What would you consider important in a 10 min Practice routine? Content: 0:00 #1 Intro - Short Practice Sessions 0:40 #2 Warming up fingers and synchronizing hands 1:12 Scales and Exercises - in position 1:32 The things you need to practice in your scales 1:58 Open-ended practice: Change keys, positions, and exercises 2:46 What Do You Practice with scale exercises? 3:36 Adjusting for a slower tempo 3:59 #3 Exercises along the neck 4:40 #4 Technical exercises on a Song 5:05 Making music and using technique on a piece of music 5:50 #5 Vocabulary and Reading 6:43 #6 Make Music! - Soloing on a Song 7:35 10 minutes to stay in shape and make music every day 8:17 What is your 10-minute practice routine 8:43 Like The Video? Check out my Patreon Page
Good info, Jens! I try to do the following (on the piano), although it takes more than 10 minutes (that's why I say try!). See if this makes sense: _Scales in all keys_: Major Minor (Natural) _Then arpeggios as 4 notes_: Major (4 notes, CEGC, EGCE, GCEG, etc.) Minor Major 7th Dominant 7th Minor 7th Diminished Augmented Then I'll go back and play the above as chords in different inversions.
I do pratice scales the way you described, but every key at a different position for each, sI cover all keys & all shapes. For each scale, one pass linearly down then up , then using a pattern and a rhythm appropriate, i.e. not just 8th notes, with that pattern (the same for all keys). That's a great way to discover useful short phrases. That doesn't take more than 10 minutes once scales are reasonably mastered
A common exercise I use for scale stuff is arpeggiating each seventh chord and doing that for each scale degree. Another one that I have found quite useful when trying to familiarize myself with the neck is playing a four note arpeggio on the first scale degree, and then playing the second 4 note arpeggio backwards So in C major Id go C E G B (Cmaj7 up) C A F D (Dm7 down) E G B D (Em7 up) etc etc
So I had been doing this, but hadnt been thinking about the relationships of what I was playing until you wrote out your example. Realizing that the 7th of the following scale degree will always be the root of the previous scale degree and thinking about it while playing was so basic but so profound. Thnx for sharing.
After 50 years of guitar I've started learning piano (finally) and started using those minutes that normal would be wasted to get some practice in. So when making coffee, or boiling water for pasta, whenever something mean I have to wait a couple minute I just go to piano and run my scales, or chords and inversions. So that time gets put to use and it is helps in get all those fingerings in to muscle/brain memory. When relaxing watching TV before bed I have a poster of a keyboard next to TV if show is boring or commercial I can look at the poster and visualize fingerings to start working on spatial awareness of the keys. Spatial awareness is important part of learning the fretboard and now I have to get it for keyboard. I try to use what would normally be time doing nothing and put it to work. In doing so I can get some of the warmup and scale drills done and when in my practice time work on the things that require more focus or creativity. Back when I was in music school and later when commuting to work or etc I used to use that time to do ear training drills, quiz myself on chord and scale spellings, and later trying to transcribe things I would hear on CD and check myself once back with my guitar. Same thing when going to doctor office, eating at a diner, take that quiet time and put it to use. I used to love going to a quiet beach and sit in the sand with a metronome and book of rhythms and clap them. Just say if serious about music you can do a lot in time that normally would be wasted just watching a clock. As Howard Roberts would tell us in GIT use that perfect guitar in your head to work things out.
every day: note location on the fretboard. for ex Cycle of 5th from C clockwise and counterclockwise/ tell tetrads and name all of their notes with interval function all over the fret. Thats what i need every day in expectation to be at one time as comfortable with my fingers on fret as with my feet on the floor. Thank you very much for many helpful videos!
I think that after ten minutes the practice begins) Arpeggios, scales in all twelve keys and the metronome are important in exercises ) Thank's for lessons Jens, your content has risen a lot !!!
When I have just 10 minutes of time I prefer to focus on one aspect and try to improve it. I try to focus on that aspect for few days/weeks until I'm satisfied with the progress. Consider the idea of improving one aspect a month vs improving 12 aspects in a year - first method might gives me extra motivation and I might see some results in one month instead of one year. Also spending few minutes on an exercise is too short for me to get some feedback and fix problems/improve. Just my humble opinion. Everyone is different and has different preferences/routines.
Agreed. 2 minutes of 10 things is the long term mediocrity plan. Great players obsessed over one thing at a time in depth to complete mastery, if you listen to their lessons/interviews
I don't always think that it's time that is the issue for me to practice. Most of the time when I have hours on my hands, I find myself only figuring out HOW to practice; so I just try all sort of things and at the end of the day, I hope I made some progress (after a week or so I do find myself indeed making progress, but a clear method would be nice haha the struggle of practicing I guess ;-) ) Great video btw, Jens!
These practice routine videos are very useful, thanks. There isn't much that you can squeeze into ten minutes, but if you give me fifteen I would definitively include chord practice, particularly ii-V-I changes across strings sets 4321, 5432 and 6432. That gives you 12 different combinations of ii-V-I, four per string set, and can be done in five minutes.
Recently I've been practicing ascending and descending compound 6ths in scale positions (a 6th interval, plus another 6th interval, within the scale. E.g. C - A - F). Really helps me with breaking out of scalic runs, making lines that spans two octaves, and also helps with string skipping technique. Highly recommend giving it a try (difficult at first, but worth it!) :)
Jens you really are the best teacher online and the quality of your lessons has being going up, ever higher. You always have something meaningful and relevant to put to our consideration. Plus one can sense that this comes from a top-notch jazz musician, improviser and instructor. It’s been two days since I decided to really go through your videos and I am completely restructuring my practice and revising my priorities. Patreon support is on the way. Keep up the incredible work!
The single string practice A la Mick Goodrick up and down the neck in all The key,mode,arpège etc That was a révélation for me It’s a very good thing to put in a routine practice Is Book is call: The advancing guitarist (applying guitar concepts and techniques) Thank you Jens for your passion
Your Jazz tone and playing is absolutely talented and prolific! Great advice and thoughts on Practice here. Practice is one of, if not, the most important trait of any musician.
