Comments on: How to Practice Guitar

on 8/8/2008 habra clases en españpl, si no es mucho pedir...
porque ya serian clases de ingles y gtr. al mismo tiempo y avancere un poco lento, gracias

on 1/22/2007 DON'T PLAY OTHER PEOPLE'S SONGS... CREATE YOUR OWN MUSIC
LOVE
YELTE

on 1/22/2007 don't play other peoples' songs ... make your own music

on 8/10/2006 When you get stuck at a transition, or mess up when going from chord to chord, or note to note - STOP! Don't play through it. Go back to where the problem is and play it one note, one chord at a time, and make sure that you don't try to keep a tempo. Make sure that you are falling into the chord the right way. If not, your muscles will remember to do it the wrong way and you won't get any better.

When you play, pay very close attention to what your body is doing. If your shoulder is becoming tense, then your arm will , then your hand will, then your fingers will. Always be relaxed. Even if you have to play without a tempo, play totally relaxed. Soon you'll hit your notes without thinking about what to do.

on 8/8/2006 Keep your guitar on a stand rather than in a bag or case. It's so much work getting mine out of it's bag that I just didn't play it sometimes. And keep the stand in a room that you go in everyday, so you see the guitar and remember to practice with it.

on 7/6/2006 I advise you to have a schedule for every practice session. For example, my routine is to play scales and songs I know to warm up, then I move on to reading music. I then go to studying music theory, such as the Circle Of Fifths, spelling chords, creating different jazz progressions, etc. Then I move on to technique. The last thing I do is freestyle.

Work on improving what you know. You shouldn't just stick to boring stuff that you don't have fun with. Make up your own songs and solos. Even if something sounds bad, it's OK. Don't get frustrated. You'll get better with time and practice.

I also recommend that you use a metronome as often as possible. Start out slow and work your way up. It is much more impressive to play a song perfectly at a slow speed than to suck playing it fast.

on 1/26/2006 I have found that if you practice serious downpicking (220-240) and can manage it with relative ease, then alternate picking at warp speed will come a lot easier.
For the down picking try:
Master Of Puppets - Metallica
Eeyore (The Hidden Track on Slipknot's first CD)

And then you could aspire to play:
Nemesis - Arch Enermy

on 11/22/2005 Do not rely on guitar tabs, especially ones from the Internet, much of the time they are completely wrong. If you learn a song yourself, you'll have a greater feeling of accomplishment and your skills strengthen every time you teach yourself something. Always rely on your ear and it will stay strong.

on 11/22/2005 Use a metronome when practicing scales, riffs and runs. Start slow and keep increasing the speed once you master a tempo. It's fun and you can measure your rate of improvement. Do a Google search for 'free metronome' or 'metronome' to use a free one on the web. This tool is fun, as well as necessary.

on 11/22/2005 Practice your scales whenever you sit down to watch TV. Don't even plug into an amp (if you have an electric guitar). Start with major and minor scales and add as you go.

on 11/22/2005 If you are right handed, place your guitar on your left leg (vise-versa for left handed guitar players). Placing the guitar on the right leg if right handed is a bad way to practice. Any advanced guitarist will tell you the same thing. The fretboard is more accessible if you place it on the opposite leg, it relives much tension in the muscles of the shoulders, neck, and arms.

on 11/22/2005 Don't ignore your pinky! A lot of guitarists seem to prefer to stretch their ring finger to a higher fret as opposed to using their pinky to hit the note instead. It is a harder finger to work and exercise, but it opens up a whole other weapon to use if done properly. A good technique that has worked for me is to practice scales with my fingers even and up and down the fret (rather than turning my wrist at an angle). My pinky is aligned properly with the note that I want to hit.

on 11/22/2005 Go to mxtabs.net and look at any song you want to learn. You can also learn how to read tabs (which are very easy to read on the site). A good place to start would be the miscellaneous section. You can find beginner songs in that section.

on 12/27/2007 Find a song you like and learn it yourself (instead of getting the music). This will save you money and develop your songwriting skills.

on 11/22/2005 In my opinion, the most challenging aspect of acoustic flatpicking is developing speed. I've found the most effective way to develop speed is by trying to keep up with a CD, and later playing the song very slowly. I normally choose one or two songs that are fast and only practice those until they are perfect. For each song, I practice over and over with the CD for 30 minutes, and then I play it very slowly (without the CD) for 30 minutes. This will develop speed and perfection at the same time. I've been practicing this way for about eight months, and now I can play lead with confidence on those blisteringly fast newgrass tunes.