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Guitar Practice Routines

StardogChamp79StardogChamp79 Posts: 905
in Musicians and Gearheads
Hey guys! I am trying to get more in a routine of practicing or being more intentional about it. What does this look like for you guitar players? I try and learn about 1 PJ every few days as they are fun to figure out. But I want to be a well rounded player. I appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!
Alpine Valley Music Theatre East Troy, Wisconsin (September 03, 2011); Alpine Valley Music Theatre East Troy, Wisconsin (September 04, 2011); Deluna Fest Pensacola, FL (September 21, 2012); Wrigley Field (July 19, 2013); Milwaukee, WI (October 20, 2014); Wrigley Field I (August 20, 2016); Wrigley Field II (August 22, 2016); Home Shows Seattle Night 1 (August 08, 2018), Home Shows Seattle Night 2 (August 10, 2018), Apollo Theater (September 10, 2022), Madison Square Garden (September 11, 2022), Bourbon & Beyond Louisville (September 17th, 2022). 

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    BALLBOYBALLBOY Australia Posts: 1,002
    Just stick at it & the muscle memory will kick in. I couldn't play a note 7 years ago when I took it up & better than I ever expected to be
    Eastern Creek 95,Syd 1 98,Bris 2 98, Syd 1&2 03, Reading Fest 06, Bris 1 06, London 09, Hyde Park 10, Gold Coast BDO 14
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    mfc2006mfc2006 HTOWN Posts: 37,385
    I usually play a couple of songs I know to warm up and loosen up my fingers. Maybe one easy one and one trickier one. Then I typically just jam around for a bit. Next, I either keep working on a song that I'm writing or I pick a cover that I love & don't know how to play at all. I start slowly playing almost half time to make sure the right notes are ringing through the way I want them to, then get up to the songs tempo eventually. I like picking tough songs that take a lot of work and revisit them every time I play.

    That's my routine for the most part. I'm writing a ton these days, so I'll warm up my fingers and voice, then usually dive back where I left off with the songwriting. Hope this helps!
    I LOVE MUSIC.
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    mcgruff10mcgruff10 New Jersey Posts: 27,904
    I swear the greatest song to warm up while playing electric is rvm.  the main verse stretches out your fingers, the chorus you can work on your power chords and then the jam in the middle let's you improvise in Am with effects and delays.  
    When I'm playing acoustic I warm up with lie in our graves by dmb.  

    After I warm up I usually attempt to play a song I'm learning or revisit one that I haven't played in awhile.  
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me......
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    benjsbenjs Toronto, ON Posts: 8,940
    My routine:
    -smoke some weed, and do whatever for about an hour
    -warm your hands and fingers (front and back)
    -using your right hand, push your fingers on your left hand backwards 2 fingers at a time, then 3 fingers at a time, going across your hand from one side to another (pinky and ring, pinky/ring/middle, ring/middle, ring/middle/index, middle/index). The goal here is to decouple your fingers from each other, while getting them warmed up and limber
    -right-hand exercises with cross-picking with a metronome. I use the exercises linked here, but instead of playing the strings open, I make a G chord shape (sometimes switching it up), and I repeat all of the exercises starting on the different strings. Sometimes I'll use a different chord shape, as you don't want to get your fingers used to doing something exclusively in one position, you want muscle memory developing for the pattern, not the specifics - https://www.slideshare.net/fiddlestar/right-hand-exercises
    -15-20 minutes of free exploration a la Julian Lage's explanation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fflK7Qaygjg&ab_channel=GuitarWorld
    -2-3 hours of playing along with tunes on Strum Machine
    -Wait for the girlfriend to tell me to shut the fuck up with the bluegrass because it's been four hours

    '05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2

    EV
    Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
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    PJammer4lifePJammer4life Los Angeles Posts: 2,596
    Have a master list of your songs or songs you are working on. Have a master list of cover songs you can play or are working on. Create a setlist and go from there.
    Bridge Benefit 1994, San Francisco 1995, San Diego 1995 1 & 2, Missoula 1998, Los Angeles 2000, San Diego 2000, Eddie Vedder/Beck 2/26/2002, Santa Barbara 2003, Irvine 2003, San Diego 2003, Vancouver 2005, Gorge 2005, San Diego 2006, Los Angeles 2006 1 & 2, Santa Barbara 2006, Eddie Vedder 4/10/08, Eddie Vedder 4/12/08, Eddie Vedder 4/15/08, 7/12/2008, SF 8/28/09, LA 9/30/09, LA 10/1/09, LA 10/06/09, LA 10/07/09, San Diego 10/09/09, Eddie Vedder 7/6/2011, Eddie Vedder 7/8/2011, PJ20 9/3/2011, PJ20 9/4/2011, Vancouver 9/25/2011, San Diego 11/21/13, LA 11/24/13, Ohana 9/25/21, Ohana 9/26/21, Ohana 10/1/21, EV 2/17/22, LA Forum 5/6/22, LA Forum 5/7/22, EV 10/1/22, EV 9/30/23
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    Go BeaversGo Beavers Posts: 8,648
    Noodling…try and play a song above my skill level…play a song within my skill level…watch a video of someone explaining music theory and its application…get confused…more noodling and messing around with my pedals. 
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