General Music Chat

So what have I got to do? I play guitar, piano, bass and sing, read music on the guitar and piano(still a long ways to go, there's a lot to know), and pretty much practice at it in one way or another all day every day, it's what I do. I'm completely self taught and just wonder about effective practice routines to help me advance. What do you find to be a effective practice routine, task, exercise.....? Do you study music ie melody and harmony and all the many interrelationships? Do you need any of this to play guitar in a southern rock band? How can I get better? I'm working on my personality, but its been a hard life.

Any suggestions? What works for you?

It all depends on what you want to ultimately do. If you want to be able to play/copy other guitarist's lead parts on cover songs, then learn them (you can get software that will slow the parts down to learn note by note), figure out how to get the same tone and practice practice, practice.
If you want to play your own leads/style to cover songs or originals, then there is nothing better than playing with others - and repeated playing/rehearsal DOES bring better playing.
Being able to sight-read music is great if you want to walk into (paying) gigs unrehearsed and just play with others for hire, when needed as a fill-in.
For me, I try to learn new (cover) songs every week - but usually with my own style, not copied exactly, and I write new songs, and work on recordings.

i don't believe anyone "masters music". people can show enormous talent in one or even a cpl areas but to "master music"??? not possible. there are always new vistas to explore... different genres, techniques, ways of superimposing chord subs, new exotic scales, etc, etc.

in my experience the people who make the best and fastest progress are those who know HOW to practice effeciently and effectively. that might be only 30 minutes a day. and 30 minutes wisely spent trumps 8 hrs dicking around and spinning your gears going over stuff you can already play.

segovia once said "anyone that claims to practice eight hrs a day is a liar. or an idiot".

intersting topic, lynard ...i have to run now but i'll be back later. (you've been warned!)

i don't believe anyone "masters music". people can show enormous talent in one or even a cpl areas but to "master music"??? not possible.

I'll always be a student and never a master.
I just accept it graciously.

To master music is a tall order. For me it is simply an adventure. I hear something that moves me and I say "hey that was cool, how did he do that." And then I proceed to break it down and figure it out if I can. My favorite methods of learning new stuff is playing along with the track, checking out any youtube vids, and sometimes slowing things down to dissect it. Some guys use tabs to good effect but I don't care for them.

Pick the method that suits you the best and when you can play guitar like Tommy Emmanuel you have reached Master status.

if I may, can I pass on some quotes out of my "The Guitar Handbook"by Ralph Denyer ;
a quote from HOWARD ROBERTS (ever heard of him? if you ain't you don't know what you missin')
"Learning to play the guitar is a combination of mental and motor skill acquisition. And to develop motor skills, repetition is essential... Whenever musicians have trouble executing a passage, they generally tend to blame themselves for not having enough talent. Actually, all that's wrong is they don't know where their fingers are supposed to go... You should learn the piece in your head before you play it. And when you do play it, play it so slow that there's no possibility of making a mistake." end quote

segovia once said "anyone that claims to practice eight hrs a day is a liar. or an idiot".

Not everyone has his talent to start with.
Putting in the work is where its at.
Nobody practices 8 hrs a day.
2 is good for me.

How do I practice ?
I spend a lot of time with chords as my basis for soloing is based around chords.
" rock players play scales ; Jazz players play the changes " I have heard said.
Chords have certain notes like the 3rd the 5th 7th ect.... minor/ major
You mentioned Southern Rock well then you should look into flattened 3rds and 5ths ....
I spend time looking for the notes because they become targets in phrases to play with.

I think playing with others is a way to get better.
You know .... I like being a sideman even though I do solos .... I like to back up singers and comp behind other soloists .... playing in a band teaches this to me ... where as before music was a ego driven thing for me ... that closed my mind .... to learning
Other people know a lot and you can learn from them and its COOL.

and now a quote from JEFF BECK,
source: The Guitar Handbook by Ralph Denyer PAGE 140
IMPROVISATION :
"I've got no particular desire to play ten minute solos. Those were never valid anyway in my book-NEVER. It was just a cheap way of building up a tension in the audience... A solo should do something; It should'nt just be there as a cosmetic, It should have some aim, take the tune somewhere. I'm not saying I can do it, but I try and take the tune somewhere." -
JEFF BECK

i've always had a love hate relationship w practicing. mostly i love it though. having long suffered from music genre/instrumental A.D.D. i probably spread myself too thin, and so don't always discipline myself to practice as i'd like to or should.

how's that go...miss one day of prct and nobody notices. miss two days and you notice. miss three days and EVERYONE notices.

on gtr, and (electric) bass i rarely if ever practice "technique". but on mando, dobro, upright bass, and mallet percussion instruments i do need to stay up on my chops.

