NickLayton
New member
So, what kind of practice schedule's do you guys have? Are you achieving the results you want?
Practice schedule?
- Thread starter NickLayton
- Start date
practice schedules changes over time, depending on what's your current goal. after seeing and hearing some of shredcow's works, i've decided to study more about modes and vary the phrasing. so right now my practice regime is: warm up(chromatics,string skipping),reading up theory, trying to make licks out of the different modes then learn some songs. how much i practice a day varies, since i'm waiting for school to start, mostly 3-4 hours a day. most important thing is to have fun with your guitar and not view practicing as a chore :wink:
NickLayton
New member
Cool, thanks strats. Anybody else?
NickLayton
New member
What do you practice during those two hours?
I confess I'm absolutely HORRID at keeping a practice Schedule. Usually I'm just sitting around doodling on my guitar from like 730 to 1130 at nights after work. No particular exercises, just improvisations and rubbish.
It was only recently, due to having to give some talk that I bucked up and started practicing something. What I did was...
Grab my 7621.
Grab Guitar Techniques Magazine.
Run thru the licks.
Do lame sweep stuff.
Run scales up and down, reason I'm doing something as boring as this is because my scaling is horrid and needs bucking up.
REST. For a few minutes, hourly.
Finally. jam with a backing track.
Anywya, Nick, what do you hope to achieve? i could list out a fairly all rounded exercise for you to do but are you focusing on anyhting at the moment?
It was only recently, due to having to give some talk that I bucked up and started practicing something. What I did was...
Grab my 7621.
Grab Guitar Techniques Magazine.
Run thru the licks.
Do lame sweep stuff.
Run scales up and down, reason I'm doing something as boring as this is because my scaling is horrid and needs bucking up.
REST. For a few minutes, hourly.
Finally. jam with a backing track.
Anywya, Nick, what do you hope to achieve? i could list out a fairly all rounded exercise for you to do but are you focusing on anyhting at the moment?
Strats, you owe me a teh ping next time! Hahahaha....
The thing is this.
Right now, given something like the pentatonic scale, can you make licks out of it?
Next, with the major/minor scale, can you make licks out of it?
If its yes for BOTH, Aye, you are more ready, IMO, to move on to modes.
*MODAL PRACTICE TIP*
For modes, the easiest way to get about practicing them is to use a simple, single note, bass line.
We can find the modal patterns easily right? Its just how to compose/use them.
So how do we start? The same way you started with pentatonics and major/minor scales. You get familiar with their sounds. Thing is, pentatonics, major and minor scales are so prominent and popular in Western/Chinese music, so thats why we are already familiar with them when we start playing them!
And its made even easier because we often play chords that are part of the scale. Meaning, Major chords = Major scale (ionian mode) and Minor chords = Minor scale (aeolian mode).
Try playing a straight E major scale, E to E, over an E7 chord. You'll notice that when you hit the D# (7th note) you sound awfully out of tune with the E7 because E7 has a D (b7th) note: its a mixolydian note. Hence you play mixolydian modes over dominant 7th chords.
Different modes require different chords!
But lets not go into that now, back to that single bass line.
*MODAL PRACTICE TIP*
Get the bass droning... say, a low E note... just droning.
Play thru say, an E Locarian mode, slowly, getting familiar with the tonality. You'll notice its sinister, evilish tone come out. Now continue playing that till you get a good feel in your head, till you can hum it out. GET FAMILIAR with it. Thereafter, maybe 2 weeks? You can start composing your licks, and you'll notice its much easier to do so.
As for how to apply modes... rem, you need the correct chords to go along with the mode but... tired liao lah. Maybe after a teh ping I'll continue.
[/i]
The thing is this.
Right now, given something like the pentatonic scale, can you make licks out of it?
Next, with the major/minor scale, can you make licks out of it?
If its yes for BOTH, Aye, you are more ready, IMO, to move on to modes.
*MODAL PRACTICE TIP*
For modes, the easiest way to get about practicing them is to use a simple, single note, bass line.
We can find the modal patterns easily right? Its just how to compose/use them.
So how do we start? The same way you started with pentatonics and major/minor scales. You get familiar with their sounds. Thing is, pentatonics, major and minor scales are so prominent and popular in Western/Chinese music, so thats why we are already familiar with them when we start playing them!
And its made even easier because we often play chords that are part of the scale. Meaning, Major chords = Major scale (ionian mode) and Minor chords = Minor scale (aeolian mode).
