Creating the ultimate practice routine for guitar. How to practice: EP498

In this week's video, you'll learn how to set up the ultimate practice routine that is customized to help you meet your specific goals.

Below is the list of lessons that I referred to in the video for those of you that aren't sure where you should start. These will give you most of the background knowledge you need for improvising:

Scales

How many scales do I need to learn?

Pentatonic Scales:

Major Scale - 5 Positions:

The CAGED System:

Triads:

Triads are the answer:

Triad Deep Dive:

Essential Triads:

Minor triads:

Triads + Major Scale:

Triad blues:

Using Triads to play a 1-4-5 Progression:

Arpeggios:

How to use in blues

Creating a melody w/ arpeggios - 1

Creating a melody w/ arpeggiosn - 2

Slow country style lead using arpeggios:

Minor Arpeggios:

Modes:

Part 1

Part 2

Chord Extensions:

Easy shapes to visualize:

The L Shape for blues:

B.B. King Box

Square pattern for pentatonics:

Triangle & Square blues:

Get started playing lead with these 2 easy square patterns:

Fill licks:

Connect fill licks to chord shapes:

Rhythm fill licks:

[donr]

After literally years of being stuck in almost 100% maintenance mode, I actually anticipated this video by a few weeks. I wrote down a long list of guitar goals for 2023. I divided the list into three categories:

Technique
Learn to bend accurately and reliably
Learn left and right hand muting techniques
Learn vibrato
Improve my picking speed and accuracy
Learn to fingerpick and hybrid pick for rock

Repertoire
Learn the fundamentals of Alt Country
Learn the fundamentals of Blues
Learn the fundamentals of Chuck Berry style Rock and Roll
Learn the rhythm parts to a ton of REM songs
Learn the rhythm parts to a ton of Rolling Stones songs

Holistic
Gain more left and right hand dexterity and speed
Know what's what on the fretboard, which includes scales mastery
Begin to establish my own style of improvisation

This obviously is much more than a year's worth of effort. In this first week of the year I'm trying to map out quarterly goals, while writing down practice structure for the next few weeks.

Great, inspiring video, Brian. It reaffirmed my own sense of what I need to do...

[cindyziegra]

I’m one of the retired ones. Played since I was 11. You have helped me more than anyone.thank you!

[banjodadaswheel]

Thank you Brian in helping to setting my goals for this year.
1. Surely, get back to participating in the monthly challenges. That includes playing 20 minutes a day.
2. Attack the list you made one by one. In the process, be better in understanding the Blues.
3. Have 12 easy, popular songs as a repertoire, for those awkward times when in a friend and family group people ask you to play something (and actually expect you to play something that they know).
Cheers, and wishing you and your family, and the entire AM community a very Happy New Year 🙏

[thebopper]

My goal in the current year is to develop my technique (accuracy and speed) in my thumb and index, middle and ring fingers in my quest to play in the style of Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. And it feels good to define this goal publicly!
Other goals are to 1)keep learning musical theory and to 2)learn to play 5 songs (or more, but definitely 5)…

[bdm]

I've been a member of Active Melody for a few years and my only problem is there's just too much good stuff to absorb.
This however, is one of the best informative videos i've seen.
Thanks Brian and Happy New Year!

[corkbour]

I’ve been watching your vids for years, and have grown in my abilities by following them. However this is by far the best yet, for me anyway. While my playing has advanced, I never set any meaningful goal. One that if achieved I could say, I’ve made it, I hit my mark. This vid helped me to re-access my thinking and in the process realize that this is not an easy undertaking. I had to really step back, and in doing so realized my improvements, while good were aimless. Taking your advise I wrote a goal, and while reviewing it began to see that to achieve it there were sub goals I needed to hit first. In the end, having spent close to three hours, I devised a plan that would ultimately lead to my top tier goal. It’s not an easy undertaking, but one that helped me understand that planning in detail is worth the effort you put into it if you are serious about improvements, and I thank you for helping me, and hopefully others on their road to being our best.

[benjieduvall]

Great start to the new year! 1. Keep a daily journal 2. Define Maintenance and Discover for the week. 3. At the end of the week, record myself ( with my phone) in a simulated environment performing a set of 10 songs. 4. Review the performance and set goals for the next week. 5. Then repeat.
Thank you, Brian!

