Guitar Practice Guide

I have three modes of playing:
One is the practice mode, where I try to learn a new skill. This is when you are mastering the tools you will use.Another is performance mode where I combine what I learned in practice mode with how I feel at the moment. All the different techniques and skills you acquired in practice become the "colors" available to you when performing. You use your skills to recreate or create artwork on the spot.Then there is experimental mode where I just try new and crazy things and create new patterns or techniques. This is the mode where anything goes, and nothing is wrong. This is the time to try it the wrong way just to see what it sounds like, or to change things to match the way you feel inside and make it more personal. This is the time to throw as much paint or as little paint on the canvas as you want in whatever combinations you want. I think I have the most fun in experimental mode, but in order to get to this stage, we need those skills gained through disciplined practice.

In order to be able to have lots of tools to use, and fun with playing an instrument, we have to go through the practice mode. If you like to learn, you like the guitar, and you like music, then I don't see why practice shouldn't be fun. Practice should be fairly steady and regular so that you're not always backtracking and re-establishing what you have already done. If you have lessons weekly, I would recommend at least 1 hour of practice every other day. Your guitar, your body, and mind have to warm up before you can make progress in your practice. The more practice the better, though you should stop if your fingers start to hurt. Practicing a few times a week for at least a half hour is the minimum. For example, it's better to spread your practice out into 30-60 minute intervals than to practice 3 hours in one day before the lessons.;)

I think of it as a time to discover the potential inside you. It's a language not restricted by words, where you can express your creative side. You are learning about yourself. Just take it one step at a time and don't get frustrated when you can't learn a song in one day.

"With every mistake we must surely be learning" -George Harrison
Learning takes time. I recommend practicing at least 15 minutes every day or 30 minutes every other day to keep things fresh in your mind. An hour to a few hours is the ideal amount of time to practice each day. When you go too long without practicing your brain will start to forget and your dexterity will suffer. You will spend your time regaining lost ground instead of advancing into new territory. In order to advance at a steady rate you need to keep with it.Practice should involve learning. When you practice, concentrate and try to do it right. If you are doing something over and over and at some point become distracted, lose concentration, or become tired, you should stop and continue another day. Or just play another song and come back to it later. Once you are tired you will not make meaningful progress that you will retain. You may also end up hurting yourself.Practice Slowly. Whatever you practice is what your brain will retain. So if you're rushing through something playing it with mistakes then that is how you will perform. In order to correct this we need to slow down. Learning and perfection can't be rushed. If you need to slow down to a crawl in order to do it right, then do so. It's better to play slow the right way, than fast the wrong way. In the beginning the learning must be done slowly so your brain can have the time and space it needs to grasp the problem and solve it. If you play things too fast when practicing, errors will go unnoticed and uncorrected. Speed comes with time and practice. Try to do things correctly when practicing. If you start to lose concentration take a break.Painful Fingers or Wrist. If your fingers start to hurt take a break, your body is telling you something is wrong and you should stop. A little at a time is better than a lot at once. Eventually you will build thick calluses on your left "fretting" hand. This will take time and should not be rushed. Routine practice will ensure that you do in fact build these calluses that will ease your playing. The problem might also be that the strings you are using are too heavy for you. Switch to a lighter gauge or the lightest gauge, you will feel a big difference. Also, you could be making it harder on yourself by playing in an awkward and bad position. That brings me to the next point.Proper Position. Practice in the position I show you during the lesson. If you don't have the proper support structures you can use a stack of books or other mass to create it. If you don't practice in the proper position you may strain your wrist or hurt yourself. To avoid this, always practice in the proper positions that I will show you. The focus here is to minimize the bending and tension in the hands, wrist, and body. You want to be comfortable when you're playing. You want efficiency of effort. Playing in the proper position will enable you to play chords and shapes with the proper and efficient use of force behind it.Using a Metronome. A metronome can be a useful tool for learning to steady yourself and play in time with the music. It's also a good way to test where your trouble spots are and focus on those.Focus on Trouble Spots. To make practice time more efficient, focus on the parts of the music you are having trouble with. If you can play the entire song perfectly but have problems with one section, then practice the one section you have trouble with. Aim for being able to play the trouble spot ten times in a row the same way without deviation. If you deviate then your brain has not solidified what you have learned. Give yourself breaks and come back to the trouble spots again later. Sometimes you need a day of rest before it sinks in after a good practice session. Try to include the bar before and after the trouble section so that when you incorporate it back into the entire song you will be familiar with the transitions.

I'm a professional musician that has been involved in music since an early age. I started with violin at age six, choir at eight, and guitar at fourteen. I started writing my own songs at age seventeen. Since then I have been refining my craft.

I've taught guitar lessons, played weddings, played guitar in a restaurant, studied acoustics, and designed and built a recording studio. Music has become my full time profession. I now also do guitar string reviews online. For more information and to check out my string reviews visit my website at:

http://www.stringcritic.com/

Guitar String Reviews, Ratings, and Comparisons. Compare with audio files and post your own reviews in the forum.

