A LIFE-CHANGING Practice Routine

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00:00 Intro
01:35 Overview
01:57 Warmup
03:32 Technique
04:37 Ear Training
05:29 Sight Reading
06:28 Neck Studies
08:17 Song Learning
09:41 Lifting
10:19 Practical Application
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Beatles Song Book: amzn.to/3AMLYZK
Reading Books
Reading Studies For Guitar amzn.to/3AMLYZK
Advanced Reading Studies For Guitar amzn.to/34hOcnt
Melodic Rhythms For Guitar amzn.to/3IJSO4L
Classical Studies For Pick-Style Guitar amzn.to/3ABldHy
Duets For Clarinet amzn.to/3IJSO4L
Bach For Two Trumpets amzn.to/3IJSO4L
Bach Inventions and Sinfonias amzn.to/3IJSO4L
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[@fudgesauce]

A few times I've heard people say how cool it would be to be, say, Eddie van Halen. I point out that sure, he was cool after he was famous, but he got there by being a dork who spent countless hours alone in his room practicing. His gift wasn't musical talent as much as it was the gift of perseverance: to spend all that time working toward something that wasn't necessarily going to pan out.

[@michealwarren6681]

The best response

[@rabrown22000]

SRV, probably played every hour he was awake

[@yoooboyitsdas25]

@@rabrown22000 bruh, he bends those 13s as smooth AF

[@MidlifeRenaissanceMan]

@@michealwarren6681 I’d say it was both perseverance and natural proclivity aka talent. I know people who practice insane amounts, technically competent, but they lack feel. How do you practice feel ??

[@WestleySF]

I wouldn’t want to be dead

[@GenesisMuseum]

This reminds me of the workout book by Steve Vai. It was 10 hours...10....per day! I don't care if you play guitar or plumb, if you spend 10 hours a day dedicated to something, you will become amazing at it. Most players (myself included) simultaneously say they'd love to play like Steve Vai, and also that there is no way they could spend 10 hours a day practicing. But it may be comforting to know that talent is just another word for hard work.

[@jimmyneilson6145]

I mean yeah but that might also be why Steve Vai always sounds so bored

[@LuckeGabriel]

As Justin Sandercoe says though: "Practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent". It's not about doing something for 10 hours a day. You could easily and more likely spend those 10 hours creating bad habits, poor technique and make things much harder for you to actually improve as a result as you get stuck in your ways. To spend 10 hours a day actually focused and consciously aware of everything important that you need to pay attention to is definitely a tiny percentage of people would ever be capable of doing.

[@valebliz]

@@LuckeGabriel of course he practiced *well* for 10hrs. 10hrs a day of mindless noodling won't make you steve vai.

[@ChienJaune01]

It's also too intensive for most people, or at least most people's lives, including working musicians whose job involves more than practicing. Still there's a lesson there in that it was not just 10 hours, it was a cycle of blocks covering all areas of music, much like SammyG's schedule here

[@alexkerr5804]

I’m 21 and have been playing since I was 17. I started to take it more seriously last year however practicing 10 hours a day at my age is just impossible. I try to aim for 3 hours a day at best but that can be rare

[@llwonder]

Ok now give me the “I just had a kid and only have 15 minutes to practice” routine. What about us dads lol.

[@ugopaleni2131]

I feel you but at this point you don’t really practice, you just have to be happy with where you’re at and accept that your improvements will be very small to non existant. And just enjoy playing what you’re playing to relax for a bit.

[@pauldaviswalker4044]

I’m in this situation.. I have opted to wake up earlier and practice. It’s rough but it’s the only way I’m going to be able to get the time to dedicate to it.

[@InAtlasAtLast]

Exactly!

[@HELLNAWW]

That's still enough time to pick up some easier songs. Also use your down times (commute, etc) to listen to lessons. Not completely hopeless!

