TV as a practice aid?

TV as a practice aid?

Is it actually helpful to practice chord changes in a mechanical way,
such as while watching TV or engaging in any other mind-numbing
distraction? I don't mean this to be a replacement for a focused
practice session; this is time I would not otherwise have had the
guitar in my hands.

Yes, this is something suggested by someone I know. No, I have no
idea whether he plays well as a result. =)

--Cliff (US, where the, er, buffalo roam...)

Re: TV as a practice aid?

hcbowman wrote:
> Is it actually helpful to practice
> chord changes in a mechanical way,
> such as while watching TV or engaging
> in any other mind-numbing
> distraction?...

I've seen both yes and no answers from some
pretty respectable players.

Howard Roberts used to play scales while watching TV.

For me, I want to HEAR what I'm playing. Otherwise,
I don't know if I'm playing it correctly. If I make
a mistake, it's covered up by the TV. Of course
I don't own a TV and so my view is slanted.
But I can honestly say my playing improved a
gazillion percent once I blew up the boob tube.
Now all the hours I might have spent watching boob,
are now spent playing guitar.

I don't think ANY exercise, changes, scales, whatever,
should EVER be practiced for more than about 60 seconds
max. To do it longer invites error, hand stress and it's
not at all natural. We'd never play the same repeated
changes or scales in any song for that long.

And once you get ANY exercise "right", STOP.
You've done it right. Now rest and let your mind
dwell on the concept "I just played that correctly".
Come back 15 min later and play it right again.
Repeat that several times daily.

If you play it right and then continue to play it,
you are guaranteed to make an error. Then your brain
says "I played that IN-correctly". And I consider
that to be the problem with playing during TV.
We don't really know when we've played it
right or wrong.

The object of playing guitar shouldn't be
"be able to play it during a totally unnatural
distraction like CSI on TV at the same time".
We probably want to develop good familiarity
with the instrument. But moving from one chord
to another can be learned in 60 seconds if
we concentrate and focus on what we're doing.
We won't automatically develop familiarity by
simply playing it over and over, correctly
and/or incorrectly. We obviously want to
be familiar with the "correct" way to play it.


Lumpy

In Your Ears for 40 Years
www .LumpyMusic,com

Re: TV as a practice aid?


On May 9, 10:32 am, "Lumpy" <lu...@digitalcartography,com > wrote:

> For me, I want to HEAR what I'm playing. Otherwise,
> I don't know if I'm playing it correctly.

Thanks, I was worried about exactly this. It seems I could just as
easily train myself to do something wrong as I could something right.

> I don't think ANY exercise, changes, scales, whatever,
> should EVER be practiced for more than about 60 seconds
> max. To do it longer invites error, hand stress and it's
> not at all natural. We'd never play the same repeated
> changes or scales in any song for that long.

Hmn. The light just came on.

When you say "play songs," you must really mean to play songs. To
practice any length of time at all and not do any one thing over and
over leaves...playing a lot of different songs.

Sometimes, I'm slow. =)

--Cliff (US)

Re: TV as a practice aid?

The Cliffster wrote:

>I've always admired/envied people with the ability to play by ear.
>This sounds like a relatively painless way to start. Ad jingles are
>short, and I assume they'll be pretty conventional harmonically.
>Thanks!

Not to mention that their primary goal is to hook your ear, so jingles
have a very short period of time to grab your attention, along with
the video.

For that reason, I find studying jingles/theme songs a facinating
topic. I have always admired Barry Manilow (bring those jokes on!) in
his ability to write jingles that I still remember vividly 20-30 years
later.

Re: TV as a practice aid?

Lumpy expounded in news:68j5kgF2sl5b4U1@mid.individual,net :

> hcbowman wrote:
>> Is it actually helpful to practice
>> chord changes in a mechanical way,
>> such as while watching TV or engaging
>> in any other mind-numbing
>> distraction?...
>
> I've seen both yes and no answers from some
> pretty respectable players.
>
> Howard Roberts used to play scales while watching TV.
>
> For me, I want to HEAR what I'm playing. Otherwise,
> I don't know if I'm playing it correctly. If I make
> a mistake, it's covered up by the TV. Of course
> I don't own a TV and so my view is slanted.
>
> Lumpy

How can you know if you are playing those
Kennel Ration TV ads correctly?

Snark.
** Posted from http :// www .teranews,com **

Re: TV as a practice aid?

Charmed Snark wrote:

> How can you know if you are playing those
> Kennel Ration TV ads correctly?

In the recording studios they have a phrase
"Let's go to lunch". That really means
"YOU go to lunch" ie, you're fired.
Once you're fired, you don't get hired
back at that or any other studio.

So the answer to your question,
you know if you get sent to lunch.


Lumpy

In Your Ears for 40 Years
www .LumpyMusic,com

Re: TV as a practice aid?

Lumpy expounded in news:68ri8fF2p2mh1U1@mid.individual,net :

> Charmed Snark wrote:
>
>> How can you know if you are playing those
>> Kennel Ration TV ads correctly?
>
> In the recording studios they have a phrase
> "Let's go to lunch". That really means
> "YOU go to lunch" ie, you're fired.
> Once you're fired, you don't get hired
> back at that or any other studio.
>
> So the answer to your question,
> you know if you get sent to lunch.
>
> Lumpy

So if you get sent to lunch, then your
dog doesn't get to eat.