How I practice is to try to play what I can Melodically sing this applies to improvisation. But to explore Jazz scales and its tonality is my present challenge. And thanks to your lessons Jens it Helped me alot
Well I think you covered a great deal here, what I work on lately a lot are arpeggio ( seventh chords) inversions in solo's, I think this opens up more melodic possibilities instead of always starting on the root of the chord. Actualy this is a hard job but really worthwhile as chord tone variations are very important, keep up the great work.
Great suggestions. For me, I have a hard time spending 10 minutes just doing scales and arpeggioss. Usually if I'm really that time crunched, I will grab a Real Book or other song book compendium, stick my thumb in and just play through whatever I opened too for 10 minutes. It keeps my reading sharp and I get rhythm practice. Plus actually playing a song makes me feel like I've done more. That said, spend at least 30 minutes a day, guys haha.
One thing that helps me is playing whichever scale with a tonic on all Strings 3-6, a d, to the extent feasible, with the index tonic, middle finger tonic and ring finger tonic. Also I try to play all the Inversions of M7, dom7 and m7 in that same key. Not that I'm any good, bit it seems to help
@@JensLarsen I think its important when you have this routine, pay attention to a lot of things. Step by step. About accurate finger moviments at the minimum expression, aplicate only the necessary pression,..And when you have interiorised this things, put accents in different fingers, work with triplets, be aware about tensions in the body, shoulders, arms, hands.. All this things are important, But the most important is be constant, of course, and enjoy it! : )
Hi Jens. I practice blues scales off of each notes going backwards Double stops in every key Skipping strings Trying to play a song by ear and write what I hear Record yourself or record yourself in Recording studio Learn solos in parts
long time jazz lover, but only recently i dare to try playing some standards. I was missing this kind of instructions, because its my joy and I haven't got all day to practice and also enjoy more playing than practicing. For a year now I'm trying to get myself into scales, modes and stuff, but this kind of practice could ease it a little bit... thx
Thank you for this video! Exactly what I need! Good inspiration to structure short practice episodes better. If I have no guitar and a few minutes to spare (mostly waiting) I try to hum or whistle the arpeggios of a tune. Helps me internalising what is goin on.
I usually practice 1 note per fret exercises. I feel that really helps me get the best out of the guitar. :) On a more serious note, your lessons are just too invaluable. Thank you!
When you have played a standard enough to recognize Satin Doll before Jens tells you the name of the song. Masterfully well done, maestro. I will be playing this video a lot.
I really enjoy playing the scale or mode up to the 9th, and then come down the arpeggio. Alternatively, play the arpeggio up to the 9th, and come down the scale. That sounds intrinsically jazzy to me.
Great idea!!! Time is not infinite, and this is a great way to break it up. I can get into practice ruts, and concentrating on a different scale each day can help with that. Regarding things I enjoy, I like to do odd scale sequences, that is, instead of the usual 4-note ones, I will do 5-note ones which are more fun, and even more brain stimulation if you try it in 3/4 or triplets instead of 4/4.
Two patterns I like for scales is more of a sequence thing that gets you to break out of the typical numbers. First is simple, 3 then 4, but you go 3 pentatonic, then 4 diatonic. Another one I I'm practicing Jeff Loomis put on his Instagram a while ago but it's a buster to actually get right. 5,4,5,6 is the sequence. It's really tricky to get it flowing right and repeat, and then to get at a decent speed. Mixing different numbers like that is something I'm not good add but it breaks you out of that grid like pattern and makes things a bit more interesting when you can freely change these things in your melodies and licks. It's an easy way to get a texture
Jens what about a PDF with the exact examples on this video? Would be very appreciated. Well done as always!! Even for a jazz beginner all clear every time! Top teaches on CZcams!!
It is not really important for to know what I play in the examples, and a lot of what shapes that are choices that are personal to the way I play. I have a lot of other videos with written out exercises, there's a link to a playlist in the description. Maybe check out those?
Great video, as always!! I think that covering the harmonic side is also quite important. May be with 5 more minutes in this great routine, one can try chord inversions, rootless chords, slash chords, leading voices in iim V7 I with substitutions...I don't know, there's a really long list to choose from
@@JensLarsen Of course! I just thought that since you're suggesting to work on melodic approaches to the contents you said, it may be a good idea include harmonic approaches too
If it's been transcribed already, don't waste your time. If it hasn't been transcribed and you really dig it, then try for 4 bars a day I've been slowly excavating Danny Gatton/Robert Gordon's The Humbler CD. Very cool.
@@JensLarsen oh yeah. I think I stunted my growth a bit by trying to to everything by ear as well; don't make transcribing a litmus test for how good you are either
You get a lot out of transcribing a tune, including its chords, melody and soli(s). It’s great ear training and helps you develop the ability to play what you hear - either in your head or from the other players. You can also pick up subtleties in the feel and timing of the solo that don’t always come across on paper. I don’t transcribe every day - it does take me a good 30 minutes to learn 4-8 bars of a solo - but this is where I try to pick up most of the jazz language that I use in improvising. I’ve shelved my Real Books for the most part.
Hello Jens, great video as always. I only have one remark: I think that a 10min practice routine is not the place where you want to change patterns and try news things (because you know better than me than it requires some time), but more where you want to keep in mind and in the fingers what you already know, rhythmic precision. But I'm sure that's the way I understood what I heard from you. :) Thanks for that.
I would always try to have a vocabulary of patterns to play in scales and then try to change what I do. I don't often start with new ones when I don't have time, but it is important not to always practice the same things (I think)
Jens Larsen that's really true. This video presented an outline of a great structured overview of 10 minutes of deliberate and aware practice; the changing up over the week based on the same concept may help to build stronger awareness of attitude and improved focus which can be handy when performing.
