practice diary
Targets
By the end of the 8 week period i will be able to play a variety of different techniques which is included in the song Under the Same Sun by Ben Howard. This includes a variety of tapping techniques and percussive techniques along side with open string tuning techniques.
What is an Effective Practice Routine?
An effective practice routine is a routine that an instrumentalist or a vocalist follows in order to improve to their maximum potential. Some routines are ineffective to some people whilst they hugely benefit others. Some good routines consist of warm ups and warm downs, these can be done by vocalists singing scales or even humming scales and guitarists playing scales to help themselves get in the right mind set and improve picking with the right had. I know when I’ve just had an affective practice session because at the end of the session I will be able to do something that I couldn’t do before. Or I’ll be able to something more accurately or quicker.
SMART Targets
Specific-In my practice dairy I will be practicing a variety of scales and picking exercises as well as learning my songs for the Oxjam gig on the 21st of October. This includes a variety of different techniques such as tapping, percussion techniques and different open string chord hitting.
Measure- I will measure my progress in the songs by how much I learn a week when sticking to my practice schedule and I will measure the progress I make in my technical exercises by the speed I can play them. I will start off by playing the techniques quite slowly so i can learn my techniques easier and slowly develop and make them quicker and smoother.
Atainable-My goals are attainable because with my technical exercises i will not be trying to do the variety of techniques fast, i will start slowly and as the weeks progress i will play thyme a lot faster and smoother and therefor show vast improvement.
Relivant- My smart targets are relevant because all the technical exercises that I will be doing will improve my guitar skills and help me with the techniques I need to use in under the same sun by Ben Howard which i will be playing the oxjam gig for school.
Time bound- My smart targets are time bound because I have eight weeks to track my progress witch means that there will be eight dairy entrees witch will each track my progress and show how I have improves each week.
By the end of the 8 week period i will be able to play a variety of different techniques which is included in the song Under the Same Sun by Ben Howard. This includes a variety of tapping techniques and percussive techniques along side with open string tuning techniques.
What is an Effective Practice Routine?
An effective practice routine is a routine that an instrumentalist or a vocalist follows in order to improve to their maximum potential. Some routines are ineffective to some people whilst they hugely benefit others. Some good routines consist of warm ups and warm downs, these can be done by vocalists singing scales or even humming scales and guitarists playing scales to help themselves get in the right mind set and improve picking with the right had. I know when I’ve just had an affective practice session because at the end of the session I will be able to do something that I couldn’t do before. Or I’ll be able to something more accurately or quicker.
SMART Targets
Specific-In my practice dairy I will be practicing a variety of scales and picking exercises as well as learning my songs for the Oxjam gig on the 21st of October. This includes a variety of different techniques such as tapping, percussion techniques and different open string chord hitting.
Measure- I will measure my progress in the songs by how much I learn a week when sticking to my practice schedule and I will measure the progress I make in my technical exercises by the speed I can play them. I will start off by playing the techniques quite slowly so i can learn my techniques easier and slowly develop and make them quicker and smoother.
Atainable-My goals are attainable because with my technical exercises i will not be trying to do the variety of techniques fast, i will start slowly and as the weeks progress i will play thyme a lot faster and smoother and therefor show vast improvement.
Relivant- My smart targets are relevant because all the technical exercises that I will be doing will improve my guitar skills and help me with the techniques I need to use in under the same sun by Ben Howard which i will be playing the oxjam gig for school.
Time bound- My smart targets are time bound because I have eight weeks to track my progress witch means that there will be eight dairy entrees witch will each track my progress and show how I have improves each week.
This is my summery of my overall practice during the week. I will be video recording every thursday for the next 2 months to try and show development and improvement.
In my practice routine i split it into 4 section within the hour:
SECTION ONE - this section includes warming up excersizes of scales on the guitar. http://www.jazzguitar.be/arpeggio.html This is the link i use for one of the scales i use to warm up. http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/guitar_scales.php This is another link for another scale i use to warm up. This mean my fingers are warmed up and i am at my maximum performance when i practice my tequniques.
SECTION TWO - I practice different other techniques within the ben howard song like finger tapping to make sure my fingers are all warmed up and i am used to tapping the string before i actually practice.
SECTION THREE - This section is the biggest section, it includes the main practice of the song which i will be blogging every session. Over the weeks i will try and show development and improvement.
