30-MINUTE

WARM-UP (2 MINUTES)

WARM-UP AND TECHNIQUE TUNE-UP: 10 MINUTES

Any exercise that will get your hands physically warmed up - light stretching, wiggling fingers, shaking your hands etc. Once you’ve loosened up play something simple. Strum some open

ALTERNATE PICKING (2 MINUTES)Any ‘spider’ type exercise, such as playing four consecutive frets each with separate fingers. Alternatively work only the picking hand by muting the strings with your left hand and pick each string four times with your right hand moving up and down the strings.

SCALES (3 MINUTES)Practice any new scale patterns you have been given. Play them up and down, in sequences, or play random notes within the scale shape (the ‘megachops’ exercise).

TECHNIQUES (3 MINUTES)Practice any specific techniques such as hammer-ons, pull-offs, vibrato, slides, bending (full, half, quarter), harmonics (natural, artificial, tapped, pinch), fingerstyle, tapping, economy pick-

RHYTHM PLAYING: 5 MINUTES

This is when to practise anything to do with chords or rhythm.Try new chords or chord shapes, such as the CAGED method (the five shapes for major, minor or 7th chords in all keys), triad inversions, strumming patterns in 8th note and sixteenth note rhythms, and stylistic things (boogie patterns, arpeggiating shapes, comping etc.).

SOLOING: 5 MINUTES

This is when to practise anything to do with soloing or improvising.Learn a transcribed solo, but take notes as to what patterns or licks are being used over the chords. Practise soloing techniques such as voice leading. Learn new licks to use in your solos.Jam over a backing track to incorpoarate scales, soloing ideas or licks into your ‘bag of tricks’.

PRACTISING SONGS: 10 MINUTES

Your goal during this part of the session should be to improve - not just go over the same old stuff.Use this time to learn new material or to practise tricky parts of existing songs. Know the differ-ence between practising and ‘jamming’.This is also a good time to practise sight-reading if your goal is to become a session guitarist or if you want to play in an orchestra or cruise ship/hotel band.

GUITAR PRACTICE ROUTINE