What is the truth about guitar practice?
1. It is hard
2. It will take dedication and 100% effort if you want to improve quickly
3. It will need concentration and a focus on targets/goals, but remember, it is supposed to be fun too!
What is the truth about guitar practice?
1. It is hard
2. It will take dedication and 100% effort if you want to improve quickly
3. It will need concentration and a focus on targets/goals, but remember, it is supposed to be fun too!
Is there a best way to practice on your guitar? Of course you have to make your practice sessions effective but could there be a way to practice that is more effective than other ways? There are many principles involved in an effective practice session and I think most of these are a motivation founded. At some point you were inspired to take up the guitar. You need to find ways to keep this inspiration coming and you’ll do fine.
Golden rule number 1?
“The slower the better”
Practising the guitar is all about training your fingers to remember certain patterns. Therefore, practising licks/chord movements/scales etc, is most effective when practise very slowly. As your fingers get used to the movements you can then speed up that lick or that chord change.
Golden rule number 2?
”You need to make sure you’re enjoying practising the guitar”
How effective can a practice session be? (aimed at a competent guitarist)
Inspiration is the best motivator. I find inspiration by going to gigs and watching amazing musicians. GET MOTIVATED!
In order to progress you NEED to set yourself targets. For example, when I practise, I have certain exercises/scales/arpeggios and licks that I practise every session to a metronome. I’ll start off by playing a chromatic exercise at a very comfortable speed say 90bpm in semi-quavers. I’ll then increase it to a speed I know I can play, say 120bpm. When I’m confident I can play it neatly I’ll continue to increase the tempo in increments of 10bpm until I get to my limit, say 170bpm. The next step is too increase the speed to much so it’s too fast to play, say 190-200bpm. Have a good few attempts at this. It’s way too fast, but you know that so don’t get frustrated. Now, go back to 150bpm, this should now feel comfortable.
This technique of starting slow, speeding up, then going past your limit and returning to a speed faster than was previous comfortable, is a great way to improve in a short space of time. It seems to be VERY effective for me.
So get a card and monitor your progress with the metronome, if you take your time and give it a 100% I guarantee you’ll improve. If not email me on info@adamthrelfall.co.uk and I’ll resolve your problem.
Can you practice too much or too effectively?
It depends on how we define effective practice sessions. If effective guitar practice is to work through a long list of things to improve in your playing and to practice ten hours a day without interruption I guess you can practice too effectively. This will mean that you practice in such a way that you will get bored with guitar playing and may even strain your muscles and develop an aversion towards guitar playing for the rest of your life. I was once so inspired to practise that I sat there for roughly 3 hours solid, in one position and I strain a neck muscle! I took about a week to recover. Be careful! Make sure you use correct posture at all times. If you have any questions I’ll be glad to answer them: info@adamthrelfall.co.uk
Don’t be scared to have a break. Take a few days out, but be aware that if you leave it too long you will be out of practise.
Once again, Any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Email: info@adamthrelfall.co.uk
Web: www.adamthrelfall.co.uk
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