Get ALL 11 Masterclasses in THE BGC BUNDLE: www.bensguitarclub.com/p/the-bgc-bundle How To Practice BUNDLE (3 guitar masterclasses): www.bensguitarclub.com/p/how-to-practice-bundle-volumes-1-2-3 The Modern Soloing BUNDLE (5 soloing masterclasses): www.bensguitarclub.com/p/modern-soloing-bundle
Is everyone a full time musician here? I have a full time job in IT and I am glad I can manage to devote ~1 hour / day to playing the guitar; 6-8 hours would be impossible, because I also have to sleep :D
It comes down to making sacrifices. People devoted to music often miss out on the material comfort, financial security and even the ability to raise a family offered by a full-time job in an in-demand industry.
I'm a full time guitar and music theory instructor and can barely manage to practice 40m-1h in the morning while drinking my coffee. But I also noticed you tend to find more time for practice when you're in a band. Say you get together for rehearsal twice a week after work for 3-4 hours. Then you also don't wanna be a trainwreck so you naturally be thinking about your parts and picking up your guitar everytime you have a minute to get prepared. Besides, I remember a friend of mine would keep his bass in his office so he could pick it up and run through some scales anytime he gets a chance:)
I’m putting a lot of work on the instrument, I really want to be a beast of an improvising and overall musician like you. The two main bad things I’m facing are: 1. I feel I’ve lost a lot of valuable time in the past and that makes me feel that my goals are not approachable anymore. 2. Sometimes I don’t know what to practice, or I know a general area that I need to practice, but I don’t know exactly how to go about it. Despite of all of this, I’m trying now really hard. Thanks for the inspiration
If I may, I also fall victim to my mind thinking about the past while I'm playing. To me, this is a big disturbance which robs me of what I can do in the present. My advice to anyone is to accept now for now and do what you can - try to be mentally clear.
Thanks Ben, good insights! When Im away from the guitar I try and do some ear training exersises- identifying intervals and chords etc with an app, and also memorising song forms and mentally visualising playing. :) If Im on the bus or have a free moment.. All the best for 2024!
I've been doing more of this lately. Practicing ear training just once per day doesn't seem often enough to internalize all the chromatic intervals and hear them in actual music consistently. How has your ear training journey developed? Mine is pretty slow!
Its a slow process, and to hear them consistently in actual music I think takes many months. I use tonedear, my aim is to be able to hear all of the 12 intervals consistently and work up from there. Also important to identify descending and ascending. It gets quicker after time. :)@@Hexspa
Great advice! I just started doing this and it’s amazing. Learning and practicing can be done anywhere. I also keep notes and pictures in my phone that I can look at anywhere.
It really can be tough to get enough time do practice as much as one wants in addition to all the other things we 'should' be doing. My newest time-saver is to be better at cooking up more food at a time and prepping meals in advance so I don't have to cook as much. Also, any time a student doesn't show up, I always have something ready to go for practice. Usually sight reading through the myriad of music books at the school.
Hi Ben! I am genuinely interested in getting your Masterclasses. Which ones would you recommend that could possibly help me getting my picking technique into shape? That's my main weakness, and has become worse (my right hand is tightening up quite fast...) over the last couple of years. Looking forward to your reply. Thanks, and greetings from Western Australia!
Thank you so much for your support, I really appreciate it 😃 Either one of my masterclasses “10 Etudes For Guitar Improvisation” or “40 Improvised Lines For Guitar Soloing” could be helpful, especially since they both focus on playing improvised lines on guitar. Also, both have Tab & Standard Notation of everything I play, including articulation markings in the notation to indicate where notes are picked vs. slurred. Let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks again! 😃
I feel like, even though I certainly practice enough to make great progress, I could certainly practice for more time each day - and the reasons I don't do that are: - If I thought I did enough for the day (and my enough is already at a good standard), I don't want to put the extra effort - I know that if I keep doing what I do, I will keep on getting better anyway so why bother? - I don't think that I will be able to consistently play more than what I do, not because of not having time, but because I don't have more mental capacity to do it than the one that I already spend during the day These two are merely excuses, and I for sure know it - does anyone have tips for stopping this kind of "practice-self-bullshiting"?