[@bryanbryan6108]

What about being a dad to an infant is so time consuming. They kinda just eat, shit, cry, sleep, and chill. Can’t you just have your kid sitting in its bassinet while you shred. Also just soundproof your bedroom and leave ‘em in there for an hour or two. Crying doesn’t need to always be answered immediately. Let the little shit cry itself to sleep. If your kid is older just tell ‘em to go to iz room, innit? Being a dad is so easy lol

[@ryanpetrak]

Needed this. Currently a Berklee student and can't seem to find a routine that I can stick to, but this motivates me and puts things into perspective. Thank you!

[@joselase6894]

Ryan. How are you doing at Berklee? 10 month update?

[@XtremeKillah101]

How’s it going

[@theliberation9061]

As someone whose "methods" of practicing have been pure chaos since forever, I still really appreciate this and especially your emphasis on doing stuff you actually want and finding ways that work for you. I'm probably mentally incapable of having a structured regimen like this, but I totally stand behind the message of "there is no talent, only practice but you should do it in a way that works for you specifically".

[@daniellarson3068]

I can relate to that as someone who has never really had music lessons. I fully intend to be an amateur forever. I once read that you have to put 10,000 hours into something to really get good at it. It certainly appears that Mr.G has done this. Still this video left me with the impression that perhaps there is a better way to learn this stuff than to just muddle along. I wonder if you can do what he does, but split it up so that one night you just do sight reading, one night you learn tunes, one night you spend on theory, one night you just drill, etc. I never even considered making a serious drill out of ear training. This was a pretty good video.

[@elrincondelaguitarra3050]

I remember when I had an online lesson with him and asked exactly for this. Glad to see some of his previous recommendations here! Especially the part about learning new songs, jazz standards and transcribing. Rock on!

[@Shady1029]

As someone who never really knew what to practice, basically Where to start and have a routine this helped tremendously.

[@Jesse_Johnson]

Needed this so badly. Self taught, sans some online lessons here and there. I struggled with noodling too much. And never actually getting that much better. The more professional we are getting (my band) the more I want to be in control of how I express myself musically and more importantly how I CAN SERVE THE SONG, which in the world of pop and rock usually means the lead singer. I want to play with intention.

[@Jerry-tg2lj]

my practice routine is basically trying to learn songs way above my skill level and get them to a point where they sound identical or close to the recording, now my musical understanding is pretty much non existant but my technique improves rapidly when i do this (i do not plan to be a professional musician so learning to sight read isnt worth my time)

[@johnilyemson]

I just wanna say be careful about deeming things unnecessary. The entire reason I came across this channel is because I told myself years ago that I didn’t need to learn theory in order to play. Because I mean, you don’t, but it’s essentially like walking versus driving a car. You’ll still get where you’re going, but having the proper tools can not only help you get there faster but make the journey a lot more enjoyable and easier to understand what’s actually happening.

[@danb1606]

Fortunately there is much more to theory than just sight reading!@@johnilyemson

[@andrewhorton95]

Love your videos SammyG! Thanks for the endless inspiration! Proud to support on patreon.

[@naifabdalkreem8294]

peronally i struggle greatly with setting up a practising schedule, the old time problem of not knowing what to practice techinically. this video is very informative and most importantly, fun. thank you.

[@thegloobster]

I've watched this video multiple times now over the past month and still just like, would love a truly in-depth video on everything, but I think taking the slow way and finding everything out kinda myself might actually be better for me in the long run? Like developing my own exercises and mindset? Man this whole guitar thing is a hell of a rabbit hole isn't it? I've never loved and hated something so much and so equally. It's awesome. I wonder where I'll be 3 years from now. Probably still digging deeper. Hell yeah.

[@marcblum5348]

I would suggest to provide a detailed practice regimen for the hobbyist musician. For people that have a day job, are studying (not music), maybe have a young family, and therefor only so much time per day at their disposal. "taylor this plan to your needs" is maybe a bit of a shortjump. The ones being able to taylor the plan are maybe the ones that can lay out a plan on their own. But many people would appreciate to see a plan fitting to the ordinary guy in a ordinary band who wants to grow. Slowly, but constantly.

