Guitar Practice

[john]

Hey

I've been playing guitar for a long time (25 years or so). I rarely practice as such though I do work on pieces I am writing. My style is always evolving and I do try to bring in new elements on a regular basis, but that is a very informal process.

What do you do to develop your guitar playing?

Cheers

John

[Mark]

I play songs by other artists and try to mimic their style of playing it. I haven't been playing as long as you though . Only 2 years. I'll work on that

[john]

Hey Mark

It's not so much the years as what you do with them

Do you play any scales, or work on learning new chords? Or do you always derive new knowledge when you learn a new song?

It's funny, I very rarely learnt the songs of others. I did learn a few to play at parties, and at one point I played in a Pink Floyd tribute band and had to learn lots of Dave Gilmour guitar parts. I always focused on original music and experimenting. I guess I still absorbed the styles etc of others.

Weirdly, on a regular basis I will re-create the main sections of a song I like in the studio, purely as a way of learning how to achieve certain production techniques.

Everyone is different

[Mark]

Hey Mark

It's not so much the years as what you do with them

Do you play any scales, or work on learning new chords? Or do you always derive new knowledge when you learn a new song?

It's funny, I very rarely learnt the songs of others. I did learn a few to play at parties, and at one point I played in a Pink Floyd tribute band and had to learn lots of Dave Gilmour guitar parts. I always focused on original music and experimenting. I guess I still absorbed the styles etc of others.

Weirdly, on a regular basis I will re-create the main sections of a song I like in the studio, purely as a way of learning how to achieve certain production techniques.

Everyone is different

Usually I spend a day every couple weeks learning a new song. ThenI spend most of my other practice time composing original stuff. I've found scales to be awfully and always do them in conjuction with something else

[Rudi]

I have to play/practice in order to keep a minimal performing standard up. I havnt tried to adhere to any formal practice for 30 years (Ive been playing for 36 years).

At all times I have personal projects in mind. Here are two examples of what is ongoing presently:

Technique:

Speed pick string separation using the lower D, A and E strings. This is a technical project. This is using the pick rapidly on the string (like the mandolin fanning technique). Crossing from one string to another is something I cracked a long time ago, but only with sequential string crossings. In other words A to D to G etc. Now though, I’m trying to smoothly cross from E to D and back (missing out A). I can make the cross OK, but end up missing the optimal down/up strokes to make it work best. I think my chances of succeeding are about 60% in favour. I’m using the bottom 3 strings because they are easier to use this technique on initially.

Aesthetics:

Composition/Soloing project: I have finally understood intellectually what I’ve understood intuitively for years. That keeping notes close together tonally = drama! In other words CHROMATIC PHRASING. Obviously you need to find ‘excuses’ to do this, otherwise it will sound at odds with the music you are using it with. I have lots and lots of excuses. A simple one is to use key changes of half a tone. A more useful one is to find the half tones that chords have in common. These work best at the moment of the chord change. So in the key of B when changing from the chords B to F#, play the notes B and A#. These are separated by a half tone interval. Over the B chord they are the root ( and the major 7th (A#). Over the F# they are the 4th ( and the 3rd (A#). So using these at the moment of the chord change (within a more involved melodic phrase of course) will add poignancy. So when practice-improvising, I work this and many other similar examples into the ongoing practice.

These are just two of the little ongoing projects that inform my playing (or will do if and when I get them right). At the moment I probably have half a dozen further ones on the go as well. Over the months and years they change or metamorphosise. Occasionally I have to give up and drop a project, once I’ve convinced myself that they are either

1/ impossible or

2/ I can’t do it (the more likely).

I believe that this sort of thing is great for developing an individual style.

[Donna]

Hey, I like the approach all three of you use.

John, I'm trying to practice guitar (well, I am, but for how long dunno).

I'm doing bits of things, about half of them sound rather awful, but no pain no gain, ya know?

a) a warm up trying the supportive fingering technique (chromatic sort of)

scales - I'm doing this slowly, only using one octave, and in this way: going through all keys a-g, but in the cycle of 5ths. So I begin A (A E B F -yeh- flat 5th here Rudi- C G D), then begin on B (B F C G D A E). As a drummer, it'd never been ingrained, the cycle of fifths, so trying to do the scales and THINK "E scale, B scale" etc while I'm doing them, it's got to sink in. I try to run through the whole 8 keys in a steady rythym.

This will be varied in time, to where I'm doing scales in I, IV, V and like common patterns. And adding octaves...learning the scales all over the neck, lots of stuff can be done. I'm doing it to exercise the fingers, to learn the passing notes and stuff for any kind of picking or solo, to get the patterns of 5ths, then progressions from there, and learn the neck as a whole. Then the minor and blues scales... all of that I'm motivated presently to dig into.

c) my stuff. Not trying to embellish at all yet. Just trying to play the chords in time, w/ hopefully some sensitivity. Sometimes I slow stuff wayyy down, or REALLY concentrate on rythym/dynamic. And, play stuff while singing, just to get used to playing and singing together.

d) since I only have done chords, I am trying to incorporate notes - in rythymic time- with them. Just a 4 bar phrase which is very slow going and I haven't made anyothers up yet.

e) barres are tough for me, appreciate any tips (besides switching to electric!) - I'm just trying to do the hard ones, picking them string by string, trying to make it sound good.

f) Thanks to Lazz's influence, I'm also scoring melodies and/or guitar lines now. It's a great way to learn thinking what the notes are. And it helps one learn to read more fluently.

My cousin Bruce - who's totally accomplished in lead, rhythym, singing and now becoming quite a writer from what I've heard - he was so cool when hearing me struggle thru my stuff (being around Auntie before she died cause they're a road trip away, is why I ever had the chance to do this - had only played in front of my children previously). He said, " Well, it'll be good for you to have some time to work on your guitar technique...I learned one thing: play it the way you want it to sound, don't settle for kinda like it, or anything else." Which I've been following! I always did that with drums and singing. I think using one's digits to play is an awesome skill, and I should be happy w/ any progress, being clumsy.

Right now I'm playing either bass or guitar about 5 days a week. Hence, doing that rather than being online.

Oh - and I should say that a main goal is simply to be able to accompany myself singing so that the song can be played out. There is no accompaniest available, so I must learn how. I think by varying the things practiced, like hitting a majority of the spokes of a wheel, I'll end up better learning what the whole could be or should be...then pare down to specifics and my own niche from there.

Edited January 24, 2007 by Donna