Get The Most Out of Your Practice Time

A lot of self-taught guitarists struggle to stay motivated. They get excited about something new, practice like crazy for a short period of time, and then lose interest again. They don’t enjoy the process of learning the guitar because learning to play often feels like a constant struggle. Unfortunately, this often leads to them settling for mediocre playing or giving up altogether.

The good news is that most people only need to make a few small changes to how and what they practice to start seeing considerable improvements in their abilities. Practice sessions become something they look forward to because they can see their progress.

Set Specific Goals

The first thing you need to do is have a vision. Set some specific goals and write them down. Don’t just write that you want to play faster or learn new songs. How much faster do you want to play? Why do you want to play faster? Playing faster is a common goal for many guitar players but does not have to be a priority for many styles of music. What songs do you want to play? What techniques do you need to play these songs? What skills do you have now, and what skills do you need to acquire? Having a concrete goal will help you plan your practice sessions

Keep a list of things you cannot do at this point in time. It could be something like working on your sense of time to get your rhythm in the pocket. Now turn that into a very specific goal. I will work on playing chords using sixteenth-note rhythms like they do in song X.

Plan What You Will Practice

So what is practice? Practice is not a jam session. It is not mindlessly running up and down scales or playing finger exercises. Practice is improving specific skills or expanding your knowledge about a particular topic so you can play the music you want to play.

Pick a few items from your list every day and work on them. Just make sure it is something that helps you reach one of your goals. You do not have to practice something for weeks until you get it down. Some things take time and many repetitions to learn.

Rotate items in and out of your practice schedule every few days to keep things fresh. Rotating items will also help you move all your skills forward instead of focusing on just one or two at a time.

Self Talk / Mindset

Watch what you say about yourself and your skills. Instead of saying, “I can’t play this; it is too hard.” Try saying,” I can’t play this yet, but I know I will get it if I keep working on this.” Never say things like “I suck!” It may not seem like a big deal, but the way you talk to yourself has a massive impact on your success

Take your practice time seriously. Set concrete goals. Don’t mindlessly noodly around. Rotate the items you practice. Make sure you are working on specific skills. If this seems like it will be difficult for you to do on your own, find an experienced guitar teacher to help you.

About the author: Brian Fish is a professional guitarist living in Northeast Ohio and is an expert guitar instructor at  Guitar Lessons Geauga.