1-2 hours sight reading… wow…I go nuts after 30mins. I’m a novice in sight reading though. Since I can max 2 hours a day, I mainly focus on challenging but fun fingerstyle songs. Otherwise I forget why I am playing guitar in the first place. If you strategically pick songs in function of your weaknesses you learn in a fun way. Scales and unmusical practice do the opposite for me.
In the past two years that I've tracked my practice routine, I've averaged 80 hours a month; about 2-3h/day, sometimes less and sometimes more. Keeping track of my time has helped me feel better about my practice, and that includes a simple text file log that I refresh each month. My focus is spread over a number of tasks including ear training, some keyboard skills, singing, writing, bass or guitar, music production, and image/video work as well as general maintenance like instrument setups and computer updating/cleaning. The biggest weakness I think I have is wanting to take prolonged breaks after 90 minutes of focus. While I think a longer break after that time is in accordance with the ultradian rhythm, if I'm honest, I could probably "get back to work" a little sooner. Darn video games! Thanks for this, I'm always curious how exceptional players manage their time.
Geez why do you people always want to compare? Ben has a style of his own, as has John Scofield and Carl Verheyen! Must be a guitarist's thing, because I have never heard anybody compare Michael Brecker with Wayne Shorter or Chick Corea with Mitchel Forman or Billy Cobham with Vinnie Colaiuta... 🙄
Get ALL 11 Masterclasses in THE BGC BUNDLE: www.bensguitarclub.com/p/the-bgc-bundle
How To Practice BUNDLE (3 guitar masterclasses): www.bensguitarclub.com/p/how-to-practice-bundle-volumes-1-2-3
The Modern Soloing BUNDLE (5 soloing masterclasses): www.bensguitarclub.com/p/modern-soloing-bundle
Is everyone a full time musician here? I have a full time job in IT and I am glad I can manage to devote ~1 hour / day to playing the guitar; 6-8 hours would be impossible, because I also have to sleep :D
I make money from music, and I also can’t practice for 8 hours😂
It comes down to making sacrifices. People devoted to music often miss out on the material comfort, financial security and even the ability to raise a family offered by a full-time job in an in-demand industry.
1 hour it’s good! Take advantage of! ❤
@@romanpolezhaev3630me neither!
I'm a full time guitar and music theory instructor and can barely manage to practice 40m-1h in the morning while drinking my coffee. But I also noticed you tend to find more time for practice when you're in a band. Say you get together for rehearsal twice a week after work for 3-4 hours. Then you also don't wanna be a trainwreck so you naturally be thinking about your parts and picking up your guitar everytime you have a minute to get prepared. Besides, I remember a friend of mine would keep his bass in his office so he could pick it up and run through some scales anytime he gets a chance:)
Ben, your devotion to your instrument is an inspiration to all of us. I hear all the notes and changes to All the Things You Are
So you glad you liked it, thank you for watching!
@beneunson I look forward to all you videos, all the best ... Lawson
I’m putting a lot of work on the instrument, I really want to be a beast of an improvising and overall musician like you. The two main bad things I’m facing are: 1. I feel I’ve lost a lot of valuable time in the past and that makes me feel that my goals are not approachable anymore. 2. Sometimes I don’t know what to practice, or I know a general area that I need to practice, but I don’t know exactly how to go about it. Despite of all of this, I’m trying now really hard. Thanks for the inspiration
If I may, I also fall victim to my mind thinking about the past while I'm playing. To me, this is a big disturbance which robs me of what I can do in the present. My advice to anyone is to accept now for now and do what you can - try to be mentally clear.
Thanks so much for sharing, and best of luck on your musical journey! 😀
@@beneunson thank you, master
Sheesh that opening lick was brutal
Thanks for watching, Danny!
Ben, you are an inspiration to us. Thanks! 🎸
Thanks so much, Billy!
great practice schedule tips! Great to hear you shed some more light on this
So glad you liked it!
Very inspiring. Time to get to work!
Glad you're inspired, Andreas!
Thanks Ben, good insights! When Im away from the guitar I try and do some ear training exersises- identifying intervals and chords etc with an app, and also memorising song forms and mentally visualising playing. :) If Im on the bus or have a free moment.. All the best for 2024!
I've been doing more of this lately. Practicing ear training just once per day doesn't seem often enough to internalize all the chromatic intervals and hear them in actual music consistently. How has your ear training journey developed? Mine is pretty slow!
