Week 23: fold it back in
Week twenty-three of a 32-week guitar practice path: putting the new capability back into real music, at tempo, where it either survives or does not.
- Week
- 23 of 32
- Days
- 7
- Played as
- blues or rock
A technique that only exists in a drill is not yours yet. This week it goes back into the piece and has to work while everything else is also happening, which is a different thing from working in isolation.
The discipline is restraint. Mark the two or three places it actually belongs — usually the peak and the ending — and use it nowhere else, even when it is going well. Then solo freely and see whether it turns up on its own. You own a technique the day it appears uninvited in something you were not thinking about.
Blues treatment
Fold it back in: the new thing, inside the piece, at tempo
A capability that only exists in a drill is not yours. This week it has to survive arriving in a hurry, with everything else also happening, which is a different thing from working in isolation.
The discipline is restraint. Mark the two or three places it actually belongs — usually the peak and the ending — and use it nowhere else even when it is going well, because a technique used constantly stops being expressive and becomes a tic. Then solo freely with no plan and notice whether it turns up without you sending it. You own a technique the day it appears uninvited in something you were not thinking about.
The daily session · ~26 min
- Warm upHands, then the drill4 min
- Find its home in the pieceWhere it belongs5 min
- Play those bars onlyIn context, at tempo6 min
- Whole piece with it inNo stopping6 min
- Jam, freeLet it show up on its own5 min
Check yourself
- Name the two or three places in the piece where the new thing belongs.
- Play those bars at the piece's real tempo, entered from two bars earlier.
- Solo freely and notice whether it turns up without you sending it.
Reference
Rock treatment
Fold it back in: the new thing, inside the song, at tempo
A capability that only exists in a drill is not yours. This week it has to survive arriving in a hurry with everything else also happening, which is a different thing from working in isolation.
The discipline is restraint. Mark the two or three places it belongs — usually the peak of the solo and the last chorus — and use it nowhere else, because a technique used constantly stops being expressive and becomes a tic. Then solo freely with no plan and see whether it turns up on its own. You own a technique the day it appears uninvited in something you were not thinking about.
The daily session · ~26 min
- Warm upHands, then the drill4 min
- Find its home in the songWhere it belongs5 min
- Play those bars onlyIn context, at tempo6 min
- Whole song with it inNo stopping6 min
- Jam, freeLet it show up on its own5 min
Check yourself
- Name the two or three places in the song where the new thing belongs.
- Play those bars at the song's real tempo, entered from two bars earlier.
- Solo freely and notice whether it turns up without you sending it.
Reference
How the week runs
Whichever accent you pick, the material stays the same for all 7 days and the tempo and intent move. Day one takes it slowly, day two chases clean notes, day three brings it to target tempo and into the jam, day four pushes past comfortable, and day five drops back to tempo to record and listen. Days six and seven are yours.
You can switch accent any day without losing your place — it is the same week either way, so week 23 means the same thing in both.