What's Your Practice Schedule?

spacecakegirl

spacecakegirl

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So, I'm a teacher, and I've just started my two glorious weeks of Winter Break, and I have a brand new Kiwaya KTS-4 that Santa brought a little early so I could have something to do on my two glorious weeks besides eat Christmas cookies.

I'd like to start "practicing ukulele" rather than what I do now (which is pick up my uke and jam some songs I love and jam some songs I'm working on and surf the internet looking for songs I want to love...)

1. How often/how long do you practice?
2. What do you do?
extra credit: Why do you do it this way?
 
Hey - your practice sessions sound a lot like mine. In just a few short weeks of playing I have already fallen into this same rut. I know that I won't get much better at anything but simple jamming if I don't get more discipline into my practice. I look forward to hearing what the more experienced players advise. I already know (think?) I need to start learning some finger picking, more interesting strums, and some more complex chord transitions.
 
What's wrong with playing songs you like?

I don't have a strict practice schedule any more. I've been playing stringed instruments all my life, and uke is the most recent addition to the arsenal. But when I did have a schedule, it was something like this:

30 minutes scales and warmups
10 minute break w/ stretching
30 minutes review material, songs I've been playing for awhile
10 minute break
30 minutes new/current stuff that I'm starting to learn

I did this twice a day with whatever instrument I was currently working on, usually guitar or violin.

I strongly recommend sticking to a schedule that allows for breaks, both to rest your hands and also clear your head. It helps keep frustration from getting a foothold.

And in addition to this schedule, I usually ended up jamming on something here and there. Above all.... have fun! :)
 
I tend to practice first thing in the morning before getting ready for work. I try and get up about half an hour early and use that time to work on tunes for my next gig. I try do to this a couple times a week.

Now, why would I want to get up early? I find it's the only time that can be reliabilty dedicated to practice. Evenings tend to be hectic once I'm home from work, so I can't count on getting some music done.

As a side note, playing music first thing in the morning is a really peaceful way to start the day.

-John
 
spacecakegirl said:
So, I'm a teacher, and I've just started my two glorious weeks of Winter Break, and I have a brand new Kiwaya KTS-4 that Santa brought a little early so I could have something to do on my two glorious weeks besides eat Christmas cookies.

I'd like to start "practicing ukulele" rather than what I do now (which is pick up my uke and jam some songs I love and jam some songs I'm working on and surf the internet looking for songs I want to love...)

1. How often/how long do you practice?
2. What do you do?
extra credit: Why do you do it this way?
Click to expand...

Practice? What is that?
In all truthfulness, I too am a teacher and I have tried this whole practice thing and it just doesn't work. I find that my skills are too advanced for beginner practice and not advanced enough for advanced practice. i don't understand theory (haven't tried to figure it out) and I like playing with feeling versus being a recital type. If you are already playing music then you might get bored with the scales and strum thing. Keep doing what you are doing.
 
I usually practice 1-2 hours a day.

It goes something like this:

15 minute warm up (scale exercises, finger stretching exercises)
5-10 minutes of Sight reading (if I've a new piece of music)
5-10 minutes of making notes on new music (areas where I messed up in the sight read, areas where I had to slow down, etc.)
20-30 minute practice of new piece
20-60 minutes of older music


Why do I do it this way???

Because when I played instruments as a kid that's how one of my teachers told me to practice: Warm up, new music, old music. If I don't have a brand spanking new piece of music to play I play an older piece that I've not memorized yet or I play a piece I love and work on trying to find places to add dynamics.

As for the 20-60 minutes of older music-- thats the having fun part and just playing to play.
 
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Maybe there is something to this practice. I noticed that everyone that is practicing is better than me. I'm a lazy musician.
 
Practice?? :uhoh: Nobody told me I had to practice!! :confused: I too like to just play songs and have fun. Hell, if I wanted to get frustrated then I might as well go to work!! Yes many people speak highly of this thing called practice and the advantages to doing it.....but I do not have two or more hours in a day to play scales, strumming etc. :(
 
well, if I've got work or something I usually only practice 2 hours a day, if I've got a free day it averages closer to 7-8 hours. I think the most I've played in one day was 12 but meh, you do crazy things when you're trying to impress girls. In any case, I'm put this in two ways, the way I should practice and the way I do.

