How do you find the right balance between working on acoustic strumming, fingerpicking, etc and electric riffs, etc. I find that I tend to load up on a cretain area for awhile then move onto another.
I'm real undisciplined. I try to play a song. Then at some point I think what would this sound like fingerpicked or on the 12 or with nylon then I pick up the other guitar or try a different style or trying different voicings. At some point I get bored and move to another song.
Now that I'm playing with people I have more discipline so fromThursday rehersal to Sunday service I use my guitar time on bass trying my best to get ready.
Create yourself a timetable, setting out your practice time into segments of 10-15 minutes for each area you want to work on.
Pete
ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"
I find that I tend to load up on a certain area for a while then move onto another.
You're not alone there. :) There are many different learning styles, and the trick is to find a mix that fits your own style. Some people learn best with written timetables, precise goals, etc and some don't. For some having a strictly laid out structure is a huge bonus, and the routine is both a comfort and a map. But for others it feels restrictive and tedious and can ruin the whole experience of learning. The most important thing is to keep enthusiastic and interested, and that simply doesn't work the same way for us all. Some of the regulars here follow very detailed practice plans, yet others have no practice plan at all and just pick up the guitar and play whatever they feel like, and then work on whatever aspect that seems like it needs work, or just happens to catch their fancy. :shock: Neither camp can probably quite understand how the others can do it that way - but so long as it works for them, who cares... 8)
There's no set answer to questions like - Should I buy a red guitar or a black one? Should I concentrate on playing melody lines or chords? Should I play jazz or country? etc. And there's no universal pattern of learning music that suits everybody either.
The best you can do is find out what motivates you to keep practising, and what regime works positively for you. It doesn't hurt to try a learning pattern that's outside your normal comfort zone now and then, but don't feel that you have to do X minutes of this and Y hours of that every day in order to succeed (unless that style is what floats your boat...). Stay in tune, in time, and in love with the business of exploring music and you won't go far wrong. 8)
Cheers,
Chris
I know what works for me. I like to feel that I've 'mastered' an area before attempting another, so the electric has gone back into it's gigbag and the acoustic is getting all of the focus. I am splitting my time between rhythm/strumming and picking, though. More to alleviate boredom than anything else. As Chris C says, that's just what works for me.
I'm a great believer in having built up more than superficial knowledge and skill in one area before moving on to another, mainly (I guess) because I do a lot of training in my day-job. Training is about building a house brick-by-brick and making sure the lower ones are well-set before placing others on top - at least IT systems training is ... :D How that translates to musical training I haven't completely figured out yet. Well, to be truthful I haven't figured it out at all yet!
Whatever road you choose be sure you're still having fun.
Cheers,
DD
