
Balancing a laundry list of tunes and a small human can give you new insights into making the most of your time.
Just like anything that is important to you, you need to have a plan in place to accomplish it. Last month, I had to learn approximately 60 songs in the span of less than three weeks for a three-part livestream series. It wasn't a situation where it would be appropriate for me to read charts off a music stand. I had to make a practice plan with my family in order to have the time and resources I would need to execute this rather monumental task. I want to take you step-by-step through my strategy for tackling those tunes. Hopefully you can find tips to help refine your approach—even if you don't have a newborn.
What if you don't have something pressing to force you into laser-focusing your practice habits? How do you manage your time without a deadline to hold you accountable?
If you're reading this article, you're a self-motivated person who wants to improve. Excellent. Give yourself goals that are achievable and quantifiable to stay motivated and track your progress. Rather than a goal like “Get better at soloing" select something like “Transcribe solo on [name a specific song]" as your first weekly goal. Then, build upon those goals by using that material to achieve another objective. Small steps add up to big changes and give you the focus you need to establish good practice habits.
Preproduction
Using this soloing goal as an example, find ways to practice outside of the practice room so you can maximize time with your instrument. If you're trying to cop a solo, learn it by heart before you sit down to play it. Sing along with it over and over again to the point where you can sing it without the recording. Here's an exercise to try: Record yourself playing the chord changes and then sing melodic ideas over it. You can do so much work in advance of heading to the woodshed. And if you're a busy person, preproduction is the key to success.
Lightning Round!
Turn off notifications on your phone. When you have precious little time, an errant tweet notification can derail the 30 minutes you have set aside. Jason Isbell has been responsible for nearly as much social media worm-holing as he has musical inspiration for me. Dude's a Twitter genius. You've been warned.
Organize your practice space. You don't want to be searching for stuff when you're under the gun. I have notebooks, Sharpies, pens, and pencils at the ready along with headphones and adaptors. Take this tip from Rachel Hoffman's home organization masterwork Unf*ck Your Habitat: “A Place for Everything and Everything in Its Place." If you have a place for everything, you're never looking for your stuff. And you also don't leave crap everywhere, thereby potentially annoying other people you need as allies.
Maximize good brain time. Is there a time of day that's better for your unique brain function to practice? Take advantage if you can! I'm a night owl so practicing after the baby is asleep works well for me, thankfully.
Sing! You can save yourself hours of time by singing along with parts you're trying to learn outside of your practice space. Do it while driving, while doing the dishes, while exercising, any opportunity you have to listen to music. This is how I learn all bass lines. If you can sing it, you can play it. When you sit down to learn it, you'll know it in your bones—literally. You will immediately hear when you make a mistake and be able to find the note you're looking for by singing the pitch you know you're supposed to hear. It's remarkable how well it works, especially for the students who say “But I can't sing!"
Do a little each day. Like exercise, a healthy diet, and meditation, practicing a smaller amount each day is more beneficial than one big cram session every now and then. Productivity timer cubes are super helpful as a means stay focused for small blocks of time. Even 15 highly concentrated minutes a day will pay dividends and create consistency in your practice and playing.
Take lessons. A teacher is a great way to stay accountable on your musical journey. An objective third party taking inventory of areas where you could improve and giving you homework is a surefire way to ensure you spend time with your instrument each week. Can't afford a ton of lessons? Make a commitment to learn a new technique by watching videos on the subject or treat yourself to a one-time or monthly evaluation by a musician you admire and have them map out some goals for you.
Include your loved ones. When something's important to you, you should share it and celebrate it with your loved ones. Music is the ultimate tool for shared celebration and finding ways to include your people in your practice endears them to your commitment, rather than viewing it as something that takes away from your time together.
My students always amaze me with how they get loved ones on board with their musical pursuits. One student's girlfriend loves karaoke, so he has committed to learning to play and sing a song for karaoke nights. She's excited for him to practice, knowing that they will spend special time together because of it. Another student has his wife help with interval training, playing intervals on the piano so he can guess what he's hearing. His wife loves to tease him about it, and they have a blast with it. Several of my students ask their friends and family what songs they'd like to hear. It's great fodder for learning new material and it gets the people you care about to be invested on a whole new level. And that rocks.
Now I'll consolidate all the info above into a real-world situation and share my practice plan for that 60-song, three-part livestream I mentioned…
Preproduction
I had to do as much prep work ahead of time as possible so I could capitalize on the time I would have to leave my baby with another willing and helpful adult. There are several steps I always take before I sit down to practice new songs. Here are the highlights:
Organize the Music and Listen
Listen to the music you're working on as much as possible. I listen while driving, pushing the baby in her stroller, in headphones next to her while she's napping, etc… Consolidate songs into a playlist in a medium that's easy to access while driving so you're not fumbling with your phone. You don't want some stuff in Dropbox, some stuff on YouTube, and some stuff in Spotify. Organizing your material upfront will save you lots of time later on.