i think all musicians at some point need to stop thinking about practicing their "instrument" and instead "practice music". too many musicians (esp gtrsts) get caught up in working on their technique and chops at the expense of other things that should also be addressed.


as for the original post's question of what to work on and how best to improve....i think having realistic and attainable goals...AND a plan to get there is the key.

it's important to set long term and short term goals. where do you wanna be at and what do you want to have in your tool kit a year from now? in six months? a month? by the end of the week? what do you hope to get out of your next practice session? having clear cut, attainable, and reasonable goals...that's where it's at.

i always ask a new student what they hope to get from their lessons...and nine times out of ten i get the reply..."well, i want to get better".

well, okey dokey....WE ALL WANT THAT! so, then i have them make a list of their strengths and weaknesses and what specifically they want to work on and improve. and that's often the first time they've ever looked at the process in that much of a deliberate way.

that's how i start all lessons too. "so, what are we gonna work on today?" it really does help them w their focus and the idea that the responsibilty for their improvement sits on their shoulders.

Andy Timmons touches on one common trait of music masters: "Make every note count." Use each phrase purposefully to add to the song and take it to a new place that moves the listener and takes them on a journey with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFNB0u1-84A

Some of the songs I've written were too hard for me to play. Not joking - I knew what needed to go where but couldn't hack the riff.

What to do I wondered? I'd try replacing the hard piece with something similar but easier to play. Right...Does the term 'bitch' seem appropriate here? And of course I'd play it slowed down and practice it a lot.

I realized about a year ago that this was actually a blessing. My normal practice starts with some wild licks with lots of triplets and so on to get the blood flowing in my fingers (and give that pinkie a workout - lazy finger)

Next thing then is work on the songs with a part I haven't mastered yet or alternately one that is still in progress. Sometimes use a cover piece to learn a technique as well. It's become a helpful practice because I'm forced to practice things outside my comfort zone.

Another thing I do is relearn my own songs playing a second guitar part - typically I don't write for rhythm or lead - like Planet was saying, I'm going for the music. However - I leaned or should say, relearned, the need for the songs to have a strong, intelligible rhythm / chord version so the other guys can hear the changes.

Then there is the 'dead zone.' Symptoms: one does not enjoy playing much and seems to have no creativity; rhythm can be impacted and one feels just sort jaded in an uncool way. Kind of like 'writer's block' I suppose except writers don't do exercises on their keyboard to stay nimble.

I try to push through those times since they usually seem to lead to a new plateau - I end up sort of measurably better just because I kept the muscles moving in my fingers while my brain digested what it needed to do.

Another trick that works for me against the 'dead zone' is to switch to a different guitar. A tele is good for that because it is so measurably different in feel and sound than most other guitars. For some unknown reason that works better than switching over to bass.

I sometimes feel like I'm satisfied with my playing but it doesn't last.

I doubt I'll ever 'master' music - neither songwriting nor playing. I typically feel like I'm a pretty sorry player. Sometimes I envy the guys with the huge egos.

Talbot

I doubt I'll ever 'master' music - neither songwriting nor playing.

yeah, but that keeps it from becoming boring...knowing there is always some other cool thing to learn! i mean....if you don't get complacent resting on your laurels thinking you've arrived.....then there's always another A-HA moment waiting around just the corner. how cool is that?

I typically feel like I'm a pretty sorry player. Sometimes I envy the guys with the huge egos.

balance in all things, no? it is tough finding that happy medium where you neither think you're king $hit on the one hand.... and on the other, you're not constantly beating yourself up for being a useless clod. ( i rarely if ever have entertained notions of the former....the latter, well that's not uncommon.)

Some people who can't walk and chew gum at the same time HAVE to practice many hours. Some, like myself fortunately, have always picked things up quickly. I would suggest instead of "mastering music," master one song at a time. Get it to where it's second nature, where you can pull it out of your bag of tricks whenever you want. I'm talking about playing it whatever wway YOU WANT, then once you have it mastered, go on to the next song. Get them so good you can play them in your sleep. Just concentrate on one song at a time the way you want to play it. It's really not possible to ever "master music," it's such a subjective thing what "mastering" a song means. So many different opinions. Hopefully when you think you've got something, play it for an audience and hopefully they'll like it.

I can't "master music" without accompaniment, but I've reached a level on bass and vocals which is pretty tough to top, especially when it comes to blues. And not that many years ago I was my own worst critic.

And not that many years ago I was my own worst critic.

You always better being overly critical of your own work.

It just works out better that way and when you are satisfied with your own work, others will think it even better than you do.. It's a win-win..