# What if I literally had just one hour a day?



## jfd986 (Nov 22, 2010)

I posted in 2010 when I was a medical student asking about how to comprehensively know music, and then the guitar. 

http://www.guitarscanada.com/showthread.php?t=37721&p=322810&highlight=#post322810

Since then, not a lot actually happened. Music-wise.

I'm a doctor now, starting residency in July, and as crazy as it may sound, I want to resurrect this hobby. To prove I'm not trolling here, I can confidently say I've started on the Sarnecki books (well, book. I bought the one that has basic, intermediate and advanced) and I plan to finish fairly soon (though I'm not trying to rush it, may end up stretching it out over the first few months of intern year).

The goal is to be able to comfortably improvise within 12-bar with blues and jazz. I guess the pipe dream is to be able to play in front of complete strangers at a bar on open mic night and be able to convert one person from Katy Perry and Bieber to Stevie Ray Vaughn and BB King.

I know the various different positions on the bridge for pentatonic scale, but that's ten minutes of reading on a guitar chart if anyone has forgotten. I basically haven't picked up the guitar in two years, or more.

I was wondering what the ideal way to spend time practicing is if I literally only have one hour a day. Here's a breakdown that was given to me either by my guitar teacher or by someone on here a while ago:

1) Warm up exercises and stretching
2) Scales, slowly
3) 5 minute break every 45 minutes
4) Recorded Improvisation on the acoustic
5) Recorded Improvisation on the electric
6) Working on either your own song or trying to play some popular songs

4 and 5 were supposed to be reviewed later for critique and possibly inspiration and building of one's own style.

So I have an hour a day. If that. Should I do different things on different days or try to squeeze most of this into each day?

Also, second question : What is the simplest set up for recording and practicing with minimal space? My idea was :

1) Microphone for laptop (Laptop is old, 2004 old)
2) Record onto computer (Soundforge or Audacity)
3) Convert to mp3 and download to phone

And then the computer would have bookmarks which would turn into open tabs, for a metronome, a playlist, maybe a pre-recorded track of me playing the rhythm for 12-bar, and then a drum machine.

What's the best way to go about all this?


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

Check out Justin's site, he has a very well laid out beginner and intermidiate cours with practice routines.

http://www.justinguitar.com/


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

justin is a great resource.

1hr a day is plenty, IMHO. I barely get in that much every night.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

jfd986 said:


> Also, second question : What is the simplest set up for recording and practicing with minimal space? My idea was :
> 
> 1) Microphone for laptop (Laptop is old, 2004 old)
> 2) Record onto computer (Soundforge or Audacity)
> 3) Convert to mp3 and download to phone


Most phones will make a perfectly adequate recording for self-evaluation or playing along with, though you'll want to use earphones for listening rather than the external speaker.

And, yes, with an hour a day, you should make great progress. 

The only thing that I would add is to spend some time trying to figure stuff out by ear. (I'm sure that Jeremy will have more to say on this any moment now...  )


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## jfd986 (Nov 22, 2010)

bw66 said:


> Most phones will make a perfectly adequate recording for self-evaluation or playing along with, though you'll want to use earphones for listening rather than the external speaker.
> 
> And, yes, with an hour a day, you should make great progress.
> 
> The only thing that I would add is to spend some time trying to figure stuff out by ear. (I'm sure that Jeremy will have more to say on this any moment now...  )


This is a complete shot in the dark, but this "Jeremy" of which you speak ... he's not by any chance a former guitar teacher from Toronto is he ? Because if he is that now or was that at some point (i.e. about 10 years ago) then that would be so epic.


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## OldGuitarPlayer (Feb 25, 2013)

All that stuff you have is fine however the most important thing is to pick up the instrument every day and play it whether it's for 15 mins or an hour it makes no difference. The key is to actually do it every day and the minimum time should be 15-20 mins.. You will amazed at the results. It doesn't matter if you are playing through scales, chords, learning tunes or simply making random noise. Just pick the darn thing up and play it. If you cannot find at least 20 mins a day to play the guitar I'd suggest you find another hobby.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

jfd986 said:


> This is a complete shot in the dark, but this "Jeremy" of which you speak ... he's not by any chance a former guitar teacher from Toronto is he ? Because if he is that now or was that at some point (i.e. about 10 years ago) then that would be so epic.


Pretty sure he's from Toronto and a guitar teacher. Here's his profile from his blog: http://www.blogger.com/profile/14553584408958666966


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## bootbun (Mar 5, 2013)

bw66 said:


> The goal is to be able to comfortably improvise within 12-bar with blues and jazzQUOTE]
> 
> If this is your primary goal I highly recommend you consider jazz guitar great Jimmy Bruno's online program at http://jbguitarworkshop.com/. Jimmy starts you up from zero, guides you through developing your own practice plan, and provides direct teaching and feedback to you personally from videos you submit. It's a great program if you're looking for structure with limited time and don't want to seek out a local teacher.
> Are you doing your residency in the GTA/downtown TO?