Write Charts
I wrote my charts largely in the car in parking lots while running errands and while the baby was napping. (I write charts by ear and you can too! See my article on The Nashville Number System for more tips.) You can also ask for charts from fellow musicians on the gig (tactfully, please, and return the favor when someone asks you) or source them online if it's a cover gig.
Practice in Your Head
I know myself well enough to recognize when I truly know a song. I can visualize my hands on the fretboard while listening to it and if I get to a spot where the image doesn't come quickly, I know it'll need some attention. I then listen through the songs while reading the charts I wrote in those Nashville parking lots and highlight the trouble spots and anything else that surfaces as questionable.
Get the Setlist
If possible, get the setlist in advance. Then grab a couple pieces of hardy card stock paper and two different colored Sharpies. Write the songs in order in alternating, high contrast colors. This way your eye can find your notes quickly on the floor.
Now to execute a practice plan and juggle a small human…
I had 60 songs to learn that were divided over three 90-minute sets of roughly 20 songs each with about a week between each performance.
I focused on the shows in chronological order and spent all my time listening to those 20 songs, over and over for three or four days before touching an instrument.
My practice time was divided into two 90-minute sessions per day over the course of the two days before each show. One was in the morning when someone could watch the baby and one in the evening after she was asleep.
First Day Practice Sessions
I split the setlist in half and tackled 10 songs at the morning session and the remaining 10 at the evening session. Ninety minutes is about what I need to run 10 songs I've never played (but on which I have done proper preproduction). Some songs I'll only need to run once to get them under my hands, some might need a couple of run-throughs.
I play through each song, focusing on trouble spots, running those sections a few times.
I notate (usually with a highlighter or an asterisk) any trouble spots on my chart I didn't catch during the critical listening and charting pre-practice phase.
Second Day Practice Sessions
I redo the same approach, only this time I try not to look at my charts. As I play along, I take note when I find myself asking “How does that bridge go?" or “Am I in at the top of the song?" I write those notes down in Sharpie next to the song title on my setlist.
And now I present my setlist for the final livestream, which ended up being 16 songs in length. This is written using the Nashville Number System and is a peek into my process. Thanks to my husband and mother-in-law for working with me to make my practice time a reality and best of luck to all of you busy folks out there looking to get the most out of your precious time.
To quote the author Harvey Mackay:
Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it.
You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can
never get it back.
Make the most of it, friends!
Xotic revamps a classic Vox-boost-in-a-box pedal, creating a new one in the process.
Smart, feature-packed update on a classic. Nice size and price.
Small boost knob.
$180
Xotic Effects AC Booster V2
Xotic Effects newest version of the Vox-flavored AC Booster, the AC Booster V2, adds a second, footswitchable boost circuit (tweakable via a small, clear knob tucked among the four main-channel controls), plus a set of four dip switches on the box’s righthand side which engage compression, modern or classic voicing, low-mid boost, and high-mid boost.
This new suite of features packs significant extra functionality into V2’s still-diminutive enclosure. The Vox sounds are all there, and with the high-mids juiced and treble nudged, you’re squarely in clanging Top Boost territory. The modern voicing trades some furry mid-range chunk for a bit more aggression and clarity, while the compression is useful for leveling leads and smoothing out unruly playing.
The boost knob is a little difficult to access, situated as it is in the center of the primary four-knob array. I don’t have particularly big fingers, but even I had trouble twiddling it. That’ll annoy some. But it’s a small price to pay for such a pedalboard-friendly footprint. The boost doses you with a healthy bump in level and gain that’s great for stand-out leads and solos. And speaking of standing out, the upper-mid boost switch is a treat. I found that creating a greater disparity between the high mids from the low mids made for a more precise and satisfying tone-shaping experience than I would experience using a standard mids knob.
There are no shortage of pedals that ape Vox AC30 mojo, but I haven’t seen many that will give you the range of utility that the AC Booster V2 will, for less for $200. Xotic nailed a smart and versatile redesign here.
Nashville luthier and guitar tech Dave Johnson shows us the baker's dozen of tools he thinks any guitar picker requires to be a guitar fixer.
