How To Stop Playing The Same Things Over And Over Again On Guitar

by Tom Hess

---

You know how you have to practice an exercise hundreds of times to play it really well? This feels very boring for most guitarists, but doesn't have to feel this way for you.

The secret to avoiding boredom is focus rotation. Rotating your focus means you vary what you focus on while you practice. This makes your guitar practice fun and effective at the same time.

(Focus rotation is one of the skills I teach in online guitar lessons to help my students become really good guitar players really fast.)

Here are 4 easy ways you can rotate focus when you practice to have more fun and make faster progress:
 

Tip #1: Focus On Phrasing Of The Notes

Focusing on phrasing means paying attention to how you play the notes. You can change the phrasing of anything you play by

• Bending strings in different ways
• Applying vibrato in different ways
• Using double stops
• Using pinch harmonics
• Sliding into and out of certain notes
• Varying the rhythm of the notes

(You can also combine several phrasing ideas at once.)

When you change the way you play the notes, your guitar playing becomes more emotional and you never feel bored when you practice.

Watch this video to learn how to practice your lead guitar phrasing:
 

Tip #2: Focus On Different Elements Of Guitar Technique

Your guitar technique consists of many different elements, such as:

• Picking Hand Efficiency
• Fretting Hand Efficiency
• Picking Articulation
• 2-Hand Synchronization
• Excess Tension Control
• String Noise Control
• Timing

Rotate your focus between these elements when you practice any guitar technique exercise. This helps your guitar technique and speed improve very quickly.
 

Tip #3: Focus On Integration

Integration is your ability to combine anything you practice with other musical skills and guitar techniques. For example: take an arpeggio and combine it with scales, legato licks, string bends, string skipping licks and other techniques.

Watch this video to learn how to integrate several guitar techniques together:
 

Note: Integration is not limited to guitar technique. You can also integrate music theory and creativity concepts to become a better musician very fast. (I can teach you how to do this in online guitar lessons.)
 

Tip #4: Create Variations From Your Guitar Licks

Imagine improvising expressive guitar solos without ever running out of ideas to play. The secret to that is creating variations from your guitar licks. This allows you to play the same lick many times in new ways without sounding repetitive.

Watch this video to learn how to create variations from your guitar licks and sound great when you do it:

 

How To Apply Focus Rotation In Your Guitar Practice:

The way you apply focus rotation depends on what you practice and what your immediate goals are.

Sometimes you might rotate focus on the same exercise in a single practice session. For example: practice a scale sequence for 15 minutes focusing on phrasing, 15 minutes focusing on guitar technique and 15 minutes focusing on integration.

Other times you may rotate focus from practice session to practice session. For example: practice an exercise on Monday focusing on phrasing. Practice the same exercise on Tuesday, focusing on integration. Practice it again on Wednesday, focusing on creating variations, etc.
 

You now know how to speed up your progress and make guitar practice more fun. The next step is to learn exactly what things you need to practice and how to practice them to reach your goals and play guitar the way you’ve always imagined and dreamed about.

Let me help you transform your guitar playing, so you sound amazing every time you play and make your friends wish they could play guitar like you. Start here: https://tomhess.net/Guitar

 

---

Forward this article to your friends