Hey! Ok, Ive been playing for about 8 years now and I currently play in two bands. I also am a full-time college student and I have a full-time job. I have not been able to practice regularly for a few weeks now (other than band rehearsal) and every time I pick up a guitar I feel frustrated and left behind. I am very familiar with CAGED, the pentatonic, chromatic, and major scales. Stylistically I play rock and a little bit of metal and I would LOVE to learn Flamenco style. With my very limited time schedule I have to try desperately to find time to sit down and practice. So, here is my question.....Can you help me to create a practice schedule that will enable me to get the most out of each practice session, while at the same time challenging me to try new things (I often find myself playing the same stuff over and over)? If I could quit work and school and just play full-time I would but that is obviously not a realistic possibility. I just want to get better not feel stuck anymore. PLEASE HELP!!

Hey man! I totally understand you as i am in the same position right now!

OK let's start:

1. decide what you need most right now: rock, metal or flamenco. Reading your post i understand you need rock most. As you are very limited with time, you should pick one direction that you need most now.

2. define your skill level and start practicing rock lessons/solos at GMC

3. never forget about practicing AP lessons as they develop fretboard freedom which is very important for improvising

Don't take any more steps because it's better to practice 2 things but concentrate on them, than practicing 100 things for 2 minutes each!

I'm here if you need more advices!

Pavel, thanks a lot man for the reply!

You are correct, I need to concentrate more on rock at the moment.

As for my skill level, as long as we arent talking to speedy then I am ok. I play in two bands, one cover and one original. In the cover I play the solos on songs like Dani California by RHCP and Nobody's Wife by Anouk. Nobody's Wife is around 100 BPM I believe and after about a week of practicing it I was able to nail it note for note. I am definitley lacking in the theory department. I can't seem to get past the pentatonic minor, CAGED , and chromatic stuf I know. The other frustrating thing is that I can play other peoples stuff no problem, its just a matter of practicing it, but coming up with my own stuff and being creative and satisfied with the result is a real challenge.

Ill start with the rock/solo lessons. What are AP lessons?

AP is a short name for ALTERNATE PICKING.