Snark.
** Posted from http :// www .teranews,com **

Re: TV as a practice aid?

On May 9, 7:32 am, "Lumpy" <lu...@digitalcartography,com > wrote:
> Now all the hours I might have spent watching boob,
> are now spent playing guitar.

I LOVE playing guitar, don't get me wrong. But I still prefer
watching boob....

Re: TV as a practice aid?

On 09 May 2008, hcbowman <hcbowman@gmail,com > wrote in
alt.guitar.beginner:

> Is it actually helpful to practice chord changes in a mechanical way,
> such as while watching TV or engaging in any other mind-numbing
> distraction?

I don't think it's the best use of practice time, but I don't think it
hurts, either. I often doodle around while watching TV, doing
mechanical exercises and such. I think the most useful thing I do is
try to play along with the soundtrack, trying to replicate melodies and
harmonies as they happen. It helps make the connection between ear and
fingers faster and more confident.

Re: TV as a practice aid?

There is a certain amount of monkey work to be done on guitar if you
want to learn licks, scales and arpeggios.

I find that doing this stuff in front of the tv makes it go smoother.
I also do my strengthening, dexterity, stretching exercises in front
of the TV.

Nill mentioned picking up on what is being played during commericals,
etc. Good way to develop the ear.

I practice my rep while watching baseball games frequently.

Re: TV as a practice aid?

On May 9, 11:50 am, Derek <de...@ycoaoffice,com > wrote:

> Nill mentioned picking up on what is being played during commericals,
> etc. Good way to develop the ear.
>

I've always admired/envied people with the ability to play by ear.
This sounds like a relatively painless way to start. Ad jingles are
short, and I assume they'll be pretty conventional harmonically.
Thanks!

--Cliff (

Re: TV as a practice aid?

Nil wrote:
> On 09 May 2008, hcbowman <hcbowman@gmail,com > wrote in
> alt.guitar.beginner:
>
>> Is it actually helpful to practice chord changes in a mechanical way,
>> such as while watching TV or engaging in any other mind-numbing
>> distraction?
>
> I don't think it's the best use of practice time, but I don't think it
> hurts, either. I often doodle around while watching TV, doing
> mechanical exercises and such. I think the most useful thing I do is
> try to play along with the soundtrack, trying to replicate melodies and
> harmonies as they happen. It helps make the connection between ear and
> fingers faster and more confident.


The only time I play while watching is when the video hits are on and I
play along.


--
Stephen
Ballina, Australia

Re: TV as a practice aid?


"hcbowman" <hcbowman@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:0851418e-3c48-4933-aa92-d569dc9c2af2@m44g2000hsc.googlegroups,com ...
> Is it actually helpful to practice chord changes in a mechanical way,
> such as while watching TV or engaging in any other mind-numbing
> distraction? I don't mean this to be a replacement for a focused
> practice session; this is time I would not otherwise have had the
> guitar in my hands.
>
> Yes, this is something suggested by someone I know. No, I have no
> idea whether he plays well as a result. =)
>
> --Cliff (US, where the, er, buffalo roam...)

I play with the TV on, usually practicing licks or chord changes, because
the TV on its own is only very rarely enough to hold my complete attention.
I sometimes play along with the soundtrack if it catches my interest, which
isn't very often - but I can see the value of doing it. I also play stuff I
know fairly well while reading the newspaper or computer screen. I'm not
sure this is a good idea because it might just be fixing bad habits as Lumpy
suggests. OTOH is does keep the calluses up and pain threshold down, and I
can "fix" new things into conditioned reflexes to some extent that way.

Tony D

Re: TV as a practice aid?

hcbowman wrote:
> Is it actually helpful to practice chord changes in a mechanical way,
> such as while watching TV or engaging in any other mind-numbing
> distraction? I don't mean this to be a replacement for a focused
> practice session; this is time I would not otherwise have had the
> guitar in my hands.
>
> Yes, this is something suggested by someone I know. No, I have no
> idea whether he plays well as a result. =)
>
> --Cliff (US, where the, er, buffalo roam...)

Personally, I like to practice along with the radio...which is more
focused, I suppose, but -

1) the stuff comes at you semi-random and you don't get to choose.

2) you get one shot at picking out the key, the beat, the chord
progression, etc. without getting to go back and "try it again".

3) you can improve and hear how you might sound against someone else's
playing.

4) it's free.

--
- Rufus

Re: TV as a practice aid?

hcbowman <hcbowman@gmail,com > wrote:
> Is it actually helpful to practice chord changes in a mechanical way,
> such as while watching TV or engaging in any other mind-numbing
> distraction? I don't mean this to be a replacement for a focused
> practice session; this is time I would not otherwise have had the
> guitar in my hands.
>
> Yes, this is something suggested by someone I know. No, I have no
> idea whether he plays well as a result. =)
>
> --Cliff (US, where the, er, buffalo roam...)

I usually keep a guitar parked next to me when I'm watching TV, but
rather than just mindlessly practicing scales, chord changes or
whatever, I'll try to lock on to what's being played on the idiot box,
whether it be the score to a show or movie, commercials, etc. It's good
ear training, and it sure beats listening to the *content* of the
commercial!