rhythm player usually, so I get to learn alternate phrasings and supplemental riffs... which all improves my knowledge of the fretboard. I enjoy rhythm playing - but I love lead stuff. So any time the band asks me to work out a lead for a couple of measures, I'm happy to oblige! Finally put those modes/patterns/licks into good use! 8)

The big deal for me is just having specific material to work on (that I know I'll need to play live in the near future). It gives me focus and direction. When I don't have specific material, then I do as someone mentioned earlier - I work on improvisation and finding my own voice in the instrument.

Then, when I really wanna be stupified - I put on Joe Satriani and dream!

WOGS858 · June 2006

gary
The rythum --thats where it's at
evh said it---you should work the rythum for a few years THEN begin to work on lead phrases.
you will continue to be revived while you work on the rythum guitar---I think of rudolph shinker--a solid rythum player and only rythum.ya satch is cool I am still in awe when I hear songs from the first tape like rubina and hordes of locusts.---keep on!

kewlpack and partch
I too get to do p+w in church.I love it and it's a privlidge to serve in this way. I've been doing it for about 12 years. Learning new songs(as you said ) keeps things fresh---for the player and the listener. You know the cool thing is --and I think this god's gift---dreams can be realized---In other words the things you now dream about and are working on will come to pass---I'm not sayin you or I will be that player that we enjoy listening to but that we will be able to play just how we are feeling at that moment and thats when our style will come out.

well it's off to the desert for me ---105 degrees

you guy's have a good week

What are your practice sessions like?

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