# Developing New Practice Plan - Please Review



## Dionysus (Aug 30, 2011)

Hey guys, 

I am really excited about the idea of streamlining my practice routine in order to cover all my bases. In my hast, however, I wonder if I might have forgotten any essentials. I would really appreciate it if I could get your takes, and constructive criticisms, on my "plan". 

Here she is: 

It is a 6 day a week plan cycling through 2 or 4 week intervals. Every week two cover songs will be selected with a goal of completion for the ending of the 6 day cycle; if a song is not completed in that time frame it will be resumed the following week. The songs will be broken down, like the practice routine, into two groups/aspects: Chordal study and Lead/Scale study. 

( Weeks # 1 and 2) 

Monday - Keys C,G,D
Tuesday - Keys A, E,B
Wednesday - Keys F#, C#, G#
Thursday - Keys D#, A#, F
Friday - 1 hr to go over technical problems of selected song. 1 hr play through songs.
Saturday - 1hr to preform songs, 1 hr of open playing. 
Sunday - Rest 


Major and Minor Scales Section: 


-----------------------------10 Min Warm up chromatic exercises------------------------------------


1) 30 Mins Major Scale: (90 bpm goal)


-10 mins ascending & descending (3rd,4th,5th,6th,7th) 
-10 changing through patterns (moving up the neck) 
-10 Pentatonic Major Runs (move up in 3rd and 4ths) 


30 Mins Minor Scales: (90 bpm goal) 


-10 mins ascending & descending (3rd,4th,5th,6th,7th) 
-10 changing through patterns (moving up the neck) 
-10 Pentatonic Major Runs (move up in 3rd and 4ths) 




Song Repertoire Study: 




Cover Practice: (End of week completion goal) 




10 Mins to learn new lead part/bars of song 
10 Mins to work out specific picking patterns or technical issues of song 
10 Mins to match lead work with chordal movements 




Ear Training: 




10 Mins to learn melody of song 
10 Mins to learn bass elements of song 




Older song: 


- 20 Mins to brush up on lead work of already acquired song 



(Weeks #3-4) 

Monday - Keys C,G,D
Tuesday - Keys A, E,B
Wednesday - Keys F#, C#, G#
Thursday - Keys D#, A#, F
Friday - 1 hr to go over technical problems of selected song. 1 hr play through songs.
Saturday - 1hr to preform songs, 1 hr of open playing. 
Sunday - Rest 

Major and Minor Harmony Section: 

-----------------------------10 Min Warm up chromatic exercises------------------------------------


1) 40 Mins Major Chord Scale: 

Focus on learning 2 -3 new chordal families cycle


-10 mins ascending & descending horizontally
-10 mins ascending & descending in vertically 
-10 mins on leaning new major and dom 5th chords
-10 mins on learning new minor and diminished chords


2) 20 mins on Arpeggio Study:




Song Repertoire Study: 




Cover Practice: (End of week completion goal) 




10 Mins to learn new chord progressions 
10 Mins to learn chordal pattern and relationships 
10 Mins to match lead work with chordal movements 


 Composition: 




30 mins to composition






Sorry if this is a bit mess. It is a work in progress !


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2012)

Wow! Quite a busy schedule. Are you cramming for an audition for a
zappa-ish band? lol. jes kidding. Have fun with it! That's the secret.
With your enthusiasm, you're going where you want to be.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Wow! Very ambitious! 

My biggest concern would be whether you have a history of playing that many hours in a week? If not, I would work up your playing time slowly - no more than a 10% increase week to week.

Also, 10 minutes seems to be a long stretch to work on a single technique item. I was at a guitar workshop last year where the presenter suggested using a three minute egg timer for working on technique - which also prevents you from over-practicing the things you do well.

Let us know how it goes!


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## Dionysus (Aug 30, 2011)

bw66 said:


> Wow! Very ambitious!
> 
> My biggest concern would be whether you have a history of playing that many hours in a week? If not, I would work up your playing time slowly - no more than a 10% increase week to week.
> 
> ...


I should definitely cut down the amount of time that I am focusing on technique. And I will follow your advice, in regards to a 10% time increase in a week. Thanks, really appreciate your thoughts.


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## aftermidnight (Oct 11, 2009)

Like others have mentioned, this does appear to be a very aggressive plan ....... and if followed religiously for say 6 months ...... you will certainly be a much better technical player than when you started ........ but I’m not sure what your age and/or ultimate goals are here.

If your goal is to prepare for a university degree in music ......... and possibly teach some day .... then this is probably a good start ....... but (IMHO) you might want to look into hooking up with a professional teacher and getting into a recognized conservatory program to ensure you are not missing anything in preparation for that entrance exam.

If your goal is simply to treat learning guitar as a lifetime hobby ......... playing fun music with others that have similar musical tastes ....... then you need to ensure playing with others is included in your practice regimen as well ........ find those like-minded musicians as soon as possible and get playing with them ..... the sooner the better ....... practice won’t seem like work ...... it will be fun.

