The Top 10 Mistakes Guitarists Make In Their Practice Session (and how to avoid them...)
by Greg O’Rourke fretdojo.com
©Greg O’Rourke 2015. All rights reserved.
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About The Author Award winning Australian guitarist Greg O’Rourke received his Bachelor Of Music Honours degree in 2006, and was a scholarship holder at the Australian National University School Of Music. Greg’s G reg’s main speciality is in fingerstyle jazz guitar, which he teaches about on his website www.FretDojo.com.
Greg’s versatile ability on the guitar is credit to several teachers he has studied with over the years, including Tim Kain, one of Australia’s leading classical guitar performers and teachers, as well as Mike Price and the late Don Andrews, well known performers and and teachers in the Australian jazz guitar scene. Greg is currently studying advanced jazz improvisation and arranging with Canadian Canadian jazz guitarist Matt Warnock.
Greg has given prizewinning performances at the Australian National University Chamber Music Competition, and was awarded 1st prize in the Chamber Music division of the 2004 Australian International Guitar Competition. Greg currently enjoys a busy career, comprising of teaching online and offline, performing and collaborating with other Australian artists. artists.
Learn With Greg: Exclusive Reader Bonus!
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About The Author Award winning Australian guitarist Greg O’Rourke received his Bachelor Of Music Honours degree in 2006, and was a scholarship holder at the Australian National University School Of Music. Greg’s G reg’s main speciality is in fingerstyle jazz guitar, which he teaches about on his website www.FretDojo.com.
Greg’s versatile ability on the guitar is credit to several teachers he has studied with over the years, including Tim Kain, one of Australia’s leading classical guitar performers and teachers, as well as Mike Price and the late Don Andrews, well known performers and and teachers in the Australian jazz guitar scene. Greg is currently studying advanced jazz improvisation and arranging with Canadian Canadian jazz guitarist Matt Warnock.
Greg has given prizewinning performances at the Australian National University Chamber Music Competition, and was awarded 1st prize in the Chamber Music division of the 2004 Australian International Guitar Competition. Greg currently enjoys a busy career, comprising of teaching online and offline, performing and collaborating with other Australian artists. artists.
Learn With Greg: Exclusive Reader Bonus!
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Table of Contents Preface
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Mistake #1: An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
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Mistake #2: Not Making Progress? This could be why… why …
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Mistake #3: The Best Feedback Any Musician Can Get
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Mistake #4: A Jack-of-All-Trades is Master of None
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Mistake #5: Have You Got It, or Not?
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Mistake #6: You Require This Key Skill
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Mistake #7: Excellence Demands This Ancient Technique
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Mistake #8: This could be hurting your technique and your health… healt h…
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Mistake #9: The Myth Most Musicians Live By
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Mistake #10: Last but not the least…
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Next Steps
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Preface Time and time again, in my own teaching and from discussions with other guitarists, I’ve seen guitar players making the same mistakes over and over.
What can make or break your guitar playing is your guitar practice. How you structure your practice session, what you do (and don’t do) is do) is critically important for getting better results on the instrument in less time.
I sincerely hope you get a lot out of this guide and have some key takeaways for you to remove the roadblocks in your playing!
With best wishes,
Greg O’Rourke
www.fretdojo.com
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#1: An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away We all know that feeling.
You know, that itchy feeling you get in your fingers. That restless corner of your mind knowing that something isn’t quite right.
You know what I’m talking about. It’s something all guitarists are familiar with.
What am I alluding to? Not practicing guitar for days of days of course! Guitar withdrawal is the medical term – or to use the formal term Fretingus Devoidilicus.
How serious can this terrible affliction be? Well, I knew someone that used to go crazy if they hadn’t played their guitar for at least 24 hours. Yes, Literally. Clinically Insane.
Futile attempts at humour aside, I now introduce to you Number 1 of The Top 10 Mistakes Guitarists Make In Their Practice Session:
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Mistake #1: Not Having A Regular Routine Having a routine is the core skill of any musician. It is from a routine that our effort we put into something has the highest leverage. It makes difficult things easy by turning something impossible into manageable chu nks.
So why do so many guitarists ignore this point?
Life gets in the way of course. Life will conspire against you to thwart any attempts to create a worthwhile routine at anything. However as an aspiring musician this is the first thing that you need to ensure is firmly put in place.
