This Guitar Practice Approach Fixes Your Guitar Playing Problems

This Guitar Practice Approach Fixes Your Guitar Playing Problems

by Tom Hess

If you want to make really fast improvement in your guitar playing, you’ll have to learn how to fix problems as you practice. Merely playing through the same exercise again and again is not effective. Practicing guitar the correct way ought to make your playing feel effortless and sound great.

This guitar practice video shows how to solve your guitar playing problems:

https://youtu.be/hzH5MFieB1U

This is how this approach works while practicing guitar:

(Accurately) Isolate The Problem

Whenever something is giving you problems in your guitar playing, isolate the precise notes that you are struggling to play. By focusing on these specific notes, it’ll make your practice much more effective. Check out the video above beginning at 58 seconds to observe the process of properly isolating a problem. This will also keep you from wasting a lot of time practicing things you can already do well.

Amplify The Problem

Once the main issue has been isolated, amplifying it will make it easier to solve. To see how this is done, watch the video at 4:01. At this part of the video, you see how a two hand synchronization issue is amplified to make it easier to fix.

These are some simple approaches for amplifying any problem:

1. Repeat the most difficult part many times.

2. Play the difficult part on lower frets.

3. Use only up/down strokes to play the difficult part.

4. If the problem is related to articulation or 2-hand synchronization – play it on an acoustic guitar or an unplugged electric guitar.

5. Play the difficult part with heavier distortion/at a louder overall volume to fix sloppy playing.

Amplifying the problem like this makes the original issue seem much easier in comparison.

Pay Attention To The Fundamentals

Construct a list of guitar technique fundamentals that you need the most improvement on. Once you have mastered these things you will fix your playing issue. A lot of guitarists who learned guitar on their own struggle with this (since they aren’t working with an excellent teacher who can help them). The following are several guitar technique elements you need to pay close attention to:

- Maintaining perfect sync between both hands, so that every note is articulated well.

- Preventing excess string noise by using muting.

- Maintaining strong power in your picking attack while making motions in both hands as efficient as possible.

- Getting rid of unnecessary tension in your body that makes playing guitar harder than it needs to be.

Don’t Play Faster Than You Can Think

You need to totally engage your brain during guitar practice. To do this, practice at a speed that challenges your hands physically, but is slow enough that you can follow every note with your brain. This is the way to practice if you want to play with excellent guitar technique.

If you practice faster than your mind can keep up with, you will struggle to get decent results from your practicing efforts.

Check out the video at 3:16 to see an example of practicing so that your mind can follow what you are doing.

This guitar speed eBook helps you master this aspect of correct guitar practice.

Go Over The Problem Repeatedly Until It Is Mastered

You have to repeat the problem many times before you will master it.

How many times is are necessary? This is one of the more destructive questions guitarists frequently ask.

This process makes you a much better guitar player each time you repeat an exercise.

Integrate The Problem Area Into A Musical Context

Integrate the isolated issue back into its original context (once you have mastered it). Surround the problem area with notes to integrate it.

The tablature below shows an isolated run from a scale. To extend the example, add surrounding notes until the lick/scale is completed.

Utilize this method to fix any guitar problem and make faster progress in your overall playing.

To master your guitar technique and speed faster than ever, study this free guitar speed eBook.