I was inspired by Ivan Malenkovic's thread to post my own practice routine in a separate thread(link to the source of inspiration itself is below).

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=41608

My Practice routine was inspired, in large part, by Steve Vai's 30 Hour workout(link to the source of inspiration itself is below).

http://picksnlicks.com/Guitar%20Lessons/Ex..._workout_1.html

Here is the Routine.



Warm - Up:

i. 15 minutes of hand stretching(in order to not be effected by tendonitis, etc.(will eventually post videos of this, if enough people are interested). 
ii. After this, I work on a legato warm-up that Dimebag Darrell taught in a Guitar World Magazine ages ago. It is single-handedly the most important step of warming up for me. 
iii. A finger Co-ordination exercise from John Petrucci's Rock Discipline Video.

The rest of the warm - up time is spent practicing techniques from the "Musicians Institute Ultimate Guitar Technique" book.

1. Misc(this includes Polyrhythms, fretboard hand stretching, and movement minimization
2. Alternative Picking(this includes Inside and Outside Picking, Hand Synchronisation, String Skipping, and something I call "The Spider")
3. String Skipping
4. Legato(This includes Tapping, Opposite handed tapping, and string skipping legato techniques)
5. Economy Picking
6. Sweep Picking(This includes a bit of tapping and sliding with the picking hand as well)
7. Hybrid Picking
8. Gypsy Picking
9. Tremolo Picking

After this. I work on Steve Vai's 30 Hour Workout. I usually do 5 hours of it a day so that instead of doing 30 hours in three days, I do it in six. I work on songs for an hour a day rather than the "Jamming" section of Steve's Workout.

Day 1: (Each Numeral section is to be practiced for one hour)
1. Exercises

a. Linear
b. Angular/Economy Picking
c. Legato
d. Alternate Fingers
e. Tapping
f. Sweeping
g. Multiple Picking

2. Scales
3. Chords
4. Ear training
5. Jamming

Day 2: (Each Numeral section is to be practiced for one hour)
1. Ear training
2. Sight-reading
3. Composing/Songwriting
4. Music theories(This is so that I may further study the Chords and Scales of the Previous day, as I typically stay on the same Chord progression for a week.)
5. Jamming



Day 1 Breakdown:

1. There are seven separate sections to practice in the exercises section of this day. This makes it perfect to do a different one every day of the week.

a. (Linear) There are a total of eight exercises that Steve Vai has produced for this section. I work on the first four of them, for 15 minutes each, then the last four the next time I work on Linear exercises, and so on.

b. (Angular/Economy Picking) There are a total of three exercises that Steve Vai has produced for this section. I work on them for 20 minutes each.

c. (Legato) There are a total of six exercises that Steve Vai has produced for this section. I work on them for 10 minutes each.

d. (Alternate Fingers) Try playing hammer-ons and pull-offs in various combinations, using different fingers, as illustrated in the thirty hour workout. The goal in each case is make all the notes sound even and clear and maintain a seamless legato feel, no matter what finger combinations you use. The more unconventional fingering you choose, the more beneficial this practice is.

e. (Tapping) There are a total of four exercises that Steve Vai has produced for this section. I work on them for 15 minutes each.

f. (Sweeping) There are a total of three exercises that Steve Vai has produced for this section. I work on them for 20 minutes each.

g. (Multiple Picking) The link honestly gives the best description of what this is about.


Author's Note: I did not create an explanation for day two because I felt that it was straightforward. However, I will be glad to answer any and all questions regarding any section of this article. Thanks for showing interest. Good luck, and I hope this helps you to sculpt your own routine if you choose not to use my own!

just a quick question,do you work ?

Yes. I leave for work in about 20 minutes in fact. I work about 6 hours a night, 4 nights a week as a cook. I would be doing the full ten hour workout a day otherwise. I have insomnia, so my problem is that I do not sleep.

I don't have insomnia, but I have the same problem
that is quite an extensive routine you have. Kudos on your discipline and desire. i'm sure it will all pay out.

wow, that's one routine!

You will get there! for sure!

Kudos to you mate! You will most surely become an awesome player if you keep it like that!

I respect your will for practice a lot, this is really heavy practicing schedule. Wish you all the best in keeping it up mate.

Thank you all for the kind words. My practice routine is why I don't have a life other than work, but I am okay with that. I would rather be a great musician anyway

This is an excellent plan, just stick to it

Don't worry, practicing should probably be more important, if you be consistent and keep doing it, there can be plenty of quality time for hanging out later on

There should be a day, when you are NOT touching the guitar AT ALL your mind and body need adjustment and assimilation time for all the info you have been providing

Great! I also like Steve Vai's workout as a guide for routines. Well done mate.

I look at it this way. The hours I don't practice, are hours I can never get back. My mind and muscles can handle all the hours and never feel full, so I keep at it as much as I can. There have been days where my mind has been clouded and I felt like not continuing, but after jamming for 15 minutes or so, it feels fresh, and I am able to plow through.

I would say that for most people your approach is a good idea; but consider me a workaholic.

Actually i'm pretty convinced you will improve faster if you give your body the free-day. That's because your body makes the step further not when you are practicing but when you are resting! If you practice 10 hours a day and every day maybe you will improve, but if you give your body the correct amount free-practicing time you will get better and faster Maybe you are a workaholic as you said but you can correct this approach in my opinion to have a better training/learning

I have tried taking a day off. It isn't for me. When I come back my muscles aren't as focused and my picking is not as accurate as it would be if I didn't take that day off. From what I have been told by my friend's mother(she is a physical fitness advisor at a local gym), so long as your muscles can rest equal to the amount of time you used them, they should be fine.

I did have tendonitis four years ago from playing too much, but after developing all of my stretching techniques, I have yet to have an issue with this. A couple of the techniques were recommended by my Choir teacher in High School, as she is a very accomplished pianist. They were stretches she learned at her University. She had a friend who messed up her hands so badly from not stretching that she had to re-learn to use her hands entirely! Talk about pain! After hearing this story I set out to find a system that worked, and after a little over four years, it still seems to be holding up.

Keep in mind that I didn't start this routine until two weeks ago. Before that it was slightly different. I have been trying to develop a good practice schedule for a long time. I am still altering this, and due to the fact that I am only working four days a week right now, I am going to do 4 days of this study schedule and the other three days will be the 30 Hour Workout in its entirety(including my 1 1/2 - 2 hour warm-up). I am on hour number seven(nine if you include the warm-up)as I type this, I am just taking a little break before continuing.