What Kind Of Music Do You Play? How Do You Practice?

Pro freelancer here- my main gig is a corporate dance group that does mostly private gigs and city type functions- as such I don't really need to practice for this as 95% of the stuff is the same gig to gig.

I also play in a Rush Tribute group that covers the entirety of their career. This one requires effort as the music is more complex. Typically the band will get a gig and decide on a set list and that will be the focal point for practice. Main topic is recreating/maintaining solos. I've been listening/playing Rush since early 80's so arrangement wise I know the tunes inside and out even if I haven't learned the song yet. Creating appropriate sounds is time consuming as I go preset per song on my AX3 to try and nail period correct vibe.

I also play with a Prince Tribute that requires minimal practice although lately complicated by singer now playing guitar trying to double my parts making locking in a bit of a frustration. For our upcoming dates, I will be trying to invent my own parts so I'll need to scour YT looking live live versions where Mike Scott et al may be playing a different part or whatnot and try to get the spirit there.

New venture- King Crimson 80's band. Now this is a challenge! To get Discipline album up to speed might be the most comprehensive amount of practice I've done for any gig. Just the stamina needed to play the Fripp parts is what I'm building currently. I have most of the parts under my fingers but getting in tempo and keeping it there is really pushing my limits! If I miss a day or two, its back down the metronome! Not sure I'm gonna cut this one but gonna give it some time- kickin my ass....

Cool post and interesting to read guys thoughts as such.
Very cool. I'm pleased and impressed that there's work for a King Crimson tribute band :)
 
And you sir?

Maybe tomorrow. :)

After getting home and doing my domestic chores I kind of just want
to play for a bit before crashing and doing it all again in the AM.

Sure do appreciate all the replies. Reminds me how many different ways
there are to play and enjoy music. 🖕 🖕
 
I founded and was primary music writer and sometime lyric contributor to an original, female-fronted modern rock band from 1993 until a few years ago. The drummer and I started the band and went thru numerous lineup changes over the years. Eventually he moved and lost his mostly regional traveling job and was not able to continue in the band. We eventually found a new drummer (eventually another) but I decided to retire the band after 26 years.

There's a link to the band website in my signature.

The musicians in the group all decided we wanted to take a crack at doing some instrumental stuff... We are all fans of various genres of "technical" music including bands like Snarky Puppy, Plini, etc.

We were making decent progress for about a year when COVID kicked is in the nether regions.

We've finally gotten back together a few times recently but we have a lot of lost time. We'll see where it goes.

As far as practice individually, it's not really regimented these days. I spend time tone chasing and worrying on becoming as melodic, expressive and fluid as possible while improvising. I grew up in the days of shred but I really enjoy trying to find the melody in everything and not just playing licks.
 
Many things have changed since started playing, around 1976-77

My first motivations to play guitar were Ritchie Blackmore, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi, Rory Gallagher...

I have never taken formal lessons for more than a couple of weeks, since at that time all electric guitar teachers in Barcelona were jazz-oriented. And after all these years, my playing is still sloppy.

I have played with so many bands that I cannot remember them all. Some covers, some originals. My favorite one was Prog Rock originals.

I have only earned consistent money (not enough for a living, though) with bands playing music that I didn't like: dance, pop, latin styles... Around 1985 I recorded a vinyl mini-LP with a band from Gibraltar that had regular gigs at the "Costa del Sol" (South Spain) dance clubs. The 3 piece band was keybaord/sequencer, singer, and my guitar. We played original electronic-dance songs.

Since I moved to Bangkok in 2010 I've only played with one band, rock covers, but it was abandoned because we could not find the right singer.

Currently I only play at home, and I am not looking for a band. My fingers are in pain if I play intensively more than 5 minutes without stopping, and I cannot stand awake after 9PM 😅

These days I am more interested in the tones that come from the guitar/Axe-FX rather than in the music itself or in practicing to improve my technique :D

Some songs that I am working now at the DAW: various Pink Floyd, Hand on Heart (Vai), Crying (Satch), Always with me always w.U (Satch), The Loner (G.Moore), The Trooper (Maiden), Amadeus quattro valvole (Yngi), Doctor Doctor (UFO), Catch the rainbow, Stargazer (Rainbow), Europa (Carlos), Epitaph (K.Crimson), Lacrimosa (Mozart)

I have fun doing thinks like this at home:
 
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In addition to above post, I often get calls for one off pick up gigs so I thought I'd share this last one. Usually one-offs are pretty short notice as my calendar can fill up at times and I won't book these in advance due to having better regular gigs. I am pretty comfortable learning lots of tunes in a short amount of time as I have been doing it forever. Last week I got a call for a regular cover gig three days notice, 4 hour gig. I asked the leader to send set list and said if I know 2/3 of the tunes, I would do it. He sent the list, I knew quite a few of the tunes so I agreed to sit in. Next day I get a 3 page manifesto of all they ways they play the songs differently than the originals. I'm talking different keys , guitar solo on EVERY song ( I'm Yours- guitar solo, Motown songs- guitar solo, Buble song- guitar solo) multiple key changes WITHIN songs to fit who was singing (Long Train Running- we sing it in Fm but solos are in Gm), I Wish in 3 keys, each verse sung by different member Cm>Dm>Ebm for guitar solo- I Can't Go For That- not original we do the Live from Daryl's house version where the guitar plays the keyboard line to bring the verse in- absolutely bananas the amount of things they baked into their set to make it comfortable to them, but for a short notice sub though?

