Practice Sessions - structure isn't fun
I've been "playing" self taught for a very long time. I just started taking weekly lessons to learn more techniques and theory. This is my problem. I sit down with my new scales/chords to learn and 5 minutes into my practicing I go off on some tangent. I'll play for an hour or so a night. The night before my next lesson, I realize that I didn't learn my previous week's lesson very well. My teacher thinks I should break my practicing into two separate times : 1/2 hour of scales/chords and 1/2 hour of song playing. This sounds alot like work! Does anyone out there have the same problem? How did you make learning fun?
# 1
Bottom line - learning usually isn't fun. But if you want to be able to play fun stuff later on, you need to buckle down and practice now.
I've always had the same problem. I'll sit down and start practicing some song or riff, but before long I'll be goofing around and improvising.
Your teacher is right. Try setting up times to learn scales, songs, etc, but leave time for improv too.
# 2
Hi Bobby.
I've been playing guitar over forty years, and still suffer from tangents. Unless a person is really focused on what their doing, we all go through what your going through. I practice about five hours a day, and preform three to four nights a week. The band is always adding new songs to the play list and we write a lot of our own, so most of my pratice time it with new stuff. But I still like to run off down a different trail, just like today, and played about three hours worth of Lonnie Mack. I'm a decent lead player, and can fake what I don't know well. But if your still struggling with lessons, then Christoph is right when he says, "buckle down."
Your instructor is correct also. Split the time, do your lessons first, then jam. Do your work first, then play. You must get your basics down solid if you want to be good. You must know the scales and modes inside and out. It takes time and lots of hard work, just like everything else.
Now!!! Get off the computer and pick up your guitar and practice, practice, practice. I wanna hear you on a CD in two years. :)
Good luck.
I've been playing guitar over forty years, and still suffer from tangents. Unless a person is really focused on what their doing, we all go through what your going through. I practice about five hours a day, and preform three to four nights a week. The band is always adding new songs to the play list and we write a lot of our own, so most of my pratice time it with new stuff. But I still like to run off down a different trail, just like today, and played about three hours worth of Lonnie Mack. I'm a decent lead player, and can fake what I don't know well. But if your still struggling with lessons, then Christoph is right when he says, "buckle down."
Your instructor is correct also. Split the time, do your lessons first, then jam. Do your work first, then play. You must get your basics down solid if you want to be good. You must know the scales and modes inside and out. It takes time and lots of hard work, just like everything else.
Now!!! Get off the computer and pick up your guitar and practice, practice, practice. I wanna hear you on a CD in two years. :)
Good luck.
Slidin' on.
# 3
Thanks guys. I've been following your advise and learning the right way. I don't know about the CD, but I'll save you a couple of barstools right up front at my debut concert.
# 4