Chromatic Scale great! It allows us to play in all keys! Triads! I like altered scale bebop shape(8 tones +maj7)23 octaves, Thanks to you I am practicing now the 4ths shape! Thank you, Jens! I looked a Berkley film. There a pianist played altered and than changed into 4ths aaah, that recognized thanks to you...other wise I would not have recoqnized it...and would have thought it were regular 4ths but of course in altered scale everything is a bit different!
Great video as always, Jens. I'd also include ear training (intervals and chords) and playing any mode in whatever position you happen to be in, which ties into reinforcing your knowledge of scales. But I know learning the modes isn't your approach! :)
@@JensLarsen Yes, from a key perspective to make it useful and applicable to everyday playing. I'd say both changes and modes, but with only 10 minutes, nowadays I'd pick practicing changes as opposed to modes thanks to your lessons!
Have you ever Miles Okazaki's book "Fundamentals of Guitar" ? There's a lot of great patterns in there and if I find I am getting tired of patterns I've been practicing or they are becoming too easy I will look in there and pull out something new. My go-to pattern is to go through the major scale in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th intervals. I'm by no means an expert, especially at jazz guitar, but I've found this has helped greatly with both my finger dexterity and interval memory.
Is it really possible to get better playing only 10 minutes per day? For me, (and I may not be as far along as you, so it might be different), I prefer to do everything within the context of a standard (because I still don't know enough songs). That way 100% of what I work on is immediately usable. I might spend 1/3 of the time working on the melody of a tune. If I know the melody well, I might work on the melody at a fast tempo in octaves, or in a different position, or work on embellishing the melody. Weaving my own lines in and out of the melody is something I always need to work on. The next 1/3 of the time I would spend on comping. I might explore voicings restricted to small area of the neck, or comp to a metronome trying to create interesting melodies. The remaining time I would spend working on single note lines, and there I identify the scale fragments I need to know better, or work on some patterns that sound good within the song, or work on arpeggio exercises over the chords of the song. This is pretty much how I practice now, but I spend additional time transcribing (actually just figuring things out and playing them along with the recording which is great for improving technical skill), and then every week or two I learn a new standard. I forgot, I also try to make time to review some chord melody arrangements I learned in the past so I don't forget them. I also work on original song ideas whenever the urge hits me. But most of my time is spent writing CZcams comments..
Depending on how good would you like to play 10 minutes is not enough I would suggest one hour which still is not enough because more practice better results, all other suggestions are fine, thanks for the advice.
Very informative video...when you are practicing the scalesof G C G Bb Eb and Ab, can you kindly indicate which exercises you are using or perhaps suggest the type of exercises that one can practice. thanks a lot
Hi Jens, I get a lot from your videos for which I’m extremely grateful. Your advice is pragmatic and clear. Though there are 30 keys not 12. Could you perhaps expand on that?
I suspect questions like this only comes from people who never practice anything in all 12 keys (or 30 or 647 for that matter) That 30 keys things is as random as 12, and 12 is a lot more practical in a musical way especially when it comes to actually playing an instrument. The only difference is that you count all keys up to double flats or sharps. It is completely pointless to practice some scales twice so going over Gb and F# both even though you are playing the same notes. This is especially inefficient because you spend more time working on the least common keys (by adding keys that are never used) and playing those twice: C#, Db, F#, Gb. I thought about making a video on that, but I never got around to it (I was too busy playing Straight no chaser in E#)
Jens Larsen please forgive me. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful in any way. I’m very much a student of music and do my best to practice in all major and minor keys I could remember from my school days. But was blown sideways by a comment a bass player mentioned in another video. It seemed almost madness to me and beyond a practical way to engage in actually playing and enjoying music. As you say, the most important thing is playing music. Your videos are way beyond me most of the time but you explain things very clearly. I do apologise and didn’t wish to appear a pedant (perhaps I was in hindsight?). Just interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks again. The video I referred to was this one; czcams.com/video/E3vYVGMgZYY/video.html
@@stevenblakeborough4706 Yes, that is the famous video. Don't worry about it :) I have videos on practicing things in all 12 keys so I almost have a standard response from all the comments there. And if you actually practice in all keys then you are an exception :D Notice how he does not really show how to play anything in the video, it is all theory. If you look a little closer you can also see that it seems that he is going over all the possibilities, but he is leaving out quite a lot. And those keys you will encounter as well. If you playAll The Things You Are in C# it modulates to E#, but that isn't one of the 30.
Thanks a lot Jens. Very interesting. I am at the very beginning of playing guitar. I don't know how complicated it is to add tabs for this very useful practice as you usually do, it would be very helpful for people like me.
Nice routine! could you explain a litle bit more what is that you do on the "technical exercise on a song" ? are you doing all the diatonic arpegios over the tune? .. i think i didn't get it hehe
It's great to know "what practice" , i've a question , it's important practice patterns and how practice that ?? I love your videos i hope you make a video about that.
Would you recommend diatonic triad enclosures? Eg starting a diatonic note above, then going down a chromatic semitone below and then playing the triad note? In C: D B C, F D# E, A F# G etc?
Jens Larsen I have been practicing that and I find it non trivial when practiced along the neck, ie, not in position. A good way to learn the scale for sure. There are a ton of other triad exercises in the book “Line Games” which I found very interesting.
Hm, patterns, scales? To me this seems a bit contrary to your advice in other videos like „make music“, „Outline the chords“, „scales/modes are not that important „ etc. My actual practice routine (I‘m a bass player and I actually practice standards to play them with a quartet): try to play a standard by heart, with a Metronom on two and four, melody, bass in two feel, multiple Choruses of walking bass and a solo based on chord tones. I try to not repeat myself and try to find new lines along the fretboard.
Patterns and scales are melodies too, and all of the ones I mention are what you find in most bop solos. I don't see that as being in any way a conflict to making music or outlining the chords, and more than half of this routine is playing a song.