Its a slow process, and to hear them consistently in actual music I think takes many months. I use tonedear, my aim is to be able to hear all of the 12 intervals consistently and work up from there. Also important to identify descending and ascending. It gets quicker after time. :)@@Hexspa
Thanks. Yeah, descending is trickier for me. Cheers.@@nickbirkby2521
Great advice! I just started doing this and it’s amazing. Learning and practicing can be done anywhere. I also keep notes and pictures in my phone that I can look at anywhere.
Thanks fantastic, Nick! Thanks for sharing, and I hope your 2024 is off to a great start!
Excellent! Beautiful playing as always, and great insight!
i have plenty of time, it is what to practice is the challenge…plus the associated theory which i need ( and actually enjoy)
It really can be tough to get enough time do practice as much as one wants in addition to all the other things we 'should' be doing. My newest time-saver is to be better at cooking up more food at a time and prepping meals in advance so I don't have to cook as much. Also, any time a student doesn't show up, I always have something ready to go for practice. Usually sight reading through the myriad of music books at the school.
Fantastic suggestions, Mats!
Hi Ben! I am genuinely interested in getting your Masterclasses. Which ones would you recommend that could possibly help me getting my picking technique into shape? That's my main weakness, and has become worse (my right hand is tightening up quite fast...) over the last couple of years. Looking forward to your reply. Thanks, and greetings from Western Australia!
Thank you so much for your support, I really appreciate it 😃 Either one of my masterclasses “10 Etudes For Guitar Improvisation” or “40 Improvised Lines For Guitar Soloing” could be helpful, especially since they both focus on playing improvised lines on guitar. Also, both have Tab & Standard Notation of everything I play, including articulation markings in the notation to indicate where notes are picked vs. slurred. Let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks again! 😃
I feel like, even though I certainly practice enough to make great progress, I could certainly practice for more time each day - and the reasons I don't do that are:
- If I thought I did enough for the day (and my enough is already at a good standard), I don't want to put the extra effort - I know that if I keep doing what I do, I will keep on getting better anyway so why bother?
- I don't think that I will be able to consistently play more than what I do, not because of not having time, but because I don't have more mental capacity to do it than the one that I already spend during the day
These two are merely excuses, and I for sure know it - does anyone have tips for stopping this kind of "practice-self-bullshiting"?
1-2 hours sight reading… wow…I go nuts after 30mins. I’m a novice in sight reading though. Since I can max 2 hours a day, I mainly focus on challenging but fun fingerstyle songs. Otherwise I forget why I am playing guitar in the first place. If you strategically pick songs in function of your weaknesses you learn in a fun way. Scales and unmusical practice do the opposite for me.
In the past two years that I've tracked my practice routine, I've averaged 80 hours a month; about 2-3h/day, sometimes less and sometimes more. Keeping track of my time has helped me feel better about my practice, and that includes a simple text file log that I refresh each month.
My focus is spread over a number of tasks including ear training, some keyboard skills, singing, writing, bass or guitar, music production, and image/video work as well as general maintenance like instrument setups and computer updating/cleaning.
The biggest weakness I think I have is wanting to take prolonged breaks after 90 minutes of focus. While I think a longer break after that time is in accordance with the ultradian rhythm, if I'm honest, I could probably "get back to work" a little sooner. Darn video games!
Thanks for this, I'm always curious how exceptional players manage their time.
Great observations, thanks for sharing!
My goal is to practice and play for 4 hours every day... Speaking it into existence 🎉
Fantastic goal for 2024! Thanks so much for watching!
Your crazy! But I like it ❤
How are my forearms supposed to feel after these 8 hours a day?
Tôi yêu bạn ! I love you !
Thank so much for watching!
What did you study at university? Just curious
Jazz guitar I'm sure
Music, specifically Jazz Studies
8 hours is TOO MUCH for musicality. You have to step away from the instrument to reset
You lines sound like a mix between Carl Verheyen & John Scotfield
Geez why do you people always want to compare? Ben has a style of his own, as has John Scofield and Carl Verheyen! Must be a guitarist's thing, because I have never heard anybody compare Michael Brecker with Wayne Shorter or Chick Corea with Mitchel Forman or Billy Cobham with Vinnie Colaiuta... 🙄