“If you really love guitar, you’re going to spend every waking hour stroking the thing.” – Frank Zappa.
The guitar legend has told the absolute truth. From the moment you buy your first guitar, you will spend all your time stroking the guitar and practicing. After all, the guitar is one of the easiest instruments to learn.
In the beginning, all the aspiring guitarists are passionate and dream of becoming legendary guitarists.
However, soon, when the beginner’s hangover wears off, the practice session becomes dull and boring like a household chore.
So, what do you do in this situation?
To get the most out of your practice sessions and make them fun and exciting, some things should be part of your practice routine.
Here is the best way to practice guitar; I wish somebody had told me earlier.
12 Tips Every Guitarist Must Know to Practice Guitar Better
1. Warm Up Your Fingers
This is the first thing I recommend to everyone. Whenever you sit for your practice, warm up your fingers before jumping into playing songs. Warm-up exercises allow blood flow to your fingers and prepare them for a long practice session ahead.
Also, warm-up exercises build hand-dexterity, which allows you to play for a long time without feeling fatigued.
Here’s a very popular yet simple warm-up exercise:
2. Bring Variety to the Table
The key to making your practice sessions fun and exciting is to bring variations in your practice sessions. Don’t focus on just a single thing at a time; instead, focus on different things everyday.
Whether you are learning in a traditional method or by ear, schedule your practice sessions full of variety. Keep a day for scales, chords, tab, picking, progression, licks, or a day simply for trying out your favorite composition.
That way, you will face new challenges everyday, and you won’t get bored. It is the best way to practice guitar.
3. Focus on Your Posture
If you think of playing guitar as a lifelong commitment, you better focus on your guitar posture.
Do you feel pain in your shoulders or lower back just after sitting for practice? If so, you should blame your posture for that.
If you don’t feel comfortable with your guitar, how will you commit to practicing everyday?
Sit straight with your guitar, for starters. Always check whether you can see the strings and each fret. The right guitar posture will help you play for a long time without any discomfort.
Ask your guitar teacher to help you out with this.
4. Go Easy, Start Slow
I know the urge of playing fast like your favorite guitarist, but chill out for a moment and think.
The guitar masters were once beginners, and they didn’t play like that from the beginning. I would suggest you play any composition slowly till you can play it without making any mistakes.
Once you are accustomed to the beats and notes, try to increase the tempo. This is a tactical way to master difficult pieces, and sometimes going slow can make you win.
5. Don’t Neglect Theory
Most beginners make the mistake of not taking music theory seriously. I know that music theory can be boring and excruciating at some point, but music theory will help you in the long run if you wish to become a professional guitarist.
Just like practicing chords, scales, and technical exercises, you should dedicate some time to studying music theory.
6. Create Goals
Without a certain goal, doing anything is pointless. So, if you are serious about the time to learn guitar, then set a goal for yourself. For example, start by achieving small things – playing the opening riff of your favorite song.
Create a small goal for a limited time and work on it. Reward yourself when you achieve the goal and then again create another goal to progress further.
7. Set Specific Timing for Practice
Setting a specific timing for practice gives you a sense of commitment. Although, it doesn’t have to be rigid.
Think of your day’s schedule and take out two hours of time to practice. Do it whenever you feel most energized and motivated. It is alright if you stick to your routine and commit fully to your practice time early in the morning or late at night.
8. Patience
You have to be patient to achieve excellence on your guitar learning journey. Just like Axl Rose sang, ‘just a little patience…’, if you are patient enough to fail and succeed numerous times, no one can stop you from achieving greatness.
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9. Make Learning Fun
Whenever someone asks me the best way to practice guitar, I always advise them to make learning fun.
I know it can be boring just to play the chords, scales, and progressions over and over again. To make it interesting, I would suggest you to try singing and playing guitar simultaneously. You can also play a few solos from Nirvana.
It will give you a sense of accomplishment and charge up your zeal to learn more.
10. Focus on Scales
Practicing scales significantly improves one’s hand dexterity, sense of rhythm, and enhances finger techniques. The best way to practice guitar scales is to move them up to the beginning of your practice session.
Start by playing the major scales in the beginning. When you get accustomed to the major scales, you should try to play the comparatively harder scales.
11. Use a Metronome
I can understand that beginners and intermediate players struggle to maintain the tempo all along with the piece they are playing.
I would suggest you use a metronome as a practical solution for checking the tempo if you are a complete beginner. You can also use a metronome to be metrically precise while recording a music piece.
12. Tune In and Practice
Last but not least, learn how to tune your guitar by yourself. You can also buy a guitar tuner or download an app for it.
Make sure that you are not playing a detune guitar. Once you get the tuning right, practice, practice, and practice some more.
There is no shortcut to success, so never compromise with your practice sessions. Take out time from your busy schedule and practice religiously.
Maintain a practice schedule to keep track of your progress.
FAQs
How many hours a day should I practice guitar?
You should at least play for 1 hour everyday to become a better guitarist. However, there is no upper limit. Most of the professional and famous guitarists you know used to play 10-12 hours a day to master. If you have a busy schedule, find out the time in between work and practice your guitar skills.
What is the best way to practice guitar?
Guitar practice sessions should be fun. You should spend some time doing finger warm-up exercises and then start with your practice. Make a schedule for chords, scales, and rhythms everyday. Don’t overdo anything or else you will be bored. Once you get along with all the chords, you should start playing easy kids’ songs on guitar to make the learning process interesting and light-hearted.
What is a metronome?
The metronome is an analog device much like a pendulum that allows the guitarists to follow a particular set-tempo. It helps guitarists to maintain their tempo throughout a music piece. Also, professional guitarists use metronomes to be metrically synced while recording. Composers use metronomes as a reference while creating a new piece of music.
Is posture important while playing guitar?
Yes, maintaining the right posture is as important as developing your guitar skills, whether it is an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar. If your posture is not right, you can never play the guitar with full potential, and you will soon feel lower-back pain or fatigue in your hands. You should focus on maintaining the right posture while playing the guitar. Sit straight and keep your picking hand (right hand) on the bridge while playing. Keep the fretboard slightly tilted. Also, you should use a guitar strap even when you are sitting.
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Conclusion
Learning anything new is difficult. The skill of guitar playing is no different from that. As John Bon Jovi famously said, “Success is failing nine times and getting up ten” you should make it your ‘mantra’ of learning guitar.
If you get out of your comfort zone, invest time, regularly practice in a smart way, then who knows, you might be on stage ruling over the world with your music in a few years.
I am hoping for the best for your musical journey. Cheers!