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Learn To Play The Guitar Twice As Fast In Half The Time
By John Mackinnon
If you really want to learn to play guitar well you must do one simple thing before anything else. You must learn how learning takes place between your muscles and brain. If you understand the process that your brain must go through to train your muscles your practice sessions will produce predictably effective results.
You have probably heard the term muscle memory. This is the process of your brain learning and storing a set of precise instructions for each group of muscles needed for every small task you want your fingers to perform on the guitar. When muscle memory is solidly established it becomes a naturally effortless and an almost unconscious act to play the guitar well.
These tasks need to be practiced at speeds that are slow enough so that you can consistently perform them perfectly. If you practice the guitar at a tempo that produces lots of mistakes you end up teaching your muscles how to play the exercise with the mistakes included. Unfortunately muscles cannot distinguish between playing with mistakes and playing without them.
Here are 12 tips for having practice sessions that will support the development of good muscle memory:
1. Prepare your whole body for the practice session.
Practice while relaxed. Just like an airplane pilot checks over the plane prior to take off you should check your body for any tension, stiffness, tightness, pain or any discomfort. Tight muscles can become tighter during practice which can seriously limit the full range of motion needed to master the guitar. Even tension in the shoulders can travel to the arms and then eventually to the fingers. Stretch and warm your entire body before playing in order to stay loose. Begin practicing with slow, easy exercises to prepare your hands for more demanding new material.
2. Practice in a quiet, comfortable place where you are unlikely to be disturbed.
3. Commit to a specific time each day for practice.
Begin each day with a firm commitment to a practice plan that includes the specific details of when, where and what to play.
4. Keep your practice sessions short, frequent and very specific.
It is more effective to practice 20 minutes everyday than to practice two or three hours once a week.
5. Always practice with a metronome.
Let me repeat that. Always practice with a metronome. It is surprising how often even good guitarists break this rule. Training yourself to play at a consistent tempo will make your sound professional. This is valuable whether you plan to play just for friends at a party or in a stadium full of screaming fans.
6. Tune the guitar before each practice.
7. Determine your optimum practice speeds.
For each part of a scale, exercise or song find the fastest metronome speed that you can play without making mistakes. Practice
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