Shred Academy – Free Guitar Lesson by Nick Layton

Achieving
Focus With Your Practice Time ~ Part 2
By
Nick
Layton

In my previous article entitled “Achieving Focus With Your Practice Time – Part I”, I asked some very important questions which were designed to get you to start thinking about what it is you want to express with your music. Because self-expression is at the heart of being any type of artist – musicians included – it is very important that we identify what we want to express, and then develop the tools necessary to achieve our goals.

For many musicians, this need to express themselves is what drives them to play, write, and create. There is also joy in listening to and playing music created by others. Often, we can find our own form of expression even within the parameters of something that someone else created.

All of this brings us back to the topic at hand. We need to be able to focus in on what’s important when we practice. We also need to be able to have peace about leaving certain techniques or ideas behind, or at least putting them aside for another time. The reason why coming-to-terms with all of this is so important is that it has everything to do with the choices you make when you practice. And those choices have everything to do with whether or not you will get closer to achieving the goals you have set.

There are only so many hours in the day. We need to find ways to maximize the use of our time and energy, and to eliminate things which are either irrelevant or in opposition of reaching our goals.

In my last article, I asked you to identify the kind of music you love, and advised you to surround yourself with that music. I also recommended that you develop the skills to play it. Now, we are going to look at some specific ways to set up a practice routine based on your inspiration, desires, and goals.

Focus on developing the skills you need to play the music you want. You can think of these skills as your “tools for expression.” Some possible areas of consideration include the following skills/topics:

Technique
Theory
Studying and learning real music
Improvisation
Composition

As a place to start focusing your time and energies, simply take each category and determine what you will need in order to develop your goals. Of course, there are other possible topics of study, but for now we’ll just focus on these.

In order to achieve focus with our practicing, we’ll need to do more than just determine which topics to practice. We need to get specific about exactly what we want to practice, and for how long. It is not enough to say you’ll practice technique for an hour – you need to be specific about it. Remember, whatever you choose should be based upon your desires and your goals. When allotting time to each subject, it should be based on priority first. Always do the things that are most relevant toward reaching your goals first.

To illustrate how this process works, let’s look at a hypothetical example of someone who wants to be a virtuoso, neoclassical, shred master. Here’s how I might setup a practice routine for him:

Technique 1-2 hours

Picking (alternate and/or directional) – 30 minutes
Sweep picking – 30 minutes
Legato (hammer-ons and pull-offs) – 30 minutes
Etudes and other techniques – 30 minutes

Improvisation and Theory – 30-60 minutes

Licks, phrases, concepts, scales, modes, arpeggios
Application: practice soloing over backing-tracks in metal/neoclassical style

Music

Listen to and study the music you love. Immerse yourself in the music of the masters of the metal/neoclassical style. Learn by ear as much as possible to develop your aural skills.
Also listen to and learn from Classical/Baroque masters – a la Bach, Vivaldi, etc.
Stay inspired! Go to a few concerts; watch music DVD’s, attend some guitar-clinics, etc.

Composition

Work at developing your own song ideas, riffs, and melodies. There are many ways to approach composition. Explore and discover what works for you.

This outline is just a starting point for the aspiring neoclassical virtuoso. Notice that there is no time being spent on things unrelated to the student’s goals. For example, there is no segment of time set aside for finger-picking. The point is to achieve razor-sharp focus so that your practice time is efficient and effective.

Keep in mind that the only time you’d need to be proficient in many styles of music, is if your goals called for you to be. For example, if your goal is to be a studio musician, it may be in your best interest to become well-versed in several different styles of music. If this were the case, becoming great in any one style may not be important to you. Or perhaps your goal is to start up a Blues band with the purpose of playing live and making records. In this case, mastering the sweep-picking technique is probably not at the top of your priority list.

Hopefully it has now become clear that if you identify your goals, you will be able to determine which course of action to take. Likewise, the path you choose to follow should be reflective of your goals. For a great article on goal-setting, check out this article by Tom Hess {CLICK HERE}.

Now it’s your turn – begin now to develop your own plan based on what you really want!!