Should:
30 minutes - scales
10 min break
30 minutes figuring out songs by ear
10 min break
30 minutes on new tablature
10 old tabs

the way it actually happens:
30 minutes pushing my way through a shimabukuro tab
30 minutes just sighting reading that same tab because i got too lazy to memorize it
10 min trying to learn a better way to tap
10 min on UU
10 min of pure scotch
30 min looking at pictures of cats on the internet
 
this is how my practice as of late has been going:

20 minutes of playing old music
10 minutes of debating whether or not to study for finals
30 seconds of deciding not to
30 minutes of playing new music
5 minutes of debating whether or not to study for finals
30 seconds of deciding not to
10 minutes of attempting to convince myself that studying for finals would be in my best interest and I had better do it or else it won't matter whether or not I can play a ukulele
.5 seconds of deciding I'd much rather play a ukulele
30 minutes of playing whatever
30 minutes of watching uke videos on youtube

and that's the story of my life...at least til finals are over :D
 
Citrus said:
well, if I've got work or something I usually only practice 2 hours a day, if I've got a free day it averages closer to 7-8 hours. I think the most I've played in one day was 12 but meh, you do crazy things when you're trying to impress girls. In any case, I'm put this in two ways, the way I should practice and the way I do.

Should:
30 minutes - scales
10 min break
30 minutes figuring out songs by ear
10 min break
30 minutes on new tablature
10 old tabs

the way it actually happens:
30 minutes pushing my way through a shimabukuro tab
30 minutes just sighting reading that same tab because i got too lazy to memorize it
10 min trying to learn a better way to tap
10 min on UU
10 min of pure scotch
30 min looking at pictures of cats on the internet
Click to expand...

Only 10 min of pure Scotch??? :confused: Sounds like you are cutting your practice a little bit short!! ;)
 
LOL! Yeah, that would be about how it goes for me now... well, minus the cat pics online and add 30 minutes of posting uke vids that I found on Youtube to Facebook.

But only 10 minutes of Scotch? I tend to lubricate my entire practice sessions with Merlot.


Citrus said:
the way it actually happens:
30 minutes pushing my way through a shimabukuro tab
30 minutes just sighting reading that same tab because i got too lazy to memorize it
10 min trying to learn a better way to tap
10 min on UU
10 min of pure scotch
30 min looking at pictures of cats on the internet
Click to expand...
 
I've been thinking about this practicing thing(ADD superfocus going on), I have come to the realization that scales ans tabs and all that is for people that might have a future in music. I'm a back porch player. I'm never going to make money playing and I have no interest of playing a recital. I like jamming and making people smile. For that I simply need to learn songs and make my own stuff up. But if I was much younger or much more talented then I'd spend more time scaleing and strumming;)
 
I've no future in music either: but scales and drills are good for you!

I find that by doing them I'm better able to improvize, or figure out a piece of music by ear.

Besides- they can be fun.

For a while I've been meaning to make a vid of some of the warm-up stuff I do...


(still need to do that...)


Anyways. You don't have to do hours and hours of scales- only about 5-15 minutes a day.
 
paraclete said:
LOL! Yeah, that would be about how it goes for me now... well, minus the cat pics online and add 30 minutes of posting uke vids that I found on Youtube to Facebook.

But only 10 minutes of Scotch? I tend to lubricate my entire practice sessions with Merlot.
Click to expand...
2000455272489756911_rs.jpg
 
home from work, eat, crack open a beer, get uke out, play, annoy wife, she cant hear the tv, we fall out, she goes to bed.

Therefore bought an eleuke - now its home, eat, beer, uke, annoy wife cos the unamplified sound of the strum is all "clicky"...
 
1 Mix a Mai Tai
2 Open Uke case
3 Start strummin somethin
4 Sip some Mai Tai
5 Go back to #3 and repeat till I have to go back to #1


My playing is my practice!!!

So far noone has asked me to play scales for them....

all kidding aside the need to work on scales is there especaily if you are wanting to improvise single note melody lines but for me it's mostly strummin and I don't improvise, if I want a melody line I just tab out a song from one of my many books...
 
Last edited:
paraclete said:
LOL! Yeah, that would be about how it goes for me now... well, minus the cat pics online and add 30 minutes of posting uke vids that I found on Youtube to Facebook.

But only 10 minutes of Scotch? I tend to lubricate my entire practice sessions with Merlot.
Click to expand...

Wine is good, but I prefer to practice with a quality Rum with a few ice cubes and a nice wedge of lime!! This type of practice always helps my playing AND my singing!!!
 
Hm, never actually considered it practicing, but then again, what else do I call it? lolol

Well, recently my dad dug up a giant crate of old local music, and man, I'm having a blast with it. All these songs my family sings all the time, and I never knew the titles.

Well, I'll just play through the few I know a couple times, recording myself w/ my video camera. That way, I can listen and know what I need to work on.

Also my dad is teaching me how to sing and play the tons that I don't know, and he's a great teacher, and he also has a much better ear than I do.

(I don't have a "schedule" but I practice whenever I get the chance)

When I'm working on a tab, I take it page by page. I'll learn, memorize, and in a sense "perfect" (work out how I exactly want to play it, how I want it to sound) a single page, and when I do, I move on to the next.
 
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