Hi, thank you for making this video. It's very useful. Regarding playing triads along the neck, can you recommend _how_ to practice this? I see that you are staying on the bottom strings and working down the neck but I can't quite figure out what you are thinking as you go. Can you elaborate a bit on your process for this exercise? Or if you have a resource with the exercise notated for a single chord (standard or tab) and i can extrapolate to other chords, that would be helpful, too.
Hi Jens, is your modern jazz concepts book geared towards a graded study to eventually to move on to your advanced book, like a method book series, or is it a basic theory reference?
I do the George Van Eps chords from his Guitar Method book. It might be out of print? Mine cost $2.50 so it's old. I once brought one at a yard sale for 25c and it's original cost was $3.95
I don't have one, Benson picking is not for me, I never saw any reason to go that route and I actually know very little about it, except that it looks like palm muting is difficult :)
Thank you Dave, I don't think so, I play the same exercise in the video on my technique practice from a few years ago, but further than that then I don't really have any.
I find some of this a bit complex , i really want to practice this way where do you think i should start out with ? That is which video of your's should i start with?
@@JensLarsen I was thinking John Entwistle was practicing a descending chromatic spider excercise and thought to himself, "Hey, I can make a song out of this..."
Tusind tak, Benjamin! Jeg har ikke rigtigt tid til at give time via Skype. MIt arbejde på Kons i Haag, CZcams og gigs tager al den tid jeg har, desværre..
What would you consider important in a 10 min Practice routine?
Content:
0:00 #1 Intro - Short Practice Sessions
0:40 #2 Warming up fingers and synchronizing hands
1:12 Scales and Exercises - in position
1:32 The things you need to practice in your scales
1:58 Open-ended practice: Change keys, positions, and exercises
2:46 What Do You Practice with scale exercises?
3:36 Adjusting for a slower tempo
3:59 #3 Exercises along the neck
4:40 #4 Technical exercises on a Song
5:05 Making music and using technique on a piece of music
5:50 #5 Vocabulary and Reading
6:43 #6 Make Music! - Soloing on a Song
7:35 10 minutes to stay in shape and make music every day
8:17 What is your 10-minute practice routine
8:43 Like The Video? Check out my Patreon Page
@@mysas5983 Sounds like a good approach 🙂
Good info, Jens!
I try to do the following (on the piano), although it takes more than 10 minutes (that's why I say try!). See if this makes sense:
_Scales in all keys_:
Major
Minor (Natural)
_Then arpeggios as 4 notes_:
Major (4 notes, CEGC, EGCE, GCEG, etc.)
Minor
Major 7th
Dominant 7th
Minor 7th
Diminished
Augmented
Then I'll go back and play the above as chords in different inversions.
On the scales or technical studies part i tend to practise approach notes and enclosures, they tend to give good practise
for me anyway
I do pratice scales the way you described, but every key at a different position for each, sI cover all keys & all shapes. For each scale, one pass linearly down then up , then using a pattern and a rhythm appropriate, i.e. not just 8th notes, with that pattern (the same for all keys). That's a great way to discover useful short phrases. That doesn't take more than 10 minutes once scales are reasonably mastered
I have to practice to be able to get through this practice routine
But does that say more about you or the practice routine? 🙂
A common exercise I use for scale stuff is arpeggiating each seventh chord and doing that for each scale degree.
Another one that I have found quite useful when trying to familiarize myself with the neck is playing a four note arpeggio on the first scale degree, and then playing the second 4 note arpeggio backwards
So in C major Id go
C E G B (Cmaj7 up)
C A F D (Dm7 down)
E G B D (Em7 up)
etc etc
All solid stuff to do!
So I had been doing this, but hadnt been thinking about the relationships of what I was playing until you wrote out your example. Realizing that the 7th of the following scale degree will always be the root of the previous scale degree and thinking about it while playing was so basic but so profound. Thnx for sharing.
best online teacherr!!! 😭😭
Thank you!
Agree
After 50 years of guitar I've started learning piano (finally) and started using those minutes that normal would be wasted to get some practice in. So when making coffee, or boiling water for pasta, whenever something mean I have to wait a couple minute I just go to piano and run my scales, or chords and inversions. So that time gets put to use and it is helps in get all those fingerings in to muscle/brain memory. When relaxing watching TV before bed I have a poster of a keyboard next to TV if show is boring or commercial I can look at the poster and visualize fingerings to start working on spatial awareness of the keys. Spatial awareness is important part of learning the fretboard and now I have to get it for keyboard. I try to use what would normally be time doing nothing and put it to work. In doing so I can get some of the warmup and scale drills done and when in my practice time work on the things that require more focus or creativity.
Back when I was in music school and later when commuting to work or etc I used to use that time to do ear training drills, quiz myself on chord and scale spellings, and later trying to transcribe things I would hear on CD and check myself once back with my guitar. Same thing when going to doctor office, eating at a diner, take that quiet time and put it to use. I used to love going to a quiet beach and sit in the sand with a metronome and book of rhythms and clap them.
Just say if serious about music you can do a lot in time that normally would be wasted just watching a clock. As Howard Roberts would tell us in GIT use that perfect guitar in your head to work things out.
Very true! I do a lot of learning when I am waiting for different things too.
1 position, 12 keys! That is going to help me a lot!
Go for it! :)
every day: note location on the fretboard. for ex Cycle of 5th from C clockwise and counterclockwise/ tell tetrads and name all of their notes with interval function all over the fret. Thats what i need every day in expectation to be at one time as comfortable with my fingers on fret as with my feet on the floor. Thank you very much for many helpful videos!
I think that after ten minutes the practice begins) Arpeggios, scales in all twelve keys and the metronome are important in exercises ) Thank's for lessons Jens, your content has risen a lot !!!
