Easier, Faster, & More Effective Guitar Practice

How to improve on your instrument. Yes, even if you've been playing for years or decades. Perhaps you're in a rut or need a way to get through a certain plateau in your playing skills. This video will help get you out of that stuck mindset, routine, or box-shape repetition & get the most out of your guitar practice sessions.

As Roxas mentions, hes only been playing guitar for 5 years!

So how does he improve his skills on a daily basis?

It might seem really obvious, but it's consistency. He continually improves by having a plan for short term goals & practicing intensely, but limiting sessions to roughly an hour a day. There really is no need to practice 6-8 hours daily if you're not concentrating on it 100% through its entirety. Also be aware of repetitive practice, it is often necessary, but playing the same thing over for an extended times daily can sometimes make way for bad habits - A good variety always helps!

(See Original Source >Here<)

To start this method out & begin your new-found progress, you must look towards your guitar idols such as Paul Gilbert, Slash, SRV, etc and see them as your end result, or goal. It's much easier to tackle something if you have a clear end result in mind, because it gives you direction & allows you to fill in the blanks as you go along your journey.

So here's the sample schedule Roxas uses:

Monday through Wednesday: Learn techniques; Scales, modes, alternate picking, sweep picking, legato, etc. This is to get your basic fundamentals of playing down. You've got to have a solid foundation for your playing in order to build yourself up to the next level, and you will, if you follow through with just 1 hour of daily consistency.

Thursday through Sunday: Google some tabs of your favorite guitar passages & dissect them to see how they're structured. You don't have to learn the entire song from the beginning to end, but take note of the techniques, skills, & approaches that each particular guitar player uses. How do they phrase, how do they transition between techniques, how do they compose their melodies, etc. Try to see it through their eyes.

By observing your favorite guitarists & their way of playing, you'll begin to pick up on various styles & diversify your musical vocabulary. You'll pick up new ways of phrasing your music & will already have the building blocks laid out (from practicing technique the first part of the week). In a short amount of time, you'll begin to see improvements, especially if you set short term goals. Short term goals can be as simple as increasing a riff by a couple bpm each week, learning a new passage, or even getting a certain feeling to shine through your playing.

"When it's time for guitar practice, be sure to do it with  focus & intensity!"

Use this sample schedule for your own & see how it helps out. You don't have to fixate on it week after week, but it's a good starting point. Once you get a good direction of where you want to go, feel free to modify it to fit your approach. The key factor in all of it will continue to be consistency coupled with variation. When it's time for guitar practice, be sure to do it with  focus & intensity! Be sure to separate the stuff that will get you to your ideal skill level from noodling on the guitar, but of course set some time here and there for all-out jam sessions. After all, you don't want to make practicing feel like a big chore - enjoy it & its small victories to the top.

Make Your Guitar Practice Easier, Faster, & More Effective

Takeaways:

If you've hit a plateau in your guitar playing, try this method of focused practice for 1 hour a day. Exercise on techniques half of the week, & observe your favorite players the rest of the week to better understand their styles of playing. Also, be sure to set short-term goals, whether it be an increase of BPM, or improvement of a certain technique. By continually accomplishing small goals everyday, you'll be making progress towards your long-term goal & reaching your ideal skill level.

For further instruction from Roxas himself,

check out his website >Here<

and be sure to follow him on Instagram @RoxasDemonSlayer for more wicked riffs!

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