Effectiveness is the measure of truth- The Seventh Principle of Huna

Everyone knows that if you want to get really good at guitar, you need to practice. This is a given. There is also a big difference between practice and playing. These should be interchanged, and in my opinion, you really need to do both. However, just playing things that you already sound good at doing is not the best way to improve your guitar skill-set.

What most people do not know is how to practice for maximum benefit. I recently have been working out my chops with Andrew Green’s Jazz Guitar Technique (which is probably one of the most useful technique and practice books out there) and on page 8, he describes his suggestions for effective practice that I really think every guitarist should take heed to if they are serious about maximizing their guitar potential.

Keep reading to find out 6 ways to make your practice sessions more effective…

1. Always use a metronome. Practicing at a consistent tempo allows your body and mind to coordinate more easily. You can also avoid the common pitfalls of speeding up when playing something easy and slowing down when playing something difficult. If you are reading or playing something for the first time, set the metronome at a tempo that is slow enough so that you can play without stopping. It doesn’t matter how slow that turns out to be.
2. Warm up slowly. A slow warm-up helps your hands get accustomed to the work they have to do. Guitarists are athletes from the elbow out to the fingers, and since athletes warm up and stretch out before they play, so should you. Start playing scales or arpeggios slowly, with a metronome. Choose things that are familiar and are easy to execute. I recommend doing this for the first fifteen minutes at least.
3. Practice a small number of things until you own them. In addition to the warm-up (scales or arpeggios) pick two things to practice. Whatever you choose, play those things and only those things. If you practice too many different things, you tend to water down the learning process.
4. Take a break every once in a while so you don’t hurt yourself. This is especially important when playing things that stretch the boundaries of your technique. It is far better to play for twenty minutes at a time and then take a break, than to play for four hours and risk tendinitis.
5. Play things in different keys and different areas of the guitar neck. Many lines and exercises feel very different when played in other keys or octaves. This also really helps you in the long run to be able to move around the neck
6. Apply different rhythms. Applying different rhythms to exercises and lines enables you to derive the greatest benefit by unleashing different possibilities that will be stored in your brain.

Now go buy this excellent book and get to practicing!

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