Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - For Musicians: Using Polyphasic Sleep in Order to Gain Time in the Practice Room

OccamsPhaser · 10-31-2009, 07:06 PM

Wow. I wasn't expecting such a huge response to this thread! I don't think I'll be able to go through everything everyone has said, so I'll just try to cover most of what you guys want to know.

My gear is as follows:

Ibanez RG1527 (I use strings from a bunch of different packs, due to the sparsity of seven string packs. I have 10s on the high strings and a set ranging up to 62 for the rest)

Epiphone LP Studio/Seymour Duncan Blackouts

I've got an old Marshall Valvestate from about ten years ago (2x12) and my pedals are as follows:

Crybaby Wah
Line 6 Uber Metal
Boss DD7 Delay

I'm currently unemployed, and trying to do the best with my savings, so I don't have a half stack yet. But I can't stop drooling over Engl and if I ever become a wage slave again it'll be for that.

As for my personal experience from playing, there's a whole lot under a broad range. The general rules that have got me to a semi-professional level are:

1. Never practice mindlessly. Guitar is just as much about your brain as it is about your fingers. Try to turn every exercise you do into a lick of some sort.

2. NEVER keep practicing if you experience any sort of pain.

3. Attempt to balance your practice between keeping good rhythm and working for speed. Without equilibrium you become a player that sounds lacking.

People will try to tell you that when you develop your own personal style, it's a difficult process. In reality it's just about what kinds of notes you prefer hearing. Everyone who plays a certain way does it because of personal preference, and not because they tried to "develop" their uniqueness. Just keep playing the things you like to hear.

And yes, I do live in Boston. My stylistic preference is death metal, but I'm a huge Satriani fan (part of the balance of rhythm and lead). And as for this thread, I think it should go back in the Health/Fitness area, since we're going to be talking a lot about muscle memory, technique, and wellness. The brass tacks of guitar is just as much about ergonomics as intonation.

10-31-2009, 07:06 PM	#18 (permalink)
OccamsPhaser Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10	Wow. I wasn't expecting such a huge response to this thread! I don't think I'll be able to go through everything everyone has said, so I'll just try to cover most of what you guys want to know. My gear is as follows: Ibanez RG1527 (I use strings from a bunch of different packs, due to the sparsity of seven string packs. I have 10s on the high strings and a set ranging up to 62 for the rest) Epiphone LP Studio/Seymour Duncan Blackouts I've got an old Marshall Valvestate from about ten years ago (2x12) and my pedals are as follows: Crybaby Wah Line 6 Uber Metal Boss DD7 Delay I'm currently unemployed, and trying to do the best with my savings, so I don't have a half stack yet. But I can't stop drooling over Engl and if I ever become a wage slave again it'll be for that. As for my personal experience from playing, there's a whole lot under a broad range. The general rules that have got me to a semi-professional level are: 1. Never practice mindlessly. Guitar is just as much about your brain as it is about your fingers. Try to turn every exercise you do into a lick of some sort. 2. NEVER keep practicing if you experience any sort of pain. 3. Attempt to balance your practice between keeping good rhythm and working for speed. Without equilibrium you become a player that sounds lacking. People will try to tell you that when you develop your own personal style, it's a difficult process. In reality it's just about what kinds of notes you prefer hearing. Everyone who plays a certain way does it because of personal preference, and not because they tried to "develop" their uniqueness. Just keep playing the things you like to hear. And yes, I do live in Boston. My stylistic preference is death metal, but I'm a huge Satriani fan (part of the balance of rhythm and lead). And as for this thread, I think it should go back in the Health/Fitness area, since we're going to be talking a lot about muscle memory, technique, and wellness. The brass tacks of guitar is just as much about ergonomics as intonation.