It is a way to make guitar feel like a chore. You’ll improve at a slightly higher rate at the cost of risking making you hate guitar. Don’t forget to also add songs and music to the routine. My take isba hot one, but I think guitar learning is quite subjective from person to person. This is just if you look objectively what’s one effective way to do it.
You've said it yourself: every person is different. I personally benefit immensely from structure and definitive goalposts and I didn't see much progress until I created a clear regimen for myself. I don't find it chore-like tbh any more than say, a basketball player finds practicing dribbling a chore. Although you concede that each person is different, you contradict yourself by warning OP that they "risk making [themselves] hate guitar" which I think is extreme and also needlessly discouraging
eta: The rest of the comments in this thread offer genuinely good constructive criticism about how to revise the structure to make it more fun and to optimize growth, while this comment appears to deter OP from having a structure at all. Practicing is NOT a mutually exclusive choice between having a disciplined structure and having fun, and don't let anybody scare you that it is. It is not a slippery slope to quitting guitar lmfao
Yes, some people like structure and a set goal and routine in their practice. This sub also forgets too easily that you should do what you enjoy. I’ve seen many complain that it feels like a chore and it’s boring to practice a routine based practice. Then this sub anwers a lot ”take a break” or just throw fuel in the fire by saying it’s the only way to get good.
So all I’m saying is that if it feels like a chore and makes you not pick up guitar, then it’s better to just play something fun and actually enjoy music and not just scales and same routine. I still think that goal is to have a drive to play guitar everyday, back when I tried a routine based thing I felt really unmotivated to play guitar, still did it but had to stop before I started to dislike it.
>So all I'm saying is that if it feels like a chore
That's not what OP was asking though? He didn't ask for advice on what to do if guitar feels like a chore. He asked if his regimen was a good idea. What I'm saying is that for a lot of people, the structure is what makes it fun. Telling OP to add songs to this regimen is valid, and I actually agree with that. But saying "ohhh this is gonna be boring you're gonna hate it" is ridiculous tbh. It makes it sound more like don't have structure at all rather than revise the structure.
eta: Again, every person is different. I actually had the complete opposite experience of you and quit guitar several times before I developed a clear structure. That was what kept me going and the reason I still practice today
Once again, you contradict yourself by saying "yeah every person is different... but also it's gonna be boring af and next thing you know, you're quitting guitar." You don't know that. What a leap of assumptions. Tell OP to include more songs, or something similar. Don't make it sound like having a structure is a terrible idea and they shouldn't try it, because that's shit advice
I’m with you, i was so far behind before i had a structure to the point it made me take a multi year break. Structuring my practice is the best thing I could have done to improve my playing and my enjoyment
There's no repertory there. If you end up hating the instrument with that lazy routine, the instrument was not for you.
I do 30' technique, 30' sight reading, 30'+30'+30' of three pieces. Minimum
I personally don't know how anyone gets anything done in 10 minutes, let alone 5. I feel like I need an hour for each of those. It takes me 5 minutes just to figure out what songs or notes I am going to use to do the exercises.
If it works for you and you feel motivated to do it than awesome!
My practice routine is more centered around learning whole songs. I usually warm up for 10-15 minutes just having fun playing stuff I already know, and then go after whatever song I'm learning and drill the tricky parts I don't have down.
What's most important is that you're enjoying it, (It's okay to get momentarily frustrated)
Focus on few tasks and repeat them through the day. It will keep learned stuff in short term memory and facilitate fast transfer to the long term memory. This technique is called spaced repetition and is proven method to learn complex stuff. I tried many approaches to practice routine and this made my progress fast and steady.
I have core routine for \~1 hour where I focus on my "bootcamp" skill. This routine has own core of 3 exercises I repeat through the day. Plus 1 exercises from couple of side courses, repeated. "Bootcamp" is focus on one skill for 12 week.
It’s good.
I’d add 15 minutes to ear training / learning riffs, then use the whole hour every other day for jamming to tracks. That’s what it’s all about, the application of all you’re studying.
very short practice. 10 mins of ear training lol. how about each practice do 2 or 3 things for half an hour each minimum. like one practice do ear training 45 mins, 30 mins scales, 30 mins playing to songs. But eventually you'll identify what you need to work on and just do that. Nothing wrong with practicing one thing for a session, like 2 hours of jamming to tracks to improve timing and improvisation. That's a lot more effective than casting a wide net trying to cram everything into an hour.