No time spent on scales, coordination exercises, improvising, s peed development, or anything else will bear any result any time soon in your playing without having a regular routine, by which you make time for your guitar practice and then have a well thought out structure in the session itself.
In the first installment of this ten-part Guide, you will learn the benefits of creating a daily routine to your guitar practice, and how to create and stick to a routine.
The Benefit of a Regular Routine There is no way that one can improve a skill without a routine of some sort, especially for a complex skill like guitar playing. Why?
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To answer this question I want to introduce to you one of the best helping hands you will ever have on your musical journey. His name is…
Your very own subconscious mind.
The subconscious mind is your friend. It is your humble assistant, working on your guitar skills for you all those times throughout the day you aren’t practicing. Just like mixing up some dough and then leaving it to rise on the bench while you have a cup of tea, the subconscious mind works while you don’t.
In your practice session you basically have a handover meeting with your subconscious mind and outline its work for the day while afterwards you metaphorically go and play golf.
Have you ever noticed when you have practiced regularly, and pick up your guitar after a good night’s sleep to try that tricky chord melody solo of Green Dolphin Street that you were struggling with the day before – all of a sudden it becomes easier?
That’s because all through the day and night, Mr. Subconscious has been working his booty off. And you (well the conscious you) didn’t have to do anything! It’s not actually in the practice session you get better at that riff. It’s in between your practice sessions!
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That is the main reason for why routines are so powerful (and g etting enough sleep as well for that matter :-). In fact, there are many other benefits to a strong routine:
● Routines in a way are an arbitrary way to ensure that you actually do make time to play your instrument. Especially if you have famil y members – it gives an expectation that you will be unavailable for those 20-30 minutes daily so that you can work on your craft wi thout being interrupted. ● Routines give you a framework by which to organise your life and to measure your progress. Professional musicians and other creativ e types are often terrible at self-organising. I think this could be due to the fact they spend considerable time working from home and don ’t have any routines or expectations imposed on them externally, e .g. by a 9 to 5 job. ● Routines encourage self-discipline, which can positively impact all sorts of areas in your life, not just your guitar playing.
Are you convinced? Good! So let’s now talk about how to get a r outine happening for your practice.
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How to Develop a Routine ● Talk to your family (if you have one) or your housemates and collectively decide on a time that would be workable for everyone. A routine will only be successful if you garner support from those it affects. ● Decide clearly on the duration for your daily effort, and be realistic initially. Start small if you are a beginner and just do say 10 to 15 minutes. For a pro guitarist you will need around an hour at le ast, however if you are very well organised in your session you may need only 30 minutes. ● A lot of time can be wasted if you are not organised in advance to practice. Make sure you have a dedicated corner of a room (or a whole room if you house is so endowed) and that all your gadget s and doodads are out ready to go. Your precious 20 minutes may b e 90% wasted if you are running around looking for your guitar tuner, a pencil and so on – you would be surprised how fast time moves w hen you are in your practice session time.
Finding a Regular Time To Practice This is one of the hallmarks of a sustainable routine. Here are some tips to help find a workable time:
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● Make it ideally at the same time each day, this will essentially meet the expectations of those your routine effects. ● If you need to, get up early to practice (preferable) or stay up a bit later. ● Use headphones and an electric guitar if you practice at time that disturbs other family members. For those times my practice needs to be quiet I use the Steinberg UR44 audio interface plugged into my computer with headphones. What is great about this setup is that all you need to do is turn your computer on, plug your guitar in an d everything is ready to go – perfect for a late night practice session and no complaints from the neighbors! Added bonus: you can easi ly record yourself through this setup to assess your progress. ● If you want the feel of an acoustic guitar with this method, a silent guitar might be the best option, click here for a model I recommend. ● Decide on the duration to practice – at least 20 minutes daily is still sufficient to make some progress (30 minutes at least is ideal to aim for though).
How To Structure a Practice Session Well done my apprentice! You have created a regular routine. But that leads us to another routine to implement: the sequence of things you actually do in a practice session.
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This doesn’t need to be very complicated. This is my tried and tested routine that I have in each practice session:
● Warm Up: e.g. play 1 scale or arpeggio a couple of times ● Main Project: the main thing I’m currently working on at the moment, e.g learning a series of Joe Pass licks, learning a new tune et c ● Review: I play a tune or a couple of tunes that I already know ● If my schedule is allowing a longer practice session (1 or more hours) I ensure that regular breaks are factored into the daily routine as well. This is a high leverage technique as putting short breaks periodically throughout a long session refreshes your mind, and means you can assimilate more information compared to if you ar e brain dead from overdoing it.