Thank you! Well, it doesn't if you only have 10 minutes, then it ends there :)
When I have just 10 minutes of time I prefer to focus on one aspect and try to improve it. I try to focus on that aspect for few days/weeks until I'm satisfied with the progress. Consider the idea of improving one aspect a month vs improving 12 aspects in a year - first method might gives me extra motivation and I might see some results in one month instead of one year. Also spending few minutes on an exercise is too short for me to get some feedback and fix problems/improve.
Just my humble opinion. Everyone is different and has different preferences/routines.
That makes a lot of sense! I never did that with routines, always next to what I work on :)
Agreed. 2 minutes of 10 things is the long term mediocrity plan. Great players obsessed over one thing at a time in depth to complete mastery, if you listen to their lessons/interviews
I don't always think that it's time that is the issue for me to practice. Most of the time when I have hours on my hands, I find myself only figuring out HOW to practice; so I just try all sort of things and at the end of the day, I hope I made some progress (after a week or so I do find myself indeed making progress, but a clear method would be nice haha the struggle of practicing I guess ;-) ) Great video btw, Jens!
These practice routine videos are very useful, thanks. There isn't much that you can squeeze into ten minutes, but if you give me fifteen I would definitively include chord practice, particularly ii-V-I changes across strings sets 4321, 5432 and 6432. That gives you 12 different combinations of ii-V-I, four per string set, and can be done in five minutes.
Essential advices for me nowadays
Thank you, Julien! Glad you find it useful! :)
Recently I've been practicing ascending and descending compound 6ths in scale positions (a 6th interval, plus another 6th interval, within the scale. E.g. C - A - F). Really helps me with breaking out of scalic runs, making lines that spans two octaves, and also helps with string skipping technique. Highly recommend giving it a try (difficult at first, but worth it!)
:)
Yes! I do that a lot, actually that is the interval I do the most after 3rds :)
Jens you really are the best teacher online and the quality of your lessons has being going up, ever higher. You always have something meaningful and relevant to put to our consideration. Plus one can sense that this comes from a top-notch jazz musician, improviser and instructor. It’s been two days since I decided to really go through your videos and I am completely restructuring my practice and revising my priorities. Patreon support is on the way. Keep up the incredible work!
The single string practice
A la Mick Goodrick up and down the neck in all The key,mode,arpège etc
That was a révélation for me
It’s a very good thing to put in a routine practice
Is Book is call: The advancing guitarist (applying guitar concepts and techniques)
Thank you Jens for your passion
Your Jazz tone and playing is absolutely talented and prolific! Great advice and thoughts on Practice here. Practice is one of, if not, the most important trait of any musician.
RC32 Most jazzy guitar tone ever
@@joselekiwi5695 That definitely holds a lot of truth to it!
Thank you very much RC32! I am very glad you my playing! :)
@@JensLarsen Ahhh of course man! You're skill on guitar is always consistent and blessed I'd say!
How I practice is to try to play what I can Melodically sing this applies to improvisation. But to explore Jazz scales and its tonality is my present challenge.
And thanks to your lessons Jens it Helped me alot
That's a good thing to work with! :)
Well I think you covered a great deal here, what I work on lately a lot are arpeggio ( seventh chords) inversions in solo's, I think this opens up more melodic possibilities instead of always starting on the root of the chord. Actualy this is a hard job but really worthwhile as chord tone variations are very important, keep up the great work.
Good stuff!
👍🏼
10 minutes on my guitar feels like 1 minute of real time.
That the problem🤘
Good work maestro, i have been impressed by your sight reading!
Haha, Thanks! Yes time flies when you practice :)
Great suggestions.
For me, I have a hard time spending 10 minutes just doing scales and arpeggioss.
Usually if I'm really that time crunched, I will grab a Real Book or other song book compendium, stick my thumb in and just play through whatever I opened too for 10 minutes.
It keeps my reading sharp and I get rhythm practice. Plus actually playing a song makes me feel like I've done more.
That said, spend at least 30 minutes a day, guys haha.
No worries, if you have more time then just do that :)
Thank you Mr. Larsen
Glad you like it 🙂
I like to play 251's in all keys going through the circle of fifths and circle of fourths.
Also a good exercise! :)
One thing that helps me is playing whichever scale with a tonic on all Strings 3-6, a d, to the extent feasible, with the index tonic, middle finger tonic and ring finger tonic. Also I try to play all the Inversions of M7, dom7 and m7 in that same key. Not that I'm any good, bit it seems to help
Sounds solid!
Great phrasing on Sating Doll solo!
Thanks, Larsen
Thanks Miguel!
@@JensLarsen I think its important when you have this routine, pay attention to a lot of things. Step by step. About accurate finger moviments at the minimum expression, aplicate only the necessary pression,..And when you have interiorised this things, put accents in different fingers, work with triplets, be aware about tensions in the body, shoulders, arms, hands.. All this things are important, But the most important is be constant, of course, and enjoy it! : )
RIGHT ON!!!!
Thank you 🙂
Hi
Jens. I practice blues scales off of each notes going backwards
Double stops in every key
Skipping strings
Trying to play a song by ear and write what I hear
Record yourself or record yourself in Recording studio
Learn solos in parts
That's great! Keep at it :)
Approach and enclosure patterns when PRACTICING the SCALES or MODES.
Certainly! I have that as a part of an upcoming video
long time jazz lover, but only recently i dare to try playing some standards. I was missing this kind of instructions, because its my joy and I haven't got all day to practice and also enjoy more playing than practicing. For a year now I'm trying to get myself into scales, modes and stuff, but this kind of practice could ease it a little bit... thx
Thanks for this lesson Jens! I have a full time job and a family so, time is limited.
Yes, that can be complicated :)
I learn something every time I watch one of your videos. Thank you Jens!
Thank you very much Alex! That's really great to hear :)
Thank you for this video! Exactly what I need! Good inspiration to structure short practice episodes better.
If I have no guitar and a few minutes to spare (mostly waiting) I try to hum or whistle the arpeggios of a tune. Helps me internalising what is goin on.
