Week 31: stamina, and playing after a mistake

Week thirty-one of a 32-week guitar practice path: playing well on tired hands, and carrying on as though the wrong note was intended.

Week
31 of 32
Days
7
Played as
blues or rock

Twenty minutes is longer than it sounds. The third piece is played by the hands you have at minute twenty, not the ones you had at minute one, so this week practises those hands deliberately by not warming up much and then running the whole set once, straight through. That run is the day, and it makes this week and the next longer than any other in the path.

The other half is recovery. Break a phrase on purpose and carry on as though you meant it — repeat the wrong note, bend it, make it the idea. Nobody in the room knows what you intended to play, so conviction afterwards is the entire difference between an error and a choice. And decide your simpler version of each piece now, before your hands make the decision for you.

Blues treatment

Stamina: playing well when your hands are tired and something has gone wrong

Your choice of keysShuffle · ♩=92Keep going

Warm up briefly and deliberately, because today the point is to reach the third piece tired. A set is played on the hands you have at minute twenty, not the ones you had at minute one, and those are the hands worth practising. The run itself is the day's long step — the whole set, once, with no stopping — and it is longer than everything else here put together.

Then break a phrase on purpose and carry on as though you meant it — repeat the wrong note, bend it, make it the idea. Nobody in the room knows what you intended, so conviction afterwards is the whole difference between an error and a choice. Decide your simpler version of each piece now, too: every experienced player has one, and having it is what stops you attempting the hard version badly. The day finishes on the two joins and the last ending, because those are the bars tired hands lose first.

The daily session · ~29 min

  1. Warm upBriefly, then straight in3 min
  2. Play all three, no stoppingStraight through, once20 min
  3. Recover out loudBreak it on purpose2 min
  4. Simplify under fatigueName plan B2 min
  5. Jam, the joins and the endingWhat tiredness takes first2 min

Check yourself

Reference

Rock treatment

Stamina: playing well on tired hands, after something has gone wrong

Your choice of keysStraight · ♩=108Keep going

Warm up briefly and deliberately, because today the point is to arrive at the third song tired. Rock is loud, fast and physical, and a set is played on the hands you have at minute twenty rather than the ones you had at minute one. The run itself is the day's long step — the whole set, once, with no stopping — and it is longer than everything else here put together.

Then break a phrase on purpose and carry on as though you meant it — repeat the wrong note, bend it, make it the idea. Nobody in the room knows what you intended, so conviction afterwards is the whole difference between an error and a choice. Decide your simpler version now as well; having one is what stops you attempting the hard version badly. The day finishes on the two joins and the last ending, because those are the bars tired hands lose first.

The daily session · ~29 min

  1. Warm upBriefly, then straight in3 min
  2. Play all three, no stoppingStraight through, once20 min
  3. Recover out loudBreak it on purpose2 min
  4. Simplify under fatigueName plan B2 min
  5. Jam, the joins and the endingWhat tiredness takes first2 min

Check yourself

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 31 means the same thing in both.

Start today's sessionSee the whole path