I try to get an hour a day of practice – when I can’t I try to get four to five hours a week.  With a busy career and kids this is already sometimes too much (my wife never fails to remind me of this).

Trying to sit for an hour at a time has always been my favorite way of practicing, not being too long but long enough to say I practice in a disciplined way.

However, getting an hour sitting is tough unless the kids are in bed and I put the headphones on through the amp while my wife watches American Idol (seriously).

Otherwise, I try to break up my hour throughout the day.

For example, let’s start by breaking down what I practice then we’ll see how much time I can devote to it.

My routine practice consists mainly of:

Warmups, exercises, and scales

Chord changes and arpeggios

Learning new songs and chords

1.  I like to practice warm ups and scales for about a quarter of my practice time (say fifteen minutes if I aim to practice for an hour)

I like to start with major scales, usually the obvious C major at the first fret (I start my C major scale with F-G-A-B-C on the low E at the first fret rather than with the root C on the third fret of the A string) then I work my way up the neck.

2.  I like to practice chords for another quarter of my time.  I don’t practice learning new chords during this time, but rather focus on chord changes and getting to know my fretboard.  For example to play a G major chord but in various positions, throwing in minor, 6^th, and 7^th variations and listening to the subtle differences.  I like to practice playing the same chord about four or five different ways.  This helps me develop different sounds but also helps me better learn the fretboard and new ways of transposing chords if I’m playing with someone else.

When I feel warmed up with the chord changes, I repeat but I add simple arpeggios to this.  I continue to use a metronome otherwise I don’t hear myself making mistakes especially with the arpeggios.

Make sure you alternate your practicing between an acoustic and electric guitar.  Alternate your practice with and without a pick as well.  For me it’s important to be able to play without a pick.

Stay tuned for exploring different ways of practicing with computer software and metronomes.

Later,

Grasshopper James

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