Your Assignment: Ok aspiring guitar Jedi – over to you. Think about your guitar practice routine. Do you have one? If you do, how could it be improved?
I really believe this is something overlooked by so many guitarists, I can’t emphasise enough how much implementing these strategies could i mprove your guitar playing.
I can highly recommend a book on the subject of creating and ma intaining routines for creative types by Jocelyn K. Glei and the team at 99U.com:
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● Manage Your Day-To-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus & Sharpen Your Creative Mind (book).
This is the best resource on the topic I have come across.
In the next instalment of the Guide, we are going to touch on a mistake I see guitarists making all the time, which is crippling their abilities and causing any time they are making in their practice to be wasted .
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#2: Not Making Progress? This could be why...
Here is a classic exchange in a guitar lesson:
Teacher: “Tom, that tune still needs a lot of work, did you do any practice?”
Student: “Yes, I practiced quite a lot actually.” (Tom looks a bit hot under the collar.)
I think Tom was actually telling the truth. Perhaps he was dedicating regular time to a routine.
However …
A routine in itself isn’t enough to reach your goals on guitar. We need another ingredient. Which leads me to introduce Mistake #2:
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Mistake #2: Not Having Clear Outcomes It is difficult with an artistic pursuit to have clear outcomes. After all, music has infinite possibilities, which means infinite directions that you could go in in each practice session.
The problem when you are trying to learn a skill though is by walking in many different directions at once, do you think that you reach your destination?
Or perhaps the outcomes one desires are too fuzzy, like ‘I want to get better at guitar’. Often when I ask students how they are going to get better at a tune, they just say ‘practice it more’. This is too vague an understanding and will reflect in the results they get or, should I say, don’t get.
There is a technique that I use that really helps set clear outcomes in practice sessions. I call this ‘fortnightly outcome goals”.
The Solution: Fortnightly Outcome Goals At the start of every 2 weeks of practice, I write down in my dedicated practice diary the 3 or 4 things that I want to accomplish in my practice sessions over the next 2 weeks. This would look something like:
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Goals for 28/8/15 – 11/9/15:
● Able to play transcription of Lenny Breau’s solo on Green Dolphin Street without any errors at 110 beats per minute ● Able to play a 2 octave Db Major scale at 130 beats per minute. ● Able to improvise with the 2 Joe Pass licks I learnt on the tune ‘Angel Eyes’.
These statements are clear goals of what I want to achieve for the next 2 weeks. Notice how there is little ambiguity here. Each statement needs to have some sort of benchmark that would designate the goal compl ete.
The rule is: You are not allowed to add anything else to this list until the next 2 weeks is up.
You then write what you need to do in order to reach each of these goals. For example, let’s take the first goal on the list:
Goal #1: Lenny Breau’s Green Dolphin St solo, 110bpm:
Tasks To Complete Goal #1:
● Gradually increase speed of the whole section until reaching 110 beats per minute ● Revise voicings in b43
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● Work on accuracy in bars 23 and 27 ● Work on the altered scale licks in bar 67
Now that I have my goals for the next 2 weeks and the tasks needed to attain these goals, I then devise a routine that will allow time to work on them.
If I only have a 30 minute session though, it is unlikely I will have enough time to work on all the tasks for all of my goals. So it’s time to prioritise the above list:
Tasks To Complete Goal #1 (Prioritised):
● Work on the altered scale licks in bar 67 ● Work on accuracy in bars 23 and 27 ● Revise voicings in b43 ● Gradually increase speed of the whole section until reaching 110 beats per minute
I then choose the top one from the list and then work it into my practice routine. As mentioned in the Part 1, here are how my practice sessions are structured:
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Structure for a 30 minute practice session:
● Warm up: 5 mins ● Main Project: 20 mins ● Review Previous Tunes: 5 minutes
So if I take the first task off the top of my prioritised list, my initial first few practice sessions for the 2 week block would look something like this: Practice session 28/8/15:
● Warm Up: a scale or two – 5 mins ● Main Project – Work on the altered scale licks in bar 67: 20 mi ns ● Review – Take the A Train – 5 minutes
Your Assignment: Next time you practice have a think about your session and what it comprises. Have you got clear goals? Have you got clear tasks listed to meet these goals? Have you prioritised these tasks? Are you act ioning them in the Main Project time of your practice session?
