Wow! Thank you, both, for these wonderful replies.

Michael, your practice strategy's just what I need to be thinking about at the moment. And I love the point that, if you work through a I-IV-V chord progression in minor thirds you cover all the keys.

Arthur, thanks so much for your supportive and pragmatic advice. Your point about not making practising seem like a chore must be fundamental to progress!

What a great website this is.

Great question Adam, and great answer Michael! Really thorough. Love it!

Adam, here is my advice regarding this question, as it does come up from time to time. I would say, unless you are in music school, or routinely accompany different singers, keep your practice practical and applicable to what you want to use music for.

If you just want to play boogie for yourself, or if you have a band you play with, learn things in the keys that you are using. For example, if you are in a band that plays most songs in C, G, F, E, A and D. Then learn your favorite licks in those keys so that you can USE them in the songs you play.

If you just want to play boogie for yourself in your home, then just stick with the keys that most boogies are in, like C and G.

Will practicing in all 12 keys improve your technical skills? Yes.

If you can play all your licks and scales in Ab, will that make you better when you play in C? I don't know.

Honestly, I only practiced things in the keys I was using for about the first 5 years. Then when I got to high school and joined the jazz band and started taking jazz theory lessons, I started transposing everything to every key, not because it was practical, but because I wanted to see if I could do it.

So, I say keep it relevant to YOU.

This will save time, make it fun, and hopefully not make practicing seem like a chore. ;-)

It gets easier over time, but I had to first break everything down into simple 1x measure phrases: a bass line in the LH OR a riff in the RH. Then I'd practice both hands together round the circle (I'll call hands together a 1x measure groove).

If that's still tough, you might have to go one step simpler and run basic triads and inversions around the circle, then move on to 4-note chords. After that, the 1x measure riffs will be an easier step.

After awhile, it becomes easier and you'll pick up the basic LH/RH "grooves" almost immediately, even if it's more than 1x measure.

An excellent goal is to eventually be able to run the phrases "round the circle" in a 4-5-1 progression. That's a nice level to reach and is a great place to really feel like you're playing with the music.

NOTES:

There are different ways to practice all the keys.

1. Round the Circle of 5ths (or 4ths)

2. Chromatically

3. If you're already doing 4-5-1 progressions you can use the 3x diminished scales as a cheat/shortcut to "play in all keys". You only have to practice a 4-5-1 progression over one of the diminished scales - to hit all 12 keys. Though you should rotate the diminished scales on different days just to get the full benefit and still take advantage of the cheat/shortcut.

The 3x Diminished Scales:

C = E♭ = G♭ = A

D♭ = E = G = B♭

D = F = A♭ = B

PRACTICE REPS Personally I visit each phrase for at least 7 practice sessions. If anything takes longer than 3 minutes to run through "all keys", it's too difficult for me and I make it simpler before continuing. In the beginning I could only do very simple phrases, but overtime my skill built up so even complicated 4-5-1 musical phrases can be run in all keys in under 3 minutes.

For important phrases, I extend the practice session by 7 days at a time, that way easier phrases can be retired at 14, 21 or 28 sessions. I've never had to practice anything beyond 28 practice sessions - that seems to be the point where even the most difficult phrases get demolished and become "fluent".