This is a good 10 minute practice routine

It is difficult to find time to practice and we all want to spend hours every day. If you only have a limited amount of time for your jazz guitar practice then what should you work on?

This video is going over what a 10-minute practice session could look like and some of the things that are important to keep in mind if you are trying to make a practice plan.

Content:
0:00 #1 Intro - Short Practice Sessions
0:40 #2 Warming up fingers and synchronizing hands
1:12 Scales and Exercises - in position
1:32 The things you need to practice in your scales
1:58 Open-ended practice: Change keys, positions, and exercises
2:46 What Do You Practice with scale exercises?
3:36 Adjusting for a slower tempo
3:59 #3 Exercises along the neck
4:40 #4 Technical exercises on a Song
5:05 Making music and using technique on a piece of music
5:50 #5 Vocabulary and Reading
6:43 #6 Make Music! - Soloing on a Song
7:35 10 minutes to stay in shape and make music every day
8:17 What is your 10-minute practice routine
8:43 Like The Video? Check out my Patreon Page

✅DOWNLOAD A FREE E-BOOK with 15 II Valt I licks!
Sign up for my newsletter:

Edited by Luciano Poli

My Gear:

[JensLarsen]

What would you consider important in a 10 min Practice routine?
Content:
0:00 #1 Intro - Short Practice Sessions
0:40 #2 Warming up fingers and synchronizing hands
1:12 Scales and Exercises - in position
1:32 The things you need to practice in your scales
1:58 Open-ended practice: Change keys, positions, and exercises
2:46 What Do You Practice with scale exercises?
3:36 Adjusting for a slower tempo
3:59 #3 Exercises along the neck
4:40 #4 Technical exercises on a Song
5:05 Making music and using technique on a piece of music
5:50 #5 Vocabulary and Reading
6:43 #6 Make Music! - Soloing on a Song
7:35 10 minutes to stay in shape and make music every day
8:17 What is your 10-minute practice routine
8:43 Like The Video? Check out my Patreon Page

[benjaminrosenbohm]

A common exercise I use for scale stuff is arpeggiating each seventh chord and doing that for each scale degree.
Another one that I have found quite useful when trying to familiarize myself with the neck is playing a four note arpeggio on the first scale degree, and then playing the second 4 note arpeggio backwards
So in C major Id go
C E G B (Cmaj7 up)
C A F D (Dm7 down)
E G B D (Em7 up)
etc etc

[ethanmaruyama]

I have to practice to be able to get through this practice routine

[fourthfifthcycle]

I think that after ten minutes the practice begins) Arpeggios, scales in all twelve keys and the metronome are important in exercises ) Thank's for lessons Jens, your content has risen a lot !!!

[Gangari]

1 position, 12 keys! That is going to help me a lot!

[MichaelBerlin]

every day: note location on the fretboard. for ex Cycle of 5th from C clockwise and counterclockwise/ tell tetrads and name all of their notes with interval function all over the fret. Thats what i need every day in expectation to be at one time as comfortable with my fingers on fret as with my feet on the floor. Thank you very much for many helpful videos!

[DojoOfCool]

After 50 years of guitar I've started learning piano (finally) and started using those minutes that normal would be wasted to get some practice in. So when making coffee, or boiling water for pasta, whenever something mean I have to wait a couple minute I just go to piano and run my scales, or chords and inversions. So that time gets put to use and it is helps in get all those fingerings in to muscle/brain memory. When relaxing watching TV before bed I have a poster of a keyboard next to TV if show is boring or commercial I can look at the poster and visualize fingerings to start working on spatial awareness of the keys. Spatial awareness is important part of learning the fretboard and now I have to get it for keyboard. I try to use what would normally be time doing nothing and put it to work. In doing so I can get some of the warmup and scale drills done and when in my practice time work on the things that require more focus or creativity.


Back when I was in music school and later when commuting to work or etc I used to use that time to do ear training drills, quiz myself on chord and scale spellings, and later trying to transcribe things I would hear on CD and check myself once back with my guitar. Same thing when going to doctor office, eating at a diner, take that quiet time and put it to use. I used to love going to a quiet beach and sit in the sand with a metronome and book of rhythms and clap them.


Just say if serious about music you can do a lot in time that normally would be wasted just watching a clock. As Howard Roberts would tell us in GIT use that perfect guitar in your head to work things out.

[simonfivez]

I don't always think that it's time that is the issue for me to practice. Most of the time when I have hours on my hands, I find myself only figuring out HOW to practice; so I just try all sort of things and at the end of the day, I hope I made some progress (after a week or so I do find myself indeed making progress, but a clear method would be nice haha the struggle of practicing I guess ;-) ) Great video btw, Jens!

[Soberan]

These practice routine videos are very useful, thanks. There isn't much that you can squeeze into ten minutes, but if you give me fifteen I would definitively include chord practice, particularly ii-V-I changes across strings sets 4321, 5432 and 6432. That gives you 12 different combinations of ii-V-I, four per string set, and can be done in five minutes.

[SageOfQRtet]

When I have just 10 minutes of time I prefer to focus on one aspect and try to improve it. I try to focus on that aspect for few days/weeks until I'm satisfied with the progress. Consider the idea of improving one aspect a month vs improving 12 aspects in a year - first method might gives me extra motivation and I might see some results in one month instead of one year. Also spending few minutes on an exercise is too short for me to get some feedback and fix problems/improve.
Just my humble opinion. Everyone is different and has different preferences/routines.

[JazzgutsVGvanKampen]

Well I think you covered a great deal here, what I work on lately a lot are arpeggio ( seventh chords) inversions in solo's, I think this opens up more melodic possibilities instead of always starting on the root of the chord. Actualy this is a hard job but really worthwhile as chord tone variations are very important, keep up the great work.

[titobattaglia]

Jens you really are the best teacher online and the quality of your lessons has being going up, ever higher. You always have something meaningful and relevant to put to our consideration. Plus one can sense that this comes from a top-notch jazz musician, improviser and instructor. It’s been two days since I decided to really go through your videos and I am completely restructuring my practice and revising my priorities. Patreon support is on the way. Keep up the incredible work!

[meowtrox]

How I practice is to try to play what I can Melodically sing this applies to improvisation. But to explore Jazz scales and its tonality is my present challenge.
And thanks to your lessons Jens it Helped me alot

[ericstrauch]

Thanks for this lesson Jens! I have a full time job and a family so, time is limited.

[martinvanier]

The single string practice
A la Mick Goodrick up and down the neck in all The key, mode, arpège etc
That was a révélation for me
It’s a very good thing to put in a routine practice
Is Book is call: The advancing guitarist (applying guitar concepts and techniques)

Thank you Jens for your passion

[miguelcastano]

Great phrasing on Sating Doll solo!
Thanks, Larsen

[BillyJ]

Great lesson Jens. I practice triads in one position in all 12 keys (around cycle) starting on C at on 8th fret. Also minor triads here as well.

[andrejgregoric]

long time jazz lover, but only recently i dare to try playing some standards. I was missing this kind of instructions, because its my joy and I haven't got all day to practice and also enjoy more playing than practicing. For a year now I'm trying to get myself into scales, modes and stuff, but this kind of practice could ease it a little bit... thx

[droidfan]

This video has been more helpful than you might think Dear Sir! Thank you!!

[RCSmiths]

Your Jazz tone and playing is absolutely talented and prolific! Great advice and thoughts on Practice here. Practice is one of, if not, the most important trait of any musician.