In the next chapter we will address a topic that makes most guitarists cringe. Can you guess what it is?
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#3: The Best Feedback Any Musician Can Get
This is a true story.
One of the best jazz guitarists I know (let’s call him Robby) overheard someone playing a recording on an old tape deck – (yes a tape deck – this was the 1990s after all) – of some solo guitar music.
“Who is it playing that piece? The rhythm is all over the place, and their tone is like a cheese grater!”
The person playing the recording stared blankly, as if pondering what to say next.
The recording was of…Dave himself. Clearly he had been making Mistake #3:
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Mistake #3: Not Recording Themselves Recording yourself is the best self assessment tool you can possibly get. It surpasses even a gifted teacher. There is no way to ignore the funny squeaks and buzzes when you are listening to yourself on a recording. This is a surefire way to make rapid progress, and lets face it: if you are planning to make a CD one day best get the shock of hearing yourself out of the way early.
Even if you don’t have a recording setup yet, a simple exercise is to play a piece and check if you are really listening to what sounds are coming out of your instrument. Is what you think coming out of that box with strings is actually what is coming out? If you haven’t done this before, this simple listening practice will benefit your playing profoundly.
I would recommend that you try to record sometimes audio only a nd sometimes with a video. I actually think video can be a more en couraging start as errors can sound much more exposed on an audio-only track. Also, a video recording can give you feedback on perhaps the most fun damental aspect of live musical performance, how you are visually communicating to the audience as you play.
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Recording Gear and Tips These days you don’t need thousands of dollars worth of gear and a dedicated studio to get a high enough recording for self assess ment purposes. Here are some options to consider:
● Any modern smartphone gives a good video quality and reasonable audio quality, and is simple and fast to setup. However, unless you have a ledge or desk the right height they can be a bit annoying to try to setup so the video shot is framed correctly. I use a Joby stand with this KLYP case by Manfrotto to hold my iPhone, and I place this small tripod on a desk to record – it works really well. To frame the shot I use the front facing camera so I can see the shot on the iphone screen as I’m recording. ● For audio, a budget option for an microphone is the Blue Yeti USB microphone. It sounds amazing and has a lot of ‘depth’ to the s ound. Being a USB microphone it simply plugs into your computer, and can be used with any recording software. It comes with it’s own stand so you can simply put it on your desk in front of you and away you go. Another handy feature is that it is iOS compatible, so you can use it with several recording apps for iPhone/iPad. ● Another quality alternative is the Zoom h4n Handy Recorder . This is even a simpler setup it has some pretty good microphones on the unit and it records straight to SD cards without the need for a
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computer. You can also get recorders by Zoom that can record high quality video and audio simultaneously. ● My personal setup for recording is a Rode NT3 that is connected to a Steinberg UR44 audio interface. I use Adobe Audition for recording software. For simple recordings though something like Garageband for Mac or Audacity for PC does the same job as Adobe Audition – there is no need to buy pro software unless you are planning to release the next platinum album.
Your Assignment: Start recording yourself. You don’t need to have anyone else listen to it. One tip is to not listen back on the same day, sometimes you can get a totally different perception on what a recording sounds like if you listen to the recording after a few days. I find my perceptions are much more positive if I leave it for a while.
Ok that’s it for Mistake #3. In the next installment we are going to talk about why guitarists who are making regular time AND establishing cle ar outcomes STILL aren’t making progress. Let’s take a look…
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#4: A Jack-of-All-Trades is Master of None Why is it that so many guitarists often do so many technical exercises, so many scales, so much listening to CDs and so many hours on thei r instrument, yet don’t seem to make any progress in their playin g?
What are they doing wrong? Do they simply not have what it takes? Is it the natural law of the universe that some people should be on stage while others drive the truck to the gig?
I don’t think so. There is a simple explanation for this puzzling conundrum. I present you Mistake #4!
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Mistake #4: Trying to Cram Too Much Into One Practice Session A jack-of-all-trades is master at none. And a guitarist that tries to cover all his bases in a single practice session is doomed to failure.
This is something that took me many years to realize, but it is such an important aspect of the game of guitar practice. If you play a lot of exercises as part of your practice session, 80-90% of them are probably a waste of time.
This was such an important point that I’m going to repeat it.
Most exercises you play are a waste of time.