[@jacobhumphrey3535]

So after watching this video and being very intimidated by a 4 hour routine that I couldn't possibly do, I've found a workaround that really helps me. So with work and family time that takes a good amount of time, I find I can comfortably fit 2 hours of practice in. So I figured out that the warm up is a half hour regardless, every day, essential stuff. Then I take one or two sections from Sammy's schedule and fit them into the remaining hour and a half.

[@dandimarx]

excellent content! i can't berrely wait for the next day for my practice

[@troyoswald5683]

Almost one million subs! I an think of no one more deserving, thanks for all you do. we are so lucky !

[@dashcamcalifornia5003]

Sammy you're giving us a free newsletter sounds super awesome and rad of you thanks homie

[@carsesprobationofficer241]

Thank you so much, thanks for this training routine. I can play the blues a lot better. And my overall guitar skills have increased. I am now a loyal subscriber.😁🎸

[@ToddWayne]

Much appreciated practical advice! Thanks!

[@lio8009]

This is great, very helpfull and just what i need 😊

[@Chewysmusic]

I love that guitar. Beautiful!

[@Okidisini]

love it ❤, just reminiscing good times of my life. ❤❤

[@ApolloSuns]

Very excited to try this out!

[@nz7166]

great video! thank you

[@bassrumblings]

From how you outlined your practice regime, I can say that I've divided my practice like this. However, the fault in my first year was not to learn songs, but to learn the theory and improvising on what I learnt, but I never learned songs. I'm now doing this but the theory that I learnt has certainly helped me understand the songs that I'm now playing on my bass guitar. Thanks for the video.

[@PancakeSyrup1]

Helpful and inspiring thank you

[@gelulain]

I've started guitar a year ago, self taught without much of a practice routine except learning songs I liked. I'll try commit to this and see where it takes me, thanks for the guidance!

[@forcommentsonly3474]

Hey man how’s the progress going, did u stick with it? If so how are u finding it….I am very curious as I myself started guitar about a year and a half ago

[@kylezakk]

​@@forcommentsonly3474 I started in 2015 in high school but dropped it shortly after that. I picked up guitar again in 2020 and have made descent progress. It really helps if you are working towards something, for me that's being able to play songs with my experienced bassist friend.

[@forcommentsonly3474]

@@kylezakk ah cool, awesome you got back into it! I’m trying to work towards making pieces that I create more technical and melodic…haven’t stuck right to this exact format of practice but I feel as if I am making great progress. Cheers!

[@rustknale3818]

Thanks for the insights. For me, this is a monthly regime at best. Appreciated.

[@pabloroscoe1723]

Wow...almost 1 million subs. It's about time you got the respect you deserve. Pablo

[@artisticgm4647]

yesss, just what I needed

[@mns8732]

Nice tutorial. Thanks

[@jnicholas4706]

One of the only you tubers I trust

[@tulaporterfield5220]

I’ve been teaching myself guitar from that same Beatles book!! I’ve had it for years and love it.

[@isanparion9352]

Amazing video. Thank you Sammy! Now to leave to my wizard cave for the next 5 years. See you all soon

[@LuizHenriqueMiranda]

This Fender Rarities is the most beautiful Strat I've ever seen. The custom dark wooden plate made it look even better. I wish I'll the money to afford one in the future, before it's price raise to a million bucks.

[@atmohr257]

I needed this

[@starfighter2952]

Oh shit! He's a real samurai. I wasn't ready for this.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

I was just thinking yesterday, "man there hasn't been a new Sammy G video in a while," and here you are with this gold.

[@gingthedigger5046]

Ty for the books I've been wanting books that are good to use for studying but there are so many different ways to go about that I don't want to waste money and time to find the good ones thanks again sammyg

[@seadawg93]

Wow, that’s inspiring! My daily workout is to play some songs I already know and also spend a little bit of time on whatever TrueFire course I’m on! 🙈 …I’m actually pretty happy with it for the most part, but I may work towards a more robust workout program.

[@awkwardturtle77]

This is great -- going in depth on what you study during each time block. I'm 3 months into guitar and basically spend 30 minutes on finger exercises with alternate picking, then try to go through 1 scale and remember it, then go through all open chords major & minor, and then by that time I want to play something song like. Memorization is not my strong point. This video gives me ideas of how to enhance my practice sessions, but I don't have a clue where to start when you start talking about root of minor flat 7 at 6:43. All that is Greek to me.

