Learn & Master Guitar
has earned CompareGuitarLessons.com's highest
possible
rating: 10 out of 10.
This
is a complete 10 DVD guitar lessons course for beginners through
advanced intermediate players. The styles covered include; Acoustic
Guitar, Rock Guitar, Classic Finger Style, Blues Guitar, Jazz Guitar
and Country.
This well produced program is authored by a 20+ year
veteran guitar instructor, former player for "The Fifth Dimension"
and current recording artist in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Continue Our
Review of Learn & Master
Guitar.
OR
Go To The
Learn & Master Guitar Company Site For More Information or
to Buy.
Learn to Play Guitar
Twice as Fast While Practicing Half as Much
by John Mackinnon
If you really want to learn
to play guitar well you must do one simple thing before anything
else. You must learn how learning takes place between your muscles
and brain. If you understand the process that your brain must go
through to train your muscles your practice sessions will produce
predictably effective results.
You have probably heard the term muscle memory. This is the process
of your brain learning and storing a set of precise instructions for
each group of muscles needed for every small task you want your
fingers to perform on the guitar. When muscle memory is solidly
established it becomes a naturally effortless and an almost
unconscious act to play the guitar well.
These tasks need to be practiced at speeds that are slow enough so
that you can consistently perform them perfectly. If you practice
the guitar at a tempo that produces lots of mistakes you end up
teaching your muscles how to play the exercise with the mistakes
included. Unfortunately muscles cannot distinguish between playing
with mistakes and playing without them.
Here are 12 tips for having practice sessions that will support the
development of good muscle memory:
1. Prepare your whole body for the practice session.
Practice while relaxed. Just like an airplane pilot checks over the
plane prior to take off you should check your body for any tension,
stiffness, tightness, pain or any discomfort. Tight muscles can
become tighter during practice which can seriously limit the full
range of motion needed to master the guitar. Even tension in the
shoulders can travel to the arms and then eventually to the fingers.
Stretch and warm your entire body before playing in order to stay
loose. Begin practicing with slow, easy exercises to prepare your
hands for more demanding new material.
2. Practice in a quiet, comfortable place where you are unlikely to
be disturbed.
3. Commit to a specific time each day for practice.
Begin each day with a firm commitment to a practice plan that
includes the specific details of when, where and what to play.
4. Keep your practice sessions short, frequent and very specific.
It is more effective to practice 20 minutes everyday than to
practice two or three hours once a week.
5. Always practice with a
metronome.
Let me repeat that. Always practice with a
metronome. It is
surprising how often even good guitarists break this rule. Training
yourself to play at a consistent tempo will make your music sound
professional. This is valuable whether you plan to play just for
friends at a party or in a stadium full of screaming fans.
6. Tune the guitar before each practice.
7. Determine your optimum practice speeds.
For each part of a scale, exercise or
song find the fastest
metronome speed that you can play without
making mistakes. Practice it for a day at 25% to 30% of that maximum
tempo. Follow this with a day at 50% of maximum then another day at
75%. On day four practice at your old maximum speed. You may be
pleasantly surprised to find that you have a new, faster maximum
speed. Be forewarned, however, that this routine might seem
ridiculously slow but, hang in there because it really will pay off.
8. Do not try to learn too many different things at each practice
session.
Practice only small sections of an exercise or song at a time.
Working on an entire new song, all in one setting, makes it more
difficult for your brain to cement solid muscle memories. Just like
a newborn baby can’t handle an entire meal of solid food we need to
practice only a few, small musical spoonfuls at a time.
9. Work on the problem parts not just what you already know.
This may sound extremely obvious but there is a tendency for new
guitarists to play the easy parts over and over while continuing to
stumble over the problem spots.
10. Spend the first ten minutes warming up, then split the remaining
time equally between new exercises and new songs.
11. Set aside some time to just goof around with the guitar.
Make
sure to inject a healthy dose of fun in each practice session. If
you have been working on blues scales then why not put on some jam
tracks or even your favorite blues CD and try to improvise a solo.
Select a favorite song to work on at the end of each practice
session.
12. If you plan to perform in front of people
...
Perfect your songs in private then practice playing in front of
sympathetic friends and family members. Create a practice
environment that is as close to the conditions of your upcoming
performance as possible. If you will perform standing up then
use a
guitar strap and practice that way. Tell your friendly practice audiences to feel
free to talk and laugh it up during your practice. This will help
you learn to become comfortable in a distracting concert
environment. Consider recording your practice sessions with a simple
home video camera on a tripod.
Opening night jitters can throw off your game no matter how well you
know the material. If you have repeatedly practiced playing in
simulated concert environments then the real deal can be a breeze.
The bottom line: in order to play well you must acknowledge how your
body is programmed to learn then design practice sessions that are
complimentary.
Recommended Guitar Lesson Program:
has earned CompareGuitarLessons.com's highest
possible rating: 10 out of 10.
This
is a complete 10 DVD guitar lessons course for beginners through
advanced intermediate players. The styles covered include; Acoustic
Guitar, Rock Guitar, Classic Finger Style, Blues Guitar, Jazz Guitar
and Country.
This well produced program is authored by a 20+ year
veteran guitar instructor, former player for "The Fifth Dimension"
and current recording artist in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Continue Our
Review of Learn & Master
Guitar.
OR
Go To The
Learn & Master Guitar Company Site For More Information or
to Buy.
