The Power Of Consistent Guitar Practice

The Power Of Consistent Guitar Practice. Word Count: 518 Summary: Most of us have heard of the power of being consistent in our guitar practice. You know what I mean.

Practicing something EVERY day until mastered. But do you do this? I know that in the past, I definitely didn't...

When I first started playing I was a maniac! I had no real structure to my practice. I just put in the hours and hoped that I got better.

And I did! But there was a problem

And I did! But there was a problem. I practiced something different almost every day.

My practice "schedule" changed from o... Keywords: guitar practice,alternate picking,legato Article Body: Most of us have heard of the power of being consistent in our guitar practice. You know what I mean.

Practicing something EVERY day until mastered. But do you do this? I know that in the past, I definitely didn't...

When I first started playing I was a maniac! I had no real structure to my practice

When I first started playing I was a maniac! I had no real structure to my practice. I just put in the hours and hoped that I got better.

And I did! But there was a problem. I practiced something different almost every day.

My practice "schedule" changed from one day to the next. This created two major negative side effects... 1.

Sore hands

Sore hands. For example, I would often go so berserk on alternate picking exercises that my picking wrist would get incredibly sore. It would be so sore that I couldn't practice alternate picking the next day.

So what did I do? I then went crazy with legato exercises. So much so that I wouldn't be able to practice legato the next day.

So I went back to my trusty alternate picking. Mmmm...there's a pattern emerging here. :-) 2.

Slower Progress

Slower Progress. Now, don't get me wrong. I progressed faster than any of my friends.

But I definitely don't think I progressed at my fastest possible rate. If I had practiced less on an exercise, but did it EVERY day I think my progress would have been much faster. I guess the moral of the story is to temper your enthusiasm with intelligence.

Let's look at how to start to be more consistent with your practice... ***Step One*** Decide on something that you would like to master. Make it something short like a lick, scale or perhaps a few bars of a song.

***Step Two*** Decide on a speed goal for the thing that you have chosen

***Step Two*** Decide on a speed goal for the thing that you have chosen. This will be your target tempo. Make it challenging.

Something that will make you a significantly better player once you have achieved it. Of course, you need to keep in mind your current playing level. If you are a beginner and you set a speed goal of sixteenth notes at 240bpm, you are definitely setting yourself up for a failure!

***Step Three*** Decide on how much time you'll invest practicing the thing that you have chosen. I would recommend setting a goal of 10-15 minutes a day. A small amount done daily will give you better results than hours done irregularly.

***Step Four*** Make a commitment to practice what you have chosen on a daily basis

***Step Four*** Make a commitment to practice what you have chosen on a daily basis. The key is to practice it every single day until your speed goal has been reached. No excuses,no crying, no moaning, no exceptions.

***Step Five*** Get to work! This is the step that requires discipline. It could take weeks or months to achieve your speed goal!

Just keep in mind that anyone can write down a goal, but unfortunately VERY few people will follow it though to completion. That's probably why there are so many more guitar OWNERS than guitar PLAYERS ;-) I invite you to try this approach to guitar practice. I've found that it really helps me, and I'm sure you'll benefit from it as well!

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