Are
you discouraged with lack of effective results from your practice
time? Do you wonder why it takes so many years for most people
to reach a high level of musical skill? Do you think that the
only way you are going to increase your rate of progress is
to increase the amount of time you practice?
If you said
“Yes”, I know how you feel. Every musician that
I know has felt the same way and faced these same problems.
After many years of teaching hundreds of guitar players, I’ve
found that there are real solutions to this frustration. When
these solutions are combined and implemented together, the results
are truly amazing.
Effectiveness
is the key. To get the most out of your efforts, your practicing
needs to be highly effective. If you are not being effective,
you are going to waste much of your practice time and receive
very limited results.
If
you're not sure whether your practicing is effective, take this
one-minute test to find out.
7 Steps
to get more results from your guitar practice time
IT BEGINS
IN YOUR MIND!
1. Focus
on Reasons
Having strong reasons for why you want what you want is the
most important factor in achieving maximum results! Your reasons
fuel your level of desire and motivation. Most people don’t
focus on their reasons on a daily basis and thus their desire
and motivation is not as strong as it could be. People say “desire”
is the starting point of achieving any great task. Actually,
REASONS come first, and then desire! Effective “physical”
practice habits won’t help you unless the reasons for
your goals are strong and vivid in your mind.
“Reasons
come first, answers come second” – Tony Robbins
2. Multiply
Your Desire and Motivation
Focusing on reasons, will expand your desire and motivation.
This expansion increases your determination. It is determination
which will carry you through difficult challenges and allow
you to effectively implement all the remaining steps.
3. Do You
Believe it?
Despite all the talk about believing in yourself, most people
still don’t actually do it! As an example, do you believe
that you have the physical potential to consistently play more
than 16 notes every second? How about 1,000 notes per minute?
Most people believe that such a goal is impossible. But it’s
very possible! In fact, it is very realistic, “if”
all the elements of effectiveness are consistently and accurately
implemented in your practicing. You can either choose to believe
that it is possible, or you can choose to place a glass barrier
above your head. Remember that good practice habits won’t
matter, if you don’t believe in your own potential to
reach ambitious goals.
EFFECTIVE
GOALS AND STRATEGIES!
4. PRACTICE
WITH CLEARLY DEFINED GOALS!
Setting general goals (such as “I want to become a great
player”) will bring limited results. Adopting general
strategies (such as daily practice) will also bring limited
results. Both goals and strategies need to be specific in order
to be effective. Some players have general long term goals.
Few players have daily goals that go beyond “I will practice
this solo today”. Break down your general goals into tiny
manageable daily goals. The best way to do this is to work with
an effective, goal orientated teacher. If you do not practice
with daily goals, your practicing will never be as effective
as it could be.
MAXIMIZE
YOUR PRACTICE SCHEDULE!
5. Focus
on Objectives.
This is where practicing musicians typically have a lot of trouble.
During your practice sessions, do not let your mental concentration
break down. Have you ever begun practicing something very specific,
but later found yourself doing something completely different?
This used to happen to me a lot in the past. I would begin practicing
a challenging scale sequence, then an hour might pass and I
would find myself playing Yngwie Malmsteen licks. Then I realized
that although I may have had fun for the last hour, I hadn’t
really achieved my objective and daily practice goals. In other
words, my practice time wasn’t as productive as it could
have been. The solution that worked for me was to……
6. Manage
Your Time!
Become more organized with your guitar practice every day for
a month and you will find yourself in the habit of consistently
staying focused. Managing your practice time will prevent you
from bouncing around from one thing to another. Aimless wandering
kills effectiveness. Sure you can schedule “free time”
in your practice sessions, but there should always be time assigned
for laser-like focus.
What I did
to become organized years ago was to write out my practice routine
and objectives EVERY DAY! Having that piece of paper in front
of me at all times kept me on track. This one simple idea helped
me to reach my long term playing goals in a shorter period of
time. Today, my students and I use a highly customized Practice
Generator – an advanced computer software program designed
for customized practice schedules based on individual student’s
needs.
7. YOU MUST
MEASURE YOUR RESULTS!
It is a proven fact that those who measure their results are
more likely to become advanced players. If you can measure something,
you can manage it. I strongly believe that you MUST have an
effective way to measure your progress. Some things (such as
speed, music theory knowledge and aural skills) are easy to
measure in a tangible way. For example, speed can be measured
using your metronome.
However,
intangible things (such as phrasing or improvising skills) must
be measured in more creative ways. An expert teacher can help
you with measuring the intangible elements of your playing.
Most guitar
players do not have effective practice habits. This explains
why so many guitarists feel frustrated and don’t reach
their goals. If you wonder what the average guitar player’s
score is, it is 9 out of 30.
Take
the
test to find out what your score is.
About
the author: Tom Hess is a professional touring guitarist and
recording artist. He teaches, trains and mentors musicians from
around the world. Visit Tom's
website to discover highly effective music learning resources,
lessons and tools including free online assessments, surveys,
mini courses and more.
Copyright
2008 Tom Hess Music Corporation. All rights reserved. Used by
permission.
