Ideas For Better Practicing On The Guitar

by Joshua LeBlanc

Have you ever sat down to practice your guitar and once you sit down, you may work on strumming chords for a few minutes. Then you get up to grab a glass of water. Then you sit back down and check your phone. Then you pick up your guitar again and noodle around with a scale for a few minutes. Then you check your phone again followed by hopping on Facebook. Finally you run through a song you've been working on. Now it is an hour later and you have not accomplished much on your guitar. If this sounds familiar to you, you are not alone. Having taught many guitar students over the years, I find that many students struggle with the concept of practicing efficiently. So how do you begin to even practice efficiently.

Start Small

Instead of worrying about practicing three or more hours a day like many virtuoso guitarists say they do, work on building a consistent practice routine. Chances are you can find one day where you are able to play your guitar for several hours but then struggle to find thirty minutes the rest of the week. Instead of doing this, focus on finding five minutes everyday to practice. Yes, five minutes everyday. This is the minimum you should do. If after five minutes, you find you have more time and want to continue to practice then go ahead and do so. Staying consistent here is the key to making progress.

Practice With Intention

If you aren't planning what you want to achieve from your practice sessions then you are planning to fail. You should always have a goal when you practice. Let's say you are working on your minor pentatonic scale. Instead of just playing it up and down the fret board for ten minutes and then saying “good enough”, give yourself a goal to work to such as “Play the minor pentatonic scale in sixteenth notes at 160 bpm”. This way you can track your progress as to how long it is taking you to reach your goal. Practicing in this way with a clear intention will help your guitar playing progress faster.

Do Not Disturb

Keep your phone on airplane mode when you practice. If you do this in ten minute bursts you'll be unlikely to miss anything important. If you have a job where you can't have your phone silenced, set it to where it will silence all calls except the one you need. This way you can focus with out any distractions causing you to put down your guitar. If you are someone who likes to use their phone for a metronome or tuner then either make sure you only use it for those applications or purchase a tuner and a metronome that way you do not need to have your phone near you.

In addition, make sure that anyone who lives with you knows to leave you alone while you practice your guitar. The less distractions you have, the better quality of practice you will get.

If you want to learn more about better practice habits or just how to make your guitar playing better visit www.lafayettelaguitarlessons.com to learn more and see if guitar lessons are right for you.