The Exercise
Can you tell the difference between the whole rest and half rest? One of them is used in this lesson’s exercise. Are you a half-gentleman or a whole gentleman?
Hopefully, you’ve got it!
Are You Getting The Most Out Of Your Practice?
Here are some tips for getting the most out of your practice time. Organized and focused practice sessions are a must if you want to progress as quickly as possible.
- It’s a good idea to practice at least a little every day. You should set aside some time each day to practice undisturbed, even if it’s only 10 or 15 minutes a day. You will still see marked improvement from day to day or week to week if you practice a little every day.
- Balance your practice sessions out. Don’t just practice your chops, work on your brain power too. 9 out of 10 guitarists spend 6 months learning new things on the guitar and the next 10 years recycling the things they learned in the first 6 months that they began to play.
- Spend part of your practice sessions working on your chops and part of your practice session learning new things and concepts that can apply to your playing.
- Don’t get frustrated! You may not see improvement overnight, but you will see improvement eventually. If you’re having problems learning to play something, don’t beat yourself up about it. You’ll get it if you keep at it from day to day.
- Set both short and long-term goals. You may want to keep a journal to list your goals and keep track of your progress toward those goals. An example of a short-term goal may be to learn 5 basic chord patterns and their barred versions. An example of a long-term goal may be to learn all the notes on the fretboard.
- Try recording a practice session then go back a month or two later and listen to it. You’ll be amazed at the progress you’ve made if you’ve stuck with regular practice.
- If you start to feel too much discomfort in your hands and/or fingers from practicing you may want to take a break or wait until the next day to continue. Over time the muscles in your hands will develop to the point where they won’t cramp as much, and your fingertips will develop hard calluses.
- Concentrate on your weaknesses. Don’t spend most of your practice time on the areas that you would consider your strengths. Take the time to make your weaknesses strong, too.