How to make time to practice guitar
I’ve been playing guitar as a professional musician as well as teaching for many years. During my professional career, I have observed some areas where students tend to get discouraged.
A good discipline to develop is to have a set time for and organized list of things you should work on.
As a student of guitar, you have work, school and family and friends as well as financial responsibilities – and – your guitar . I recommend picking 30 to 60 minutes daily 5 to 7 days a week. I hear from many of my students that a good time for guitar practice is either before or after dinner.
Establish as private an area as possible for your guitar practice to help you focus on your practice time. If this is still hard to implement on a daily basis and you are feeling guilty and discouraged because you are not making the time to practice, purchase a music stand and leave the music you need to practice open so that every time you walk by the music stand, it’s a reminder. As a professional guitar instructor teaching beginners to advance in Florida, New Jersey, New York, Boston,Los Angeles and now the San Francisco Bay Area, trust me when I say – it works.
Be sure you have a worksheet printed out and on your music stand that addresses music reading, scales for soloing, strumming patterns and repertoire using both picking and songs using finger picking. Remember, when you are jamming with friends or performing a professional gig, have fun and don’t worry about technique. But, when you practice, you should focus on technique as well as using a metronome on everything you practice. This is what musicianship is all about.