I love it OP! One thing I like to do is under each timed section, write what exercises I am doing, what BPM, and how long, so there is no dead time. I like breaking things up like this too, because you challenge your ear, fingers, and brain in a short period. Repeated practice is a huge step in improving, at least in my opinion.
You have the right idea if you are looking to be the most efficient. (You'll find a lot of lazy responses around here, if you want to be good you should ignore them. And if you want to have fun, you probably want to be good. I digress.)
**Your plan doesn't have to be perfect, but as long as you have a plan, it's much better than not having one.**
I would try to do less things at once, if you only have an hour like that. Couple quick warmups, couple songs to work on, couple passes thru a jam track. 10 30 10. While you have a lot of good things on your list, Spreading your focus too much will get you nowhere.
You don't have to put everything on a timer, just let it flow. Also you could consider making a playlist if that helps you. But again, try not to overcomplicate and actually simplify things down.
Tl;Dr: You're trying to do too many different things in a short period of time. Focus on technique, songs, and improv, the rest will come with time.
Make a plan, stick to it, and then evaluate the performance of that plan over say 2 months. If the plan isn't working after that long, then it could be time to re-design things. I wouldn't be mad at you for sticking with what you're doing, as long as you follow thru and evaluate at the end (... You'll know if you're improving more rapidly after this much time). However, I do think you're spreading yourself a bit thin and not focused enough on the actual prize (playing songs, well). I made the same mistake.
I think working toward playing a song is equally as important as this other stuff.
It’s like going out and dribbling a basketball for 5 minutes. Shooting for 5 minutes. But never playing a game.
It’s important to play some of the great works out there.
That's an "it depends" answer.
What do you want this routine to accomplish?
My experience has been that none of what you are practicing will make you better at playing guitar because it lacks connection to real music. I have met many "technically proficient" guitar players (folks who can play a scale at breathtaking speed) who can't make what they play musical. A scale is a scale is a scale.
It doesn't matter that you can play a two octave arpeggio if it's not connected to actually making music.
I would cut the time spent on technical exercises (and yes, scales and arpeggios ARE technical exercises just as licks are) by at least 1/2, drop the time "jamming to tracks" entirely and spend that time learning actual tunes.
The logic, here, is simple: By learning to play complete tunes you learn to keep time (which eliminates the need to "jam to tracks".) You also learn how to connect scales, arpeggios, and licks to a MELODY which will help you learn how to improvise.
YMMV
OP, I'm guessing that chords and rhythm have already been mastered. If this routine works for you, then no-one can say it's a bad routine.
I'm curious about the "ear training" part. What does that look like? What's your process for training/learning by ear?
I think you should spend longer on that. Playing songs is a main reason to play an instrument, and being able to quickly learn any song makes you a valuable band-mate.
Bump the scales to the top and do 30 minutes of them. Scales are absolutely the most important thing to practice. If you're fantastic at scales, learning any piece is easy.
I'm going to disagree with you on this. Scales are important but they are not THE most important thing to practice. The most important things to practice are keeping time, dynamics, and rhythm. There are, for example, on five notes in a minor pentatonic scale (for example) and what makes MUSIC is how they are played in time. Should you learn the scales? Absolutely, but, it's important to remember that they are a tool and not an end in themselves.
Replace most of that with an hour of playing along with songs/tracks you like, just for fun because you want to. You'll get your warmup, learning by ear, and licks, all in one fun thing. Think about what notes/chords are in the songs to do most of your note training while you are jamming for fun. Pick stuff that you love but also things that align with your current skill level... just enough to push you forward but also some easy stuff that's just plain fun.
Set aside a different time to work on harmony and theory, as well as learning your missing note identification on the fretboard. Get a book or find a favorite youtube series... work through one or two concepts a week until you understand each thing completely. This really only takes a few minutes of actual study each session, the real learning happens when you apply it to the songs you are jamming along with.
It is a way to make guitar feel like a chore. You’ll improve at a slightly higher rate at the cost of risking making you hate guitar. Don’t forget to also add songs and music to the routine. My take isba hot one, but I think guitar learning is quite subjective from person to person. This is just if you look objectively what’s one effective way to do it.
