playing guitarFor a lot of years I have heard the practice makes perfect. Great so what if you’re learning bad habits on guitar which may be holding you back. Now you’d be practicing those bad habits until they were engrained on your brain which will most likely keep you from achieving the speed you desire.

I have friends who play guitar pretty well and for a long time they were way ahead of me. They learned to play many years ago but learned a few bad habits that have kept them at the level of playing they are at.

What happened, as far as I can tell, is that they learned from others who taught them the bad habits that had where I learned mostly from books and online because I was too shy to play in front of people for a long time.

Of course we have very fun guitar jams but their limitations keeps us from playing many many songs we all love.

Below are a few ways to practice effectively as well as efficiently so you can move to that next level:

Find A Good Plan And Follow It

I never had a plan for my life or anything in it, for about the first 30 years. Well actually the plan was to party hard. I tried to learn guitar way back in the 70s as I’ve mentioned in a few other posts but life got in the way.

If you want to be a quality guitar player you need commitment and a plan that will take you step by step through learning guitar.

Keep A Practice Schedule And Keep It

Now that you have a plan to learn to play guitar you need to practice the things you are learning. I practice every single day, unless I am not home, which isn’t often. I most likely practice guitar about 325 days a year.

I practice at least an hour a day and many days longer. It’s great having a work from home business. I am my own boss, other than my wife of course, and can stop what I’m doing if I get the urge to take a guitar practice break.

Learn And Practice Multiple Genres of Music

There are many styles of guitar playing in a variety of genres so don’t limit your playing and practicing to just the one you like the most. For me it’s country, rock, bluegrass and blues. It’s a great way to add some coolness to your guitar playing. I love it when I learn a new lick I can use at guitar jams.

Practice Where You Won’t Be Interrupted

I have a hard time concentrating on my guitar practice if others are around, so for me, again, it’s great I have a work from home office I can hide in to practice practice practice.

Before we bought our current home I didn’t have an office so I just used our bedroom. It’s just that in the bedroom we don’t have a computer so I would have to print out what I wanted to practice because I wasn’t hauling my computer up and down the stairs for practice.

Today I have a laptop that travels with me pretty much everywhere so I can have access to the Internet, Youtube, Jamorama and Jamplay. No matter where I am, as long as I can get a connection.

My Fingers Don’t Work So Well

I have arthritis so it can be tough getting started in the morning and without warning the arthritis can flare up and make it tough but with a few fingering exercises they loosen up so I can get on with my guitar practice or lessons.

I remember the early days when my fingers felt like they were going to bleed but I would suck it up and start practicing anyways. After a few minutes of tender fingers they started feeling better so don’t let sore fingers stop you from practicing.

Find yourself a group you can play guitar with and you will learn so much faster. I love going to jams where there are new players. I always seem to learn something new each time. Learning one new thing can take you to brand new levels of guitar.

I mentions Jamorama and Jamplay as two sites I belong to. They are worth the investment, so pick one and check it out today and get practicing.

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