I got this book a few days ago, and im a bit confused on how i should progress onto new exercises. For example, should i take a set of exercises (lets say 5), keep practicing them until i can play at a certain speed (like 160 bpm) and then move on to another set of 5 and repeat this same process? Or is there another way i should practice this?
It has been so long since I have seen this book, is it mostly just technique exercises that assist in aiding how to tackle the flight of the bumblebee piece near the end?
Yeah thats right, it is
i would try to split apart the exercises that are to assist in learning the flight of the bumblebee, and the more phrase oriented or neoclassical style pattern ones. then when learning the piece use the exercises to assist, and when you are learning phrases, fragments, and arpeggios learn those. however i would say first make sure you understand your natural way of picking, and if it isn’t inline with Troy Stetina’s picking approach that you could always re-engineer the phrases or the flight of the bumblebee piece for your own picking habits.
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so when or how often should i leave exercises behind and add new ones to my practice?
that’s just something that i don’t have the answer to, i think it depends on each person and their fascination with the phrase if they will sink it deeper into the subconscious where it shines through during improv doodling. maybe someone with a deeper understand of this might could chime in on the discussion. the only training i have ever seen with trying to practice this to somehow make it more meaningful so that it sticks is to play it in context. meaning you should learn the phrase, but also play it alongside the backing track/progression/soundscape (looper pedal is your friend here) where it fits. sometimes they will use progressions that cycle around the circle of fifths either forwards or backwards, that way you not only play it in one key, but all keys. don’t know if that would really help all that much, but perhaps playing the phrase in a key to the left or right would probably be a benefit to hearing it being modulated up and down once.
well and the other more analytical answer is possibly italian solfeggio, look up the videos of nicholas baragwanath and also his book the art of melody. he tries to show how living in a basic soundscape, the very heart of the melody, the dna of it, you learn how to manipulate it with your own embellishments over a period of a few years. the solfeggi keep getting more and more embellished, and complex, yet still retain the same basic structure from the genesis of the soundscape creation.
Hey there my man! It’s a great book with lots of cool music in it! Notice how people with the name “Troy” are awesome at guitar? I am intimate with that book - played through the whole thing pretty much and knowing what I know now, I have some definite opinions on how I personally would use this sort of thing to it’s fullest.
It’s an old book; the author didn’t know about pick escapes, swiping, trapped situations etc so I am thinking that knowing one’s self and what your particular playing proclivities might be the first step. As far as the musical vocabulary, Troy Grady has provided musical examples that are ummm complimentary to whatever your playing proclivities are as well as a means to cross over and learn others. I guess context is everything, so as long as it’s useful go for it. I remembered when I learned Bumblebee I rearranged the notes to suit myself quite a bit. That’s not a handicap; it’s a means to an end to ensure that I have the most positive output based on my ability and knowledge of said ability and the associated playbook at that time.
As far as tempos go, I personally prefer to start fast and work my way down, even when it’s terrible. the base tempo is what you want to increase anyways, and doing music isn’t the same as going to the gym; the “burn” is bad in my opinion. I am kind of like “Learn it, if I like it - I keep it - if I don’t I discard”.
Musically, yes I believe one should try to assimilate as much as one can and then re-harmonize it, use it in one’s compositions, improvisations etc BUT… I learned a long time ago that just because we are learning somebody else’s notes doesn’t mean that by default we are graced with their technique.
That’s just my opinions of course, so if this is not helpful just disregard! 
Good luck, and have fun!
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