How To Get Faster On The Guitar In Less Time Using The Right Practice Approaches
Does it feel like getting faster on guitar is taking forever?
That feels frustrating.
But, really, how long should it take to get faster on guitar?
Weeks?
Months?
Years?
Answer:
It all depends on how you practice.
For most people, playing guitar faster takes a very long time because they don’t know what or how to practice to achieve their goals (or don’t have any goals to begin with).
Learning the right practice approaches helps you inject tons of speed into your guitar playing in no time.
Would you like to play faster in no time?
Awesome. I thought so!
*Reduce* The Total Amount Of Practice Time You Spend In A Day
Practicing guitar for many hours every day isn’t the only way or the best way to become a killer guitar player. Yes, you may have heard of some famous players who did this, but that doesn’t mean you should!
Why?
Simple.
It’s not an efficient way to practice and puts you in danger of practicing without focus – leading to worse results.
It’s hard to do anything with intense focus for more than
roughly 45 minutes at a time. Shortening your guitar practice sessions uses
this idea to ensure that you practice with 100% focus and get the very best
possible results from your time.
This makes your guitar practice incredibly effective.
Spending 15 minutes to practice several times throughout the day (if possible) has the potential to be incredibly effective for maintaining focus and getting results.
Check out this free resource to learn how to practice guitar less and increase your speed faster.
Don’t Slow Down Your Speed
It’s not really true that you become a faster guitar player
by slowing down and gradually building up to speed.
This myth causes tons of guitarists to become frustrated while slowing down their progress considerably.
You want to play guitar fast?
Practice guitar fast!
But, should you ever use slow guitar practice?
Of course.
Practicing guitar at slow speeds is good, if not necessary when you are first beginning to learn a new technique or aren’t familiar at all with the notes in a given exercise or lick.
However, once you are familiar with the basic movements you need to make, move to practicing using speed bursts to quickly get faster and cleaner.
Make At Least A Little Progress Every Day
You don’t need to add 50 beats per minute to the metronome for your guitar practice exercises every session.
Many guitarists set daily goals like this that very well may be unrealistic.
Result: They become frustrated and less motivated to practice.
Not good.
Although there are certainly days when you make tons of progress compared to others… simply making a little progress is an incredibly powerful tool.
Why?
Because it builds momentum, which leads to motivation and increased focus.
Set clear goals for your speed and write them down every day.
Then focus on making at least a little progress towards them each day.
This gives you a sense of momentum and an emotional boost when you look back on your progress at the end of the week.
Train Yourself To Use Your Speed Musically, Not Just For Exercises
Don’t make the common mistake of learning all your guitar scales, exercises or techniques in total isolation from anything musical.
Yes, it’s cool to play guitar faster, but…
Learning to USE your speed in music is ultimately what you want!
Good news is, it’s really fun and easy to practice integrating speed with musicality.
Before you know it, you’ll be playing killer guitar solos and songs that are both fast and expressive just like the pros.
Try these approaches:
·
Practice scales and arpeggios by breaking them
down into just a few notes at a time and improving musical phrases with them using
all the techniques you know
·
Improvise regularly over backing tracks, songs
or simply on your own (with a single melody)
·
Look for ways to combine chords and arpeggios
together with scales
· Practice soloing freely, but also by trying to get as much musical expression from as few notes as possible. Then add more notes from there
The best way to quickly get faster on guitar and make sure you master your skills in a musical manner is to work with a guitar teacher.