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

zurn said:


> Check out Justin's site, he has a very well laid out beginner and intermidiate cours with practice routines.
> 
> http://www.justinguitar.com/


I'll second or third this buy zurn and add the link below that we've compiled here on GC. It has some of Justin's videos in here as well.

http://www.guitarscanada.com/showthread.php?39968-Guitar-Lessons-On-Video-ONLY!-No-Shredding-Clips


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## jfd986 (Nov 22, 2010)

I think the music teacher Jeremy I had as a teenager is different from that music teacher Jeremy in the blog. He had a shaved head at the time, this Jeremy looks like he always had hair. 

I'm gonna start actually practicing today, been going through the music book and while I personally believe it to be very important to actually learn the theory of music, it means nothing if I'm not touching the guitar. I have to make sure I get it done before my parents come home, probably will just end up running through some scales.

I'm gonna seriously consider that guitar workshop, but I currently have this Leavitt book (Complete Guitar Method 1, 2 and 3) and I was considering going through that before signing up for a course, just so that by the time I get to the course I'm already somewhere, as opposed to zero. 

Then there's all the other things that still need start-again work, like my picking, my legato, my seeing the guitar top-down instead of in blocks, etc. not sure if there is a better term for the last aspect I listed.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

You don't need a lot to improvise over 12-bar. 1 scale will actually do it, though having 3 to choose from is nice too. The advantage to learning theory is to be at the point where you've "forgotten" it and just play.


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## BIGDC (Aug 16, 2011)

Another vote for Justinguitar.com. He has a comprehensive course of study that builds up a solid foundation, a 1 hour practice schedule and how to change it as your needs change and a section on how to transcribe material so your ears can develop along with your physical skills.


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## jeremy_green (Nov 10, 2010)

bw66 said:


> Pretty sure he's from Toronto and a guitar teacher. Here's his profile from his blog: http://www.blogger.com/profile/14553584408958666966


Ha! What's this I come back and you guys are talking about me : ) Yes I am from the Toronto area, and no I have never had a shaved head.

and YES to the OP, bw66 was bang on with what he thought my comment would be. Use your ears to learn songs as much as you can. In fact I would say you should mostly be learning songs at this juncture. It's more fun and you will learn all the stuff you need within them. Repertoire really is your friend here, just make sure you are always playing in time, with a click or playing along. Your sense of time will ultimately define the level you are able to attain. It's great to have fast fingers, but if there is no groove in your playing you really have accomplished little.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

jeremy_green said:


> Ha! What's this I come back and you guys are talking about me : ) Yes I am from the Toronto area, and no I have never had a shaved head.
> 
> and YES to the OP, bw66 was bang on with what he thought my comment would be. Use your ears to learn songs as much as you can. In fact I would say you should mostly be learning songs at this juncture. It's more fun and you will learn all the stuff you need within them. Repertoire really is your friend here, just make sure you are always playing in time, with a click or playing along. Your sense of time will ultimately define the level you are able to attain. It's great to have fast fingers, but if there is no groove in your playing you really have accomplished little.


It's soooooo true. I've had friends say, "why does it sound different when you play it?" It's because I made sure what I was hearing in a song could be heard from my hands. It made learning fun, and really kept me interested. 

I started with tablature to help (the real tab books though). You develop the feel eventually. 

Ode to joy is for donkeys - and Hal Leonard.


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## HaydenMusic (May 2, 2013)

Hey jfd986,

If you're having problems trying to get some real practice time, I have few blogs I've written on how to maximize the most of your time: 

How To Improve Your Guitar Playing 'On-the-Go' and Without Your Instrument: http://hayden-music.com/blog.cfm?feature=4316798&postid=3907409

3 Essential & Easy Practice Tips: http://hayden-music.com/blog.cfm?feature=4316798&postid=3974080

What Makes a Great Guitar Solo? Answer: Storytelling : http://hayden-music.com/blog.cfm?feature=4316798&postid=3976707

3 Ways To Get Past Your Guitar Playing Plateau: http://hayden-music.com/blog.cfm?feature=4316798&postid=4059075

My longtime girlfriend is actually just about to graduate from medical school, so I know exactly what your struggles are with finding time and organizing your guitar playing / practice into an effective. I can tell you from experience, that it definitely can be done! 

Let me know if I can help you out with anything else. Cheers! 

:wave:


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