Are You Using Your Practice Time Wisely?

Many beginning students confuse playing the guitar with practicing the guitar. Here are some proven ways to make sure you're spending your time wisely.

1. Setting aside time to practice. A specific time of day is a good way to get yourself into a practice routine. A lot of my students, especially the adults, devote whatever time is left in the day to practice. This is usually after working, fixing dinner, cleaning house and whatever else is part of their normal day. It's much better to have a time set aside for practicing.
2. The practice space should be quiet, clean and private. I hear complaints all the time about the distractions that take place when trying to focus on music. Kids who come in and ask questions, spouses who interrupt or feel compelled to comment and/or criticize, music or tv playing in the other room, and the list goes on. I know it's hard, but try to get the rest of the family to understand that your music needs your undivided attention.
3. Getting the most out of the time you have. Having the guitar in your hands for 30 minutes isn't the same as practicing for 30 minutes! "Running through the songs" is a good way to warm up, but are you improving or just playing? After a thorough warmup, work on improving something about the song. You do warm up, don't you?
4. Have something in mind. I have many students who complain about not getting any better, but they don't seem to be doing anything to get better once we talk about their practice time. Work on one thing that will improve the performance of the piece. Record your playing so you can hear what it sounds like. A frequent comment is how they played the song perfectly at home last night, but now it's awful. Remember, recordings don't lie. 
5. Know when to quit. No, not quitting the guitar, ending the practice session. Sometimes it doesn't go that well and the harder you try the worse it seems to get. When that happens, either take a break or pick it up again tomorrow. 
6. Relax, don't put undue pressure on yourself. You will make steady progress if you practice, but sometimes it won't feel like it. We all have plateaus that make us wonder if we'll ever be any better or if this is as good as we'll ever get! Don't think it's something that just happens to beginners or amateurs, it's common and it happens to everyone. 

So hang in there, work at getting better, and keep on pickin'.