SECTION FOUR - This is where i warm down and use the same arpeggios scales as in the first section. This ends the session which i will be doing once a week
Below is a poster that everyone did in class to show what an effective practice routine should include:
WEEK 1
The video above was my first attempt at Ben Howard 'Under The Same Sun'. I chose this song because i think it changes the technique that i normally play with. The Tuning has been rearranged to CGCGGC the the Capo resting on the 5th fret on the low 4 strings. I am learning to use a variety of percussive and harmonic techniques. The technique is a technique i have never done before therefor it would be good to show my development in my musical technique, this also shows the range of skills i have with the guitar. in the video i was just playing around with different techniques which included hitting and tapping the guitar with my fingers to created that drumming effect while i play the chords with my left hand. Doing this helped me because it showed me a different way in playing the guitar to normal. doing it slowly also helped my learn the drumming parts a lot more easier rather then starting out fast and learning it wrong.
The video above was my first attempt at Ben Howard 'Under The Same Sun'. I chose this song because i think it changes the technique that i normally play with. The Tuning has been rearranged to CGCGGC the the Capo resting on the 5th fret on the low 4 strings. I am learning to use a variety of percussive and harmonic techniques. The technique is a technique i have never done before therefor it would be good to show my development in my musical technique, this also shows the range of skills i have with the guitar. in the video i was just playing around with different techniques which included hitting and tapping the guitar with my fingers to created that drumming effect while i play the chords with my left hand. Doing this helped me because it showed me a different way in playing the guitar to normal. doing it slowly also helped my learn the drumming parts a lot more easier rather then starting out fast and learning it wrong.
The two videos above are the videos i use to help me learn the song. The first video is a video of ben howard playing his song live, and the second video is a tutorial video i use to help me learn this. I use this because rather then learning by myself, i can learn the technique properly rather then developing the technique wrong.
WEEK TWO
This is my second practice for my solo piece Under The Same Sun by Ben Howard.
Im again trying to practice the whole song. Using the same techniques as the previous practice i try and show improvement. This was because i wanted to be able to flow through the song and make it more clear what i was paying instead of just hitting the guitar. This helped me because it made my song flow more and now i know the structure of the song a lot more. I am still not playing the song at a full speed because i am still learning how to play the techniques properly. Next session i am going to do an individual section of the song just so i can improve those parts of the song.
This is my second practice for my solo piece Under The Same Sun by Ben Howard.
Im again trying to practice the whole song. Using the same techniques as the previous practice i try and show improvement. This was because i wanted to be able to flow through the song and make it more clear what i was paying instead of just hitting the guitar. This helped me because it made my song flow more and now i know the structure of the song a lot more. I am still not playing the song at a full speed because i am still learning how to play the techniques properly. Next session i am going to do an individual section of the song just so i can improve those parts of the song.
WEEK 3
I have decided to go through each individual section of the song and improve the different sections 1 week after another. This week i had practiced my intro. This included tapping exercises and finger tapping against the bass of the guitar. I attempted to improve on my drumming in the song to make the song more clear and less messy. This session helped me because it made the intro sound a lot more clear. The drum hits are now a lot more contrasting compared to the guitar string hits. doing this helped me a lot because it helped my technique improve dramatically and shows development. In the next session I will practice the chorus which i struggle most on because of the tricky finger tapping.
I have decided to go through each individual section of the song and improve the different sections 1 week after another. This week i had practiced my intro. This included tapping exercises and finger tapping against the bass of the guitar. I attempted to improve on my drumming in the song to make the song more clear and less messy. This session helped me because it made the intro sound a lot more clear. The drum hits are now a lot more contrasting compared to the guitar string hits. doing this helped me a lot because it helped my technique improve dramatically and shows development. In the next session I will practice the chorus which i struggle most on because of the tricky finger tapping.
WEEK 4
Today i practiced the second part of the chorus'. I had to improve on my finger tapping to make the harmonix more clear in the song and to make it seem as if i wasnt just banging the guitar and making random noises. This helped because it made the harmonix a lot more clear in my song and really made the chorus flow more easy. Doing this pracice has benifitted me in making the song and the technique a lot more clear. This helped me improve my skill in plaing witht the harmonix and finger tapping. This session also helped me because now the second par of the chorus sounds a lot more clear. elopement also showed because now this section of the song is a lot more smoother and flows more easy, i can also hear what I'm playing compared to the first couple sessions where i could really hear what i was playing. Next session i will practice the first part of the chorus.
Today i practiced the second part of the chorus'. I had to improve on my finger tapping to make the harmonix more clear in the song and to make it seem as if i wasnt just banging the guitar and making random noises. This helped because it made the harmonix a lot more clear in my song and really made the chorus flow more easy. Doing this pracice has benifitted me in making the song and the technique a lot more clear. This helped me improve my skill in plaing witht the harmonix and finger tapping. This session also helped me because now the second par of the chorus sounds a lot more clear. elopement also showed because now this section of the song is a lot more smoother and flows more easy, i can also hear what I'm playing compared to the first couple sessions where i could really hear what i was playing. Next session i will practice the first part of the chorus.