[bungalowbluesman]

Thanks Brian, great advice. My ‘block’ seems to be in actually defining my goal. Pinning myself down. I just seem to drift. I may, as a result of this video, force myself to commit to SOMETHING specific. Thank you for your guidance. 👍🏻

[geldeddonkey]

Yes the the divide between practise and discovery is crucial for progression (took my years to realise) . As a singer, harmonica, , keyboards and guitarist is has moved me on. concepts such as the cage system, modes, scales without thrashing them, tirade’s, arpeggios along with song progression and writing some of my own material. Great guitar tutors like yourself cut through the miasma of information and keep you moving ahead.I’m 63 and have played consistently since 30 (first learnt at 10 via several teachers.) Using the net today, with set goals is the way to go. I just love music, an eclectic of most styles . I see myself as a work in progression and luckily I have the time and facility to do this. thankyou so much for your work Brian, You are amongst the top in your field!🇦🇺 scott

[AfricanAstro]

Can’t tell you how timely and helpful this video is. Thank you. Just last night, before seeing this, I started writing down my music goals. I called it my musical TRIP as a way of remembering the goals of Theory, Repertoire, Improvisation and Practice. Still have to flesh it out, but thought having a little memory anchor like that is a helpful way to orientate and clarify my intent.

[Liam_Maddog]

Brian, your sage advice applies to life in general. I hope your viewers are thinking about your message far beyond playing our favorite musical instrument.

[matthewcasey]

My goals are to realise it takes time to learn this stuff. Just because another video comes out next week it doesn’t mean it is time to learn something else. Give myself time and be patient. Be realistic.

[ggjindrak]

I stopped playing somewhere in my early 20's when I was diagnosed with arthritis in my hands, thumbs, and wrists. At that time I knew a few power chords and could keep decent time, but wasn't serious or disciplined about setting goals and learning. Now that I'm being treated in my 40s, I've built a Tele partscaster (to learn more about that, too) and progressing faster than I've ever did as a teen/20 something. I'm taking a more theory based approach, which has been invaluable. This channel has been one of the best finds, not just for theory and technique, but for great advice like in this video. Eternally grateful. Keep pumping out the great content.

[brenthopping]

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. Around 10 years ago, partially due to family commitments, partly from a shoulder injury, I stopped playing. I was looking for a way back in. Although never a good player, where I'm at now seems such a long way to where I was, let alone where I'd like to go. This is a very useful guide to finding my way back.

[MCLBC]

Brian, your videos provide the best instruction on the internet. Not only are you a gifted player, but you have the added gift of being an exceptional instructor... 🏆🙏

[charliespeakeasy]

This is great incentive for me right now. I've been playing rhythm guitar for 56 years (you read that correctly) and I've been wanting to make improvements to the way I play and just didn't know where to start. This idea of creating the ultimate practice routine is just what I needed for the next step. My goal is to improve my guitar playing style by adding fill licks between chords and to also apply fill licks (between the chords) to create solos for my current repertoire. I will start with Peaceful Easy Feeling by the Eagles and continue from there. Thank you, Brian!

[liserobidoux]

This was very clear and logical and helpful. My goals for this year:
1. Mastering the barre chords and incorporating them;
2. Committing to a daily 20-30 minutes of genuine, directed practice;
3. Adding in knowledge of scales and modes;
4. Learning a new song weekly. (I recently retired, so this set of goals is manageable for me.)
Happy New Year!

[EZBrewMn]

Spent two years trying to find a teacher like you. Thank you for taking my understanding guitar journey to a 10! Really feel like I'm learning how to play, not what to play.

Thanks Brian!

[mr.pickitt]

Over the last two years or so I have been mostly in maintenance mode. I wanted to get out of it, but for a long time didn't know how. Eventually, I figured I needed to give my brain some food and started to memorize entire EPs and practice them until I could play them to perfection. The hardest part was to pick one and stick to it. Now I have done that with three episodes and I feel much better about myself. My goals for the coming year are: Record and showcase every EP I conquered on AM, expand my library of licks (great suggestions with the notebook!) and find myself a band (preferably Blues).

[lindaz-h]

You are the Best guitar teacher!! Thank you!!!