In this essay, I am going to apply a number of the Principles of Correct Practice to a technical area that is of major concern to players. For beginners, it poses one of the most challenging difficulties, and an incomplete appreciation of it's difficulties dogs many an advanced player (sometimes without them being aware of it).
If you are like most players, you are desiring to become a better guitar player. Through my own learning experience and through teaching well over 1,000 students, I have learned a lot on this subject. Students often ask why they are not not at the level that they desire to be and what can be done about it. I have asked myself this same question many times in the past. A long time passed before I began to understand the answers.
After coming to an awareness of the existence of a "bad habit", develop an understanding of how it got there. What weren't you doing that allowed that situation to develop. Of course, it always reduces down to something you weren't aware of that you should have been paying attention to, been more intense about during your practice.
Listen to a song on a CD and jam along. This increases your ear for music, and helps to get down timing. The average song could be played through two or three times.
You should be a well rounded player and learn lots of different styles of music to become a good guitarist. This is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard on the subject.
Staying with that feeling positions you in the best possible way for being able to see what your obstacles to growth really are. As soon as you think you are "complete" in some way as a guitarist, you will be unable to see your own weak spots.
Measure your progress. Document your practice time. Keep a record of how much you practice each day. For technique things, use a metronome to see how fast you are able to play a particular scale, exercise, lick, arpeggio, etc. cleanly. Write down the result, practice it all week and see if you can play it one or two beats per minute faster by next week (or next month).
Keep a record of all the technical things you are currently working on. You will clearly see if you are progressing and at what rate. For other items that are not so easily recorded with a metronome, paper and pencil, record on yourself tape or your computer each week. Keep the tapes for a long time. Listen back in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, etc. Listen to how much you have grown.
If you are like most players, you are desiring to become a better guitar player. Through my own learning experience and through teaching well over 1,000 students, I have learned a lot on this subject. Students often ask why they are not not at the level that they desire to be and what can be done about it. I have asked myself this same question many times in the past. A long time passed before I began to understand the answers.
After coming to an awareness of the existence of a "bad habit", develop an understanding of how it got there. What weren't you doing that allowed that situation to develop. Of course, it always reduces down to something you weren't aware of that you should have been paying attention to, been more intense about during your practice.
Listen to a song on a CD and jam along. This increases your ear for music, and helps to get down timing. The average song could be played through two or three times.
You should be a well rounded player and learn lots of different styles of music to become a good guitarist. This is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard on the subject.
Staying with that feeling positions you in the best possible way for being able to see what your obstacles to growth really are. As soon as you think you are "complete" in some way as a guitarist, you will be unable to see your own weak spots.
Measure your progress. Document your practice time. Keep a record of how much you practice each day. For technique things, use a metronome to see how fast you are able to play a particular scale, exercise, lick, arpeggio, etc. cleanly. Write down the result, practice it all week and see if you can play it one or two beats per minute faster by next week (or next month).
Keep a record of all the technical things you are currently working on. You will clearly see if you are progressing and at what rate. For other items that are not so easily recorded with a metronome, paper and pencil, record on yourself tape or your computer each week. Keep the tapes for a long time. Listen back in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, etc. Listen to how much you have grown.
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