As a professional musician and private guitar instructor I've noticed that are things you can do to make the most of your practice time and to help you get better at your instrument with less effort.
Here are some ideas to get you started: Self-Study or Private Instruction? Should you take private lessons or should you "teach yourself".
There are advantages and disadvantages to each.
If you take private lessons you will hopefully have the benefit of an experienced guitar teacher.
He or she will be able to help you avoid developing bad habits that might set you back otherwise.
Teachers can also help you learn new concepts without all the trial and error.
Private lessons are not cheap though.
You can also find many self-study courses available on the internet.
Some are really well done.
Some are..
..
not.
You need to find the right course in order to help you succeed.
Most courses are not expensive but even if a course costs next to nothing, you don't want to waste your money unless the course will help you.
Based on my experience and observations, I think its best if you find a good guitar teacher AND find a good self-study course.
This gives you the benefits of self-study and helps you to learn much more quickly which reduces the amount of money you will need to spend on private lessons.
But you'll still have a live person to watch and guide you.
Set Practice Goals Make goals for each practice session.
Make them small, focused and attainable.
For example, instead of saying "I want to get better at a certain song today" say "I want to be able to play that tricky second measure without any mistakes - every time.
" Mindset We all have our slumps.
Sometimes it feels like we just aren't getting any better.
This is the time when most people give up and say "maybe playing guitar isn't for me.
Whatever you do - don't give up! This happens to everyone but if you want to get good at guitar you need get through it.
Maybe taking a break from your current lesson is a good idea.
It might be refreshing to move on to something else just to get a break.
Listen to Guitar Players That You Like When you listen to a guitar player often you tend to absorb some of their playing style into your own.
You may be surprised one day when you hear yourself playing a lick that you've heard in song.
It takes more than just listening to get better - you have to put some work in too.
But close listening is a fun, easy and helpful.
Try Playing a Little Slower...
I find myself saying this to every one of my students at one time or another.
I sometimes say it to myself too if I'm learning something new and playing too quickly.
Play everything slowly and as perfectly as possible.
Only when you are able to consistently play your lesson perfectly should you try to speed it up - one notch at a time!When you play something quickly and incorrectly you are actually practicing bad habits and they will creep into your playing the more you practice them.
Good luck to you!
Here are some ideas to get you started: Self-Study or Private Instruction? Should you take private lessons or should you "teach yourself".
There are advantages and disadvantages to each.
If you take private lessons you will hopefully have the benefit of an experienced guitar teacher.
He or she will be able to help you avoid developing bad habits that might set you back otherwise.
Teachers can also help you learn new concepts without all the trial and error.
Private lessons are not cheap though.
You can also find many self-study courses available on the internet.
Some are really well done.
Some are..
..
not.
You need to find the right course in order to help you succeed.
Most courses are not expensive but even if a course costs next to nothing, you don't want to waste your money unless the course will help you.
Based on my experience and observations, I think its best if you find a good guitar teacher AND find a good self-study course.
This gives you the benefits of self-study and helps you to learn much more quickly which reduces the amount of money you will need to spend on private lessons.
But you'll still have a live person to watch and guide you.
Set Practice Goals Make goals for each practice session.
Make them small, focused and attainable.
For example, instead of saying "I want to get better at a certain song today" say "I want to be able to play that tricky second measure without any mistakes - every time.
" Mindset We all have our slumps.
Sometimes it feels like we just aren't getting any better.
This is the time when most people give up and say "maybe playing guitar isn't for me.
Whatever you do - don't give up! This happens to everyone but if you want to get good at guitar you need get through it.
Maybe taking a break from your current lesson is a good idea.
It might be refreshing to move on to something else just to get a break.
Listen to Guitar Players That You Like When you listen to a guitar player often you tend to absorb some of their playing style into your own.
You may be surprised one day when you hear yourself playing a lick that you've heard in song.
It takes more than just listening to get better - you have to put some work in too.
But close listening is a fun, easy and helpful.
Try Playing a Little Slower...
I find myself saying this to every one of my students at one time or another.
I sometimes say it to myself too if I'm learning something new and playing too quickly.
Play everything slowly and as perfectly as possible.
Only when you are able to consistently play your lesson perfectly should you try to speed it up - one notch at a time!When you play something quickly and incorrectly you are actually practicing bad habits and they will creep into your playing the more you practice them.
Good luck to you!