Everybody loves guitar. In between the entire collection of musical instruments, guitar is the coolest of them all. It’s a crowd puller and also the most favored musical instruments. At some point, most of us have imagined being a pro guitar player. But of course some of us went ahead and learnt it as well. And some didn’t because of several reasons. One of the most important reasons why a lot of people give up playing guitar is because they find the practicing quite tedious & boring. If you find yourself dragging to your guitar practice then it’s time to face the truth – You are finding the guitar practice boring. And if this continues than there is a high possibility that you will very soon drift away from your dream of being a pro guitar player. Guitar practice is not supposed to be boring, which means that you are not doing it the right way. However there are many ways through which we make the practice interesting and fun by directing it to a particular goal of accomplishing and enhancing any particular aspect of your guitar learning journey. So if you are trying to increase your guitar practice to become a good guitar player then we have listed a few guitar practice tips and guidelines. Follow them to the tee and you are all set.
#1 Set aside a specific time
Set aside a particular time for your daily practice. Ensure that, no matter what, you practice during the scheduled time. This will ensure discipline. And if for some reason you are not able to practice at the dedicated time, practice some other time during the day or night as long as you are spending a specific amount of time on your guitar practice every day. Aim for at least 5 days of practice. Practicing 20-25 mins everyday will yield much better results than practicing 60 minutes once a week.
#2 Know what level you are at
It would be a waste of time & effort, if at a beginner level you are practicing an exercise meant for advanced level or if you are at an advanced level and practicing exercise meant for beginner level. So knowing what level you are at is very important in order to set realistic practice goals. Once you are able to define that, you will be able to determine your goals, speed, time required for your practice.
#3 Set Realistic Goals
Set a specific goal that you plan to achieve from every exercise. However, before setting goals know your strengths & weaknesses that way you know the areas you need to cover more during the practice. It’s very important to have big and small goals out of your guitar practice. While setting the goals also set timelines to attain the goals. Writing down your goals in a notepad or a diary really helps.
#4 Challenge Yourself
Don’t wait for others to throw challenges at you. You can do that very easily to yourself. When you realize that you can play a particular piece effortlessly increase the difficulty level and shift to something advanced. Once again set a goal for this new challenge. Although ensure that it’s not too advanced as you might just end up giving up. It’s important to keep raising the bar constantly to progress as a guitarist.
#5 Visualize Practicing
Visualization is a powerful technique to master any skill. You can make the most of this technique for practicing guitar as well. If you have a few minutes to spare during a day to daydream or have some wait time, you can use this time to visualize. All you have to do is close your eyes and go inside your mind’s eye and ears and visualize that you are practicing a particular riff or a song you have been working in reality. Visualize every detail of the process. That way when you are doing it in reality your mind is already prepared and this helps to ease the practice in reality.
#6 Learn something new every day
When we say learn something new every day, it could be any aspect of the guitar. It can be a chord, a scale, an exercise, a chord or may be something about the theory of guitar practice. You can even go online and check some trivia about guitar. This habit of learning something new about guitar will subconsciously feed your mind the musical instincts which are very important for every musician. More importantly the dormant part of your brain will become active and keep waiting for you to access & learn more about guitar. So when it’s time for your guitar practice, your brain will be more than happy to participate.
#7 Record Yourself
One of the sure ways to motivate yourself to continue and focus on your practice to become a better guitar player is to record yourself while practicing. You be the judge of your guitar skill level. Recording also makes it easier for you to pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses, and it will also help you track your growth as a player. Record your rhythm, melodies, counterpoints and complimentary alternate rhythms which will lead you further to learn about composition, ensemble performance and production.
#8 Practicing with a Metronome
Practicing with a Metronome takes away the monotony from the practice. A metronome helps establish a proper sense of rhythm & timing. It also helps establish consistency in your practice.
#9 Surround yourself with things that inspire and motivate
You can do this by visiting small events or workshops. Jamming with people who share a similar vision as you do with regards to guitar learning is another good way to practice. Read about popular musicians. Attend an open mike. Or just show off to everyone whatever you have learnt.
#10 Devote yourself completely to the art
Don’t engage yourself in any side activity during your guitar practice. This will take away the focus & dedication required during the practice. Guitar play is a beautiful form of art so no half hearted effort will get you good results. You will just end up being another dreamer without any real action. Don’t let any minor or major setback demotivate you. Stick to your goal and plan as a guitarist and you will get there. All you need is focus, hard work and determination.