Practicing Guitar: How I Get My Routine Together

Reading through one of my favorite books, "Golf is not a Game of Perfect," as well as getting back out practicing my disc golf game after months off due to a broken leg had me thinking recently of another area of practice in my life- guitar. It can take so many years to develop a good, results producing practice routine that too many people dread practice and never really improve as players because of it. With all this practice and goal oriented thinking going on in my own mind, I thought I'd take some time to share with you my own guitar practice routine.

First of all, lets talk about routine and commitment. Practicing should become a habit after a while, and ideally it should become a habit that we enjoy doing. If you truly dislike what you are practicing, your practice time will be far less effective than it could be. For my own needs, one hour and 45 minutes to two hours a day is my perfect amount. I also usually take a day off during the week to take a little break from the routine and focus on other important things. Commitment to a practice routine is important, but obsession with it is obviously unhealthy. Consistency is the key here; find a routine that works and stick to it as often as possible. One half hour every day is better than six hours a day sporadically.

My practice session is split into two parts: "technique" and "tunes." I've done this for years, and it has a simplicity that I like. I generally do the "technique" session first; its the 45 minute to one hour section. This is where the "raw material" gets worked on and refined into things I can use for playing the tunes. "Tunes" is just that- the repertoire part of the equation, and the most important.

Technique

My "technique session" is also divided into three basic areas. I spend the first 10-15 minutes working on sight reading both notation and chord charts/ lead sheets. Though some might not need to worry about reading notation, I'd recommend at least working through chord charts. You never know what kind of situation you may find yourself in someday where you'll need to have at least the ability to read chord symbols, and reading notation opens doors that remain closed to those who can't.

The second part of my technique session is dedicated to transcribing whatever it is I'm working on at the moment; right now its the chords and solo as played by Steve Jordan on his recording of "It Happened in Monterrey." The premise here is that I am learning something by ear that intrigues me in order to further my own abilities and thinking on the guitar. I'm very old school about transcribing. I literally tape the tune from a record and play it back on a little Sony cassette recorder, working bit by bit to get the material I want to learn into my fingers and ears. There are many more technologically advanced methods to do this too, of course. Use what works for you. Transcribing is essential for improving as a player. Do it! We have to copy others who came before so we can take things to the next level. There's no sense re-inventing the wheel in music.

The last 25-30 minutes of my technique session is spent on, well, technique, plain and simple. I'll usually start off with some right hand picking exercises to gain and maintain picking speed. I generally find that tremolo picking, arpeggio picking, and single note scales work well for this.

Next I'll work on what I'm going to call "method" or "etude" material. This would be material that is designed to help further your technical abilities on the instrument. For example, right now I'm working on the six harmonized major scale forms from George Van Eps' "Method for Guitar." I think of this type of thing as a way to force us to think and play in new and better ways, rather than rest on our laurels, which is far too easy to do as a musician.

The final portion of my technique session usually involves working on chord forms, chord inversions, triads, chordal improvisation, scales, arpeggios, and related things. Many times if I'm not reviewing or expanding upon a concept, like say ways of improvising over a minor 7th chord form, I'll be working on getting missing or weak fundamentals together. Right now that means getting more familiar with the half diminished chord and related chord scales because I have been having trouble with that chord type when I'd run across it in tunes.

Tools of the trade...

Tunes

This is where it all comes together. I spend one hour on tunes every practice day, and for good reason. Tunes are what we play and do all that technique work for. When I perform, I'm playing tunes, not scales or chord forms!

I basically work on tunes on two levels. First, I learn the tune and get it to what I consider to be a good performance level, then I work on reviewing, expanding upon it, and generally improving on it. For the learning part, I try to learn the tune by ear from a classic recording or a recording I like. If a recording I like is not readily available, then learning it from the Real Book will have to do. First I'll learn the chords and structure of the tune, and when that's memorized, I'll get the melody together, either vocally or as a chord melody on the guitar. Next, I'll work on the improvisation, and when it's all up to a level I'm happy with, I move on to learning a new tune. The process can take weeks or months depending on the tune. The most important thing is that the tune is in my head. The same goes for the occasional classical or arranged piece I'll do: It's got to be memorized and feel easy to play.

Now I can make that tune my own. I take those tunes I know well and continue to expand upon them- trying new ideas in the improvised sections, playing different rhythm voicings, adding intros and endings, and various other little details. I'm never really done with a tune; there are always more possibilities, especially in jazz where improvisation is continually producing something different each time the tune is played. In a typical session I'll work on between three and six tunes, depending of course on how much work they all need. Sometimes it is only a matter of quickly reviewing a tune just to make sure I still know it!

Hopefully this outline of my own practice routine can be helpful to some of you out there who are still struggling to make something work. What it really comes down to in the end is having a goal in mind and knowing what is needed out of your practice time to achieve that goal. The goals and what it takes to achieve them will become more clear the further into your musical journey you are. You just have to be persistent and keep a positive outlook!

P.S. For Beginners:

Be prepared to spend a lot of your time becoming a jack of all trades. It's going to take a while before you have the skills to really delve deeply into what your passions are, and its tough to have a sharply focused routine until that time comes. Enjoy the journey and realize that with time and a good practice attitude you will get where you want to be, even if where that is changes over time!