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Simple Beginners Guitar Lessons – 5 Universal Laws of managing practice time on Guitar
By Mike Hayes | July 30, 2009
Are you getting the most from your guitar practice time; or is it
a boring, frustrating chore that seems to be going nowhere?
Most likely you are nodding and pointing to the boring,
frustration description … well, you are not alone; 94% of guitar
players fall into this category!
Everyone tells you to practice, they are just short of advice when it comes to telling you ‘how’ to practice.
I’m going to share 5 very important laws of practicing that will save you from the grisly fate that awaits the other 94%.
The 5 Universal laws of practice :
1. The Law of setting goals – This one has to come first, we all
work better when we have a clearly defined target. If you want to
achieve anything you need two things.
(a) clarity of intent
(b) force of will
Once you have a clear, written goal which you refer to daily, it’s only a matter of time before you achieve your goal.
Make sure your goal is realistic and achievable, break it down into small pieces that are your short range targets. Review your goals often and be prepared to change them if necessary.
2. The Law of time frames – Break your practice session into precise time frames, use a clock or kitchen timer to make certain you don’t go over your time frame and into overload!
Before you practice decide whether you are working on ‘motor
skills’ or ‘data memory’.
Data memory time frames are short, between 2 to 5 minutes; whereas
motor skill practice works best at 30 minutes.
3. The Law of motivation – all the very best guitar players
throughout history have been self-motivated (internally
motivated) musicians.
The trick here is to go for quality not quantity,your fingers are not the thinking part of your body; make sure you are not exceeding your time frames and training yourself to make mistakes.
The number one cause of lack of motivation is overload … stand
up and get away from the guitar after 20 minutes of motor skill
practice before the law of diminishing returns sets in.
4. The Law of getting organized – give yourself every opportunity
for success, get your practice room organized.
(a) get yourself organized first, try to practice a set amount of
time at a set time everyday.
(b) buy a music stand
(c) make sure your practice room has full spectrum lighting
(d) have your guitar set-up by a professional repair person
(e) use a metronome when you practice
5. The Law of measuring your progress – have a progress check up
every three months; ask yourself if you have achieved your three
monthly goals, are you on target?
If you have reached your three monthly goals remember to set new goals.
Use a metronome to help document your speed and accuracy targets, record yourself regularly to help you decide on what aspects of your guitar playing you need to work on.
Now it’s back to practicing your guitar.
And now I’d like to invite you to get free access to my “How To
Remember 1,000 Songs” eCourse. You can download the course for
free at: http://www.guitarcoaching.com
From Mike Hayes – The Guitar Coaching Guy & the Express Guitar
System
http://www.GuitarCoaching.com
http://AdvancingGuitaristProgram.com
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