Glad you like it! A lot of stuff is in fact really useful to practice away from the guitar :)
Great lesson Jens. I practice triads in one position in all 12 keys (around cycle) starting on C at on 8th fret. Also minor triads here as well.
Sounds solid! :)
I usually practice 1 note per fret exercises. I feel that really helps me get the best out of the guitar. :) On a more serious note, your lessons are just too invaluable. Thank you!
When you have played a standard enough to recognize Satin Doll before Jens tells you the name of the song.
Masterfully well done, maestro. I will be playing this video a lot.
Thanks Brian!
I might add comping and chord form development.
What type of exercise would that be? :)
@@JensLarsen running the guide tones of the tune you're working on
I really enjoy playing the scale or mode up to the 9th, and then come down the arpeggio. Alternatively, play the arpeggio up to the 9th, and come down the scale. That sounds intrinsically jazzy to me.
Great idea!!! Time is not infinite, and this is a great way to break it up. I can get into practice ruts, and concentrating on a different scale each day can help with that. Regarding things I enjoy, I like to do odd scale sequences, that is, instead of the usual 4-note ones, I will do 5-note ones which are more fun, and even more brain stimulation if you try it in 3/4 or triplets instead of 4/4.
This video has been more helpful than you might think Dear Sir! Thank you!!
Two patterns I like for scales is more of a sequence thing that gets you to break out of the typical numbers. First is simple, 3 then 4, but you go 3 pentatonic, then 4 diatonic. Another one I I'm practicing Jeff Loomis put on his Instagram a while ago but it's a buster to actually get right. 5,4,5,6 is the sequence. It's really tricky to get it flowing right and repeat, and then to get at a decent speed. Mixing different numbers like that is something I'm not good add but it breaks you out of that grid like pattern and makes things a bit more interesting when you can freely change these things in your melodies and licks. It's an easy way to get a texture
Jens what about a PDF with the exact examples on this video? Would be very appreciated. Well done as always!! Even for a jazz beginner all clear every time! Top teaches on CZcams!!
It is not really important for to know what I play in the examples, and a lot of what shapes that are choices that are personal to the way I play. I have a lot of other videos with written out exercises, there's a link to a playlist in the description. Maybe check out those?
This is great advice, i find that if I practice too many exercises it kills my motivation to actually play music
Thank you. That can certainly be the case
Great video, as always!!
I think that covering the harmonic side is also quite important. May be with 5 more minutes in this great routine, one can try chord inversions, rootless chords, slash chords, leading voices in iim V7 I with substitutions...I don't know, there's a really long list to choose from
It is always going to be personal what you choose to work on :)
@@JensLarsen Of course! I just thought that since you're suggesting to work on melodic approaches to the contents you said, it may be a good idea include harmonic approaches too
Yet another great video...thanks Jens
Thank you Robin!
Thank you Jens ... honestly great job on your explanation and advice all around making music using our vocabulary and technique.
Great video sir. Would love the same concept but for a longer, 1 hour session. Keep up the great work!
I talk a bit about that in the 30 min one I think :)
@@JensLarsen Yeah sorry, I've watched the 30 min video right now :) cheers!
If it's been transcribed already, don't waste your time. If it hasn't been transcribed and you really dig it, then try for 4 bars a day
I've been slowly excavating Danny Gatton/Robert Gordon's The Humbler CD. Very cool.
Transcribing is great to do but pretty time consuming :)
@@JensLarsen oh yeah. I think I stunted my growth a bit by trying to to everything by ear as well; don't make transcribing a litmus test for how good you are either
@@quintinpace2627 Transcribing is great for a lot of things, well worth the time, but hard to fit into a 10 min practice plan 😁
You get a lot out of transcribing a tune, including its chords, melody and soli(s). It’s great ear training and helps you develop the ability to play what you hear - either in your head or from the other players. You can also pick up subtleties in the feel and timing of the solo that don’t always come across on paper. I don’t transcribe every day - it does take me a good 30 minutes to learn 4-8 bars of a solo - but this is where I try to pick up most of the jazz language that I use in improvising. I’ve shelved my Real Books for the most part.
Hello Jens, great video as always. I only have one remark: I think that a 10min practice routine is not the place where you want to change patterns and try news things (because you know better than me than it requires some time), but more where you want to keep in mind and in the fingers what you already know, rhythmic precision.
But I'm sure that's the way I understood what I heard from you. :)
Thanks for that.
I would always try to have a vocabulary of patterns to play in scales and then try to change what I do. I don't often start with new ones when I don't have time, but it is important not to always practice the same things (I think)
Jens Larsen that's really true. This video presented an outline of a great structured overview of 10 minutes of deliberate and aware practice; the changing up over the week based on the same concept may help to build stronger awareness of attitude and improved focus which can be handy when performing.
Chromatic Scale great! It allows us to play in all keys! Triads! I like altered scale bebop shape(8 tones +maj7)23 octaves, Thanks to you I am practicing now the 4ths shape! Thank you, Jens! I looked a Berkley film. There a pianist played altered and than changed into 4ths aaah, that recognized thanks to you...other wise I would not have recoqnized it...and would have thought it were regular 4ths but of course in altered scale everything is a bit different!
I rewlly like your new visuals thank you! Great advice for practice
Thank you, Bruno! I am glad to hear that 🙂
Great video as always, Jens. I'd also include ear training (intervals and chords) and playing any mode in whatever position you happen to be in, which ties into reinforcing your knowledge of scales. But I know learning the modes isn't your approach! :)
Thank you 🙂 I would suggest working on ear training from a key perspective and indeed work on playing changes rather than modal scales
@@JensLarsen Yes, from a key perspective to make it useful and applicable to everyday playing. I'd say both changes and modes, but with only 10 minutes, nowadays I'd pick practicing changes as opposed to modes thanks to your lessons!
Great content! It’s all about a good plan. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Love you, man!
Thank you :)
John Thomas at Berklee always warmed up with Hannon piano exercises in class.
