It is helpful for a guitarist to practice the way they will perform -- so there are no surprises, and nothing to fear. It is also helpful for a guitarist to have a solid practice routine in order to progress. However, they should also focus on specific goals.
Learn Something New:
Having goals can be more important than just putting in practice time. In fact, there is a difference between practicing and just playing. In general, when a guitarist practices, they should be learning something new, or specifically focusing on mastering a skill or song.
The time it takes to master something new is not important. What is important is achieving goals. A developing guitarist will continue to practice something until the goal is achieved. There is no set time limit.
They will practice to reach a goal, not simply to put in thirty minutes of practice time. Moreover, it is fine to polish what is already known, but a guitarist who wants to get better and learn more will challenge themselves.
Clearly Stated Goals:
The developing guitarist should be able to determine why they are practicing something. The developing guitarist will know their purpose. Their purpose or goals may be the following:
- To learn the notes of a scale or a chord.
- To learn to shift between two scale positions or chords.
- To learn to connect the notes well, so they sound continuous (Legato).
- To learn to play disconnected notes, so they sound separated (Staccato).
- To learn a specific Pull-Off or Hammer-On Pattern (Slur).
- To reinforce what they have learned by playing it again.
- To play with more feeling and passion by using dynamics.
- To build up speed and stamina -- or to learn a new rhythm.
- To learn or work on a new picking technique, such as sweep picking or hybrid picking.
- To work on ear training, such as distinguishing between intervals, or different types of chords.
- To play for enjoyment and fun! It is always nice to finally learn a new song or skill and be able to play it for one’s own enjoyment.
- To get ready to perform for a recital or show.
Focused Practice:
Purpose driven guitar practice will help any developing guitarist to master the guitar. Time spent in focused practice can be time well spent. A developing guitarist should avoid always blindly playing -- or always playing something they are good at. If they want to get better, then they need to stretch themselves.
A developing guitarist should not always sound good when they are practicing. If it is always sounding good, then they should work on a week area or something new. In addition, the developing guitarist will form a practice routine. The more they put into their time practicing and playing, the more they will get out of it. Moreover, the developing guitarist will make goals for themselves. For example, if they do not know any songs at this point, they will start to learn three songs that they can play at anytime -- memorized.
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