Make sure your guitar is in tune

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Before you get started strumming those chords or ripping that solo take a few minutes to tune your guitar. There are a multitude of reasons why tuning your guitar at the start of a session is crucial:

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• It makes everything sound correct. Try playing a guitar that’s not in tune, everything just sounds off, it’s actually frustrating because the guitar will have a mind of its own. So take this from me tune your guitar first - that solo will sound much more clean and those barre chords will sound perfect.

• It trains your ear. Yeah I know you’ve seen all those lads who tune their guitar by ear in less than a minute which makes you rethink your abilities. Well the only way to get there is by tuning your guitar more often. But here’s where the magic happens; next time you tune your guitar do it intentionally, what I mean is really pay close attention to the sound of a correctly tuned string, even imitate the sound with your voice and next thing you know you’ll be tuning the strings by ear like a pro.

• Being able to tune your guitar deftly is such a confidence boost. Remember the first time you tried tuning your guitar, it was more of a seemingly impossible quest. But what happened as you kept trying, as the weeks passed, as the months passed? Yep, it became second nature, as easy as A, B, C. This shows that you have been making progress. Now isn’t that an amazing realization? Keep up the practicing and soon you will be the master of what you’re struggling with currently.

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Have agenda specific practice sessions

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What are you trying to learn? Then focus on that during your sessions. Remember when it comes to learning instruments time is your companion, so better use your practice sessions wisely. Being particular about what you will do in your sessions instead of playing random tunes is a sure way to make great progress in a short time. So I would advise that you at least come up with a daily timetable and start your sessions already knowing your to-do list. Making a weekly program also allows you to monitor your progress and make changes accordingly.

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Keep sessions short and precise

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I will tell you this, practicing for short durations daily is better than practicing for 3hrs once a week. Start off with 30 minutes daily, keeping your sessions target based while also taking breaks in between. Consider this, we all have a specific attention span where after that we stop making optimum progress. For most people it's 30 minutes so start off with this amount of practice time daily, keeping focus on the task and stop when you have completed your agenda. With time increase your practice duration, again it’s a gift that comes with time.

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Practice at times when you are energetic

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Don’t leave your practice session for when you’re tired or sleepy or drained, instead practice the guitar when you’re fresh and energetic. Keep in mind that energy = motivation. So if you’re tired you are more prone to calling it quits when it’s difficult, you will not be feeling resilient or persistent. You never want to do something practical lackadaisically. So take a shower before you take your guitar out, listen to some music that makes you want to play. Do things that you know will motivate you to give your best during your practice sessions. Remember how you practice is how you play so practice like a rockstar!

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Use a metronome

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A metronome is a device used by musicians that marks time at a selected rate by giving a regular tick. You can download many different types of metronomes online; I will share a link below for my best metronome.

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There are many advantages of using a metronome during your practice sessions, but be warned it can be confusing and challenging at the start but with constant practice you will be able to run a metronome in your mind with ease. Reasons to use this tool:

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• Improves your musical sense of timing and rhythm. Music is very specific about tempo and timing, it is specific about when exactly a note blends with the beat so mastering timing will make you a better musician and will make all your musical pieces “musically correct.”

• It makes playing in a band so much easier. The transition from playing alone to playing with other musicians will be easier if you understand musical timing. This is because rhythm and timing are the backbone of playing in a band, so if have dreams of starting your boy band soon you better use that metronome more often.

• Improves your listening skills. You will realize that when you practice with a metronome you listen to more than your skillful playing, you also listen for the ticking of the metronome to ensure you’re in correct time, this is very important for a musician. Using a metronome gives your ear the ability to listen to others besides yourself. This is applicable when playing in a band or doing accompaniments, to be able to equally divide your attention to all the aspects that make the music complete.

