What's in your shed?
February 6, 2022 10:47 AM Subscribe
Mefi musicians who play regularly, I would love to hear about your routine. Specifically, how many tunes do you work on at once? And how specifically do you put the finishing touches on learning a tune? Also, how many times to you repeat at tune in a given practice session before you end up having diminishing returns?
The context of my question is that over the last couple of years, I've been playing more seriously. I've started transcribing lots of tunes (I have 15-20 tabs transcribed and at different stages of learning them). It takes a long time for me to work out my (fingerstyle guitar) arrangements, because I've been basically putting all the parts (guitar, bass, vocals, other instruments) on the same page, and then I play through it and whittle it down, erasing less crucial notes until it's an actually physically playable combination of those parts. I'm basically aiming for what Adam Rafferty does, but I'm not there yet.
It has felt great to follow my whims in terms of what song to work on at a given time. But I've realized that I haven't been able to get many of them fully up to speed. They are at a challenging level, just at the top of what I can do, so I have to become a better guitarist in order to pull them off. I'm willing to put in lots of my free time (1-1.5 hours a weeknight, 2-3 hours a weekend day) to this, but I think I need more structure.
The context of my question is that over the last couple of years, I've been playing more seriously. I've started transcribing lots of tunes (I have 15-20 tabs transcribed and at different stages of learning them). It takes a long time for me to work out my (fingerstyle guitar) arrangements, because I've been basically putting all the parts (guitar, bass, vocals, other instruments) on the same page, and then I play through it and whittle it down, erasing less crucial notes until it's an actually physically playable combination of those parts. I'm basically aiming for what Adam Rafferty does, but I'm not there yet.
It has felt great to follow my whims in terms of what song to work on at a given time. But I've realized that I haven't been able to get many of them fully up to speed. They are at a challenging level, just at the top of what I can do, so I have to become a better guitarist in order to pull them off. I'm willing to put in lots of my free time (1-1.5 hours a weeknight, 2-3 hours a weekend day) to this, but I think I need more structure.
I find having the structure of lessons from a good teacher to be helpful. It's external accountability on a schedule set by someone who (hopefully) can play the way you want to play.
Also they can see things that you can't see in your playing and save you a ton of time by addressing issues and offering solutions that they've found to be effective.
Try to find someone who will listen to your input, and is interested in working with you to get you where you want to go.
My practice routine:
I like to keep my practice sessions short, focused on a single goal, 25 mins max unless I'm just playing along with records for fun. Then a short break and another session focused on a different goal. I usually max out at about 3-4 hours a day - but will often practice less than this. I think after 3 hours you get into diminishing returns territory. Also, day to day focused consistency is way more important - I've found - than marathon practice sessions.
A practice journal is a really helpful tool, it doesn't have to be super detailed, just jotting down what you are working on, where you are having trouble, any epiphanies etc. for each session. Helps you keep the thread going.
Here's how I learn new material:
1. Mechanics first, just being able to physically get through something comfortably, no dynamics, no interpretation. Sometimes this involves drilling problem areas, which I often make little warmups, or etudes out of.
(Making warmups or etudes out of technically difficult passages is a great way to develop your technique/facility btw)
A hard piece I take about 8 measures or so at a time depending.
I usually do this work way under tempo with a metronome, very slow and methodical, staying relaxed and breathing. Sometimes I'll try little snippets at tempo to make sure all the mechanics will work when I'm playing faster.
2. Once I can get through a song comfortably I start adding dynamics, interpretation, phrasing etc. and bring everything up to tempo. At this point it's good to record yourself a lot, video if possible, and identify what's working and what's not.
3. From there it's a continual cycle of refinement. Record, critique, refine until you are happy or it's time to move one. At this point you can also play it for your teacher if you end up working with one, and they'll give you things to work on/refine.
I think focusing on a handful of tunes at a time is a good approach to start. As you get faster at learning you can add more, but having a really strong foundation and being able to play a few songs really well is better than being able to play a bunch of songs sort of ok.
Hope this is helpful, best of luck in your practicing!!
posted by caseyblu at 6:55 PM on February 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also they can see things that you can't see in your playing and save you a ton of time by addressing issues and offering solutions that they've found to be effective.
Try to find someone who will listen to your input, and is interested in working with you to get you where you want to go.
My practice routine:
I like to keep my practice sessions short, focused on a single goal, 25 mins max unless I'm just playing along with records for fun. Then a short break and another session focused on a different goal. I usually max out at about 3-4 hours a day - but will often practice less than this. I think after 3 hours you get into diminishing returns territory. Also, day to day focused consistency is way more important - I've found - than marathon practice sessions.
A practice journal is a really helpful tool, it doesn't have to be super detailed, just jotting down what you are working on, where you are having trouble, any epiphanies etc. for each session. Helps you keep the thread going.
Here's how I learn new material:
1. Mechanics first, just being able to physically get through something comfortably, no dynamics, no interpretation. Sometimes this involves drilling problem areas, which I often make little warmups, or etudes out of.
(Making warmups or etudes out of technically difficult passages is a great way to develop your technique/facility btw)
A hard piece I take about 8 measures or so at a time depending.
I usually do this work way under tempo with a metronome, very slow and methodical, staying relaxed and breathing. Sometimes I'll try little snippets at tempo to make sure all the mechanics will work when I'm playing faster.
2. Once I can get through a song comfortably I start adding dynamics, interpretation, phrasing etc. and bring everything up to tempo. At this point it's good to record yourself a lot, video if possible, and identify what's working and what's not.
3. From there it's a continual cycle of refinement. Record, critique, refine until you are happy or it's time to move one. At this point you can also play it for your teacher if you end up working with one, and they'll give you things to work on/refine.
I think focusing on a handful of tunes at a time is a good approach to start. As you get faster at learning you can add more, but having a really strong foundation and being able to play a few songs really well is better than being able to play a bunch of songs sort of ok.
Hope this is helpful, best of luck in your practicing!!
posted by caseyblu at 6:55 PM on February 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also, how many times to you repeat at tune in a given practice session before you end up having diminishing returns?
not totally sure this is what you mean you're doing, but in case it is: playing a piece of any length from start to finish over and over again is pretty universally agreed to be the worst possible way to learn or practice it. even if by some chance all of it is equally difficult and there are no specific places you have habitual trouble with, if you work on it by playing the whole thing through repeatedly, it will take you ten times longer to learn it that way than it would if you practiced it in small overlapping sections.
I of course do often learn whole pieces by playing them all the way through, first very slowly and then gradually faster. but I shouldn't and neither should you. it feels like work but all it is is postponing the work.
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:09 PM on February 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
not totally sure this is what you mean you're doing, but in case it is: playing a piece of any length from start to finish over and over again is pretty universally agreed to be the worst possible way to learn or practice it. even if by some chance all of it is equally difficult and there are no specific places you have habitual trouble with, if you work on it by playing the whole thing through repeatedly, it will take you ten times longer to learn it that way than it would if you practiced it in small overlapping sections.
I of course do often learn whole pieces by playing them all the way through, first very slowly and then gradually faster. but I shouldn't and neither should you. it feels like work but all it is is postponing the work.
posted by queenofbithynia at 6:09 PM on February 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
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Good advice I keep meaning to try: record video of yourself playing, and look for places where you're making awkward or extra movements.
posted by nicolaitanes at 11:34 AM on February 6, 2022 [4 favorites]