How to become a better musician by creating a balanced practice schedule

Essay by sixsixtysixHigh School, 12th gradeA-, May 2005

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How to become a better musician by

creating a balanced practice schedule

There are many elements that make great musicians stand apart from the others. What and how much they accomplish during their practice time is the key to their success. Having a plan and a schedule will allow you to see and meet your goals much sooner with less practice time. It is not always about how much time you put in, but about what you make of the time you have. Here are 10 keys to balancing your practice time, in no particular order or importance. In my future articles, I will talk about each key point in detail.

1) Technique Exercises

2) Chords and 3rd String Triads

3) Songwriting and Recording

4) Improvisation

5) Rhythm

6) Sight Reading & Chord Charts

7) Playing and Creating music in all 12 keys

8) Fret Board Awareness

9) Playing and Transcribing Songs

10) Ear Training and Theory

* = To be explained in future articles.

Technique Exercises

(Scales, modes, sequences, arpeggios, string skipping, tremolo picking, bends, vibrato, legato, slides, pedal points, tapping & 8 finger tapping, chromatics, left hand muting, right hand muting, endurance, coordination, picking technique, picking while plucking, using both hands efficiently, practicing with a metronome)

Chords and 3rd String Triads

(3 string triads, 4th, 5th, 6th string open and barred, 7th chords, Jazz voicings, added tone chords, chord extensions, inversions) Songwriting and Recording

(Working in one key, multiple keys, modulations, transitions, dynamic changes, tempo changes, song structure development and expansion, thin layering, thick layering, counter and contrary melodies, harmonizing, editing, producing, analyze and write out the arrangement of others bands songs, use visual composing*, spoken composing*, artistic composing*, humming into a hand held recorder, getting familiar with recording and all that goes along with it, finding your...