[@765caleb]

*Workout Routine* 30 minutes - warmup 30 minutes - technique 30 minutes - ear training 30 minutes - sight reading 1 hour - "gaining knowledge" - neck studies - song learning - lifting 1 hour - practical application

[@Joelweech]

Subbed! Thanks man!

[@HELLNAWW]

Man this is tough to stick to. I used to be like this and stick to a regimented routine. Now i just do a couple of warmups (usually variations of the spider exercise, very slowly and only for about 10 minutes), then move onto covering songs and improvising over jam tracks, recording myself as i go along. Reason is, I found that my technique was improving but I had no repertoire of songs or licks to actually play.

[@LastMinuteAndy]

Dude what a beautiful guitar! That’s probably the best looking guitar I’ve ever seen!!

[@efeseymen1015]

i know right do you know the model by any chance ?

[@lifewithbeej]

@@efeseymen1015looks like a fender strat american pro ii rosewood neck. Beautiful axe🔥

[@efeseymen1015]

@@lifewithbeej thank you so much 🙌

[@anthonythornhill8715]

Very helpful bideo!

[@InZomnia365]

That headstock is beautiful

[@skipneumann1]

For about 30 years now, I have had some version of this idea and I love it. Today’s version is a collection of exercises and song segments put together in a stack of copies. An example would be Pages from Guitar Secrets by Joe Satriani (still available) and John Petrucci video workouts, songs like Eugene’s Trick Bag or Eruption- just a giant stack of things I play everyday; mix them up and add new stuff

[@RByrne]

That's a good routine! Glad to see it's paid off for you. Also, that's a sweet strat! I was looking at that same one this morning. Just a bit out of my price range though.

[@farenvyld]

I feel you, man. I was buying some strings a few weeks ago and I saw this gorgeous white Strat that I just couldn't afford.

[@RByrne]

@catiscool music stores aren't a good place to hang out. Lol I always see something I want

[@farenvyld]

@@RByrne ha you're right

[@efeseymen1015]

hey i am curious about the model do you know which model is that ?

[@artistvivek6721]

Thanks, I personally like your practice schedule.🙏🥤🥤

[@esaaad]

Oh what a strat !! I am new to the channel and I love your guitar. It looks so tasty like chocolate and caramel

[@jejuislandtrekker8113]

Nice! Appreciate it. I need to follow a plan or I get distracted easily

[@lukeiggy]

Awesome practice routine! Thing is, you REALLY need to have the time for this. Like, for me, with a normal job and a kid, it's straightforward impossible. But, for those who can offer the time, I think it's a perfect way to go!

[@rajinaouchi3637]

Now I need a practice routine to master this practice routine

[@viktorviktorviktor923]

Road to 1 mil 💪🏿❤️🎸

[@rabrown22000]

Practice? Noooo, there has to be an easier way!

[@RaphaelNano]

A distortion and a delay pedal!

[@mitchellisabell3873]

Have you tried selling your soul?

[@kurisurokku]

I love that the weird cassette tape guitar is up in a place of honour on the wall!

[@SwiftyMcswift777]

Come on Sammy don’t show people how to get better,,, there is already enough people out there that are insanely good! I don’t need the competition! Thanks for respecting my wishes!🤣🤣🤣You rock my friend!

[@enzoconstantinoromo364]

This may not be yout mos viewed video, but thank you so much for doing it

[@theohmeyegods]

See for me i would focus the entire day to each of these until I got tired or bored of it, then naturally some would fall away leaving more time for the others. Now I'm down to warmup and applications. Everything else just happens.

[@Justin14379]

The way this video started reminded me of those ads you see and you sign up for the free workout PDF and then get slammed with spam.

[@Slidezy]

I am outraged! I am still waiting for the sign reading lesson!

[@EvanJTao]

Great video as always. Any recommendations for ear training apps?

[@wheeltrouble]

Ahh! The music major method!