I realized right away there would be no way to practice all of this maneuvering so I spent the majority of my time typing out cheat sheets for my iPad to follow as we go. Typically I would use my looper to work out some soloing ideas or cool starting points but the sheer number of solos made me decide to just wing it. Surprisingly, the gig turned out fine, everyone was happy, bar crowd couldn't tell weird key stuff was happening.

Sometimes the best way to practice is to not worry about running down every last part of a song and just listen and follow. Below is the detailed list that was sent to me- had they not sent this and just done this on the gig, the result would have been drastically different I'd imagine!

CT sets.jpg
 
Many things have changed since started playing, around 1976-77

My first motivations to play guitar were Ritchie Blackmore, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi, Rory Gallagher, etc.

I have never taken formal lessons for more than a couple of weeks, since at that time all electric guitar teachers in Barcelona were jazz-oriented. After all these years, my playing is still sloppy.

I have played with so many bands that I cannot remember them all. Some covers, some originals. My favorite one was Prog Rock originals.

I have only earned consistent money (not enough for a living, though) with bands playing music that I didn't like: dance, pop, latin... Around 1985 I recorded a vinyl mini-LP with a band from Gibraltar that had regular gigs at the "Costa del Sol" (South Spain) dance clubs. The 3 piece band was keybaord/sequencer, singer, and my guitar. We played original electronic-dance songs.

Since I moved to Bangkok in 2010 I've only played with one band, rock covers, but it was abandoned because we could not find the right singer.

Currently I only play at home, and I am not looking for a band. My fingers are in pain if I play intensively more than 5 minutes without stopping, and I cannot stand awake after 9PM 😅

These days I am more interested in the tones that come from the guitar rather than in the music itself or in practicing to improve my technique :D

Songs that I am working now at the DAW: some Pink Floyd, Hand on Heart (Vai), Crying (Satch), Always with me always w.U (Satch), The Loner (G.Moore), The Trooper (Maiden), Amadeus quattro valvole (Yngi), Doctor Doctor (UFO), Catch the rainbow, Stargazer (Rainbow), Europa (Carlos), Epitaph (K.Crimson), Lacrimosa (Mozart)

I have fun doing thinks like this at home:

Cool playing there! and a guitar switch for some bar action- cool! I have the same Suhr but 100's of gigs have left it worse for wear- mine is probably an ounce lighter due to the amount of wood that has been shaved off with funk guitar rhythm.

IMG_5495.jpg
 
In addition to above post, I often get calls for one off pick up gigs so I thought I'd share this last one. Usually one-offs are pretty short notice as my calendar can fill up at times and I won't book these in advance due to having better regular gigs. I am pretty comfortable learning lots of tunes in a short amount of time as I have been doing it forever. Last week I got a call for a regular cover gig three days notice, 4 hour gig. I asked the leader to send set list and said if I know 2/3 of the tunes, I would do it. He sent the list, I knew quite a few of the tunes so I agreed to sit in. Next day I get a 3 page manifesto of all they ways they play the songs differently than the originals. I'm talking different keys , guitar solo on EVERY song ( I'm Yours- guitar solo, Motown songs- guitar solo, Buble song- guitar solo) multiple key changes WITHIN songs to fit who was singing (Long Train Running- we sing it in Fm but solos are in Gm), I Wish in 3 keys, each verse sung by different member Cm>Dm>Ebm for guitar solo- I Can't Go For That- not original we do the Live from Daryl's house version where the guitar plays the keyboard line to bring the verse in- absolutely bananas the amount of things they baked into their set to make it comfortable to them, but for a short notice sub though?

I realized right away there would be no way to practice all of this maneuvering so I spent the majority of my time typing out cheat sheets for my iPad to follow as we go. Typically I would use my looper to work out some soloing ideas or cool starting points but the sheer number of solos made me decide to just wing it. Surprisingly, the gig turned out fine, everyone was happy, bar crowd couldn't tell weird key stuff was happening.

Sometimes the best way to practice is to not worry about running down every last part of a song and just listen and follow. Below is the detailed list that was sent to me- had they not sent this and just done this on the gig, the result would have been drastically different I'd imagine!

View attachment 88270
Yowza! Props to you for carrying on!
 
Yeah, uh, not true. I don't hit the top with my pick, but I've worn through the finish on more than one guitar with just my fingers resting as an anchor!
 
Yeah, uh, not true. I don't hit the top with my pick, but I've worn through the finish on more than one guitar with just my fingers resting as an anchor!
Same here. I use a steel pick but have never scratched a guitar with it. But I have an early koa BC Rich Mockingbird with a 1/8" deep hole worn into it from my pinky resting under the high E. My pinky also completely wore down the bobbin on the bridge pickup on that guitar to the point where the windings were exposed and shorted out. After 50+ years of playing, my right hand pinky is noticeably curved from the last joint to the tip.
 