3. Guitar Tech Screwdriver Set - 3000
4. Nut File Set (for medium guitar strings) - 0882
8. String Spacing Ruler - 0673
9. Nut and Saddle Files - 4556
The Ultimate Guitarist's Tool Chest Giveaway
Whether you're setting up your first guitar or fine-tuning a custom build, these are the 13 tools every guitarist needs. Now you can win them all. We've partnered with our friends at StewMac to give away a complete pro-level toolkit valued at over $750.
Click here to enter
Paul Reed Smith cradles one of his company’s Charcoal Phoenix limited-edition guitars in front of a PRS Sonzera amp.
The storied guitar builder reflects on his dozen months sharing his experience, knowledge, and perspective with PG’s readers.
Over the past year, I’ve written a series of articles in Premier Guitar going over some of my, and our industry’s, views of guitar making. You can find all of them all online (and for those reading this online, the articles are collected here). What I am going to attempt to do for this final piece is boil down each of these articles to a “sort of” conclusion. I have enjoyed the process of writing and editing each one. For the most part, it’s been a lot of fun. So:
Tonewood Doesn’t Matter. Wood Does (August 2024)
We don’t use the word tonewood in conversation at PRS. It doesn’t capture a lot of my experience of which combinations of wood make good instruments. First and foremost, we are looking for qualities of wood over species, and we make sure we dry and treat each one appropriately.
What Makes a Guitar Worth the Price? (September 2024)
Very often, the price of a guitar does reflect how good an instrument is—and very often the price of the guitar has nothing to do with how good an instrument is.
What You Can and Can’t See When Buying a Guitar (October 2024)
This one’s a pet peeve. When making a purchase, you can clearly see the color of a guitar and how beautiful it is, but you have no idea if the neck is going to warp over time because of many factors, including wood drying and truss rod installment design. Trust your experience.
Does Where a Guitar Is Made Really Matter? (November 2024)
There are really good, really smart, really talented people all over the world. While I won’t deny it’s helped our career here at PRS being in the United States, I do not believe it is a truly defining factor of our quality. A good example would be the PRS SE Series.
The Complicated Beauty of Electric Guitar Pickups (December 2024)
We’ve taken so many good stabs at humbucking design, and I’m getting incredibly good feedback on our new McCarty IIIs. But making pickups is a complicated art. There are a lot of ingredients in the recipe.
“I hope these articles have had some positive impact on you as a group.”
In Guitar Making, It’s the Details that Matter (January 2025)
Well, that title says it. What’s interesting for me is that all guitar makers believe that different types of details matter more than others. At PRS, we have our own beliefs.
When Building Guitars—Or Pursuing Anything—Go Down All the Rabbit Holes (February 2025)
This one’s about learning. It’s a process I really enjoy. Whether your passion is guitar making, guitar playing, or something else entirely, there is always more to keep discovering.
Paul Reed Smith on Buying Gear (March 2025)
Very often at a clinic, the people who don’t play guitar have a less calcified view of the sound of the instruments being demonstrated than those players who have already developed strong ideas. On the other hand, one time a very experienced player was at one of my clinics and heard something he’d been looking for for a long time and did not expect it out of the guitar he got it from. Trust your experience—not your predetermined views.
Learning from the Mistakes of Guitar Building’s Past (April 2025)
I think my beginnings as a repairman gave me a lot of insight on this one. Even still, just the process of defining a past guitar-making mistake is its own art.
Paul Reed Smith on Where Amp History—and Tone—Begins (May 2025)
This one I love. It’s a greatly exaggerated version of mods you could do to a TS808 Tube Screamer, which has a history on the web. Amplifiers are “modulated power supplies” and can have so much impact on your tone.
The Lifelong Rhythm of Learning (June 2025)
In some periods of time, there’s a lot to be learned, and in some periods of time, you can barely hold what you had before. It’s different for everyone, and for me, it’s been up and down. No matter where you are in the process, there’s always good work to do.
I hope these articles have had some positive impact on you as a group. I know some things resonate with some people and not others, and the opposite as well. I haven’t gotten a lot of feedback from these articles except that there’s not an overwhelming chorus saying “what an idiot,” which I assume means there’s been some meat on the bone of some of the views shared. It’s been a joy. Thanks for listening.
Kemper updated the entire product range introducing the all-new Kemper Profiler MK 2 Series. More Power. More Flexibility.
KEMPER PROFILER - The all-new PROFILER MK 2 Series
Kemper today announces the immediate availability of the all-new KEMPER PROFILER MK 2 Series. Kemper continues to raise the bar with the upcoming Profiler MK 2 Series — a bold evolution of the Profiler lineup (All PROFILERs: Head, Rack, Stage, the Player, and the powered versions), delivering more power, more flexibility, and more creative potential than ever before.
