PRACTICE TIPS

Practice is the most essential piece in learning to play the guitar. Without it you would be hard pressed to get better. Practice, here, has been broken into 3 sections. During a typical session you should do some from each section.

Before you even pick up a guitar, there are things you can do that will help you get the most from your practice session.

Have Some Long and Short Term Goals

Having goals not only allows you to have a destination in mind, but it allows you to create milestones and monitor your progress.

Create a Dedicated Time and Place

Sometimes it can be hard to get yourself up for practice. By having a time scheduled for your practice, you'll be more inclined to spend the time. You'll also need a place to practice that is free from distractions.

Have Everything At Hand

Any time you have to stop to gather a pick, or metronome, or something else, is taking time away from your practice time. Make sure when you start you already have everything nearby.

Tune Up Your Guitar

If you practice with a guitar that is out of tune you'll not only sound bad, but you'll be hurting your ear training.

Before getting into the actual routine, make sure you do some warmups. Spend a few minutes doing these and you'll not only help avoid pain or injury, you'll be improving your picking.

Spend at Least 2-3 Minutes on Exercises

Before your routine, make sure you spend some time warming up the fingers to avoid pain or injury.

Focus On Stretching Out the Fingers

These exercises serve great as a means to warmup the tendons and ligaments in your fret hand. At first it might be hard to reach the frets, but with time it'll become easier.

When It Gets Boring, Try Other Techniques

If these exercises become tedious, try adding in some hammer-ons and pull-offs, some slides and muting.

The routine is where you learn and hone your skills. Remember that practice time is for practice, this is where you don't have to worry about making mistakes, just correct them and move on.

Use Bounces and Changes to Practice Chords

Bounces build muscle memory so you can fret chords with minimal thinking. Changes help you transition from one chord to another as quickly as possible.

Always Keep Your Strum Hand Moving

Your strum hand should always move down on beat and up off beat, whether hitting the strings or not.

Learn the Shapes AND Notes of Each Scale

In order to use scales, you'll need to know more than just the shapes. Sing out the notes as you play them.

Flatpicking is All About Accuracy

It may seem obvoius but you see beginning players stressing speed over tone.

Fingerstyle Requires Coordination Between Hands

When playing fingerstyle, you'll be fretting chords while picking strings. Stay relaxed.

Practice Songs should be songs you enjoy and want to learn. Don't pick songs just because they are easy to play, but don't pick songs too far beyond your skill.