Practice regimen/how to utilize this book?

Kalebima

Just getting around to opening Gypsy Picking now, it seems like there are so many great exercises but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to approach it in an effective manner! I have probably 30-45 min a day to work on just my picking technique, since I usually only have about 1-1.5 hrs a day total to spend on guitar. How should I split up the exercises? I will work on just the first part for a month, but I am wondering if I should do a little bit of everything each day or take it in chunks.
I'd love to hear how others approached this book - thanks!

MichaelHorowitz

At first I'd do nothing but the picking patterns...really get those wired into your muscle memory and then once you start to be able to do them at faster tempos study the corresponding patterns in the second section.

Good luck!

M

Kalebima

Thanks for the response, that's what I plan on doing! I should rephrase my question: I'm wondering how to tackle the picking patterns. Do I take, say, three a day for 10 minutes each? And cycle through them with 3 a day over the course of a week and then start back at the beginning again? Or do I do more in less time each day? Thanks.

MichaelHorowitz

I would concentrate more on mastering them a few at a time. Probably best to work on the first five and make sure you have them pretty solid before doing more.

Kalebima

Practicing the first five has been going good, I'll be giving exercises six to ten a try in the next few days.
Is it normal to have some muscle soreness while practicing? Not to the point where I know I'm doing something wrong, but just the feeling that I'm using new muscles. It doesn't hurt afterwards, and I'm pretty sure I'm doing it correctly based off the pictures in the book/videos I've seen.

MichaelHorowitz

No, you shouldn't feel any soreness. It should feel relaxed and natural. You may be a little too tense, try focusing on staying relaxed while you're practicing the patterns.

Good luck!

M

Kalebima

That's strange...I have my hand exactly as you have it in the book but I still feel muscle pain after practicing for about 20 minutes. It feels like a soreness from trying to keep my hand up, kind of in my wrist. I think maybe it's because I'm so used to picking with my hand on the bridge that my body has to get used to not having any support on the right hand. I'll see if this persists as I continue to practice with the new hand position.