Try playing a straight E major scale, E to E, over an E7 chord. You'll notice that when you hit the D# (7th note) you sound awfully out of tune with the E7 because E7 has a D (b7th) note: its a mixolydian note. Hence you play mixolydian modes over dominant 7th chords.
Different modes require different chords!
But lets not go into that now, back to that single bass line.
*MODAL PRACTICE TIP*
Get the bass droning... say, a low E note... just droning.
Play thru say, an E Locarian mode, slowly, getting familiar with the tonality. You'll notice its sinister, evilish tone come out. Now continue playing that till you get a good feel in your head, till you can hum it out. GET FAMILIAR with it. Thereafter, maybe 2 weeks? You can start composing your licks, and you'll notice its much easier to do so.
As for how to apply modes... rem, you need the correct chords to go along with the mode but... tired liao lah. Maybe after a teh ping I'll continue.
[/i]ho seh 2 weeks. haha. okay i've only been through my new scheduke for about4 days now, let's see what i can do by next week. sometimes i get lsot when people ask about how they compose a song, an example of the conversation would be: oh i use Lydian in E maj with passing 7ths blabla. so they use the 7th note of the scale? hoho since we stay quite near to each other, you at Tamp and me at Pasir Ris, i'll see about that teh peng. 
then can ask more question
then can ask more question It all boils down to knowledge of theory. Yes, music is all about the sound, the way the notes meld with one another to form music which in turn communicates to the individual and excited a response from that individual, be it happiness, anger and what not. However, theory is an edge, a very efficient and cutting edge, more power to them that know theory. With theory, you can pretty much jam along with any one out there. Besides, we aren't blessed with super human hearing, like those would can pick out chords/notes blindfolded! So theory is our next best friend.
Teh ping is great. Hear from you soon.
Teh ping is great.
Hear from you soon.is piano theory and guitar theory, as in modes and scales, the same?
the last time i called you to ask about pickups, you were buying mac. you wanted yoghurt but there's none
i have very good memory just found out there were much more scales other than the 7 modes and the penta and the blue. oh my....
the last time i called you to ask about pickups, you were buying mac. you wanted yoghurt but there's none
i have very good memory just found out there were much more scales other than the 7 modes and the penta and the blue. oh my....NickLayton
New member
Yeah, I definitely think theory is important. Modes are very useful...and technique and phrasing is all very important.
But how would you choose from these things and focus your time to achieve maximum results?
But how would you choose from these things and focus your time to achieve maximum results?
You could do a mode a day. 
You cover them all in a week.
Thing is, how much of a master of the modes do you want to be?
Satriani has good modal control of all modes as most of us know, but is he a master of all modes? Nope, far from it.
You only have so much time to devote to your instrument, its either you know them all pretty well, or you know a few extremely well. There's just too much to learn in modes.
In anycase, you can do your standard scales, arppegios and stuff to a metronome, but modify them to the mode of the day. Monday can be Ionian, then Dorian, then Lydian and so on.
You cover them all in a week. Thing is, how much of a master of the modes do you want to be?
Satriani has good modal control of all modes as most of us know, but is he a master of all modes? Nope, far from it.
You only have so much time to devote to your instrument, its either you know them all pretty well, or you know a few extremely well. There's just too much to learn in modes.
In anycase, you can do your standard scales, arppegios and stuff to a metronome, but modify them to the mode of the day. Monday can be Ionian, then Dorian, then Lydian and so on.
fenderrules
New member
hmmm my schedule?
would plug in my ds-1 and do some chugging first for fun. love chugging.
usually ill just practice my major and minor pentatonic scales up and down the fret and also practicing my alternate picking. i try not to utilize muting in my alternate picking.
then i would play some songs and try to apply some appregios and some artificial harmonics, which im not very good at :lol:
then some chops. i practice paul gilbert chops off a guitar magazine. currently doing a chop which mark tremonti of alter bridge uses to build up his chops.
would plug in my ds-1 and do some chugging first for fun. love chugging.
usually ill just practice my major and minor pentatonic scales up and down the fret and also practicing my alternate picking. i try not to utilize muting in my alternate picking.
then i would play some songs and try to apply some appregios and some artificial harmonics, which im not very good at :lol:
then some chops. i practice paul gilbert chops off a guitar magazine. currently doing a chop which mark tremonti of alter bridge uses to build up his chops.
