Sunday, January 29, 2006

Practice Guide

Followed daily, this step-by-step practice guide improves music understanding and guitar performance. The times for each exercise are general suggestions and can be lengthened as needed.

Sound Check - 10 minutes

  1. Arrive on time
  2. Set up gear
  3. Tune up
  4. Adjust tone
Warm up / Review - 10 minutes

Get to know the fingerboard by reviewing and exploring scales, arpeggios, and chords.

  1. One note rhythm - generate a rhythm cycle using only one note
  2. Scales - using a metronome, move with fluidity, consistancy
  3. Arpeggios - move across the strings covering 2 octaves
  4. Chords - finger positions, anchor points

This exercise expands musical vocabulary by reviewing and building scale fingerings and chord voicings. By using a metronome, timing, phrasing, and rhythm improves.

Practicing at slower tempos:

  1. Improves overall sound
  2. Develops more control
  3. Increases technical dexterity and endurance
  4. Settles performance experience
  5. Improves ability to respond to other musicians during group performance

Ear Training - 10 minutes

  1. Intervals - identify intervals between notes
  2. Chords - identify chord quality - major, minor, dominant, diminished, augmented
  3. Dictation - listening exercise - write down what you hear
Listen / Play along with Recordings - 10 minutes

  1. Select any recording
  2. Listen and play back what you hear
  3. Deconstruct the song, start with short phrases
  4. Hearing and repeating a new musical figure is the goal of this exercise