At the heart of the PROFILER MK 2 Series works an upgraded processing engine, unlocking faster performance, with boot times clocking in around 20 seconds, and a host of new features that expand the boundaries of what a modern guitar or bass rig can do.
A New Era of Effects:
20 Blocks in Series, the most powerful effects architecture ever found in a Kemper unit - The PROFILER MK 2 Series now offers seven additional effect blocks, raising the total number of simultaneous audio effect blocks to an incredible 20 — all running with zero added signal latency. It’s like having an entire, fully integrated pedalboard with pedal essentials at your feet — but one that boots in seconds, never needs rewiring, and always remembers your settings.
A new Era of Profiling:
Kemper announces a new profiling technology for the MK 2 series. Availabilty is expected during Summer. Currently in extended testing with some selected third-party profile vendors the new profiling offers:
- More than 100,000 individual frequency points meticulously analyzed for the most precise amp recreation ever achieved.
- Next-Level Speaker & Dynamically adjustable Cabinet Resonance – Capturing the true dynamics of your setup with the longest and most complex impulse responses in the industry.
- Liquid Profiling Technology – Seamlessly integrate the original amp’s gain and tone controls, transforming a single profile into a fully dynamic, living amplifier.
- Unparalleled Precision & Feel – A cutting-edge hybrid approach combining precise, deterministic analog measurement with Kemper’s industry-leading profiling intelligence.
Overview - All that’s new in the PROFILER MK 2 in more Detail:
All-New FX Section – 7 Additional FX Slots - ThePROFILER MK 2-Series introduces an expanded FX section with seven dedicated “pedalboard essential” FX slots, featuring: A new second Noise Gate (Palm Ninja), Compressor, Pure Booster, WahWah, Vintage Chorus, Air Chorus, and Double Tracker.
Adding these to the pre-existing 10 audio blocks, Spectral Noise Gate, Transpose Effect, and Volume Pedal - in total this provides users with 20 simultaneous audio effect blocks, setup gig-ready right out of the box while maintaining full flexibility for customization.
This new layout makes it convenient to cover all the bases and offers 8 flexible FX blocks available for the acclaimed tone shapers and studio-grade unique FX the KEMPER PROFILER is famous for.
Performance Meets Portability - With a smarter internal design and new lightweight aluminum components, the Profiler Stage Mk 2 has shed excess weight — making it even more gig-friendly without sacrificing the tank-like build quality musicians rely on. Whether for touring the world or heading to a local session, this is the most travel-ready full-featured Profiler yet.
Mk 2-ready Player! - For all guitarists and bassists already rocking the compact PROFILER Player, there is good news: it’s been “MK 2”-ready from day one, meaning it’s fully aligned with the power and potential of the new series, and now, on LVL 1 already, it features 16 simultaneous FX in total. This new extended signal flow becomes available for all Player owners as a free update, and yes, it will get Profiling, too. Making the PROFILER Player out of the box the features richest and most professional performance and recording solution - with its travel-friendly footprint and convenient price point!
8-Channel USB Audio Support for the new Mk 2-Series - Native 8-channel USB audio support to all KEMPER PROFILER MK 2 Series units, enabling seamless multitrack recording and reamping directly into your DAW – no external interface required.
Loop Longer, Play Harder - The integrated Looper also gets a serious upgrade. With up to two full minutes of recording time, the MK 2 Series lets you capture extended phrases, build layered soundscapes, or craft entire performances — all on the fly. (Looper available from LVL 3 for the Player)
Speed and Responsiveness Upgrades - Major improvements under the hood. Boot times, preset switching, and UI responsiveness are noticeably faster and smoother, especially in Performance Mode.
Christoph Kemper, Founder & CEO:
“The new PROFILER MK 2-Series makes the PROFILERs feel more like a complete rig than ever before. With instant access to essential FX, full USB audio integration, and improved playability, we’re giving our users a platform that adapts and grows with them.”
Pricing & Availability:
The new KEMPER PROFILER MK 2 Series models are available now from dealers worldwide and directly from the Kemper Online Store. All the new features require a KEMPER PROFILER MK 2 Series device. Visit www.kemper-amps.com for downloads and release notes.
PROFILER Head $1,348.00
PROFILER Rack $1,398.00
PROFILER Stage $1,498.00
PROFILER Player $ 699.00
PROFILER PowerHead $1,798.00
PROFILER PowerRack $1,798.00
PROFILER Remote $ 469.00
At a glance!
The Kemper Profiler MK 2 Series isn’t just about doing more. It’s about doing it better, faster, and without compromise. With unmatched tonal power, surgical precision, and effortless usability, this is the most complete and forward-thinking Profiler platform yet.