This Guitar Practice Method Solves Your Guitar Playing Problems

 

 

How can you improve your guitar playing most quickly?

 

The answer is:

 

...By learning how to improve your guitar playing approach to fix problems when you practice.

 

The key needed to improve your guitar playing & fix your biggest problems is making your guitar pactice as effective as possible.

 

Mindlessly repeating exercises gets you nowhere (even if you practice guitar for 8 hours per day).

 

Correct guitar practice is about using your brain as much as you use your hands.

 

It works like this:

 

Your brain tells your hands what to do to improve your guitar playing... then your hands do it and develop the right habits that make your playing better.

 

Want to see an example?

Watch this guitar practice video to learn how to improve your guitar playing by fixing your problems:
 

Here is how to use this guitar practice method:

(Correctly) Isolate The Problem

When you struggle to play something on guitar, isolate the exact notes that give you trouble. Focusing on the source of your guitar playing problems makes your practicing more productive. Watch the video above (starting at 0:58) to see an example of how to correctly isolate your guitar practice problems. This helps you avoid wasting practice time on things you can play well.

After you have isolated the problem, magnify it to make it easier to fix. Watch the video starting at 4:01 to see how to magnify a problem. The example you see is about magnifying a 2-hand synchronization challenge.

Magnify The Problem

Here are some easy ways to “magnify” any guitar playing problem in order to solve it:

1. Repeat the hard part several times (this is the approach I demonstrated in the video).
    
2. Play the hard part on the lower frets.
    
3. Play the hard part with all downstrokes or all upstrokes.
    
4. Play the hard part on an unplugged guitar (when the problem is related to articulation or 2-hand synchronization).
    
5. Play the hard part with more distortion or at a louder volume (when the problem is related to string noise or sloppy guitar playing).

Focus On The Fundamentals

Make a list of guitar playing technique fundamentals you must improve. Mastering these elements fixes your problem. Most self-taught guitarists struggle with this (because they don’t have an expert guitar teacher to help them). Here are a few guitar playing elements you must focus on:

• Keeping your hands in perfect sync, so that every note you play is clearly heard.
   
• Muting excess string noise that causes sloppy guitar playing.
   
• Making the motions very efficient in both hands (WITHOUT sacrificing power).
   
• Minimizing excessive tension in your body that makes guitar playing hard.

Don’t Outrun Your Brain

Your brain must be totally engaged during guitar practice. Practice at a speed that is challenging for your hands, but slow enough for your brain to process every note. This is how you develop flawless guitar playing technique.

Practicing faster than you brain can follow makes it very hard to improve your guitar playing.

Watch the video starting at 3:16 to see what it means to practice guitar without your hands outrunning you brain.

This guitar speed guide helps you master this element of effective guitar practice.

Drill The Problem Until It Is Mastered

You must repeat the problem area enough times to master it.

How many times is “enough”? This is one of the more dangerous questions guitar players often ask.

Following this process will improve your guitar playing with every repetition.

Integrate The Problem Into Context

Integrate the isolated part into the original guitar playing lick or song (after it is mastered). Add notes before and after the segment to incorporate it into the rest of the phrase.

Example below illustrates an isolated excerpt from a scale run (shown in red). To extend the excerpt, add notes in blue (one at a time) to it until you are playing the entire phrase.

Use this guitar practice approach to improve your guitar playing and speed up your musical progress.

To master your guitar playing technique and speed, download this free guitar speed guide.