> Well we obviously don't need a flame war over this dicussion
> about practice techniques but....
>
> Practice techniques and approach are everything.
>
> I don't know why you are in such a hurry to brush off the
> whole subject.
>
> Your summary doesnt not indicate to me that you understand at
> all the issues here or how important it is for someone to achieve
> the proper orientation regarding practice techniques.
I'm in agreement with Reed here. As of this year I've been playing
guitar for 25 years, and I started studying jazz in my 2nd year of
playing. I estimate that about 80% of what I was practicing up until a
few years ago was wasted effort, based on the advice of "experts". I
thought I had to do it all, and I suffered a great deal from feelings of
inferiority because I wasn't getting the results I desired so strongly.
I've seen this same pattern in other intelligent, sincere players who
followed the wrong advice. I've been in numerous heated discussions on
various newsgroups because people hold so strongly to the ideas that
they have been taught or read out of a book. Since I've given up doing
the scale/pattern/excercise approach I've made lots of improvement, and
prior to that I'd considered quitting music on more than one occasion
because I thought I had no talent. These are not petty issues.
Clay