WEEK 5
Today i practiced the first part of the chorus. This included a lot of open string slapping with both index finger and the bac of my index finger rotating. This part was usually quite messy and so im practicing to make it more clear. I had to get used to tapping my fingers on the exact point on the fret board so that you could hear the harmonix loud and clear. This improved progressivly thoughout the whole session and by the end of it the tecnique had impproved a lot and not this section of the song sounds more clear and definetly makes the song sound a lot beter and smooth. The chords i hit are also a lot more easy to hear, this benefited because it shows development in the new techniques i was learning. At this point i have learned most of the parts to the song and next session i will be learning the next.
Today i practiced the first part of the chorus. This included a lot of open string slapping with both index finger and the bac of my index finger rotating. This part was usually quite messy and so im practicing to make it more clear. I had to get used to tapping my fingers on the exact point on the fret board so that you could hear the harmonix loud and clear. This improved progressivly thoughout the whole session and by the end of it the tecnique had impproved a lot and not this section of the song sounds more clear and definetly makes the song sound a lot beter and smooth. The chords i hit are also a lot more easy to hear, this benefited because it shows development in the new techniques i was learning. At this point i have learned most of the parts to the song and next session i will be learning the next.
WEEK 6
Today i did a full run through the whole song without the outro. This practice i just ran through over and over again the whole song trying to improve my playing and to make it sound more clear. I found that practicing all the indevidual sections of the song really helped make the song sound a lot clearer and smoother. I have made a massive improvement. This session i went over the song again and again trying to improve the techniques used throughout the song. This had shown me that i had improved a lot since i had first started the piece. Even though i play through the song and it sounds nice i still think it needs more work, it also seems very short so next week i am going to try and learn the outro to this song. This involves a completely different technique.
Today i did a full run through the whole song without the outro. This practice i just ran through over and over again the whole song trying to improve my playing and to make it sound more clear. I found that practicing all the indevidual sections of the song really helped make the song sound a lot clearer and smoother. I have made a massive improvement. This session i went over the song again and again trying to improve the techniques used throughout the song. This had shown me that i had improved a lot since i had first started the piece. Even though i play through the song and it sounds nice i still think it needs more work, it also seems very short so next week i am going to try and learn the outro to this song. This involves a completely different technique.
WEEK 7
Today i was playing my song through again and decided that it need a little extra. After i run through my song i put in some Next open tuning slapping and after aroung 16 bars i start playing a spanish technique of strumming the guitar. This invlosed strumming up and down whicle hitting the guitar strings with the palm of my hand. After 16 bars i play the same but with my left hand i smack an edge of the guitar to creat a snare drum effect. This had definetly made the song sound a lot more full and will hopefully make the song sound a lot more impressive. This also shows i am able to creat my own improvitions though a song showing i am comfortable with all techniques to then add a new one. As you can seed i have also abandoned the outro to the original song, this is because i found this technique boring and i thought it needed a little something extra as i wasn't singing in my version. Next session i will play through the song and try get all of the techniques sharpened and sounding smooth and clear.
Today i was playing my song through again and decided that it need a little extra. After i run through my song i put in some Next open tuning slapping and after aroung 16 bars i start playing a spanish technique of strumming the guitar. This invlosed strumming up and down whicle hitting the guitar strings with the palm of my hand. After 16 bars i play the same but with my left hand i smack an edge of the guitar to creat a snare drum effect. This had definetly made the song sound a lot more full and will hopefully make the song sound a lot more impressive. This also shows i am able to creat my own improvitions though a song showing i am comfortable with all techniques to then add a new one. As you can seed i have also abandoned the outro to the original song, this is because i found this technique boring and i thought it needed a little something extra as i wasn't singing in my version. Next session i will play through the song and try get all of the techniques sharpened and sounding smooth and clear.
WEEK 8
This is the full song i shal be performing at oxjam. Still trying to master the skill of finger tapping, slapping and strumming. This was the best i have played through the song. The song sounded a lot more clear and had improved massivly since i first started playing the song. The song has benifited me massivly too because i am now able to play a vaiety of different techniques on the guitar. I think i have reached my taret of being able to play the techniques ad skills i wanted to be able to perform before the two month period. Over the 2 month period i have shown a massive improvement and i feel i have learned a lot about playing the guitar in a different technique.
This is the full song i shal be performing at oxjam. Still trying to master the skill of finger tapping, slapping and strumming. This was the best i have played through the song. The song sounded a lot more clear and had improved massivly since i first started playing the song. The song has benifited me massivly too because i am now able to play a vaiety of different techniques on the guitar. I think i have reached my taret of being able to play the techniques ad skills i wanted to be able to perform before the two month period. Over the 2 month period i have shown a massive improvement and i feel i have learned a lot about playing the guitar in a different technique.