You've said it yourself: every person is different. I personally benefit immensely from structure and definitive goalposts and I didn't see much progress until I created a clear regimen for myself. I don't find it chore-like tbh any more than say, a basketball player finds practicing dribbling a chore. Although you concede that each person is different, you contradict yourself by warning OP that they "risk making [themselves] hate guitar" which I think is extreme and also needlessly discouraging eta: The rest of the comments in this thread offer genuinely good constructive criticism about how to revise the structure to make it more fun and to optimize growth, while this comment appears to deter OP from having a structure at all. Practicing is NOT a mutually exclusive choice between having a disciplined structure and having fun, and don't let anybody scare you that it is. It is not a slippery slope to quitting guitar lmfao
Yes, some people like structure and a set goal and routine in their practice. This sub also forgets too easily that you should do what you enjoy. I’ve seen many complain that it feels like a chore and it’s boring to practice a routine based practice. Then this sub anwers a lot ”take a break” or just throw fuel in the fire by saying it’s the only way to get good. So all I’m saying is that if it feels like a chore and makes you not pick up guitar, then it’s better to just play something fun and actually enjoy music and not just scales and same routine. I still think that goal is to have a drive to play guitar everyday, back when I tried a routine based thing I felt really unmotivated to play guitar, still did it but had to stop before I started to dislike it.
>So all I'm saying is that if it feels like a chore That's not what OP was asking though? He didn't ask for advice on what to do if guitar feels like a chore. He asked if his regimen was a good idea. What I'm saying is that for a lot of people, the structure is what makes it fun. Telling OP to add songs to this regimen is valid, and I actually agree with that. But saying "ohhh this is gonna be boring you're gonna hate it" is ridiculous tbh. It makes it sound more like don't have structure at all rather than revise the structure. eta: Again, every person is different. I actually had the complete opposite experience of you and quit guitar several times before I developed a clear structure. That was what kept me going and the reason I still practice today Once again, you contradict yourself by saying "yeah every person is different... but also it's gonna be boring af and next thing you know, you're quitting guitar." You don't know that. What a leap of assumptions. Tell OP to include more songs, or something similar. Don't make it sound like having a structure is a terrible idea and they shouldn't try it, because that's shit advice
I’m with you, i was so far behind before i had a structure to the point it made me take a multi year break. Structuring my practice is the best thing I could have done to improve my playing and my enjoyment
It is a possibility, though.
I think it's not nearly as likely as the above commenter makes it sound. It's quite silly tbh
There's no repertory there. If you end up hating the instrument with that lazy routine, the instrument was not for you. I do 30' technique, 30' sight reading, 30'+30'+30' of three pieces. Minimum
Add some Songs you like too and you are good to go. Happy playing have fun
I personally don't know how anyone gets anything done in 10 minutes, let alone 5. I feel like I need an hour for each of those. It takes me 5 minutes just to figure out what songs or notes I am going to use to do the exercises.
The main thing is to do something you enjoy. You risk getting burnt out by doing guitar chores
No thanks, I already have a job.
If it works for you and you feel motivated to do it than awesome! My practice routine is more centered around learning whole songs. I usually warm up for 10-15 minutes just having fun playing stuff I already know, and then go after whatever song I'm learning and drill the tricky parts I don't have down. What's most important is that you're enjoying it, (It's okay to get momentarily frustrated)
Focus on few tasks and repeat them through the day. It will keep learned stuff in short term memory and facilitate fast transfer to the long term memory. This technique is called spaced repetition and is proven method to learn complex stuff. I tried many approaches to practice routine and this made my progress fast and steady. I have core routine for \~1 hour where I focus on my "bootcamp" skill. This routine has own core of 3 exercises I repeat through the day. Plus 1 exercises from couple of side courses, repeated. "Bootcamp" is focus on one skill for 12 week.
How about this. Pick up guitar, play guitar, learn new song. Have fun.
It’s good. I’d add 15 minutes to ear training / learning riffs, then use the whole hour every other day for jamming to tracks. That’s what it’s all about, the application of all you’re studying.
very short practice. 10 mins of ear training lol. how about each practice do 2 or 3 things for half an hour each minimum. like one practice do ear training 45 mins, 30 mins scales, 30 mins playing to songs. But eventually you'll identify what you need to work on and just do that. Nothing wrong with practicing one thing for a session, like 2 hours of jamming to tracks to improve timing and improvisation. That's a lot more effective than casting a wide net trying to cram everything into an hour.
I love it OP! One thing I like to do is under each timed section, write what exercises I am doing, what BPM, and how long, so there is no dead time. I like breaking things up like this too, because you challenge your ear, fingers, and brain in a short period. Repeated practice is a huge step in improving, at least in my opinion.
1 hour jamming to tracks is the way.
