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“When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win”

How to Really Practice!

Practicing is rarely "fun." But it truly is the only way to get real results in improving your playing.
Some simple Tips:
1. Make it Consistent. Have a dedicated time to practice. If you are waiting to practice until you have a few minutes of "extra" time, then most days you'll never get around to it. Instead, set aside 10 or 15 minutes at a convenient point in your normal daily routine. the key word here being "routine.")
2. Focused Attention. Most of us, unfortunately find that practice time is very limited, so you must make the most of every minute. more can be accomplished in 15 minutes of focused attention on a single aspect of your
playing than 45 minutes of 'just messing around' with your guitar as you watch TV.
3. A Dedicated Spot to Practice. Your practice area doesn't need to be fancy. It can be very simple--a small
corner of a room. You just need a place with a chair (preferably with no arms), a music stand, your guitar (and
a guitar stand), a metronome, a pencil.
Personally, I like being by a window as well. It helps to be in a quiet area away from a lot of distractions.
4. Make it Easy to Practice
a. Keep your guitar out of the case and on a guitar stand. You'll be amazed at how much your guitar will 'call to you' when it's visible. Keeping your guitar out on a stand will inspire you to practice every time you walk by it.

b. Keep your music out on a music stand. A music stand is a relatively inexpensive purchase, and it's much better for holding your materials than trying to prop them up awkwardly on a coffee table or chair.

DISCLAMER: This, and all of my previous tips are extracted and borrowed from my research in cyberspace.
Posted out of a sincere desire to help and contribute to the fantastic site and the fine forum folks that reside on this forum.

Carry on
Frybaby.

Frybaby

I have a real problem quieting my mind and concentrating. A piano teacher once told me I had a form of ADD. I find it extremely difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. The most crazy, unrelated thoughts will pop into my head and take me away. I play locked away in the bathroom most of the time. (OK, jokes and pokes are welcome!)

Any thoughts on how to quiet the mind and improve concentration. Just call me "Grasshopper".

Sam

2Cat,
Believe it or not I have the same problem. I start out with a specific goal or objective for practice, and one thing lead to another and pretty soon I playing a favorites song, running scales or just noodling around..... all over the map so to speak. It fun, but it’s not practice.

So I may not be the best one to comment on this, I'am sure others will chime in as I am sure it a common problem.
But I will share what helps me. As mentioned in the practice tips, I get my music stand out place it in from and armed with a pencil and a my spiral note book ( appropriately titled "GUITAR STUFF"). I jot down a brief note on what I am to going to practice, and then I start the journey.

Eventually I’m lost in the guitar ozone, but when I finally do look up at the notebook and see what my objective is, I am immutably brought back to the practice.
Helpful too I might mention , I make random note during on the my practice, which keep me locked in to my note book.
My notes and comments are brief some time a word or two, but it always bring me back to the prime objective, practice.

Just some thought, hope you find something useful.


Regards,

Guys, I have Adult ADD or ADHD or ABC or XYZ or what ever you want to call it this month. LOL My wife claims its an extreme case as well. LOL

Actually, I've found if you take a nice caffeinated beverage to sip during practice you can get a lot done. It helps your ability to focus.

1. Write down what you want to practice.
2. Set a timer for 20 mins.
3. When the timer goes off, stop and play for fun.

Do this as often as you like during the day keeping at least 30 mins between sessions.

On the other hand…… I have different fingers.
Really… all seriousness aside: the more you practice, the more you learn, the more you learn the more you forget, the more you forget the less you know, so why practice.

Really appreciate the threads you have put up Frybaby, lots of great info!

Thanks!

Ness

A very good thread, Jack. Lots of good info.

What works best for me is to wake up early and practice. I can usually play for an hour to an hour and half without phone interruptions. To keep it simple for me, I only work on one thing at a time. One day it may be new stuff, the next day it may be re-learning and/or polishing some old stuff. I usually take one day a week to play just whatever comes to mind at the moment. Since it somewhat difficult to find 'jam partners' at 5am, I play along with some of the YouTube videos. It is actually fun to play along with different skill levels and those that are "timing challenged" always keeps it interesting. lol


Bill

'Timing Challenged' LOL That topic came up last night.
We were thinking about making a list of people we should purchase metronomes for... LOL