01. SET UP A DISTRACTION-FREE PRACTICE SPACE
It’s important to create a designated practice space where you can focus and minimize distractions. If possible, leave your phone in another room with the ringer off. Find a quiet, clutter-free area in your home where you can set up your practice materials and equipment.
Ideally, this space should be separate from where you relax or watch TV. A clean and organized space will help you get into the practice mindset more quickly and efficiently. Keep all of your necessary tools and equipment within reach, so you don’t waste time searching for them.
02. HAVE A DESIGNATED, RELAXING PRACTICE SPACE
You probably aren’t getting the most productive use of your time if you practice in the living room while the TV is on or in your messy bedroom with distractions everywhere. The more distraction you have while practicing (or doing anything in life), the less you’ll be able to focus deeply on something.
I have a designated Home Office Studio in my house that nobody else is allowed in (including the cats). You can see some pictures of it on my website. I keep it clean and organized so when I get in there and close the door, I can be focused and working within a minute or two. I have everything wired so I can switch 2 switches and be ready to practice and record.
The more stuff you have in the way of your practice, the less likely you are to sit down and do it. Simple tasks, like having to find your tuner or a guitar pick or finding your practice material, can easily be avoided if you designate a space and materials that stay there all of the time.
I also have spare cables, tuners, metronomes, and amps that never leave my house so I don’t ever have to look for them or set anything up. I know that I am more likely to have a sub-par practice session if the first 15 minutes of my practice routine are spent cleaning up after myself.
02. USE A PRACTICE LOG
A practice log is a valuable tool for tracking your progress and setting goals. Consider using a log similar to the one used by my old college guitar professor. It can help you stay accountable and motivated as you work towards improvement.
In addition to a practice log, you may also find it helpful to use other goal-setting tools such as Trello to organize your learning goals for various areas of focus, like recording sessions, music marketing, or passive income streams.
03. TUNE YOUR GUITAR
It’s essential to tune your guitar before each practice session. Even if you tuned your instrument earlier in the day, various factors such as temperature and humidity changes, handling your guitar, or storing it in a case can cause it to go out of tune. Make sure to take the time to properly tune your guitar before you start playing.
04. WARM-UP
Warming up is an important step that should not be overlooked. Even experienced musicians like Pat Metheny spend over an hour warming up before a show.
Start your practice session with finger and hand stretches, and then move on to noodling around with your favorite scales, licks, and chord progressions. If you plan on singing while playing, now is also a good time to do some vocal exercises.
Having a consistent warm-up routine will help you get your fret hand and picking hand in top form and set you up for a successful practice session.
06. NOODLE
I usually start to noodle around on some favorite scales, licks, and chord progressions. If you plan on singing while you play then now is a good time do to some of your vocal exercises as well. I find it’s best to have a couple of go-to exercises and licks that I use to warm up. If I always warm up with the same thing then I know when I am starting to sound good or if I’m having an off day (which every player has sometimes).
Having a specific musical routine of scales, arpeggios, chords, licks, and tunes that you go through to get your fret hand and picking hand working well can mean the difference between having a great gig and feeling a little let down with yourself afterward.
05. PAY ATTENTION TO POSTURE
Good posture is crucial for proper technique and preventing injury. Make sure you are seated comfortably with your feet flat on the ground, and your back and neck in a straight and relaxed position. Hold your guitar correctly, with the body of the instrument resting on your right leg (if you are right-handed) and the neck at a comfortable angle.
08. KEEP A MIRROR HANDY
Musicians are self-centered. Accept it and work on your image. Start with thinking about how you want to look when you perform. Do you have any habits that you don’t want people to see on stage?
The chances are probably great that you either want to or will have to perform live throughout your career so you should work on your image and physical habits. I have a lot of habits that I hate to see come through in photos and videos, but by paying attention to those habits and realizing when I start doing them during practice time, I can be more aware of getting rid of the bad habits and reinforcing the good ones, like working on my rock stance or my duck walk.
09. JAM TO YOUR HEROES
Blast your stereo and jam to your musical heroes. Steal their licks. Figure out the chord progressions that you like. I encourage all of my guitar students to transcribe any musical passage that tickles their fancy and also to not let anyone choose their musical mentors and heroes for them.
As a musician, you need to seek out new and old artists as if you need to feed on their music. Have The Hunger. If you like a current artist, I guarantee they had their own influences as well. Find out who their influences are and where the music comes from. Then, find out who their influences were and so forth.
My musical upbringing occurred at a weird shift in the music industry and how people consumed music (and consume it I did). Compared to the late 1990s, there is an entirely new way of finding and listening to new artists. It can be overwhelming but also open up doors to artists that prior generations had to really search for. Stream stations and pay attention to the artists and bands that you like.
10. DON’T BE AFRAID TO MESS UP!
I read a book on Zen Guitar Playing once. The title alone exhumes a sense of relaxed freedom. Imagine that. Relaxed, free guitar playing where it’s okay to mess up and explore your own cosmic radio. The typical self-conscious performer is replaced with a confident explorer, ready to break new ground on the fretboard.
Think “Jimi Hendrix meets Louis & Clark meets Buddha with a little bit of Miles and Keith Jarrett,” in there.
It’s okay to mess up. Sometimes, the best way to gauge someone’s commitment to success is by taking note of how often they are trying something new or leaving a failed project behind. The most successful people are on a constant journey to refine and perfect everything they come in contact with. They are trying to find new ways of doing things and in turn, find a million other ways NOT to do things.
I’ll admit though, it’s extremely hard to let your significant other hear all of your mistakes when all you want to do is impress them all of the time. For me to feel most comfortable when I practice, I prefer that no one is in my house at the time. Then I know for sure that nobody is out there and I can be free to just sound as awful as I need to in order to work through stuff.
The best thing to do is (a) GET OVER IT and (b) Get good enough at hiding your mistakes where you at least sound respectable when they happen!
BONUS TIP: DO THE WORK!
The most important thing that anyone aspiring to improve (at anything in life) needs to realize is that it takes work. Usually, it takes a lot of work. It can be a lot of fun work, but boy does it take a lot of work and time. If you take shortcuts, you will always end up with lesser results than you originally imagined. Do yourself a favor and commit to doing the work.
Luckily, if you develop a good plan via a practice schedule and set clear goals for yourself then you can devise a plan that works to mold you into the musician that you want to be.
