Shred Academy – Free Guitar Lesson by Nick Layton

Achieving
Focus With Your Practice Time ~ Part I
By
Nick
Layton

Do you ever
feel like you are working very hard at developing your guitar
playing skills, but yet don’t seem to be making any progress?
You want desperately to play as well as your favorite players
and so you buy more books, download more tab, etc. That doesn’t
work so you increase the amount of time you practice, but you
aren’t sure what to practice so you try and practice a little
of everything… or maybe a lot of everything.

Sound familiar?
Well, I can relate. In my years of practicing, teaching, and performing,
I have learned a lot about what practicing is all about. I have
learned what works for me and what doesn’t. Had I known
years ago what I know now, I would have saved myself a ton of
time and frustration. In this article, I will share with you some
ideas that can help you achieve great clarity and focus with your
practice time, and get you on the fast track to reaching your
musical goals.

But before
we can get into any real discussion about developing better practice
strategies and achieving focus, we need to address one thing first
— DESIRE. You either have it or you don’t… and
if you don’t, it is up to YOU to get it.

I have always
set my sights high. I work hard to try and be as good or better
than my musical heroes, not because I want to impress others,
but because I want to reach my full potential.

The reason
I bring this up is because I believe that before you can achieve
anything great, you must first have a strong desire to do so.
Check yourself here and be honest — do you have a strong,
burning desire to make progress on the guitar?

Ok, if you
are still with me, then what next? After desire we need clarity
about what we want to achieve. Think about what your ultimate
goal is. Do you want to be a virtuoso electric guitarist? Do you
wish to be competent in a few different styles? Do you want to
write a hit song and be famous?

The answer
to each of these questions leads to a different path and ultimately
to a different way of practicing. I believe a lack of clarity
is where many people get side-tracked. In order to have the sort
of focus that produces consistent results, you must first have
clarity in your mind about what it is you really want.

Of course,
I can’t tell you what you want or should want — that is
entirely up to you. But allow me to offer you some ideas that
may help you decide. Ask yourself these questions:

1) What kind
of music would I choose to play if no-one else was listening?
Sometimes having an audience is a great thing because music is
a powerful form of communication. But what resides in your soul?
What experiences, thoughts, emotions do you want/need to express
for your own satisfaction, regardless of audience?
2) What do I really love musically? What kind of music, guitarists,
bands, etc.? What really gets me pumped up when I listen to it?

If you know
the answers to the above questions, think about which skills you’ll
need to improve in order to play the type of music you love. Hopefully,
you’ll see that by asking these questions, you will get
to the heart of what you really want, which has everything to
do with your desire.

I struggled
with my own direction and purpose until one day I read an interview
with Yngwie Malmsteen. He was talking about the fact that he has
always just played what he loved. He didn’t waste his time
by studying jazz or fusion. He didn’t spend time developing
his finger-picking skills. He didn’t try to become more
“well rounded” by studying many different styles and
techniques. He simply learned from the music he loved. He developed
the necessary knowledge, skills, and techniques required to play
the music he desired. It became obvious to me that Yngwie had
the right idea. His results speak for themselves. In my opinion,
Yngwie is one of the greatest electric guitarists in history,
and his drive to achieve greatness came from his desire because
he followed his heart.

Once you determine
what it is you love and what inspires you, surround yourself constantly
with that music. You’ll want to focus in on developing the
skills you need to play the music YOU love immediately. You can
always branch out later if you want, but for now just focus intensely
on developing these skills. If you are unsure about which of your
skills need work, a qualified teacher can be invaluable. Find
a teacher that specializes in the music you love.

Put into action
the steps outlined in this article and watch your enthusiasm,
focus, and sense of purpose — as well as your progress —
skyrocket!! If you need help finding a teacher who can put you
on the right path, check out Tom Hess’s great article on
choosing a teacher at his website.

In Part II
of this article, I’ll help you create a practice plan based
upon your desires and goals.

www.myspace.com/nickolaslaytonproject