[@meriadocbrandybuck2868]

Talk more about the differences between Sight Reading and Song Learning?

[@emilmann7883]

Thanks for sharing your tips. What is the guitar that you used in this video? It looks interesting!

[@Kay-fs6vh]

Love this!! What program was used in the video for writing notation?

[@poser_disposer]

For the little 3 finger speed exercise, something to keep in mind is that your index/middle finger, and your ring/pinky finger are 2 different muscle groups. One exercise i like to do is 123232 repeating, and then 432323 repeating until my fingers start to get tired. Not only good for dexterity, but also coordination.

[@JustRockMySoul]

Maybe you could do a separate video on warming up exclusively, I regularly fail at that.

[@anthonyjones747]

You’re almost at 1 million

[@eliahdex]

"when u out playing in the world" ty sensei

[@maxwellblakely7952]

Hahaha!!! Yes, yes, I have 4 hours of my day that I can devote to practicing guitar. Glad I clicked on this video….

[@locks2455]

this is great but I lack motivation in general. idk how to practice but warming up before hand seems to help

[@mr.nobody68]

Good stuff, Steve My A.D.D. makes practicing feel like torture. It's extremely difficult to focus and sit there doing repetitions endlessly. I joke about how if the Russians ever wanted me to talk, all they'd have to do is make me run scales

[@scorpioftw]

I feel you, its the same for me

[@BananaManPL]

Limit your time on the phone. You'll notice a huge difference

[@mjs2016]

Try sitting there and paying attention. ADHD is just an excuse for people who don't want to do hard things in life!

[@xayano590]

@@mjs2016 fr most people nowadays just use it as an excuse for being lazy. Most people actually don't have ADHD, they are just self diagnosing because stuff like Tiktok and social media has absolutely fucked their attention span up. I don't mean to be rude to people who actually have ADHD though my apologies if someone got offended.

[@mr.nobody68]

@@xayano590 first of all, I thumbs-uped your comment. And fuck offended little bitches. Second ADHD is Attention Defecit Hyper-Active Disorder. I'm not hyper, my brain is. Apparently, ADHD is worse than Attention Defecit Disorder. Which is what I have. ADD=/=ADHD Lastly, I was diagnosed when I was maybe 8 or 10 years old so 1994-1997 or something? Idk. My brain refuses to arithmetic without a piece of paper

[@anthonythornhill8715]

Video!

[@thomasscheuringmusic]

I heard Forty-Five times I week and thought if these are the samurai special powers. but then I enabled captions, luckily :D

[@Maurice75]

Hey SamyG greeting from the other part of the world. Same longitude different latitude. Can you point me in a direction to find a decent ear training software? Great videos. Keep up the good work and vacine your way out of Covid 19 my friend. Stay safe.

[@Kimomaru]

Hi, SG. Great video! Quick question, what’s the name of the ear trainer your showing in this video? @5:09

[@kt3505]

I made a huge mistake by thinking I could "work in" the time needed to learn, improve, enjoy. My biggest tid bit of advice - Please ensure you have the resources available in order to make progress or you will become frustrated and walk away, in my case, this is the 4th time I'm trying to take up the hobby.If you just want to fart around it is fine but if you actually want to make accurate sounding music and progress you gotta have the time and you gotta put the time in , there is no shortcut. I tried 20-30 minutes a day , it just ain't enough.

[@Notapizzathief]

Any tips on how to get back into structured practice after a long break? I know I'm capable of this stuff but I want it to be fun first until I re-grow my love for the guitar.

[@michaelcraig9449]

That stuff you did starting around 7:10, what was that and how did you do it? Yes I know it was arpeggios, I have this stuff compartmentalized in my brain, but I can never seem to link it up together, or be fast with using it.

[@Big_Bag_of_Pus]

Your pattern speed that's "incredibly easy" that you use for detailed analysis of technique issues is the speed I use for 'fast'. I suck. I would have quit long ago if I wasn't having fun even though I suck.

[@thoughtworn]

It's a journey bro, don't compare yourself to others! I promise you that playing at the speed you need to focus on your technique will pay off, stick to it and have fun!

