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How to practise while on vacation and away from your guitar


Yggdrasilium

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So here I am sunk deep down into my beach chair in Italy. The sun is roasting anything or anyone not smart enough to hide under a parasol or dip their bodies in the wonderful, cool sea. I'm one of the smart ones. 

So I know how lucky I am to be able to get away from the usual stress and the everyday bustle and shuffle. How come I'm missing playing my guitar while my toes are digging in the sand and the sound of washing waves fill my ears? 

I am trying to figure out what I can do to develop my skill and knowledge of music in times when I don't have an instrument at hand. 

I thought of bringing books along with me, but decided against it. They're too heavy and not practical to bring with me to the beach. 

One thing I have been using, and which has helped open my eyes, is the cell phone app called Justin Guitar Note Trainer. It shows you the first 12 frets of the guitar and asks you to identify the notes on the various frets and strings. I'm currently getting towards the end of session 4 of the Learn And Master Guitar course, so these types of exercises are very useful for me right now. 

I've had a few aha-moments too, and I've gotten a few glimpses of patterns and relationships between strings that I haven't seen before, and that the course hasn't taught me yet. 

So, what do you guys do to practise while travelling? Am I missing out on some cool apps or tools that could further my skills and knowledge of music and the guitar in particular? 

 

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Yup I don't carry guitar (most of the time) on vacation. 

I'll be on a local beach for a couple of hours next day or two.

I print off Steve's major scales mix up and work on those at the beach

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As Doug suggested, study theory if you don't have a guitar at hand.  @Yggdrasilium, I don't show enough dedication to doing this and need to do so more.

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I am travelling regularly for work and manage to take my Traveller Guitar with me most of the times. It looks like a headless Steinberger, weighs only 1.4 Kg. and fits into a suitcase.

The laprest and arm support visible on the picture are own-made modifications that can be screwed on.

At this very moment I am on holidays in France with the family and play my Traveler Guitar almost daily 😀.

Wim.

 

IMG_1668.JPG

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12 hours ago, Eracer_Team-DougH said:

Yup I don't carry guitar (most of the time) on vacation. 

I'll be on a local beach for a couple of hours next day or two.

I print off Steve's major scales mix up and work on those at the beach

Or Even a just piece of paper and a pencil to do this. Or nothing at all... just mentally say the scales in your head or out loud wotks too.

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14 hours ago, Wim VD1 said:

I am travelling regularly for work and manage to take my Traveller Guitar with me most of the times. It looks like a headless Steinberger, weighs only 1.4 Kg. and fits into a suitcase.

The laprest and arm support visible on the picture are own-made modifications that can be screwed on.

At this very moment I am on holidays in France with the family and play my Traveler Guitar almost daily 😀.

Wim.

 

IMG_1668.JPG

...Which is just one reasons why Wim has become such a good guitarist.  

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9 hours ago, NeilES335 said:

Or Even a just piece of paper and a pencil to do this. Or nothing at all... just mentally say the scales in your head or out loud wotks too.

probably saying them in your head or out loud is the best as you're not relying on the visual paper to guide.

I have brought guitars on some of my driven trips, and play occasionally, I'm pretty poor at time management while on vacation .

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18 hours ago, Wim VD1 said:

I am travelling regularly for work and manage to take my Traveller Guitar with me most of the times. It looks like a headless Steinberger, weighs only 1.4 Kg. and fits into a suitcase.

The laprest and arm support visible on the picture are own-made modifications that can be screwed on.

At this very moment I am on holidays in France with the family and play my Traveler Guitar almost daily 😀.

Wim.

 

IMG_1668.JPG

So you have to carry along an amp with these Traveller guitars (maybe a Vox AmPlug or AmPhones ... and some headphones) to get some audible sound out of them?

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43 minutes ago, NeilES335 said:

So you have to carry along an amp with these Traveller guitars (maybe a Vox AmPlug or AmPhones ... and some headphones) to get some audible sound out of them?

I use an iPhone or iPad with an adapter (iRig from IK Multimedia) and earphones If I want amplification. The sound is not great, but good enough for practice. I often practice without amplification.

Wim.

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Thanks for all the great tips, guys, and sorry for falling off the radar. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question.

Reading about music theory is a great tip. The topic of scales is a bit beyond my current level, I'm afraid, but I'm going to keep that in mind when I - hopefully - make some more progress with the course.

The idea of a travelling guitar came as a surprise to me; I didn't even know they existed. It's so practical, as it's so small and easy to fit inside a decently sized suitcase. Did you pay much for it?

I got back from my vacation about three weeks ago, and have been enjoying some alone-time with my guitar now and then. 🙂

Today I thought I'd fire up the old DVD and go through Steve's lesson 4 videos again, and see if I am having any difficulty playing that stuff. I took a break from the course a few months ago, and have been using the book "Hal Leonard Easy Pop Melodies" since I find it a good companion source material for practicing the notes on the first five frets. Steve has recommended buying those books, after all. I now see why he did so.

The break from the course has done me good, I believe. It has been refreshing, which I needed after spending many months in session 4. My hope is that I will feel ready to move on to session 5 shortly. 🙂

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welcome back.. we all have started and stopped for many reasons.. Life does get in the way.. but now.. just enjoy!

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I think vacation is a time away from all the cares of life. Even keeping up with things like music lessons are to be avoided. On the other hand, music appreciation can be a good influence no matter when we have the chance. Going to a concert or watching a good performance on TV enhances our outlook about music. If you're in Italy, maybe going to La Scala opera house is a possibility. When we return from vacation, we go at it with renewed enthusiasm. We soon catch up. Lotsa luck.

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I agree with John, the term enthusiasm is key to the learning process. This journey of learning how to play the guitar is not a sprint but rather a marathon. Taking breaks during the process should be mandatory.

Henk

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I'm trying to take my own advice by taking a 'crash course' in theory while on vacation. I know there's little chance I'll have the quiet time for serious study at other times. Studying this great little book "Music Theory 101" "A crash course...." by Brian Boone and Marc Schonbrun

20190817_122147.jpg

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On 8/18/2019 at 1:55 PM, John Wells said:

I think vacation is a time away from all the cares of life. Even keeping up with things like music lessons are to be avoided. On the other hand, music appreciation can be a good influence no matter when we have the chance. Going to a concert or watching a good performance on TV enhances our outlook about music. If you're in Italy, maybe going to La Scala opera house is a possibility. When we return from vacation, we go at it with renewed enthusiasm. We soon catch up. Lotsa luck.

I think you're absolutely right about that, John. It's a good feeling when you realize you're actually looking forward to getting back to practicing. A break can cause that to happen.

I have also noticed that I'm more likely to relax my fingers when I've taken a break. Doesn't have to be a long break. A good night's sleep is often all it takes. When my fingers are relaxed, I'm playing better, more controlled. Tense finger muscles is not a good thing when you're playing guitar.

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On 8/19/2019 at 5:59 AM, NeilES335 said:

I'm trying to take my own advice by taking a 'crash course' in theory while on vacation. I know there's little chance I'll have the quiet time for serious study at other times. Studying this great little book "Music Theory 101" "A crash course...." by Brian Boone and Marc Schonbrun

There's nothing wrong in following your own advice. At least then you know the advice is good, right? 😉

Please let us know if the crash course is a good one, Neil!

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