Hello dear metalheads!

I am wondering the different ways you practice. Usually I practice classical music pieces that I order in sheet music form. Do you practice tabs of different bands? I don't usually practice tabs of bands because the songs and bands I would like to practice are not available in tab or sheet music form. For example I am looking for sheet music and tabs for the bands Todesbonden and Tenhi, I cannot find anywhere. Is there a place where you can get sheet music for those bands? Anyway do bands in general sell sheet music of their music?

Thank you!

I don't 'practice' tabs of different bands, unless there is a specific purpose or the song has a technique that I'm trying to master [i.e. Yngwie tunes].

I dislike conventional excersises because most of them sound like shit. What I do is I take anything hard for me to play, set the metronome on 40 bpm, play each note of whatever it is on every first beat, while making sure that my hands are relaxed, in the right spot and not tense for the other three beats. I do this until I work my way up to whatever speed I want it at. It takes a while, but you can learn to play anything and clean at any speed this way.
As mentioned in another thread I always employ a Stylus Pick when I practice alternate picking but lately I've been finding ways to use it to help improve your sweeping as well, something it really was not designed for.

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[QUOTE=Sycophant What I do is I take anything hard for me to play, set the metronome on 40 bpm, play each note of whatever it is on every first beat, while making sure that my hands are relaxed, in the right spot and not tense for the other three beats. I do this until I work my way up to whatever speed I want it at. It takes a while, but you can learn to play anything and clean at any speed this way.
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I'm not sure I comprehend what you wrote. Do you mean, you start playing a piece that is hard for you at a tempo speed at 40 beats per minute and keep increasing the speed until you reach your speed goal? Is the Stylus Pick the arch sharped shaped picks?

The yngwie riffs you practice, do you get them in sheet music or tab form and does yngwie sell his music in official song book? Is there anyone here who practices music in sheet music of a certain person or group? If so where do you get the sheet music from?

There are a bunch of songs I like to play that have no tabs. I figured them out by ear. I would have already tabbed them out but I don't want to spend the time. I figured out quite a few soilent green, some suffocation, little Disgorge, and some hate eternal. I sound like crap when I first try to figure out but I eventually work it out.

Other than that I just try a little bit of everything. There was this article in a Guitar World Magazine that I still use today. It was Steve Vai 30 Hour Workout. Its great. Great excersizes and practice tips.

Most of the time though I'm jamming. Always trying to play something differnt.

ill often take an album and skim through it (even if its not something i would usually listen to), learning each riff/lead/vocal that i enjoy - anything that catches my ear. for technique just loop short exercises using a metronome

well it is my pratice method
20 min warm-up ( i make cover of the bands (death expecially) i most like)
break
10 min improvisation/exercises over pentatonic scale
20 min improvisation/exercises over modal scales
break
10 min economy picking ( I play usually a bad flight of the bumblebee at maximum speed)
10 min sweep picking exercises (I uses to play a lot of times the sweeps on no boundaries)
5-10 min legato (some legato licks from some satriani'songs)
10 min tapping ( I play a tapping lick and alternate the fingers of right hand, from index to pinky)
break
15 min songs learning
15 min improvisation or song writing

that's all folks

usualy i just play around, i dont realy practice.. sumtimes i tab some stuff by ear, thats prettymuch my practice, cuz u hafto play the same thing over and over until u got it right:P

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i never use tabs... the few songs i do like to play by bands i just do by ear. usually i like to make up my own exersizes and try to build up my speed with them. or sometimes ill hear a melody (vocal, violin, guitar, whatever) and try to play it on guitar. it really helps you build your own creative sence of melody and understanding of the fretboard, without reading from a sheet of paper. takes more time, but i feel i get more out of it in the end.

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I'm still really new at guitar but my playing goes kinda like...

Scales that I know with a metronome for 30 min or so
Then improv with the scales (usually blusey sounding)
Then I usually play Symphony of Destruction (minus solos) first without the actual song then I jam with the song. Might play it again if I felt I can play it smoother.
After that I play 'Gunshot to the head of trepidation' which I enjoy because it has a pretty fun intro and chorus. Practice the interlude. I try to jam to this song as well.
Then I like to play some 'medussa and hemlock' which is pretty challenging for me but fun
After this I like to play some random stuff (some crystal mountain, lord abortion, maybe the beginning of angel of death for speed development)
All this song stuff easily fills hour and a half.
After that, I slow it down and work on 'Acoustic Melody' by In Flames.

If I still feel like playing, it just improv stupid stuff, usually keeping beats or working on accuracy (something I really need!).

i think that just playing daily will always be of benefit, even if you're just improvising the whole time.

Now what I also really need to do is develope my ear and actually be able to listen to a riff and be able to produce it on the guitar without a tab.

Medussa and Hemlock by Cradle of Filth?

yes

I used to practice profusely, doing speed runs, string skipping, trills, and other techniques for about a year and a half. Now, I mostly play tabs of bands that i like, trying to correct parts of the tab if it doesnt sound right. I also just mess around with ideas in my head and try to get them out in a musical way. I still do some sweeping and tapping exercises as well as speed, but I really dont practice as much as I just play and try to come up with original music.