I’m sorry if I’m offending anybody here. Especially fans of the Giuliani 120 Right hand exercises (that can be boiled down to about 10 exercises and the rest are just fluff) or Shearer’s Left hand development exercises, of which there are hundreds but only about 7 are worth practicing at all.
Practice time is precious, and waste must be eliminated. Unless an exercise is a strategy in meeting one of your goals in the next 2 weeks, you should not practice it .
This is really an extension on the first couple of topics in this series. If you have developed a solid daily routine, clear outcomes and clear tasks to
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meet those outcomes, this will be indicated by the fact that you aren’t spending excessive time on a plethora of technical exercises, unless they are part of a (very brief) warm up routine.
But won’t my technique suffer? I know what you are thinking:
“But won’t my technique suffer if I don’t play 3 hours of scale patterns daily?”
A common fear, my friend. Here’s some points to consider in that regard:
● There are ways around playing endless boring exercises. Make sure to include in your set list tunes or arrangements that work out multiple techniques at once, and play them as part of your ‘Review’ time you have allocated in your routine. ● Use improvisation as a technique builder, not just a creative tool. Improvisation is a very good way to get your scale practice in but in a much more interesting way that doesn’t have that boring mindles s feel to it. ● Look for ways in which you can good a well balanced musical workout by actually playing music . There will be times when
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exercises are crucial in meeting one of your goals, but that do esn’t justify filling all of your practice routine up with them.
Don’t multitask In your practice session, just commit to improving ONE thing at a time, and this is what takes place in allocated ‘Main Project’ time. It makes sense, because in a 30 minute practice session, it is unrealistic to think that you can improve your improvising AND speed AND learn a new piece AN D learn right hand harmonics. Even if you had 3 hours a day to play with you should be careful not to spread your mind too thin – think of poor Mr Subconscious from Chapter 1. You won’t overload him, will you? If you juggle too many balls ultimately some will start to get dropped…
I’m a big fan of the 80/20 rule. This idea has been garnering a lot of interest lately.This rule is an observation that there is a tendency in human endeavour and in nature for 80% of the results to come from 20% of the effort.
In relation to my own playing I started to just play a few pieces that I knew worked out most aspects of my guitar technique, and did this instead of worrying about the millions of scales and exercises that are us ually prescribed. My technique did not suffer when I did this. It actually improved drastically.
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Your Assignment: Watch yourself next time you practice. Think to yourself: “Am I task switching too much?”, “Is this exercise I’ve been playing for the last 6 months really necessary?” “Am I focussing on just learning this ONE tune at a time or am I trying to learn three at once?” The last point is a bit like trying to read 3 books at once – your mind isn’t really designed to do this sort of thing, and you will take longer to read all 3 books this way then to read just one at a time. Get to know one tune really well and you can then apply the deep knowledge you have gained to many others.
There is a couple of great books I can highly recommend on deve loping this sort of mindset that I would consider essential reading for anyone struggling with ‘task overload’:
● The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller ● Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Onwards and upwards, my friend. Well done for getting this far! The subject of the next chapter is one that even non-musicians can spot eas ily...
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#5: Have You Got It, or Not? Out of all the aspects of music, there is one thing you definitely should be focussing on. As it is something that, if gone awry, can turn an amazing performance into something that is more irritating than listening to an MIDI elevator music version of ‘I’ve Got Rhythm’. Neglecting this one will be to your peril.
So, ironically, Mistake #5 is….
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Mistake #5: Neglecting Rhythm. Rhythm issues are very common amongst guitarists, and can manifest as a gross or subtle problem. As a gross problem it is actually…well gross in every sense of the word.
Sometimes people manipulate the rhythm in the name of playing w ith what’s called a rubato feel, i.e. using the subtle stretching and compressing of the rhythm as an expressive device. Do this too much though, and you’ll get comments similar to the following I got in a guitar competition once from one of the judges:
“You are making me seasick.”
More often though, rhythm problems are mainly down to a lack of awareness of rhythm feel. This is tricky though as unless you have an external reference it won’t be easy to develop a good understanding of this. However, help is at hand with the following techniques:
Option 1: Use a metronome This sounds like the logical choice. A metronome is a simple device that is like a clock in that it ticks regularly however you can set the speed of how often it ticks. This can give a good indication of whether your rhythm is correct or not. They are also very cheap now thanks to smartphone apps,
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for example this app for iPhone. If you want the more traditional physical device, Korg makes this excellent model.
