PlayJazzGuitar.com Forum

[robbro]

Just wondering , how much do you or, dont you practice before a gig? specificaly the day of.

[mattwolfe3]

I practice everyday, even when I have a gig. I obviously can't practice as much on a day that I have a gig because my evening is spent driving to the gig, playing the gig, then driving home. But I still try to practice on days like that anyway. Since my practice time is shorter, I try to make more out of my time by practicing things like keeping good time.

That's for small restaurant-type gigs where we're just calling tunes and the pressure is low. If it's something more like a concert at school where I'll be playing specific pieces I've been working on, then I don't practice that stuff very much (if at all) on the day of the concert.

But really, you have to find what works for you.
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"Without music, life would be a mistake." -Nietzsche

[Viper]

The best thing is about 20 mins sleep before you go on.

[Hitdoggie]

I like to get 20 minutes of warm up before the gig...before or after sound check. Most the stuff I've been doing has been for corporations. So it usually presents a problem as people file into reception halls early. Most the time the band leader will have me do a tune or two solo in between techniques stuff.

That's what i need to get in. I usually practice in the mornings, so for the most part I've practiced before a gig. I need that warm up though or my playing tends to suffer for a few tunes. Maybe it's because I'm still getting my shit together?

[dewey decibel]

I don't. The day before is about the most I can do, but I generally don't practice much.

Keep in mind that when learning new material it takes time, and part of the process is taking a break- you need to take a break and let the stuff sink in. And I'm just making stuff up here, it's how your brain works. So IMO, work on it till the day before the gig, then take a break and don't touch it again till the gig or right before.

[Volume Swell]

Usually I just jam out for a bit to some tracks or with friends/the band.

[jazzerchick]

I practice when I need or want to work on something or just whenever I
have time to pick the guitar up for a bit. No set schedule. I wish I did
have one, but life gets in the way. I leave a guitar out on a stand all the
time so I don't have to through the getting it out of the case thing.

Mostly I need a little warm up before the gig to stretch out the fingers and
coordinate the hands. Usually chromatics ,then arpps for a few minutes
and I'm warmed up. Like you said, otherwise it takes a few tunes to feel
right. And it saves the elbows.

[Generic Sobriquet]

Just enough to warm up and get up to speed, both mentally and physically, like a pre-game walk-through and shoot-around, or sprinters prepping for a race. No actual practicing (unless there's some specific reason for it).

And by the by, to expand on what dewey alluded to, memory consolidation occurs during sleep, so anything you want to learn is best taken in near bedtime. (For students and analogy, this means cramming the night before will actually work better than pulling an all-nighter or buzzing the text prior to the exam.)

[Bjorn]