What do YOU call practice?

i either
1. noodle around mindlessly(which sometimes turns into something cool, sometimes not)
2. strum a song and maybe sing along
3. try out different little musical ideas n themes n patterns
4. try to rip a hole in the fabric of space and time with the intensity of my awesomeness.

once or twice a week, i'll feel worried that i don't do enough "technical stuff" so i'll run some scales or do some exercises i learned. this is a total waste of time.

Ive just picked up my guitar again after two years of not playing. Basically I didn't put the time needed into playing.

I ususally warm up using a few scales and chord patterns I know well:

A) It warms my fingers up and gets me in the right frame of mind.

B) It gives me some confidence that i am getting better at playing this infernal device!

Practice usually involves firstly working on a particular song that im trying to get down. I then try and work on getting some chords, strumming or fingerpicking patterns that im struggling with right. Its kind of boring but over the last couple of weeks its paid off as I can already do things I couldn't a couple of years back.

One thing I have learned with my guitar is that pottering around with the few bits you know gets you nowhere. Ive only improved because ive started working on the things I can't do, sound horrible and I can't learn quickly.

At the end of the practice ill either go through something ive learned in full or blast out a few tunes I know well so I end on a positive note!

Practice should sound ok, IMHO, but "Bad Rehearsal Good Show" is most definitely true. And vice versa.

I normally rattle through a few scales, arpeggios and barre chords. Then a few more scales higher up the neck.

Next up, the pieces I'm working on now to build into my stage set

Then the existing stage set

Then the stuff that's not in the stage set but I don't want to get rusty

And finally anything I fancy playing that I don't already - this improves my sight-reading.

Tuesday nights are reserved for the four-track; the electric and accoustic guitars tend to come out on Tuesdays

I write down what I do, but don't make a schedule in advance. Sometimes I give up after a few minutes, and sometimes I can go on for hours.

Best,

A :-)

In the beginning I just practiced chord progressions over and over, mixing up the order and rhythm. I did this because I figured that was the best way to be able to play with other people. After I got that down I would just find songs to play with the chords I know. There is so much to learn that I kind of bounced around from one thing to the other as far as new material and exercises went. I decided that although I always try to find the time to practice I definitely did not have the time to plan a learning course for myself. So last month I started weekly lessons. I work on various finger exercises with a metronome, scales, new techniques, and theory. The big difference now is that when I pick up the guitar I have a specific purpose in mind instead of just noodling around. Although I still do that to. Gotta have some fun, that is why I play.

Rob