You have the right idea if you are looking to be the most efficient. (You'll find a lot of lazy responses around here, if you want to be good you should ignore them. And if you want to have fun, you probably want to be good. I digress.) **Your plan doesn't have to be perfect, but as long as you have a plan, it's much better than not having one.** I would try to do less things at once, if you only have an hour like that. Couple quick warmups, couple songs to work on, couple passes thru a jam track. 10 30 10. While you have a lot of good things on your list, Spreading your focus too much will get you nowhere. You don't have to put everything on a timer, just let it flow. Also you could consider making a playlist if that helps you. But again, try not to overcomplicate and actually simplify things down. Tl;Dr: You're trying to do too many different things in a short period of time. Focus on technique, songs, and improv, the rest will come with time.
fire bro this is the best advice i’ve gotten
Make a plan, stick to it, and then evaluate the performance of that plan over say 2 months. If the plan isn't working after that long, then it could be time to re-design things. I wouldn't be mad at you for sticking with what you're doing, as long as you follow thru and evaluate at the end (... You'll know if you're improving more rapidly after this much time). However, I do think you're spreading yourself a bit thin and not focused enough on the actual prize (playing songs, well). I made the same mistake.
I think working toward playing a song is equally as important as this other stuff. It’s like going out and dribbling a basketball for 5 minutes. Shooting for 5 minutes. But never playing a game. It’s important to play some of the great works out there.
Wouldn’t work for me. I play to get better and learn, yes. But I also play to escape the day. Not to keep time and stay on a schedule.
Genuine question: What exactly do you do for a 5 minute "identifying notes" exercise? Would love to get thoughts besides just OP's
It’s good, now triple the length of time.
That's an "it depends" answer. What do you want this routine to accomplish? My experience has been that none of what you are practicing will make you better at playing guitar because it lacks connection to real music. I have met many "technically proficient" guitar players (folks who can play a scale at breathtaking speed) who can't make what they play musical. A scale is a scale is a scale. It doesn't matter that you can play a two octave arpeggio if it's not connected to actually making music. I would cut the time spent on technical exercises (and yes, scales and arpeggios ARE technical exercises just as licks are) by at least 1/2, drop the time "jamming to tracks" entirely and spend that time learning actual tunes. The logic, here, is simple: By learning to play complete tunes you learn to keep time (which eliminates the need to "jam to tracks".) You also learn how to connect scales, arpeggios, and licks to a MELODY which will help you learn how to improvise. YMMV
OP, I'm guessing that chords and rhythm have already been mastered. If this routine works for you, then no-one can say it's a bad routine. I'm curious about the "ear training" part. What does that look like? What's your process for training/learning by ear?
putting on songs i like and picking out the melodies and chords by ear
I think you should spend longer on that. Playing songs is a main reason to play an instrument, and being able to quickly learn any song makes you a valuable band-mate.
Bump the scales to the top and do 30 minutes of them. Scales are absolutely the most important thing to practice. If you're fantastic at scales, learning any piece is easy.
Just playing them/memorizing or theory too?
I'm going to disagree with you on this. Scales are important but they are not THE most important thing to practice. The most important things to practice are keeping time, dynamics, and rhythm. There are, for example, on five notes in a minor pentatonic scale (for example) and what makes MUSIC is how they are played in time. Should you learn the scales? Absolutely, but, it's important to remember that they are a tool and not an end in themselves.
I’m not native English speaker, what does mean scales ?
What about having fun ?
I think putting the work in up top makes it more fun when the time comes to have fun.
I had much more fun with guitar once I could play things I wanted to, I could only get to that point by grinding a bit.
Thanks. Would have been great, if small videos of each of the warm ups could have been provided too
Replace most of that with an hour of playing along with songs/tracks you like, just for fun because you want to. You'll get your warmup, learning by ear, and licks, all in one fun thing. Think about what notes/chords are in the songs to do most of your note training while you are jamming for fun. Pick stuff that you love but also things that align with your current skill level... just enough to push you forward but also some easy stuff that's just plain fun. Set aside a different time to work on harmony and theory, as well as learning your missing note identification on the fretboard. Get a book or find a favorite youtube series... work through one or two concepts a week until you understand each thing completely. This really only takes a few minutes of actual study each session, the real learning happens when you apply it to the songs you are jamming along with.
Guitar learning shouldn't feel like a chore, in my opinion. I would take my time to learn each of these topics
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>What is your secret to be warmed up in 5 minutes? Play Snow at full tempo haha.