Beginning Guitar - 5 Tips to Make Your Practice Time Efficient

Finding yourself at the start of the learning curve in an attempt to learn the guitar is challenging. And let's be honest, beginning guitar is not the easiest of endeavors in the world. You will have to go through the frustration of not being able to play what you want, as well as the pain that comes with your hands and fingers having to adapt to a new motor skill. You will need to overcome adversity to be a guitarist, and the important aspect to overcoming this adversity is to habituate practical practice habits. The following are 5 tips to help you get the most out of your guitar practice.

1. You have to get your timing down.
A Metronome or Drum Machine is invaluable if you practice to it conscientiously. These devices also assist you by reducing tempos so you can practice challenging parts accurately before progressively speeding up to the regular BPM. Drum machines are also great as song-writing tools. If you have sloppy timing, it is a difficult habit to unlearn.

2. Have a room that is suited to practice.
It should be quiet, have a suitable temperature, and be well lit. You obviously won't be able to buy a state of the art studio to start with, and more than likely it will be your bedroom, but if you can shut out elements which will drain your concentration, the more productive you will be. Don't have the TV on and turn off your cell phone. Dedicate yourself for the time you are there. It is better to have an hour of quality study than 4 hours of lackadaisical, casual jamming.

3. Set up an agenda of what exactly you are going to work on and stick to it.
If you ever get a chance to read about Steve Vai's 10 hour workout (from a guitar magazine in the late 80's), it is a great example of focusing on 1 thing at a time. Obviously as a beginner guitarist you won't be practicing for 10 hours, if you do, you're likely to injure yourself. The length and content of your practice is is related to your experience level. If you are an absolute newbie, don't push too hard. If you are getting sore hands and wrists after 15 mins - take a break. It takes time for the motor-skills and associated muscles, tendons and biological wiring to attune and develop new dexterity.

4. Record your Sessions.
When you are just starting out, there is often gap between how you believe your level of playing sounds, and how it sounds in the real world. It is easy to get carried away in the moment. If your can record the audio of your guitar playing - preferably with a metronome or backing track, and then listen back, it may be a enormous asset to your development. You will hear things that will point you towards areas you will need to work on. A company called Zoom has affordable hand held digital recorders which work fine. If you have an iPhone there are also plenty of apps available for digital recording.

5. Have Long Term Goals
You work your guitar practice into progressively working on long time goals. Have short, medium and long term goals. Everyone who ever achieved anything set goals, and then re-adjusted along the journey. You need a road map to your destination.