[@jessejorgensen3931]

My ex thought i was lying, but i play in the pitch black. So it's all ear and muscle memory. It helps a ton. I can tune my guitar by ear pretty close without any reference other than what's in my head. So try it.

[@TheCravenIsReal]

this is great but...I find myself drooling and flashbacking to playing Proud Mary and Little Red Rooster in my first high school garage band 😋

[@wildnitesmusic]

Sammy G is back✌😀

[@aydenash8532]

100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats, and a 10 kilometer run...every single day!

[@GovernmentGainz]

Lol

[@ryanfraley7113]

I wish I could do that lmao

[@CH-in9kj]

Bullshit lol

[@amrfigueroa]

HAHAHAAH "dont worry, i am making a concerted effort, not to do that!" Thank you for sharing these hard truths, senpai.. im not a guitar player, but it def inspired me to brush up on my music skillz thru disciplined practice.

[@jdubs681]

I should do this. But I usually just stick to the routine of noodling until I die.

[@johnrains8409]

Christopher Parkening related an experience that happened while studying under Segovias. He asked Segovias, who was at the pinnacle of his prowess, how much he practiced each day. Segovias answered, saying he practiced at least 5 hours per day, 6 days per week. Parkening related feeling overwhelmed, thinking to himself, "If the master classical guitarist in the world practices that much, how much then should I practice.?

[@keithbrown3044]

I would revise the sight reading portion. Not many guitarists know how to read notation, so instead of working up your sight reading skills, learn how to read music! It’s lovely when discussing an idea w band mates, and they know where the second down beat is, or what an up beat is. Music theory is important too.

[@jhonnyappleseed1786]

One of my favorite speech errors is when someone goes to all the effort to move the preposition to the front, but then says the preposition again at the end just by habit, such as "the speed at which I played it at"

[@marctestarossa]

I personally prefer the LingLing practice routine of 40 hours per day, but this is still rad

[@stank865]

I don't know if this is a problem on my end but the link didn't work for the newsletter and I am interested.

[@TheAlexCruz]

Which app are you using in the "Lifting" section of the video?

[@tomaszbieniek-guitarist]

Hey Sammy. What is this guitar?

[@GrimScarFayn]

It bewilders me to think that anyone has 5 hours a day to dedicate to practice, but then I remember not everyone is in construction.

[@thoughtworn]

Or academia :'(

[@theguylevi]

Understanding notes themselves, how scales, chords, etc relate to each other...basically the core of how music is structured--still confused tf out of me. Do you cover that intensely basic shtuff in any of your online lessons?

[@samuraiguitarist]

Yes! that's exactly what The Rudiments and Beyond the Basics are aimed at

[@theguylevi]

@@samuraiguitarist Worrrd...as soon as I'm back in [the] black, kehd!

[@dustdevilz4771]

The Vaughan brothers both practiced obsessively.

[@kevinm4x]

didnt understand a single thing you said, cool video

[@scorpioftw]

The main problema about all this is having that time. How am I supposed to get 5 hours if I go to university and work at the same time? How could I even get one hour? The thing is that the little time I have I spend it with much care, and if its in music I will learn a new song I like or do a cover, not practice. I wish I had that much time, I would love to get better at guitar.

[@Benry1]

You don’t need 5h/day to get better at guitar, bad mental trap to fall into. Pick a technique or theory you want to learn and spend a focused 15m every single day with it… you’ll get better. Don’t have 15m? 10m, 5m, the important thing is doing it daily

[@scorpioftw]

@@Benry1 you are right of course. It is a good way of improving. I should be doing that but its hard to maintain a schedule on something so short when you are stressed with other things. Of course that's my fault for not doing it, and if I really tried I could. Maybe someday ill manage

[@nickgerow]

@@scorpioftw I have the same issue, I think a lot of people probably do. For some reason it's easier to tell you than it is to tell myself, but you don't have to judge yourself for not having it all figured out. Do your best, or at least do your best to do your best, and forgive yourself when you inevitably fall short of some goals. "Pobody's Nerfect" as a wise man once said