I have found with my students though a metronome is rather difficult to play along to. Especially at slower tempos as the clicks are too far apart unless you subdivide the beats, and that usually sounds rather unpleasant on a metronome. So if you aren’t a metronome fan I would suggest:
Option 2: Use a drum machine Drum machines are excellent to play along with as they give a much more complex rhythm pattern in the background, which ironically makes it much easier to play to as the beats are subdivided but feels much more natural and pleasant to play along to. These days you don’t need tons of money for a drum machine thanks to handy ios apps (you can probably tell by now I’m a bit of an app junkie). Try Garageband for iPad or iPhone, it has a brilliant drum machine that can create nearly any beat you could need on the fly.
Option 3: A real drummer or other musician This is probably the best option (as long as they have a decent rhythm feel themselves!). After all, rhythm is a living, breathing thing; it’s not a precise click of an electronic device. So the best (and most fun) way to develop your rhythm is in a group. A drummer obviously would be the best way to go but any other competent instrumentalist will also really help you develop.
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Once I have one of the reference points suggested above, I would then record myself playing along with the metronome/drum machine/other person. Use the self-assessment and recording skills outlined in chapter 3 to do this. Problem solved.
Your Assignment: Record yourself but listen carefully to your rhythm feel. Now try the same thing but with one of the reference points listed above. Any problems? You could really gain some insights into your playing with this tec hnique.
Rhythm is the cornerstone of music. So ensure that you have taken the time to lay the foundations.
The next instalment will touch on a topic that should concern all guitarists, and chances are it is being ignored. Ok let’s get into it!
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#6: You Require This Key Skill If you want to improve your jazz guitar playing, but not spending a significant chunk of time on this next mistake...
We have a serious problem.
Introducing Mistake #6!
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Mistake #6: Not Giving Enough Time To Creativity In my pre jazz guitar days, I fell victim to this insidious mistake, and now realise how stifling not enough giving time to improvise can be for any musician.
Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times where it is more suited to playing a pre-prepared arrangement, however if you don’t spend time on improvising in the practice room you can not only stifle the ability to play with other musicians easily, but actually hamper your technique as well. More on that later.
I know I’m largely preaching to the converted here, but just in case – here are some of the key benefits of improvisation:
● Improvising helps you to learn to match your ear with the sound of the guitar very closely. This means that you have a much greater chance of recovery if you happen to make a mistake while you ar e performing. Someone who does not have these skills will really struggle to recover a performance if things go wrong (which at some point will happen – so it’s best to be prepared), ● Being confident with your improvisation gives you the ability to perform or jam with others at short notice. This is not only good
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socially but could lead to more work as a guitarist if you are a professional, ● Improvisation uses scale and arpeggio patterns and so you get to practice them at the same time doing something expressive and creative, ● Improvising is fun! It’s a challenging way to think laterally and creatively and is really beneficial for your overall musical skills and your mind in general.
So how do you get your improvisation to the next level? By visiting the FretDojo.com blog (of course!) I will be posting regular videos on the topic to share what I know, both on single line soloing as well as the often sought after advice on chord soloing. I’m motivated to do this as it can be quite difficult to find a good teacher on the topic and I’ve had the benefit of having some great teachers on improv over the years. As a start, check out this beginner’s guide to jazz improvisation post.
For another great resource on improvisation, check out this blog from my buddy Matt Warnock who has an excellent website on the topic.
Improvisation is the fundamental skills of a jazz guitarist, but should be a fundamental skill of any musician, of any style.
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In the next instalment of this guide we are going to look at the thing that masters of the guitar and ancient Indian Yogis have in common. Ahah! I see that got your attention…
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#7: Excellence Demands This Ancient Technique So what does a ancient Indian Yogi and a guitar master have in common?
Bet you’ve been thinking about that one.
The answer? I’ll get to that in a minute.
As we’ve already discussed, the best practices for a guitar practice session is to make time to practice, have a clear routine for each session, and have clear measurable outcomes.
However, there is one stumbling block that plagues aspiring gui tarists across the word. You can see it in mindless noodling while watching TV. You can see it in the orchestra pit where the guitarist is the only one doodles away while the conductor is trying to say something.
Can you see where I’m heading? Here we have:
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Mistake #7: Having a Lack Of Focus In Practice Sessions The guitar master is kind of like a yogi really. Because he’s learned the value of single pointed concentration.
