How to make the best use of your practice time

Practicing - How To Get Good

The point of practicing is to produce gradual improvements in your playing. These will mount up until you are as good as you want to be

The essence of it is controlled repetition with a goal in mind. So;

1. The Goal. What are you trying to improve? For example, there may be a certain song that is giving you trouble

First - find the hard bits, and write them in your record book, a box each
Second - take them one at a time
Third - try and find the centre of the problem - is one finger not going to the right place or moving too slowly? Is the pick missing when you cross strings?
Fourth - decide what should happen. This is your goal

2. Repetition. By repeating a movement, you etch a pathway in your brain that makes it easier next time. So make sure you do it correctly from the start by slowing it down - do it so slowly that you can't help but get it right

Repeat it a few times, then speed up very slightly and carry on. Go on like this until you reach the target speed -

This may take a few practise sessions. Use your pupil record book to keep track of which bits you are working on, and how much time/how many repetitions you do on each. If you have a metronome or drum box, use this to keep time, and write down the tempo reached each time

If you start making mistakes, slow down again. The temptation is to speed up regardless of mistakes - but be patient, this gradual approach actually makes progress faster by attacking the things you can't yet do, until you can, rather than skipping over them.

3. Control. Make sure your fingers are doing what you want them to. Watch them. If they don't, then slow down even more until you are back in control

Focus only on the one thing you are working on, and ignore other problems - you can deal with them in the same way later. As you gradually speed up, try and keep exactly the same movements, so that you keep control as you improve.

Once you have reached your goal, put the new bit back into the music. Carefully play from a little bit before to a little bit after the bit you have been working on - again, slowly at first, then gradually up to speed, until it is seamless

Congratulate yourself; when you started, you couldn't do that and now you can - you are now a better guitarist!

A Few Guidelines

1. MAKE PRACTICE A HABIT - part of your daily routine

2. HAVE A GOAL - what are you trying to improve?

3. BREAK IT DOWN - work on small sections of music

4. ONE THING AT A TIME - nothing else matters

5. WORK ON THE HARD BITS - so that you improve

6. TAKE IT SLOWLY - so slowly you can't help but get it right

7. SPEED UP GRADUALLY - even over several days for hard bits

8. DON'T REPEAT MISTAKES - you will teach yourself to play it wrong

9. LISTEN AS YOU PLAY - or tape it and hear it back

10.USE YOUR PUPIL RECORD BOOK - to keep track of your practice

11.VARY YOUR PRACTICE - to keep yourself interested; boredom produces sloppy playing

The amount you gain from the lessons depends entirely on the amount of practice you do on your own - it is not enough just to come to the lessons

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws