In Guitar Practice Makes Perfect

Practice makes perfect, the saying is cliche, but true, none the less.  This is definitely the case in guitar playing.  If your going to make any at all progress, your going to have to make a concerted commitment to developing good technique. 

There are thousands of internet sites and videos promising fast results.  "Be a guitar god in only three simple steps.", "Be shredding in ten minutes", "Increase your alternate picking speed 100 beats per minute" , ect.  They are only trying to get your money, there is no magic bullet or secret formula to being a great guitar player.  The way to see improve on guitar is practice.

Any great guitar player no matter how naturally gifted or talented, gained his or her skill with practice.  In guitar practice, not only the quantity of practice is important, but also the quality.  The answer is simple, there is no substitute for hard work. 

So what is quality practice?  No two ways about it, you have to use good technique.  Practicing bad technique, leads to bad habits.  Bad habits are hard to break.  Practice it right the first time and you will have it for a lifetime. 

Practicing good technique is only part of the equation.  Your practice needs to be focused and laser targeted on your goals.  Don't speed all your practice time just wanking around on guitar, that is not the way to make progress.  Sure, you might make a little progress, but imagine if you really focused in on the task at hand.  Imagine how much progress you would make.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  This is another cliche, but again it is as true as the day is long.  Okay, enough with the cliches and on with the lesson.  This saying is true in guitar as well as real life.

First make a practice schedule, this will give you a guideline to go by.  List how much time you want to spend on each exercise or practice, there is no rule on how much time you must practice each day, but you should practice as much as possible.

Twenty minutes of targeted practice is much more effective than three hours of mindlessly wanking around on guitar.  So...  What are you waiting for, start to work on your practice schedule and then start practicing.