Guitar Practice Routines: Here are tips that will help you to learn the guitar effectively, and also safely
I’m sure you would have already heard this from several people that practice makes perfect.
There is no doubt that regular practice helps you to become better, as a beginner however you run the risk of doing things wrongly.
So it won’t make any sense if you inculcate the wrong habits and keep on practicing them.
Not only will it be a pain to unlearn those things, it can also cause hand & wrist fatigue.
So here are some of the things to keep in mind during your guitar practice session:
Is Your Guitar Setup Properly?
Make sure your guitar is set up properly, it will only make it easier and fun to play.
Playing the guitar can be more complex than what most people think. There are many who buy one because they see one of their favorite musicians ripping the guitar on TV. They buy one thinking that its easy to do those tricks, only to get disappointed, and then the guitar collects dust in the closet.
If you’re one of them, get that guitar out, set it up correctly and start again!
Warm Up
Warm up and stretching exercises are not just to be done before gymming. It is useful here as well!
Spend at least 5 minutes stretching your fingers, hands, wrist, and forearms; good for loosening up your muscles and for developing endurance.
Get a Metronome
This is very important, because most beginners tend to play faster initially. They really find it difficult to keep pace with the tempo.
But you have to develop a sense of timing if you want to be a good musician.
So get a metronome right away!
Use Chromatic Scales
Practice this regularly, and soon you’ll be able to zip around the fret-board in no time.
This is one of the best exercises to increase your speed and dexterity.
E|—————————————–1-2-3-4———-|
B|———————————1-2-3-4——————|
G|————————-1-2-3-4————————–|
D|—————–1-2-3-4———————————-|
A|———1-2-3-4——————————————|
E|-1-2-3-4————————————————–|
Once you play this then, reverse it:
E|-1-2-3-4——————————————|
B|———1-2-3-4———————————-|
G|—————–1-2-3-4————————–|
D|————————-1-2-3-4——————|
A|———————————1-2-3-4———-|
E|—————————————–1-2-3-4–|
It is best to practice using alternate picking!
After some time, most guitar students get bored with their practice sessions because they feel they are not making much progress, and one of the reasons for that is not knowing what you want to achieve.
Here are five steps that you need to take to make the most from your guitar practice sessions.
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Be Clear About Your Objectives
I know you want to learn to play the guitar, but what next?
- Are you planning to appear for some music exam?
- Do you want to become good at chord progressions/substitution?
- Are you planning to be part of a band
- Do you want to become a better jazz player?
- Do you want to be a songwriter?
These are just some of the questions, but I guess you understand what I’m trying to say. Having some objective will help you plan your practice sessions better.
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Plan the Guitar Practice Session
Once you’re clear about the long term objective, its easier to plan your practice sessions. A good guitar practice should include a mix of exercises, practicing old repertoire, improving technique, learning new songs, and so on.
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Take Regular Breaks
Rather than having a non-stop session for two hours, its best to break it into shorter sessions, say 20 to 30 min each, separated by 2-3 min of rest.
This method is much more effective than doing a non-stop marathon session of two-to-three hours.
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Vary the Contents
There’s no point of practicing the same thing day-in-and-out, for too Long. You’ll get bored, you won’t learn new things, and you won’t become a better player. Certain pieces, however, will take a long time to perfect, so those are exceptions.
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Don’t Skip Technical Exercises
This is true especially of beginners, who love to head directly to the songs. But technical exercises will help you in the long run, and also help you to play those songs better. Spend a few minutes at the beginning of your practice session doing warm exercises, before you move on to songs, and other music theory stuff.
To Conclude
You can expand the above exercise further. Once you’re done with those, move everything up one fret at a time and play it again. Do this for all the frets.
The first few times you are going to experience pain in your hands, wrists and fingers. At that time, you can take a break and do the stretching exercise before continuing again.
Just follow these Guitar practice routines regularly and you will be belting out monster guitar solos in no time.
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
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