They seem a little systematic, but are indeed a good set of melodies to check out. I like the Kreutzer etudes as well.
Now iam working on my fretboard knowledge harmony and intervals
Solid stuff to check out! :)
All the modes of Major, Mel min, harm min and then play Donna lee all blues giant steps and ornithology.
this kind of advice is usefull! Thank You Jens! ;)
Glad you like it Konstantinos!
Thank you for this lesson. I am in the process of setting an effective morning guitar practice routine and found this very useful. 👍🙏🎸🦘
Glad it was helpful!
Have you ever Miles Okazaki's book "Fundamentals of Guitar" ? There's a lot of great patterns in there and if I find I am getting tired of patterns I've been practicing or they are becoming too easy I will look in there and pull out something new. My go-to pattern is to go through the major scale in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th intervals. I'm by no means an expert, especially at jazz guitar, but I've found this has helped greatly with both my finger dexterity and interval memory.
I am not familiar with the book, but it is always good to look for new patterns :)
@@JensLarsen You should have a look if you get the chance. Miles has a unique approach to many topics that I haven't seen anywhere else.
Learn Jazz, Love Music!
Yes!
* * * * * Great vid, very helpful, thanks so much * * * * *
Is it really possible to get better playing only 10 minutes per day? For me, (and I may not be as far along as you, so it might be different), I prefer to do everything within the context of a standard (because I still don't know enough songs). That way 100% of what I work on is immediately usable. I might spend 1/3 of the time working on the melody of a tune. If I know the melody well, I might work on the melody at a fast tempo in octaves, or in a different position, or work on embellishing the melody. Weaving my own lines in and out of the melody is something I always need to work on. The next 1/3 of the time I would spend on comping. I might explore voicings restricted to small area of the neck, or comp to a metronome trying to create interesting melodies. The remaining time I would spend working on single note lines, and there I identify the scale fragments I need to know better, or work on some patterns that sound good within the song, or work on arpeggio exercises over the chords of the song. This is pretty much how I practice now, but I spend additional time transcribing (actually just figuring things out and playing them along with the recording which is great for improving technical skill), and then every week or two I learn a new standard. I forgot, I also try to make time to review some chord melody arrangements I learned in the past so I don't forget them. I also work on original song ideas whenever the urge hits me. But most of my time is spent writing CZcams comments..
If you practice 10 minutes every day you probably won't get a lot better, but at the same time if you only have 10 minutes: be efficient!
I noticed you set your metronome on beats 2 and 4... I need to start doing that!
Yes you do! Go for it! :)
It makes a big difference in the feel for sure!
Thank you
You're very welcome! I am glad you like it! 🙂
Depending on how good would you like to play 10 minutes is not enough I would suggest one hour which still is not enough because more practice better results, all other suggestions are fine, thanks for the advice.
Which is also what I say in the video, or not?
Very informative video...when you are practicing the scalesof G C G Bb Eb and Ab, can you kindly indicate which exercises you are using or perhaps suggest the type of exercises that one can practice. thanks a lot
Check out this video and you can also download the pdf there: czcams.com/video/SdNzYzLTCp4/video.html
Hi Jens, I get a lot from your videos for which I’m extremely grateful. Your advice is pragmatic and clear. Though there are 30 keys not 12. Could you perhaps expand on that?
I suspect questions like this only comes from people who never practice anything in all 12 keys (or 30 or 647 for that matter)
That 30 keys things is as random as 12, and 12 is a lot more practical in a musical way especially when it comes to actually playing an instrument.
The only difference is that you count all keys up to double flats or sharps.
It is completely pointless to practice some scales twice so going over Gb and F# both even though you are playing the same notes. This is especially inefficient because you spend more time working on the least common keys (by adding keys that are never used) and playing those twice: C#, Db, F#, Gb.
I thought about making a video on that, but I never got around to it (I was too busy playing Straight no chaser in E#)
Jens Larsen please forgive me. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful in any way. I’m very much a student of music and do my best to practice in all major and minor keys I could remember from my school days. But was blown sideways by a comment a bass player mentioned in another video. It seemed almost madness to me and beyond a practical way to engage in actually playing and enjoying music. As you say, the most important thing is playing music. Your videos are way beyond me most of the time but you explain things very clearly. I do apologise and didn’t wish to appear a pedant (perhaps I was in hindsight?). Just interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks again.
The video I referred to was this one;
czcams.com/video/E3vYVGMgZYY/video.html
@@stevenblakeborough4706 Yes, that is the famous video.
Don't worry about it :) I have videos on practicing things in all 12 keys so I almost have a standard response from all the comments there. And if you actually practice in all keys then you are an exception :D
Notice how he does not really show how to play anything in the video, it is all theory.
If you look a little closer you can also see that it seems that he is going over all the possibilities, but he is leaving out quite a lot. And those keys you will encounter as well. If you playAll The Things You Are in C# it modulates to E#, but that isn't one of the 30.
Thanks a lot Jens.
Very interesting.
I am at the very beginning of playing guitar.
I don't know how complicated it is to add tabs for this very useful practice as you usually do, it would be very helpful for people like me.
I wonder if Jens likes tobacco burst finishes?? 👀🤔😁
Wonderful lesson, as always. Ty!
Last guitar I bought was red :) But thanks :)
@@JensLarsen I was just noticing the wall in the background😉🍪
All the good instructors are in the Eastern Hemi.
Great vid Jens, as always. I am interested to know how to use this in my jazz blues studies. Any recommendations?
I think you are a bit more engaged as a student so maybe this is a better way to appraoch things: czcams.com/video/N6ggZQhPn_k/video.html
Nice routine! could you explain a litle bit more what is that you do on the "technical exercise on a song" ? are you doing all the diatonic arpegios over the tune? .. i think i didn't get it hehe
Thank you! Yes, I am playing the arpeggios of the chords through the song in a position :)
Great
Thank you! :)
It's great to know "what practice" , i've a question , it's important practice patterns and how practice that ?? I love your videos i hope you make a video about that.