• Better prepares you for live recordings. Live playing is easier because if you make a mistake it is lost in the abyss of past, but this changes when you’re doing a live recording or in studio because there will be playback and the whole world will know that you missed the beat, so do yourself a favor and prioritize mastering timing, you can thank me later 😃

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Use backing tracks

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A great alternative instead of using a metronome. Backing tracks are pre-recorded instrumentals and beats. Backing tracks give more musicality to your playing because they are musically rich, involving other instruments compared to the metronome. Also backing tracks can be more specific to the style of music you like such as hip hop, Rnb or Jazz. Get these tracks online, on YouTube and have fun while still training your sense of timing and rhythm. What more, you will drastically improve your ability to play in a band and understand more about how different instruments come together to create a musical masterpiece.

 

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Break things down to the basics

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Have you ever tried eating all that’s in your plate in one go? Well if you have then never mind, but most of us know to take one bite at a time until we finish the food, then go on to add some more. This applies to practicing guitar too: make aspects as basic as they are. You can do this by slowing down a tutorial video, pausing the video to correctly copy chord shapes, slow down your fingers when practicing fingerpicking techniques or solos, and writing things down in simple ways that you can understand. Making things simple helps to avoid frustrations that could lead to you giving up on the guitar and we don’t want that. So always make things basic, slow things down and gradually increase speed as you get more comfortable.

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Remember playing guitar is about modality, all those great solos can be slowed down and you will be amazed at simple techniques that have been performed very fast to create a signature solo.

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Have play-along sessions

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Dedicate some sessions to playing along with your favorite songs. What’s the point of playing guitar if you can’t play your favorite songs? Playing along not only gives you a massive confidence but it also gives you a feel for the real music and this will in turn make you a musician who understands the depths of music and so you will be able to create meaningful musical experiences for your audience. Playing to your favorite songs equips you with skills that make you a great addition to your band, such as timing, listening skills and attention to detail.

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Record yourself

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Ever wondered what others hear when you play guitar? Record yourself and be you own critical audience. Of course, don’t be too hard on yourself but be honest with yourself, it will go a long way. Record videos of yourself playing and see how you can improve your stage presence. Record audios of yourself playing and analyze your sound for mistakes in timing and in what ways you can improve the quality of your sound. Do this weekly and you will be able to monitor your progress over a time span.

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Play for your family and friends

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Remember music is a gift that can and should be shared to bring color to those around us. Inspire others around you with your gift. Learn to play some popular songs and play for your circle at camps, bonfires and road trips. Learning to play guitar automatically makes you the life of the party, it gives you the opportunity to bring smiles and be a cloud on rainy days so remember that the next time you pick up your guitar to practice that tablature. Besides this there’s more that comes with playing guitar in public such as;

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• You become more likeable - we all know the guy with the guitar gets more attention, especially from the ladies, but that’s not the point LOL, the point is that you will find it easier to make more friends and fit in any kind of social gathering. Everyone wants to know who’s the guy with the guitar?

• Massive confidence boost - playing in public takes a huge amount of confidence, and if you master this there will be very few things in life that will give your stomach butterflies. Check out our blog become confident to play in public to boost your confidence and show all your acquired skills without breaking a sweat.

• You get a lot of free constructive criticism that will make you a better musician - criticism has got such a bad rep but hear me out for a second. Music is for the people so how can we give the people what they like if we don’t know what they don’t like? Take in criticism as building blocks to being the best version of yourself and not as a wrecking ball that will crush your confidence. Remember true confidence comes from knowing that you have put in work to be where you are today, no one can take that away from you.

• You get to meet other musicians - the odds of meeting other passionate musicians are higher when your audience is more than a pillow and some shoes, so go out there and play - you might end up being recruited into that boy band after all.

• More opportunity to expand your musical horizons by doing collabs and trying a new style of music.

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Have fun with it

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Remember practicing guitar is not a marine exam - it’s meant to be fun. So don’t think too much but always make sure to have a good time practicing, be patient with yourself and remember (I know I know I’ve told you to remember a lot of things in this blog) that a few months ago you couldn’t do what you can do today (not you if you haven’t been practicing consistently). So...

Happy Practicing

😃

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