6 Practice Habits Every Guitarist Should Master
If youâre reading this, it means youâre interested in becoming a better guitarist.
To get there, we must get back to the basics. Much of what follows will be review for you if youâve been playing guitar for any length of time. But thatâs not a bad thing, because we all need some reinforcement from time to time.
Stay with me to the end for some advanced tips. Here are six practice habits every guitarist should master.
But first, if it's your aim to do music professionally, you'll want to check out our free ebook while it's still available:
Free eBook: Discover how real independent musicians like you are making $4,077 - $22,573+ monthly via Youtube, let me know where to send the details:
Contents
1. Practice For Guitarists: Using A Metronome
Iâm not going to harp on this point, but the number one thing guitarists fail to do when theyâre looking to develop speed and picking technique is practicing with a metronome.
You donât have to practice everything you do with a metronome, but if itâs a riff, lick or a song youâd like to be able to play at any speed, it would be a good idea to use one.
Additionally, you will waste a lot of time trying to record an in-time guitar track in the studio if you donât have a good sense of rhythm and the ability to lock in with a click track. If you want to become a recording artist in any capacity, practicing with a metronome is essential.
Also, when youâre practicing, make sure youâre practicing good technique. Otherwise, you may end up having to correct bad technique later.
2. Guitar Players Should Be Practicing At A Consistent Time Every Day
Consistency is the key to steady progress. Youâve heard the fable of the tortoise and the hare. Contrary to popular belief, the moral of the story is not âslow and steady wins the raceâ, itâs actually just âsteady wins the race.â
If you practice six hours today, and fail to practice for the rest of the week, you wonât benefit as much from that time investment than if you spread those six hours out across the entire week.
I know that this is somewhat idealistic. Pretty much everyone has interruptions in their lives that prevent them from staying steady with a practice routine. Sometimes, youâll just need to do the best you can and not worry too much about trying to be perfect. But youâll also want to become an expert logistician, because if you donât, youâll instead become an expert at excuses.
You need to take a long, hard look at your schedule and determine when you can practice for 30 minutes, one hour, two hours, or however much time daily to get to the next level as a player. A little bit every day is better than a lot some days.
3. Listening To Other Players
When you first started playing guitar, it was fascinating. But jadedness can set in over time. You feel like youâve heard everything, or, you keep listening to your masters wondering when youâll be just as good as them.
But active listening is what truly makes a great player. Those who âlose their earsâ tend to overplay and step on everyone elseâs toes in a band situation.
So, if youâve become jaded, try to find your childlike enthusiasm for the guitar once again, and start listening to different styles of music and players. And donât just listen passively. Dedicate a little bit of time to active study.
This is also a good reminder to stay with your ear training. Put some extra time into figuring out your favorite songs by ear.
4. Watching & Observing Other Guitar Players
This goes hand-in-hand with the last point. Just listening to other guitarists has its benefits. But watching players can bring new insights you would never have otherwise.
We live in amazing times, and we constantly take it for granted. You can find just about any guitarist you can think of on YouTube playing their own songs.
So instead of just acknowledging this technology, or even rolling your eyes at what I just said, why not take advantage of these tools? Take some time to watch other players, and study what theyâre doing, even if you think you know it all.
5. Identifying Your Weaknesses & Challenging Yourself
Becoming good at guitar requires high levels of self-awareness. If youâve ever come away from a practice session feeling drained, this is why. You had to concentrate on what you were doing.
Many people are not self-aware, and will never progress beyond a certain point in their playing. You must use your critical capacities if youâre looking for constant improvement (beware of directing that criticism outwards, however).
We also have to be able to acknowledge our weaknesses. This is sometimes a matter of pride, and can be hard to do. But when you find that an interval, a string skip, or a stretch lick is challenging you, itâs showing you that this is a weakness you can overcome. You can even build out your own exercises to tackle this issue.
The point is that you have to keep challenging yourself. Players stagnate all the time. And while you will inevitably hit some plateaus, itâs up to you how long you stay there. It takes energy to deliberately go looking for things youâve never tried before. So if you want to improve, donât be lazy.
6. Identifying The Different Components Of Your Practice Routine
This is something Steve Vai was known to do. I donât know if thereâs ever any need to practice 12 hours per day (also see an earlier point about consistency, and in my humble opinion, Vai is an exceptional player, but not the best thatâs ever existed.
Anyway, hereâs what I mean by identifying the different components of your practice routine. When you take a strictly mechanical approach (and less of a creative approach) to improvement, it becomes clear that youâre going to be using the same tools and techniques in all of the playing you will ever do. For example:
- Chords
- Scales
- Arpeggios
- Soloing techniques (hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, etc.)
This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but I think you can see where Iâm going with this. By dedicating some time to each of these components in your daily practice routine, you can become more familiar with the building blocks you need to know to create or play any kind of song.
To be fair, you can also include a bit of âcreativeâ time in your routine, and that way you can close open loops in songwriting or come up with new ideas to explore with your band or in the studio.
Final Thoughts
We all tend to become lazy at times. So, have a look at your practice habits and determine where youâre getting sloppy. By tightening those loose screws, you can elevate your skill and professionalism as a guitarist.
P.S. Remember though, none of what you've learned will matter if you don't know how to get your music out there and earn from it. Want to learn how to do that? Then get our free ‘5 Steps To Profitable Youtube Music Career' ebook emailed directly to you!