Many things have changed since started playing, around 1976-77

My first motivations to play guitar were Ritchie Blackmore, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi, Rory Gallagher...

I have never taken formal lessons for more than a couple of weeks, since at that time all electric guitar teachers in Barcelona were jazz-oriented. And after all these years, my playing is still sloppy.

I have played with so many bands that I cannot remember them all. Some covers, some originals. My favorite one was Prog Rock originals.

I have only earned consistent money (not enough for a living, though) with bands playing music that I didn't like: dance, pop, latin styles... Around 1985 I recorded a vinyl mini-LP with a band from Gibraltar that had regular gigs at the "Costa del Sol" (South Spain) dance clubs. The 3 piece band was keybaord/sequencer, singer, and my guitar. We played original electronic-dance songs.

Since I moved to Bangkok in 2010 I've only played with one band, rock covers, but it was abandoned because we could not find the right singer.

Currently I only play at home, and I am not looking for a band. My fingers are in pain if I play intensively more than 5 minutes without stopping, and I cannot stand awake after 9PM 😅

These days I am more interested in the tones that come from the guitar/Axe-FX rather than in the music itself or in practicing to improve my technique :D

Some songs that I am working now at the DAW: various Pink Floyd, Hand on Heart (Vai), Crying (Satch), Always with me always w.U (Satch), The Loner (G.Moore), The Trooper (Maiden), Amadeus quattro valvole (Yngi), Doctor Doctor (UFO), Catch the rainbow, Stargazer (Rainbow), Europa (Carlos), Epitaph (K.Crimson), Lacrimosa (Mozart)

I have fun doing thinks like this at home:

Yep, you and I have been on ,apparently, similar tracks for some time, especially given our shared proclivities toward 13-pin guitar synth collection , undisciplined practice habits and hand pain.
I started working semi-pro at a very young age, using the gifts of my very good ear and larynx and very rudimentary acoustic fingerpicking and strumming skills to effectively mimic the styles of the artists I appropriated for my coffeehouse/folk club /organized jams and singalongs at my family’s summer resort and around the Chicago area in the very early 70s (ok late 60s )…my muses were the Fabs, stones , Simon and Garfunkel, CSNY . Roger Miller (King of the Road(no you Cant roller skate in a buffalo herd..) ,!)and very much Pete Townshend,,,beyond My high strung skills I loved Zappa, Blackmore, Jeff Beck, Mike Bloomfield and Mahavishnu and of course, Jimi amongst all the hard bop, fusion, new american classical and the occasional movie musical (fiddler on the roof , sound of music, Oliver..allabove had songs that persisted thorogh my increasingly cheezy sets I assembled as I evolved(de?) over the years into a Solo Act that had 13=piece orchestral charts and played the largest showrooms of many a cruise ship and
Senior Citizen Supercomplex…..but always tried to incorporate at least a taste of the music I really loved (a Zappa Doowop ditty in the midst of an Oldies medley, Ruby Tuesday , and Pinball Wizard (replete with Pete windmillage,,, were all part of my regualr gigs)
Gave up on that life around the turn of the century…started following Zappa plays Zappa regularly, and my electric guitar obsession began in earnest at the first Dweezilla I attended ..met @Admin M@ , Cliff, @austinbuddy , and lot of other new lifelong friends and purchased my first mark 1 AxeFxII there and then….And here we are , I. Still have bad chops but they sound AWESOME
 
One thing I recently started doing is participating in Leon Todd's (@2112 ) jams from his discord server. Great group of people, all different experience levels and styles play solos over a backing track put together for the jam.

We're on our 4th one so far (3rd for me). It's a lot of fun trying to write something in a style that I may not otherwise play. More broadly, it's fun to be part of that guitar/music community - definitely inspiring.
 
One thing I recently started doing is participating in Leon Todd's (@2112 ) jams from his discord server. Great group of people, all different experience levels and styles play solos over a backing track put together for the jam.

We're on our 4th one so far (3rd for me). It's a lot of fun trying to write something in a style that I may not otherwise play. More broadly, it's fun to be part of that guitar/music community - definitely inspiring.
Is this a real-time thing or do you record and upload?
 
Is this a real-time thing or do you record and upload?

Record and upload (audio and video). Usually have 3-4 weeks to submit everything, then all submissions are edited together and posted to Leon's channel.

Here's a link to one where we played over the backing track for a Ragdoll song named Rust - .

Leon was kind enough to provide commentary on each person's solo.
 
Record and upload (audio and video). Usually have 3-4 weeks to submit everything, then all submissions are edited together and posted to Leon's channel.

Here's a link to one where we played over the backing track for a Ragdoll song named Rust - .

Leon was kind enough to provide commentary on each person's solo.

I need to check that out... I don't currently have any way to video besides iPhone/iPad but I can feed audio in directly from the Axe Fx so that might work.

Years ago I did some "virtual jams" on TGP... But that was audio only.
 
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