Focus.
Focus is the thing that allows truly great things to happen in the world. The truly great artistic, architectural, and spiritual achievements by the luminaries of mankind are a result of this simple, but unbelievably powerful skill.
And it is this skill, my guitar apprentice, that you will need to cultivate.
Turn off that iPhone. Banish social media updates. No more Yout ube videos of cats pulling faces. Your guitar practice time is just for that: mastery of the king of instruments, the guitar.
Whenever you notice yourself straying off the topic, bring your mind back to the present, back to your goals, and back to that task that will achieve your goals.
Cultivating focus is one of the highest leverage things you can do for your guitar practice. It will mean you can get 3 times the value from the same amount of time you spend on your instrument. Through being focused and
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consistent you can achieve unbelievable results even within a short space of time.
I have found the practice of meditation to be very useful to cultivate focus, see this article for more. However, if that sort of thing isn’t for you then think about this idea of focus every time you practice. Think about your task for the session, and single mindedly work towards that without fail .
So many people complain about ‘not having enough time’.
What they should really be saying is ‘I haven’t made a routine, I haven’t got clear goals, and I’m not focused when I do make time for practice.’
Don’t be one of these people!
Your Assignment: ● Find the way that works best for you to cultivate focus. Whether you try meditation or otherwise, use your guitar practice as a focu s training session. Cultivate awareness to check that what you set out to do in a session is what you are actually doing. ● You can use other opportunities throughout the day to cultivate focus, not just your guitar playing. When you wash the dishes, just focus on that simple activity. When talking to a friend, are you really focussing on listening or are you talking to someone else?
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● If you are looking for a bit of technological assistance for cultivating a mind that can stay in the present, I would recommend the websit e Headspace. It’s a great resource and an interesting contemporary look at the ancient practice of meditation.
Ok yogic master, well done for attaining the seventh stage! In the next topic, it’s time to look at the body beautiful...
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#8: This could be hurting your technique and your health… In this instalment of the Guide, I talk about a really important aspect for your health on the guitar and perhaps my top tip I ever learned for improving technique on the instrument.
I have seen musicians on many instruments crippled their career because of overlooking something so simple. One would laugh if it weren’t so sad the effects.
Don’t let this happen to you, I need you to take heed here ok? Especially if you practice for long hours on the instrument. This is serious.
So…Mistake #8 is:
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Mistake #8: Not Thinking About Posture and ‘Feel’. It is absolutely crucial to consider posture as a guitarist. After all, it’s our fingers, arms, and nerves that form the pathway from our brain to the guitar. If these are out of kilter, you music will suffer; it will hamper your technique and could cause long term damage.
Remember that old tune?
“Hip bone connected from the thigh bone
Thighbone connected from the knee bone
Knee bone connected from the shin bone…”
Every part of the body affects every other part of its functioning. So if your posture is not good when you play, it is like putting traffic lights on a highway – it will drastically slow the speed and ease at which your hands can move as the ‘traffic’ between your brain and muscles will slow down to a snail’s pace.
If you play with poor posture, you really must sort this out. You will quickly notice some very positive changes in your technical ability. Playing with a good posture can also really help with confidence on stage – bo dy language is everything after all.
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Have I convinced you? Good! Now that we have sorted that out, there is an important concept I want to introduce to you that I consider the best way to improve any piece or technique.
The ‘Feel’ in the Hands The Number One thing I always think about in my practice is: ‘does this passage feel good in my hands? Does this fingering work for my hands? How is this feeling right now?’
This is a higher priority whether a particular fingering pattern or solution makes logical sense. If it simply doesn’t feel good in the hands after I play with it for a while, I reject it.
This simple tip, given to me by the great classical guitarist Tim Kain, has been my most effective strategy for getting music to flow and expressing myself easily on the instrument.
So try to cultivate this type of self-awareness. Ask yourself – how does my hands feel right now? How does my body feel right now? How is m y posture?
The results will speak for themselves.
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In the next instalment of this Guide we cover a mindset issue that has a long, and deluded tradition across the study of most instruments. I look forward to blowing this myth out of the water for you.
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#9: The Myth Most Musicians Live By “Hey Jerry, I did 4 hours practice today!”
“You rookie, that’s nothing. I did 6 hours practice!”
4 hours.
6 hours.
Is this likely? Is it possible?
