Getting Better All the Time

[Rudolf Wagner]

Hi Don!

Thanks for all the kind, flattering words – it brought a smile to our face! 🙂

To answer your question: Daily practise is only part of our routine during some phases of our lives.

Some months of the year we play, jam and practise every day and then there are months we are so busy with other projects that we hardly touch the guitar other than to record with it. It really depends on what it is we are working on at any given time and how busy our lives are.

It definitely helps to focus on different areas of your playing, rather than trying to work on everything at once all the time. Following an (even lose) practise plan can be great and of course having a teacher that keeps you on track can work wonders too.

We usually practise on whatever guitar is lying around and aren’t very picky. Ideally, you would want to practise on a guitar with heavier strings to help build up that muscle strength (every other guitar will feel like heaven in comparison) but that’s not always fun, so if you have the luxury of being able to mix it up and play on different guitars, that can’t hurt!

[Jung Roe]

Hi Mona,

Thanks for some golden nuggets of practice advice. Great question Don. When I was doing my piano practice, following youtube tutorials, I spent an hour practicing everything all at once, and felt like I got very little progress each time. I’ll try a more focused approach each time like you mentioned. Thanks again. Have a groovy weekend.????????❤

[Michael Rife]

If I may add something here concerning having several guitars……… It may be well to work out a schedule of certain guitars on certain days. Guitars are meant to be played and improve in sound as the guitars are played more often. If you are in a climate that changes often, then the wood in the guitar stretches and contracts which causes the guitar to be very much out of tune the next time you play it. So, by playing it often (tuning it each time) corrects for the stretching and contracting and keeps the guitar in position more often. Guitars that sit for a while and are not played often can have the neck of the guitar shift some. You can see this effect by looking down the guitar from the very top of it. If the neck looks a little ‘bent’ from the body of the guitar, it means the guitar has been sitting for too long. All of this is especially true for acoustic guitars. Sorry to ‘geek out’ on this but I kinda like guitars. Mike.

[Don Tracy]

Yeah me too! How many guitars do guitar players need? Just one more! I live in Colorado which has a very dry climate. For that reason, the majority of my guitars live in a humidified closet to help protect them from seasonal changes. Because of dry air I have dealt with a crack in the top of a 12-strong acoustic, fret growth on a bunch of guitars and of course truss rod adjustments. Guitar geek stuff of course, but also a fact of life where I live. It’s good to hear from a fellow guitar player, by the way.

[Johnnypee Parker]

Geek away! I once heard that one should keep those little “dry” packets that you find in parcels and put them in your guitar case to keep the humidity down. Have you guys ever heard of this?

JP

[Don Tracy]

Hey JP, great question. Should you keep those desiccant packs in your guitar case? The answer is that it depends on whether you live in a humid climate or a dry climate as I do. Here is guidance offered on the Sweetwater website:

“The thin top, back, and sides of acoustic and semi-hollowbody guitars are the most susceptible to rapid humidity and temperature changes, but any guitar can be damaged if it’s kept outside of the safe zone for too long. To prevent damage, keep your guitar at a consistent 40%–50% humidity level. Whenever conditions are outside of this range, you risk damaging your guitar! But how do you know what the humidity is? I’m glad you asked.

The best way to monitor humidity is to use a hygrometer. A hygrometer is a device that measures the moisture in the air. Keeping one in your case and checking it periodically will tell you if your guitar is too wet or too dry.

It’s also vital to keep a humidification system in your case to regulate humidity. Simply put, if you’re not using a humidification system, the chances of harming your guitar are drastically increased. Humidity damage is by far the most common repair our Guitar Repair Shop sees during the winter months.

The heating system in your home is designed to circulate warm, dry air. Unfortunately, that is a perfect recipe for dehydrating guitars. Be sure that during the winter months you are using a humidification system to prevent damage to your guitar or any other instruments.”

I hope this helps! – Don

[Johnnypee Parker]

Thanks for the tips, Don.

JP

[Walter Music]

Hi Don and everyone. Don, I live in Aurora, Colorado and Colorado is so dry. I keep my Acoustic guitars in their cases and semi hollow ones and I do have a humidification system hooked up to our HVAC system. I keep the humidity at approximately 40% but even 30-35% would help. If you can’t get that type of system than just a floor model humidifier does well. I practice every day. You can just practice for 15 minutes and build up from there. Expansion and Contraction does happen even in wood floors. Look down at your wood floors and if they are gapping, humidity is needed. Remember the more you practice, the better you get. As far as to may guitars. There is no such thing. Oh, JP I use Oasis guitar humidifiers also. Michael is right, guitars are meant for playing!!!!Keep on playing you Rockers!!!!!! Peace.

[Don Tracy]

Hi Walter, thank you so much for thinking of me and offering advice. I have been working to restore my guitar-playing chops – until I came down with a winter cold having all of the usual symptoms. I didn’t feel like I had the energy to do much of anything but your response inspired me to go down to my basement and pick up a guitar. And you know what? Playing guitar really lifted me up. Take care Walter, you are the best. – Don

[Walter Music]

Hi Don, I was glad to help. That usually happens to me too, sometimes when I practice, I do it playing along with the Twins, that really gets me in a good mood. What part of the state of Colorado do you live in? Stay Groovy and practice!!!!

[Don Tracy]

Happy Saturday Walter! I live in Evergreen. By the way, the family is getting bigger because a new guitar is arriving today.

[Walter Music]

Very Cool Don, acoustic or electric? Evergreen, been there so many times over the years. Played at Little Bear late 70’s. Wow long time ago. How’s the guitar and how is the practicing going? Stay Groovy!!!

[Jacki Hopper]

Though, I’m not really a musician on here unlike alot of you, unless you count singing, playing tambourine as being and of air drumming/guitarist ( I excell at guitar/drumming….lol as I showed off my air guitar skills with my guitar purse at an open mic jam a couple months ago…lol ), though singing and playing tambourine, I can do half decently , and though, I don’t fully understand all the tech talk etc, for me, it still interesting, fascinating to learn new things of how one cares for and about instruments , etc, Thankyou for the education !!

[Don Tracy]

Hi Walter, ready for a quiz to guess what guitar came into the family? Here goes: does the acronym DGT help you to know?

[Don Tracy]

Hi Jacki, I’m delighted to hear from you! Thank you for putting up with us guitar-heads. I think it’s super cool that you play tambourine. At my church we have a talented group of guitar, bass and piano players, as well as singers, who provide music for a Spanish Mass. They are quite good but do you know what really put them over the top? A woman joined them – wait for it – with her tambourine. The rhythm of the tambourine propels their music forward. A reason why I think our dear Mona is such an awesome rhythm guitar player is that she started by playing drums. Us guitar geeks need tambourine players such as yourself, so thank so much for the gift of your music!