Daily practice

tommaso

Hello everybody,
great forum, great community.
I am new at this forum, I am not a pro, I would like to submit this problem:
I have started to study Gypsy Picking book and I have noticed that it takes all my available time for practice (I can dedicate 1hour and half dayly). Since I would like to build a small repertoire my question is :
can I reduce the time of Gypsy Picking exercise to 1 hour and use the remaining time to play pieces or it is mandatory to initiate the study of the pieces ONLY after mastered the Gypsy Picking book at all speed (about 6 months I have heard). I have to say that since I've started these exercises my tecnique in gypsy playing becomes better every day.
Thanks to all for suggestions.
P.S. : Special thanks to Michael for having done such a fundamental opera. I have to say that, for me, this book has opened wide me the door on a way to play that I have uselessly chased for years.

dennis

u dont have to spend so much time on the technique... instead spend your time playing the music... and if you really wish to use the technique then play the music using the technique...

that's what i do with my students... i get them playing the music right away and whatever technical exercise i give them is always in a musical context so that it can be applied in improvisation....

Kcox

Tommaso, I am no expert on how to be a great player, but I am living proof that spending too much time solely on technique is a bad thing. I spent way too much time when I first started playing this style on just a few songs/licks/solos over and over trying to get my technique exactly right. And yes, Gypsy Picking was one of my first purchases 3 or 4 years ago. The examples in that book are great starting material but the most valuable aspect is not those examples themselves but the principles that guide them.
The result? My solos sound like licks.

It took me a couple of years to realize my time was much better spent building a bigger repertoire and using my ears to steal ideas and begin internalizing melodic principles from Django et al. I have since come around to the viewpoint that many of the better players I know have: books are excellent REFERENCE materials while my ears are the best LEARNING tool that I have.

Can't figure out how the heck Django is pulling off that lick? Think about the basics Michael outlines in Gypsy Picking and maybe you'll get it. For me, it was only once I moved beyond the book that it's true value became evident.

Best of luck, please wish me the same

Kevin

MichaelHorowitz

tommaso wrote:

Since I would like to build a small repertoire my question is :
can I reduce the time of Gypsy Picking exercise to 1 hour and use the remaining time to play pieces or it is mandatory to initiate the study of the pieces ONLY after mastered the Gypsy Picking book at all speed (about 6 months I have heard).

I definitely think it's a good idea to split your time between the technical exercises and music. If you're just playing exercises you'll get bored too easily. The exercises are great because you can really focus on what your hands are doing. That will insure you develop good technique. But you really have to play some music too. Start by playing simple heads...play some ballads like Nuages or Manoir , all with down strokes. That's great practice! When I was first learning the technique I would play Django's Unaccompanied pieces...those are great etudes!

P.S. : Special thanks to Michael for having done such a fundamental opera. I have to say that, for me, this book has opened wide me the door on a way to play that I have uselessly chased for years.

Thanks....glad you're getting something from the book!

Ciao,

-Michael

Bill McNeill

I followed Michael's advice about splitting my efforts between practicing exercises from Gypsy Picking and learning solo pieces from Unaccompanied and six months in have been happy with the results.

Another thing that worked for me is to relearn songs you already know using the rest stroke. For instance, I've been using the Rolling Stones' "Sweet Virginia" as a Gypsy picking etude, not because it's well suited to being played in this style, but because I knew it cold from my pre-Django days. When you translate music you already know to a new technique, your attention naturally focuses on the technique.

Incorporating your old repertoire may also intensify the initial I-can't-play-guitar period during which you are marooned between your old and new techniques. It did for me, anyway. But now that I'm emerging from that awkward phase, I think it was a good thing.

Elliot

billmcn wrote:

Another thing that worked for me is to relearn songs you already know using the rest stroke. For instance, I've been using the Rolling Stones' "Sweet Virginia" as a Gypsy picking etude, not because it's well suited to being played in this style, but because I knew it cold from my pre-Django days. When you translate music you already know to a new technique, your attention naturally focuses on the technique.

Incorporating your old repertoire may also intensify the initial I-can't-play-guitar period during which you are marooned between your old and new techniques. It did for me, anyway. But now that I'm emerging from that awkward phase, I think it was a good thing.

Hendrix's Axis Bold As Love works well here too - You Got Me Floatin', One Rainy Wish, and of course Little Miss Lover


"...excuse me while I see...if the Gypsy in me is right, if you don't mind."

Bill McNeill

I do like to bang out the riff from "Purple Haze" a la manouche, but in general I stay away from Hendrix. Playing like Django is plenty hard enough. There's no way I'm going to try and start emulating two guitar heroes.

Bill McNeill

In addition to the Gypsy Picking exercises and learning solo pieces I've started working rhythm parts into my practice routine. For example, I'll play several choruses of "Minor Swing" or "I'll See You in My Dreams" with the metronome at 100 bpm. This is technique work because I'm playing simple chord progressions and concentrating on getting my pompe right, but it also feels more like playing music because I'm actually doing what a rhythm guitarist would do in performance (albeit more slowly). Plus I find it easy to fall into a groove this way, so it can break the monotony of endless arpeggiation.

MichaelHorowitz

billmcn wrote:

In addition to the Gypsy Picking exercises and learning solo pieces I've started working rhythm parts into my practice routine. For example, I'll play several choruses of "Minor Swing" or "I'll See You in My Dreams" with the metronome at 100 bpm. This is technique work because I'm playing simple chord progressions and concentrating on getting my pompe right, but it also feels more like playing music because I'm actually doing what a rhythm guitarist would do in performance (albeit more slowly). Plus I find it easy to fall into a groove this way, so it can break the monotony of endless arpeggiation.

Good one Bill....I highly reccomend Bill's practice routine!

'm

Jack

Michael Horowitz wrote:

billmcn wrote:

In addition to the Gypsy Picking exercises and learning solo pieces I've started working rhythm parts into my practice routine. For example, I'll play several choruses of "Minor Swing" or "I'll See You in My Dreams" with the metronome at 100 bpm. This is technique work because I'm playing simple chord progressions and concentrating on getting my pompe right, but it also feels more like playing music because I'm actually doing what a rhythm guitarist would do in performance (albeit more slowly). Plus I find it easy to fall into a groove this way, so it can break the monotony of endless arpeggiation.

Good one Bill....I highly reccomend Bill's practice routine!

'm

I might be a bit biased as a rhythm guitarist, but I'll second that. In fact, I've found that focussing so much on my rhythm playing has really helped my soloing-discovering all the different voicings and substitutions I use in rhythm work has made me realize how many options there are in soloing.

Best,
Jack.

Bill McNeill

More observations for novice GJers like myself...

I've been at my new practice regimen that emphasizes rhythm playing for about a month now, and it's definitely helped my technique. Obviously, I'm a better rhythm player, but it's also made it easier for me to get down some of the basic physical elements. For instance, when I started with Gypsy Picking a little under a year ago, I had a death grip on the pick. I know you're supposed to hold it so lightly that it's on the verge of sliding around, but I only eased up once I started focusing on rhythm. Similarly, my right hand wrist has gotten a lot looser, and it's easier to be conscious of things like posture and how close to the bridge I'm playing.

Lead playing requires more accuracy than rhythm because the target is smaller. The cognitive load of trying to hit the correct string manifested as muscle tension, but now that my body is familiar with a less tense attitude, I can start transferring that relaxation back to my lead playing.