Walnut Creek CA Guitar Students – Create a Daily Practice Plan
Why have a daily practice plan? Now that I have been playing guitar since I was 8 years old and now teach ages 5 and up on guitar in Bay Area. A common question is, “How much time do I need to practice the guitar lessons daily?”
That is an excellent question. If you are under 10, I say 30 minutes a day 5 days per week. If you are older than 10, then 60 minutes a day 6 days a week – if you are serious about your playing, then two hours a day.
Now, let’s take a look at a possible daily practice program lasting an hour and a half.
Objective– To be able to play rock and roll guitar in the styles of Chuck Berry, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, George Benson, Chet Atkins, Andreas Segovia and etc.
It’s important to have a little light at the end of the tunnel, so I’ve included an estimated period of time to achieve your objective. This is “Duration of project.” The times I’m using here are merely examples and every guitar player will need to adjust these according to individual strengths and weaknesses.
Finally, let’s discuss the sort of things you would practice under each heading and how long to spend on each item. Again, this will vary between guitar players and is only a guide.
An example of my assignment to guitar students in Walnut Creek, CA studying rhythm guitar would be playing through a 12 bar blues with a metronome or drum machine. You could vary the tempo and the key every day or so. Any rhythm part will do. The emphasis here is on developing solid time and physical control in all keys and at various tempos. The assignment could be 10 minutes a day. This may not sound long enough, but try playing rock and roll rhythm guitar for 10 minutes- nonstop, with 100 % concentration.
Chord Vocabulary– This step of the game plan should be combined with learning new tunes. It’s vital that you try and combine as many different aspects of developing you’re playing as possible under each of the following categories. The following is an suggested example of weekly practice program:
- Rhythm Guitar ( 10 minutes )
- Chord Vocabulary ( 15 minutes )
- Playing Techniques String Bending ( 10 minutes )
- Playing Techniques Vibrato ( 10 minutes )
- Vocabulary Intros ( 15 minutes )
- Vocabulary Endings ( 10 minutes )
- Vocabulary Licks ( 15 minutes )
- Vocabulary Solos ( 15 minutes )
Check out these website for more info & perspective:
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