Questions and such

[Finsta]

Alrighty,
So I had some practicing issues a bit back as I have asked about practicing. The issue I had was related to some other psych issues, the guitar being something affected that I seemingly make it too much of an obstacle for myself and fear of not accomplishing things perfectly. So I'm back to square one, starting off to work up to a schedule. I got a few questions [no surprise there]

How do you guys suggest that I should learn songs? EricV's Step By Step article would be something I consider. In terms of picking technique, I have John Petrucci's Wild Stringdom, Sheets of Sound and EricV's picking articles - no idea on which to tackle. [Abundance much?] And any other advice if you got? I wouldn't be surprised if people were in similar situations as mine...

Cheers

-- Rick

[Sentinel]

Yes, I've been in the same situation. :) I would end up with so much stuff to work on, that I either didn't spend enough time working on each exercise, or my practice schedule would be too long for me to go through it every day.

I recently went through my alternate picking exercises, and got rid of the ones that seemed similar.

You could either (1) Pick just one book, and work through it from beginning to end, before moving on to another book, or (2) what I've done many times, go through each book, and pick out the exercises that you think would be most benificial.

[Malcolm]

.....what I've done many times, go through each book, and pick out the exercises that you think would be most beneficial.

Right or wrong that's what I end up doing. I've always liked to study, so I immerse myself in one subject for perhaps too long a time. Then move on to other things. Right now I'm re-visiting my pentatonics. Starting over, reading anything I can find, but, with a much broader in site this time -- picking and choosing what I think will be most beneficial.

For whatever that's worth.............

[jade_bodhi]

How you study is really a personal preference. The only rule that applies to all of us is to study every day for a set amount of time. Even thirty minutes a day shows results. The other thing I recommend is not to confuse rehearsing with studying. I have spent long hours rehearsing that don't really make me a better musician. Those hours of practice only help me be sharp when I perform. To be a better musician, I have to challenge myself to learn new things.

Other tips: I learn from records. Listen and mimick I learn from other musicians. Even if I was totally a solo performer, which I have been for long stretches of time, I try to play weekly with other musicians, even just jam sessions, which helps me to learn new techniques, songs, and how to play with others.

I use a variety of songbooks and theory books and I try to challenge myself. Learning the Beatles oeuvre helped me a tremendous amount with the style of music I play.

Jade

[Finsta]

How about in terms of learning songs? Through tabs/notation, or by ear [I have no ear training]