Practicing effectively is an art unto itself. Many people make the erroneous assumption that having an instrument in one's hands constitutes practicing.
This could could mean practicing while watching TV or listening to your favorite podcast. People put hours and hours into playing the guitar and become frustrated by the lack of progress all the time. These practicing chapters are designed to hopefully help demystify the learning process while helping to promote good, positive and constructive practice habits.
How these work:
I will offer practice chapters usually once or twice in different sections of this book/course. In order to get the most out of these sections please follow as much as you can from the text. I know it can be hard or frighteningly new but I want you to start building some sort of routine as opposed to 'winging it' every session.
Outcome:
By the end - you'll be able to disregard these routines to either make your own or just simply practice how you want - these are just suggestions. Either way if you followed the text you would of at least been open to - and tried - different methods of practicing and learning in different ways.
How to Practice:
Let us begin by distinguishing practicing from playing.
If we break the learning process up into two parts, we have 'acquisition of skills, and 'repetition of Skills'. Acquisition of skills is simply the idea of leaning new things. In acquisition of skills we are essentially trying to take something that is new and figure out the best way to apply it to our instrument/music.
In Repetition of skills we are taking out newly learned skills and committing them to muscle memory. From there we can really start the creative process of playing and analyzing.
The Basics:
1. Create a Practice Space:
Find a spot in your house, apartment, studio, friends house, park, etc. that is free of clutter and distractions. Also, having a comfortable chair, music stand, practice materials and metronome are important. Let this be your musical sanctuary.
2. Posture:
This is extremely important. Most musicians I know have back, neck, arm, shoulder or all of the above problems - start by creating good habits right off of the bat. If you suffer from a bad back or chronic pain I highly advise seeking medical attention before it worsens. Trust me.
Use a comfortable chair (preferably with no arms) and make sure when practicing to sit up straight and remember to breathe. It's important to practice in a relaxed way and allow for your body to properly oxygenate. I am a huge advocate for using a strap when practicing so that the position of the guitar remains consistent wether you are playing standing or sitting.
3. Picks & Hand Positions:
... "Holding the pick should be a relaxed gesture and second nature. Reach out your right hand as though shaking someone's hand. Then gently retract the fingers until the forefinger and the thumb meet. This point of contact is the most natural place to put the pick! Now... bring your hand in to your guitar. You'll notice that your wrist is lightly bowed, and the pick is meeting the string somewhere between perfectly perpendicular and a 45 degree angle. This is our proper right hand position. As an alternative, allow your fingers to lightly touch the top of the guitar or pick guard. " - Tariqh Akoni [Professor at Los Angeles College of Music]
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The Beginning Guitarist Handbook
Non-FictionThis book is for the aspiring guitarists who either just bought their guitar or have had one sitting in the corner collecting dust for awhile. You want to be able to play your favorite songs jam with friends, serenade your loved one(s), or simply be...
