Do Not Disturb
(17 May 03)
The Folder Method
Let's talk about the famous "folder method" that John Petrucci mentions so often. He says that, when he got serious about playing, he used to collect exercises and sort them by subject. I.e. taking exercises which were supposed to help improve the picking-technique… he put all of those (plus transcriptions he made himself, like i.e. Steve Morse-licks) into a folder entitled "picking"
Same goes for stuff like "tapping", "legato", "Chords", "Arps" etc.
Then he put all those folders into a cabinet, separated into three basic sections: "technique", "creativity" and "musicality". So when he sat down to practice, he first picked an aspect of playing, then took an exercise out of the respective folder, and worked on that. Next, he went on to another topic, again using one of the exercises out of another folder etc.
That way, the practicing material is organized, so you don't have to weed through a bunch of books and magazines looking for a certain exercise.
Also, it's a neat way to break up your practice routine, cuz you can pick a different exercise every day.
I use that method in a slightly different way. When I was starting out and learned to read TAB and had developed basic sight-reading skills, I started to collect song transcriptions from magazines and books in two big folders, sorted by artists. At first, I only put transcriptions of songs I liked and knew well in there, later I started to put in pretty much every transcription I could get my hands on.
The reason for that was that I was interested to become a versatile player, able to play different styles of music. Those transcriptions were not only a good way to work on my reading skills, but also to figure out specific ""trademarks" of certain styles, such as reggae, pop, etc. I would sometimes skip through those folders, i.e. working on a riff by Van Halen, and next I'd learn the chords of an obscure Toto-song etc.
I later started to transcribe a lot of stuff (which is another point on your list of activities to put on your practicing schedule), and put my transcriptions into those folders, too.
A while later, when I really started to focus on specific techniques, trying to improve my chops, I made two other folders. No.1 would include all technical exercises I could get my hands on, separated by techniques (i.e. "picking", "string-skipping", "sweeping", "legato" etc.). Also, there was a category called "Misc.stuff" (which included columns and exercises that wouldn't fit into one of the other categories, so I would pick out one of those exercises to break up my routine a bit), and one called "Etudes", which would include lots of longer etudes and full songs that would help me to apply certain techniques. (There would i.e. be transcriptions of stuff like the "Crossroads"-duel, "Y.R.O." by Racer X, guitar arrangements of some classical pieces by Bach and Paganini etc.)
The other folder was called "style studies" and featured lessons by / about some of my favorite players. There would be licks, columns and exercises by guys like Steve Morse, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert etc.
I would work my way through some exercises from folder no.1, and then, to break it up, look into some of the stuff in folder no.2 etc.
This again requires some attention to choosing stuff and actually working on it for a while, instead of just browsing through it and not focusing on anything. Some of the exercises would be a solid part of my everyday practice-regimen, others I tried "in between", just to break up the routine and avoid getting into ruts (which can happen if you focus on certain techniques, exercises or scale patterns too much)
Try it out, maybe it could be helpful to you too to organize your material in a similar manner…
Some more practicing-strategies
Split it up
One thing that I heard Steve Morse talk about was that it sometimes is a bit more efficient to do two or more shorter practice sessions throughout the day, instead of doing one long session. You usually don't have to warm up for the second session anymore, cuz you have practiced a while before that, and also, your mind is focused again, your attention span is up again.
If you practice for too long, your attention starts to decrease, your mind wanders. You need to take a break if that happens, because practicing without being able to focus isn't really productive.
That "split up your practicing time and do several shorter sessions every day" approach Morse talked about kinda stayed in the back of my mind, and one day I noticed that I had started to do just that! I would get up before school and work on some stuff like scale patterns. Then, after I got home from school, I would grab something to eat, and play for a little while. Then I'd do homework, meet up with some friends, go shopping or something.
In the evening, I'd sit down for a longer period of time, really focusing on the exercises etc. And, compared to my previous practice regimen (doing one long, uninterrupted practicing session every day), this method seemed to be way more effective. I noticed a bigger improvement, and also I felt way more focused throughout those shorter sessions.
I was reminded of that when I was out on tour with a band recently. We spent a lot of time on the bus, and of course, there is that period of free time between setup and soundcheck, or between soundcheck and the gig. And what about that free time after packing in and going to sleep (or the drive to the next town after the show)?
Well, I just grabbed a guitar whenever I had a chance too… I was sitting in the tour bus, doing mechanical exercises (you can do those even if you can't hear yourself well… on a bus, with an unplugged electric guitar, you really can't hear yourself that well), or I'd take advantage of the power supply of the bus, using a small practicing combo or a POD with headphones.
Before the soundcheck, I'd be practicing again. Same after the show. And I noticed that my chops increased a lot throughout that period. It just felt so natural to pick up the guitar and do some exercises. Throughout the gigs, I'd be able to be all relaxed, cuz my chops were definitely up to par… I was warmed up, the guitar almost played by itself.
Another prove that sometimes, it's more efficient to do smaller practicing sessions throughout a day, instead of doing one big one.
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