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Article Submitted On: February 28, 2011

The Importance Of Practice

When you play any instrument, it is very important to practice as much as you can if you want to be really good at it. This is true for almost anything in life. If you want to get somewhere, you have to work hard for it. Unfortunately, nothing is handed to us on a silver platter; we have to work for accomplishments. As a pianist, it is very important to be able to reach the pedals and if you are young and not very tall, there are pedal extenders or an adjustable piano bench. Being organized and knowing where your sheet music storage is can also be a great help.

Children complain all the time that their parents force them to do things that they do not want to do. The only reason for this is that the parents want to keep options open for their children. There is no way to tell what they will want to do later in life, but if they have been taking piano all their life and start to like it when they grow up, they will appreciate the fact that their parents forced them through every practice, recital, or game.

When you are young, your brain is still developing and you learn what your interests are as you get older. It is easier to pick something up again when you learned to do it when you were little than if you are just starting up with it. Have you ever watched an older person trying to figure out how to use new technology? It is more difficult for them because they are just learning it. The only reason that we do not find it confusing is because we have grown up with it our whole lives and we are used to it by the time we are older.

As much as a child may hate going to practice once or twice a week, they will thank you when they are older and they are very good at playing. No one likes to be forced to do something and practicing an instrument is one of those things no matter how much you like playing. It is important to get your children to understand that practicing is the only thing that will make them good at playing. Some get discouraged, but if they realize that you cannot be good at anything without effort, they will work hard to be better at something.

You may think that it is no big deal to get your children to practice their instruments, but it is not just teaching them about an instrument. When children grow up getting everything they want and never being forced to do anything that they do not want to do, it teaches them that they can get whatever they want. If you teach them hard work, they will grow up understanding that you have to work hard to get results. Even if the child does not continue playing the instrument when they get older, they will learn a good lesson from it.

Benefiting From Daily Piano Practice

Playing the piano is a wonderful art and talent. For some it seems to be completely natural, while for others it takes hours of piano practice to perform on a novice level. To be able to sit at the piano and play a beautiful sonata requires dedication and time. A person must be willing to sacrifice the time to practice. The skill of playing the piano is a fine example of practice makes perfect.

There are many different styles of piano playing, each one a world away from the next. But they all have one thing in common and that's the flow of the fingers on the keys. Proper hand placement is vital to being able to find the notes without looking. Many performers will play an entire piece with their eyes closed, feeling the music. This takes hours and days and weeks of practice, but is well worth it in the end. Being able to play without watching the keys makes performing much easier.

Another reason to practice daily is hand strengthening. For those who do not play, it looks like an effortless act. Anyone who does play, however, knows the fatigue the hands go through in the beginning. Even esquire performers experience soreness. Doing daily scales and practice pieces not only strengthens the fingers and hands, but helps with agility as well. Both strength and agility are necessary to be able to complete a piece with ease. Finishing a concerto with cramped hands is not a pleasant experience.

Skill, obviously, is also a benefit of practicing. Every beginner dreams of being able to lay their fingers on the keys and play any song they wish. Coordination is a part of skill. Using both hands at the same time, doing different things is not a natural talent to most. Whether it's a quick sonata or a soft ballad, each hand is giving a performance of its own. Without coordination, one hand can defeat the other. Once that coordination is achieved, the skill level will improve. Skill doesn't refer to speed, but perfection. To conclude a piece with no errors for the first time is the greatest reward.

After these things are accomplished, the next step is dynamics. Dynamics are the 'emotion' in the song, to avoid a lengthy explanation. To terminate proper dynamics takes a more concentrated practice. A pianist executing proper dynamics is not only playing all the right keys at the right times, but also touching them as gently, firmly, quick or slow as dictated in the music. This brings the song to life, giving it meaning. Focusing on all these at once seems complicated and a little overwhelming, but with the right amount of practice the ability will set in.

The act of practicing itself can be therapeutic, as can the music being created. The movement of the hands up and down the keyboard, the fingers dancing on the keys, and the sounds coming from it are sometimes soothing. A pianist's mood can often be determined by what kind of music he/she is playing, like most musicians. The benefits of practicing go beyond just learning to play.

For the professional pianist, practice means a perfect performance. This higher level of dedication and commitment requires a great deal more practice. Their reward, however, is pleasing the audience and receiving an applause as well as the self gratification of perfection. Whereas the hobbyist's reward is simply the joy of being able to play at a level that pleases them. Both require practice to receive the satisfaction desired.

My name is Andrea D. Vacchiano. I've been a professional pianist for 15 years, and a piano teacher for 10. I also write for several piano related websites including my own.

If you are serious about learning to play the piano, then make sure you check out this page on my website

Piano Practice

Here you'll find a wealth of information that will help you become the piano player you've always wanted to be.

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