About
2025
This is the physical part of learning to play the guitar and as such cannot be rushed. Practice all material slowly enough to maintain an even tempo. Do not skip or “slight” anything, and also do not attempt to “completely perfect” any one lesson before going on. Playing technique is an accumulative process and you will find each time you review material already studied it will seem easier to play. (Slow, steady practice and constant review will eventually lead to speed and accuracy.) - Leavitt (2020)
Warm-up (10 minutes)
- Finger Exercises: Start with chromatic scales across all strings (index, middle, ring, pinky) to improve finger independence.
- Right-Hand Picking: Practice alternating between thumb, index, and middle fingers while plucking strings (P-I-M) on simple chord shapes.
Basic Chord Practice (15 minutes)
- Focus on learning basic jazz chord shapes like major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th, and diminished chords:
- Cmaj7: x35453
- G7: 320001
- Dm7: x57565
- Bm7b5: x2323x
- Practice switching between these chords smoothly while keeping a consistent rhythm with your fingerpicking hand.
Walking Bass & Melody (15 minutes)
- Work on simple walking basslines combined with basic melodies. This helps develop coordination between bass and melody in a fingerstyle approach.
- Start by playing the root notes of chords with your thumb and using your fingers to pluck the melody or fill in the harmony.
Arpeggios & Scales (15 minutes)
- Practice major, minor, and pentatonic scales using fingerstyle. Focus on playing each note cleanly.
- Learn arpeggio patterns for common jazz chords, e.g., Cmaj7 arpeggio (C-E-G-B).
Song Practice (30 minutes)
- Learn the chord progression and melody to a simple jazz standard. For example “Autumn Leaves” as it has a beautiful, accessible melody and common jazz chord changes (II-V-I progressions). Practice fingerpicking the melody and bassline simultaneously.
Cool Down (5 minutes)
- End with slow, relaxed fingerstyle exercises, focusing on clarity and dynamics.
- This structure builds finger independence, jazz harmony understanding, and rhythm skills over time.
2024
Following are the guidelines for 2024, from Denk (2022)
- Practice phrasing.
- Don’t be a perfectionist, it’s a deadly weakness.
- Get the mechanics of performing right by way of correct posture, fingering and breathing.
- Learn to practice right: Mechanics, play with your brain and discover meaning in the music you play.
- Listen and learn pieces well enough to describe it in your own words, use metaphors like the master György Sebők did. When you perform the music, let your metaphors guide you.
- Harmony and melody are sacred but rhythm is where you can exercise your freedom.
- If a note is wrong, you’re only one fret away from it, just shift your finger, and you’ve arrived at the right note.
- Emulate Paul Desmond’s sound: a light, melodic tone on the alto saxophone, like a dry martini.
2023
Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow. - Kurt Vonnegut
- Eliminate or minimize distraction.
- Consolidate songs and add music to next album “… from Hokkaido to Okinawa…”
- Practice diligently and relaxed.
- Use metronome.
- Strive for good tone.
- Improve technique.
- Learn standard music notation.
- The ultimate goal: To make good music at every stage of your development.