Back in the days of George Bush Sr. when I was a beginning guitarist, I practiced in the basement. I would lock myself away for hours, struggling with F chords and my first scales, trying to make my pinkie fret the string I wanted it to through sheer force of will. Back then I believed that practicing required isolation, a commitment of many hours and an extreme level of concentration.
These days I don’t spend a lot of time practicing down in the basement. My time with my family is short enough as it is. No, most of my practice time today happens late in the evening, when my daughter is asleep in bed and my wife and I are in front of the TV watching that night’s drama or reality show.
I always practice in front of the TV with an unplugged electric guitar. Sometimes it annoys my wife when my plucking gets a little too loud and exuberant. Still, practicing while watching TV has some great benefits, not the least of which is making something productive out of the usual mind and time suck of television.
Here are a few tips for practicing while watching the tube.
- For me, TV practice is great for mastering licks, solos and new techniques but not so great for practicing a full song. Anything with lyrics, and I am likely to start unconsciously humming along and receive an elbow in the ribs from my wife.
- TV practice is not the time to learn something brand new. The background noise of your favorite show will prove distracting and frustrating. It is also not the time to run through all your old favorite riffs like some greatest hits reel. That won’t help you and will serve to purposelessly annoy your couch-mate. Rather, TV practice is the perfect time for those riffs and licks that are somewhat new to you, the ones just on the edge of difficult. The ones you can play without full concentration but cannot yet play at full speed. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you improve. Whenever I get to a certain level of competence with a new technique, be it reverse bends or Travis picking, I know it is TV time.
- Here’s a tip I picked up from an old interview with Stevie Ray Vaughan: When you are not sure what to play, create your own soundtrack to the TV show you are watching. If it is a sad scene, break out the most heart-rending licks that you can coax out of your guitar. If it is a funny scene, play some off the wall Zappa-esque stuff. I guarantee you will have fun and make yourself laugh out loud at least once or twice. Note: This especially fun while watching sports or melodramatic shows. Other note: This is very annoying for your couch mate.
That’s all the tips for this week. Now go watch some TV!
-PT
4 comments:
The only problem I've found with practicing unplugged is that when you get some juice behind it you have to relearn pressure again - unless you're a pro possibly. It's like having to learn it twice! You can (think you) sound great unplugged, but then plugging in can be a disaster and discouraging. I always encourage my friends to get a small pocket amp with headphones rather than just play unplugged. Danelectro used to have a 9v powered one that was perfect sized. Not sure if they still make it or not.
My wife wouldn't put up with me noodling on my guitar in front of the TV. I play in the study next door and she makes sure the door is shut, even if I'm using an un-amplified electric. I'm generally playing my acoustic, so I appreciate that's a bit loud. I may look at making the room more sound-proof one day.
That's a great point David. I do find myself having to make some adjustments to my playing when I plug in.
i'm the early riser in the house so i often use your technique of unplugged electric so as not to wake everyone.
great tip from srv. i'd never heard that one.
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