If your goal is to treat learning guitar as a lifetime hobby ....... and only ever play on your own ....... i.e. solely for your own personal enjoyment ..... then my only concern with such an aggressive a plan would be burn-out ....... treat it like any other hobby ......... once practice (or time put in to your hobby) starts to seem more like work than fun it's time to back off a little.

Hope this helps.


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## Dionysus (Aug 30, 2011)

aftermidnight said:


> Like others have mentioned, this does appear to be a very aggressive plan ....... and if followed religiously for say 6 months ...... you will certainly be a much better technical player than when you started ........ but I’m not sure what your age and/or ultimate goals are here.
> 
> If your goal is to prepare for a university degree in music ......... and possibly teach some day .... then this is probably a good start ....... but (IMHO) you might want to look into hooking up with a professional teacher and getting into a recognized conservatory program to ensure you are not missing anything in preparation for that entrance exam.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your advise. 

I am 28 years old currently and have been noodling with the guitar for a few years now, mostly just for enjoyment. I live in an area that doesn't have any guitar teachers and very few people who can play anything more than simple bar chords or campfire songs. I have always had the intention, with guitar, to one day be able to use it as a means of expression but I have always known I would need to summit a ton of material before I could confidently say to myself that I am really able to play my instrument. I have also been hunting for a "path" in life as the jobs I am accustomed to are physically impossible to sustain; this past year I have been dreaming about the prospects of one day, possibly, teaching guitar. Those thoughts make me happy. As a result I have looked at some schools and am considering, maybe, enrolling once I feel like I am ready. 

I am not afraid of aggressive work if it means aggressive growth. I am feeling loads of pressure due to the fact that I am 28, work labour jobs, and have not achieved any of my musical, or vocational, goals in life.


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## aftermidnight (Oct 11, 2009)

It’s good to have a better understanding of what your short term and long term goals are.

So, if I understand correctly, it would appear that for the short term you are in a somewhat isolated situation and really want to use the time effectively to buckle down and focus on learning more of the technical side of playing guitar ....... and if so, you do appear to have this covered fairly well ....... scales, arpeggios, ear training, learning complete pieces, etc. are all part of it.

If long term, you are looking to get into a school to learn/play more guitar, you probably need to be looking into something like Berklee College of Music as soon as possible .......... they should have the resources to help lead you in the right direction ...... as well, I believe they are set up now to do quite a bit online ....... (there must be similar programs in Canada ...... I just do not know off-hand where they are).

As well, and if at all possible, I think I would still try to work playing with others into your practicing ........ find that person that can only play one chord ....... show him an E ....... get him to play 20 minutes of various rhythms while you run through your E scales and arpeggios ....... and voila, an instant Phish concert! ........ (then teach them a second chord ...... and jam over 2 chords).

Hope this helps ....... good luck and keep us up-to-date with your progress.


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## SaviArt (Mar 1, 2012)

It's nice to see your detailed plan. If you want to take a rest on sunday then I suggest you to spend it also playing. Play for example for 1 hour simple chordal songs, sing songs or just play something you like This dynamic rest is much better than static. 

But talking about your plan, it's good. Keep on it for about 6 - 9 months and change it. This way of changing your practice approach will make your learning much better


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## Starquasi (Feb 11, 2009)

Looks like a very ambitious plan that can be accomplished when accompanied by love for the instrument and a dedication to the craft!

I have found that the best way to accomplish a goal is to be kept accountable in my pursuit. With music, this is through a teacher, a jamming partner, the players I work with or, at the very least, through an online community like this one. 

So here's my question, without judgement: How's it going? Are you reaching your goals? Do you need some friendly motivation? Help refining your goals? We're interested, let us know!


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## jeremy_green (Nov 10, 2010)

It's very ambitious and i applaud you for getting organized.

My immediate reaction is this... are you looking to become a teacher OR a killer player? I assume the answer to be likely both... but seriously think about the answer and you can only pick one. This seems to lean more to the teacher category - which is cool, if that is where you wanna go.

The reason I ask is this is all very technical... least a great deal of it. For me there is FAR too little ear work going on. This would be my breakdown.

Technical drills 5% (ALWAYS to a click of some kind)
Chord Vocabulary 5% (ALWAYS to a click of some kind)
20% spontaneous composition (ALWAYS to a click of some kind)
20% planned composition (ALWAYS to a click of some kind)
50% ear work - learning entire albums - NO TAB ... EVER. (ALWAYS to a click of some kind)

away from the guitar:
Song analysis - write out the album songs you figured out and figure out , the key, time signature, the chords (break them into a I, IV, V - type numeric system), the scales, look at the solos and find the chord tones used.

Three things make a great musician to me (there are more but these are tops)
1. Imagination
2. Ear
3. Rhythm

With these 3 things everything else falls into place. So make sure whatever routine you do it addresses these areas.


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## BEMUSofNrthAmra (Jun 9, 2012)

Sounds boring as hell to me.

I would lose my enthusiasm for playing if I was forced to follow that kind of schedule.

That's nazi stuff right there.


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## Starquasi (Feb 11, 2009)

Everyone learns a little differently and has different goals. I wouldn't equate this practise schedule with anything other than self-discipline. More Bruce Lee than anything else...


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