What do you mean by patterns exactly? :)
That’s why jazz sounds like scales so often
What is your best advice for arthritis in fretting hand?
I don't know. You would have to see some sort of medical expert, I am just a guitar player :)
Would you recommend diatonic triad enclosures? Eg starting a diatonic note above, then going down a chromatic semitone below and then playing the triad note? In C: D B C, F D# E, A F# G etc?
Yes, that can be a great exercise :)
Jens Larsen I have been practicing that and I find it non trivial when practiced along the neck, ie, not in position. A good way to learn the scale for sure. There are a ton of other triad exercises in the book “Line Games” which I found very interesting.
@@GiovanniBottaMuteWinter Ok, I have quite a few in my books as well 🙂
Hm, patterns, scales? To me this seems a bit contrary to your advice in other videos like „make music“, „Outline the chords“, „scales/modes are not that important „ etc. My actual practice routine (I‘m a bass player and I actually practice standards to play them with a quartet): try to play a standard by heart, with a Metronom on two and four, melody, bass in two feel, multiple Choruses of walking bass and a solo based on chord tones. I try to not repeat myself and try to find new lines along the fretboard.
Patterns and scales are melodies too, and all of the ones I mention are what you find in most bop solos. I don't see that as being in any way a conflict to making music or outlining the chords, and more than half of this routine is playing a song.
Ok, I will give it a try 👍🏿
Works for a lot of bass players I know 🙂
Hi, thank you for making this video. It's very useful. Regarding playing triads along the neck, can you recommend _how_ to practice this? I see that you are staying on the bottom strings and working down the neck but I can't quite figure out what you are thinking as you go. Can you elaborate a bit on your process for this exercise? Or if you have a resource with the exercise notated for a single chord (standard or tab) and i can extrapolate to other chords, that would be helpful, too.
That's awesome and helpful.
Do you have a 10min routine for chords.
Thanks! No, I don't have a video like that (yet at least)
@@JensLarsen I'll be most grateful when you make it. 😁
@@jvyeknom Things, I never had a routine for chords, I just played with a lot of people and messed around without any structure :)
hi, please where can i find that joe pass solo on parker blues? thanks. Great videos
It is in this book: amzn.to/2l2WzuU
Hi Jens, is your modern
jazz concepts book geared towards a graded study to
eventually to move on to your advanced book, like a method book series, or is it a basic theory reference?
Yes, they are a sort of a part one and two
Nice
Thank you Валентин Олександрович Добровінський! 🙂
I do the George Van Eps chords from his Guitar Method book. It might be out of print? Mine cost $2.50 so it's old. I once brought one at a yard sale for 25c and it's original cost was $3.95
Nice lesson Jen's. Could you give your views on picking technique.ie.normal versus Benson or anything else that comes to mind.Thanks.
I don't have one, Benson picking is not for me, I never saw any reason to go that route and I actually know very little about it, except that it looks like palm muting is difficult :)
Thanks. Me the same. Could never get my head around GB's technique.
Could you explain a Quartal Arpeggio exercise using a scale pattern?
I am not sure what you are asking?
@@JensLarsen You stated in this video that you should use Quartal Arpeggios when practicing scales @ 1:38
@@Chilajuana Here you go: jenslarsen.nl/quartal-harmony-solos/
Hi Jens, been enjoying your vids, do you have a vid on your chromatic scale up the neck routine? Thanks, Dave.
Thank you Dave, I don't think so, I play the same exercise in the video on my technique practice from a few years ago, but further than that then I don't really have any.
Thanks Jens, I will look that up. I’m ready to start doing up the neck exercises now. Keep up the very informative vids!
I find some of this a bit complex , i really want to practice this way where do you think i should start out with ? That is which video of your's should i start with?
Hi jens what book was that @ 5:58? Very nice etude on chord changes.
That's this book: amzn.to/2l2WzuU :) I talk about it here: jenslarsen.nl/top-5-jazz-books-learned-lot/
Thanks Jens 😁
Which metronome are you using, Jens?
It is a (very old) Korg KM-1 They don't make them anymore. YOu can google metronome and use the one that is built into google :)
Hello Jens, what kind of strings do you use?
Sonotone 13's There is a link in the video description :)
@@JensLarsen :) Do you have the best experience with them?
@@connancalvi80 Yes!
Boris the Spider Exercise
Is that the spider exercise but on the 17th fret and up?
@@JensLarsen I was thinking John Entwistle was practicing a descending chromatic spider excercise and thought to himself, "Hey, I can make a song out of this..."
Jens At what tempo did you set your metronome? Thanks
130-140 I think. I don't remember, but you can maybe see it in the video 🙂
Does anyone know a similar channel but for blues?
Do you have a book with book with a CD.
I have two books with mp3 downloads on Amazon. There is a link in the video description 🙂
@@JensLarsen Thank you for answering i'm no good on lap top don't know how to get on link.
@@Lewisjls You can check out my first book here: geni.us/Y69J4
can anyone recommend resources to learn the scale patters he’s practicing over?
This one? jenslarsen.nl/pdf-downloads-charts/
Hej Jens
Var sgu lidt nysgerrigt om du også gave privat timer?
Har du en mail addresse? Eller en fb man kunne skrive til?
Tusind tak, Benjamin! Jeg har ikke rigtigt tid til at give time via Skype. MIt arbejde på Kons i Haag, CZcams og gigs tager al den tid jeg har, desværre..
i thought there were 24 keys??
Not for a major scale :)
3 minutes on comping - that makes it a 13 minute practise session.
Haha! I couldn't fit it in either :)
Do you give skype lessons
No, I don't have time. Send me an e-mail if you want me to recommend somebody :)
This video is 1 minute 4 seconds TOO short!!! 😂
True! I actually made an early edit of precisely 10 minutes but I forgot to tell my editor that I wanted it to be 10 minutes..
Jens Larsen Doh!!!