Length of time to do exercises?

Twenty2AcaciaAv · #1 03-09-2011, 05:39 AM

When doing excerise, how long sould one work on a specific one? Whether it's just right-hand/finger picking exercises or exercises involving both hands.

fearceol · #2 03-09-2011, 06:42 AM

IMO, regularity is as important as actual time spent. You could spend maybe two hours trying to nail something without success, only to come back the next day and get it right first time. I find that regular intense practice over a short time (maybe an hour) works best for me. That does not mean just an hour a day, but maybe several hours with breaks in between. After that, it takes as long as it takes.

Luff · #3 03-09-2011, 07:04 AM

The amount of improvement between sleep cycles is limited. You can push it a bit by splitting up your practice into several sessions, but spending a lot of time on an exercise is generally a waste of time. Regularity is more important. Use that time for some other valuable skills instead, like training your ear.

Twenty2AcaciaAv · #4 03-09-2011, 07:14 AM

But let's say for a simple exercies, such as the first one mentioned in the exercise sticky thread, how long minutes wise hsould I spend on doing that each practice?

M0ses · #5 03-09-2011, 07:15 AM

More than ten minutes a day on the same exercise is wasted time. But you can do plenty of different exercises.

klokker · #6 03-09-2011, 07:21 AM

I'm a weekend warrior and sometimes I have enough pieces to learn and a time pressure than I don't do exercises at all.

But I think a good warm up is important and try to do it daily, my routine takes about half an hour. As many times as I've done it, it still takes some time to get that sense of control and relaxation back. Sometimes I do exercises a lot longer but usually not.

Twenty2AcaciaAv · #7 03-09-2011, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klokker

I'm a weekend warrior and sometimes I have enough pieces to learn and a time pressure than I don't do exercises at all.

But I think a good warm up is important and try to do it daily, my routine takes about half an hour. As many times as I've done it, it still takes some time to get that sense of control and relaxation back. Sometimes I do exercises a lot longer but usually not.

What's your normal warm up contain?

A tempo · #8 03-09-2011, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twenty2AcaciaAv

When doing excerise, how long sould one work on a specific one? Whether it's just right-hand/finger picking exercises or exercises involving both hands.

Great question. For me the answer has been I stay with it for as long as I can stay in time. Obviously, if I can stay in time indefinitely, then the tempo needs to be increased. Tactile exercises are all about focus.

Now on the flip side of your question. I do not have an unlimited amount of time, so I practice tactile exercises for 10 minutes to an hour daily, depending on the necessity.

If there is a complicated passage in a piece that I am learning, I may develop an exercise to practice the tempo, finger alternation, string crossing, whatever, for as long as it takes, or for how long I can maintain focus, whichever comes first.

HeadyVan Halen · #9 03-09-2011, 08:57 AM

Remember, exercises are only used so your fingers can play what your brain wants.
I know some dudes who play bass like they are running through scales and such. It sounds like sh!t.

End your practice with excercises. That way your fingers are already warm and fatigued. You want to build stamina. Football teams don't run sprints BEFORE practice do they?

Some Ideas:
scales forward and backward for muscle memory..then speed it up.
scales with 2 notes on every tone (G-G-A-A-B-B-C-C etc)
scales with 3 notes, then 4 etc.
string skipping
16th-32nd notes
slapping through scales (don't be the guy who can only slap at 200 BMP)
slapping through basslines you normally play with fingers

and then usually end with 'Teen Town' at normal speed-then half speed-then normal speed again...if you mess up it doesn't count and have to start over. 5 times perfect or I won't end practice.

strongman36 · #10 03-09-2011, 09:14 AM

I think that you will need to use your intuition for this one. But don't over do it. If you cannot master it in a reasonable amount of time, don't force it. Take a pauze and try it another time.

Luff · #11 03-09-2011, 10:18 AM

Regarding stamina: most musicians (especially guitarists) press down much harder than they need to and use unnecessarily big movements. Devote time to playing extremely slowly so you can focus on relaxation, economy of motion and finding out exactly how hard to fret. Do that before you start focusing to much on endurance, stamina etc.

Skitch it! · #12 03-09-2011, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fearceol

IMO, regularity is as important as actual time spent. You could spend maybe two hours trying to nail something without success, only to come back the next day and get it right first time. I find that regular intense practice over a short time (maybe an hour) works best for me. That does not mean just an hour a day, but maybe several hours with breaks in between. After that, it takes as long as it takes.

+1 This,

I don't tie myself to a routine, if I need to let go of it for a while then I will, to get into the right mindset for uptake. Breaks and diversions away are a good refresh for enthusiasm I find, as far as 'how long', no set time, however long it takes to nail it.

madmatt · #13 03-09-2011, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twenty2AcaciaAv

When doing excerise, how long sould one work on a specific one? Whether it's just right-hand/finger picking exercises or exercises involving both hands.

I would try to keep it down to just one or two things you are trying to learn each session. Trying to learn it all every night is going to seem like torture.
Also you want to keep it somewhat short if you are just starting out or the tendons in your fretting hand are going to start screaming at you.