It is. I knew people when I went to university to study music that would proudly boast of the amount of hours they could do in one sitting on their instrument. In my struggle to ‘keep up’, I tried to do everything I could to sustain that amount of time in the practice room.
But was it healthy? Was it productive?
Looking back, I can see the competitive nature of this sort of thing. But more importantly, it highlights one of the key mistakes guitarists (and musicians in general) make when trying to progress on their ins trument, which is:
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Mistake #9: Thinking Hours = Progress This is a big one. Nearly every pro musician I’ve met has this mindset. And nearly every amateur musician complains about not having enough time to practice.
But there is good news! I’m here to tell you that ‘Hours = Progress’ is misleading. In fact, it is totally deluded.
Let’s consider the other topics we’ve covered in this guide. Creating a routine. Having clear outcomes. Having focus. Becoming self aware in various ways. Not wasting time on superfluous exercises.
These are what generate progress. Time, in itself, does not.
Of course, someone who practices for 6 hours will probably make more progress than someone who practices for one hour.
However, the relative amount of progress for the extra 5 hours will be far smaller than the first hour. The law of diminishing returns will apply.
Focus and consistency and the other points we have covered in this Guide are far more important than simply tallying up hours spent. The ‘hours = progress’ mindset is too simplistic and can be damaging . Damaging to your health. Damaging to your sanity. And ironically, damaging to yo ur productivity in the long term.
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If your goals are to be one of the best musicians in the world, yes it is true you will need to spend many hours each day refining your craft. However if you want to be 80% as good as a world-class musician, you can s pend 20% the amount of that time (remember the 80/20 rule?). And being 80% as good as a world-class musician is still pretty darn good in my books.
Your Assignment: ● Take the focus off needing to neglect everything else in your life so that you can fit x amount of guitar practice hours in your day. Decide on a timeframe that is whatever your schedule permits and stick to that. Focus and consistency are the key. ● Adopt the other strategies covered in this Guide and optimize whatever time you have, to get far more results in a shorter amount of time.
I’m glad that we had a chance to mythbust that one. Last but certainly not the least, in the upcoming final topic of the Guide, I’m going to share with you the Number 1 strategy for ensuring that you make rapid progress on your instrument and use the time that you do have in the best possible way. Let’s check it out!
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#10: Last but not the least… This is probably my most important tip for you in this Guide. Are you excited? Good! Let’s get into it.
Do you try to play through the changes of a tune you wanted to get under your fingers but totally clueless on how to do it well or sound like a great jazz player? Or perhaps you’ve been really inspired by learning chord melody and soloing from hearing the greats like Joe Pass, Ted Greene and Lenny Breau, but have no idea where to start learning this styl e?
Perhaps you have a decent grasp of scale patterns, chord voicings, and a good list of tunes under your belt, but it integrating it all into a compelling performance is still eluding you?
By now, from reading this Guide, you know how much I loathe wasting time. Life is short, so it best be spent feeling like we are making a difference, improving ourselves, and generally making life awesome. Not wasting time on half baked, at worst totally incorrect information on how to learn something as complex as jazz guitar playing.
This ultimate mistake is the most important one to rectify. Let me share this with you now:
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Mistake #10: Trying to Figure Everything Out Yourself, Rather Than Getting a Teacher A teacher is crucial to learning a complex skill like guitar playing and are the ultimate time saver for your practice time, for the following reasons:
● They are a filter, giving you what you need to know at the right time. Avoids information overload ● They are an authority: a teacher who is knowledgeable will simplify the learning process by providing correct information right from the get go ● They give you accountability and a way to measure progress ● They give valuable feedback and help adjust and improve your strategy ● They give a clear path to improvement so you don’t need to endlessly wander around wondering if something is correct or no t.
A good guitar teacher is the most valuable thing you can do for your music. And when you have found a good teacher, make sure you listen to and implement their advice.
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This is what inspired me to build Fret Dojo, as I wanted to build a resource that has boiled down for you the most important points in developing the skills to become a great jazz guitarist. A website that provides the most essential tools you need to free that music inside you that you know is in there. A resource that gives you a clear path to getting better at your instrument, so that you enjoy your music more and then share it with others.
Connecting with others is what we need most in the world right now. And music is a wonderful way to do this.
Well, that’s about it for this book. Hmmm...hang on a second...
Phew, I nearly forgot! There is one thing I wanted to remind you about before we wrap it up - see below:
Learn With Greg: Exclusive Reader Bonus!
