David P's Road Case

[DavidP]

I’m with you there David. I often read others’ posts about their routines, 5 minutes of this, 5 minutes of that, 5 minutes of the next thing, 15 minutes playing songs etc etc. and think “I should be more structured like that”.

Of course I have goals, the main one being to improve and perhaps my improvement would be faster if I had a more structured approach. Justin completely advocates the structured approach with all sorts of print outs and apps and such. As a teacher he has to.
 
I followed the BC carefully and am doing the same with the intermediate course and of course practise what I’m currently learning.
Beyond that, I tend to think more along the lines of “what will I practise today. What have I not done for a while”.

Horses for courses.

I think I have been mostly like your approach, Gordon. Certainly don't keep records and spreadsheets etc.

Just of late have become a bit more structured and have a specific routine. Will see how long that lasts, if it works well for me.

[DavidP]

But and here's the main reason ! When my missus complains I've been hiding away playing for hours, I just point to my practice schedule and say, can't have look its only an hour of practice !! 

LOL

[JustMe123456]

But hey, it's a hobby ... so enjoying it and never feeling like it is a burden to practice is important for me.

Exactly. Keep playing, have fun with it. Become a bit frustrated when things don't seem to work, pick yourself and the guitar back up and move on with it. Perhaps an easy goal could be: I want to be the best player I can become by practicing at least one hour a day.

Or if you want to be even more specific: I want to be the best blues/rock player I can become by practicing at least one hour a day.

Anything you do can work towards that. The 5 minutes of this, 5 minutes of that would make it almost like a job for me.

[DavidP]

Exactly. Keep playing, have fun with it. Become a bit frustrated when things don't seem to work, pick yourself and the guitar back up and move on with it. Perhaps an easy goal could be: I want to be the best player I can become by practicing at least one hour a day.

Or if you want to be even more specific: I want to be the best blues/rock player I can become by practicing at least one hour a day.

Anything you do can work towards that. The 5 minutes of this, 5 minutes of that would make it almost like a job for me.

And my goal is just to keep becoming a better musician as time goes by.  I don't set myself any expectation as to how frequent and for how long I will practice vs play or record, or mix.

The time scheduling works for some, not for others. I think crux is to be deliberate and observant about practice.

[DarrellW]

The time scheduling works for some, not for others. I think crux is to be deliberate and observant about practice.

Absolutely, you should never push yourself to doing something that is a hobby, it can get to become a chore that’s no longer fun to do. Hobbies are about enjoying yourself not pushing yourself to do something that you’re either not in the mood for or have other problems.

[Lord_Gigabyte]

Exactly!
I think you hit the nail on the head there.
It's about having fun with what you're doing. Not because you "have to". (That's where i strayed from the path)

[DavidP]

Good to be having a useful conversation as part of a RC. Amplifies how valuable an RC can be for one's own learning as well as others who are following along.

[Barend]

Hi David.

Only listened to Deck the Halls now. It was very enjoyable.

Doen so voort ou maat! Trots op jou.

I have toyed with the idea of doing a vocal course since the guitar practice needs to be scaled down.  Now I will give it more careful consideration.

Keep well.




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[DavidP]

Hi David.

Only listened to Deck the Halls now. It was very enjoyable.

Doen so voort ou maat! Trots op jou.

I have toyed with the idea of doing a vocal course since the guitar practice needs to be scaled down.  Now I will give it more careful consideration.

Keep well.

Thanks very much, Barend, appreciate the comments. It was an enjoyable project and good for continuing to try and gain control of the fingers of both hands.

I at about the halfway mark on the Liepe course and so far so good, feeling the difference, and enjoying the way he presents and engages with his students. I guess there are other online options and maybe lockdown has eased enough to consider face-face. Look forward to hearing how that plays out yourside.