If you ask a hundred players about what the best way to practice the guitar is, chances are- you will get a hundred different answers. No two players have the same approach to mastering the instrument, and that’s one of the reasons why every player has a unique voice.
It’s not a bad thing at all that no matter what advice you follow if you are disciplined and keep at it, you will improve a lot faster than you would if you didn’t practice at all.
People think that the life of a musician is glamorous- and they see you as enjoying your life playing fantastic tunes and entertaining people. The sad reality is- in addition to the joy that learning and playing music can bring, you need to be able to learn and adapt, and most of all-you-need to be constantly practicing if you want to improve on the guitar. It’s very easy to not want to practice the same thing for days on end, but the hard truth is- that boring practice is going to make you a much better player without you noticing.
In this short article, I’m going to point out the best ways to practice. Whether you’re a pro or a beginner who is just getting started, practicing should be a huge part of your learning journey, and if you are practicing inefficiently or without much focus, you are simply wasting your time. So, stick to the end and I break down exactly what you need to do in order to improve as a musician.
Table of Contents
The Necessity of Consistent Practice
You might think that once you reach a certain level of proficiency- you won’t have to worry about practicing at all. While that’s true for most open chords as you will have played them thousands of times and drilled them into your muscle memory, the same cannot be said for riffs and arpeggios and scales and your repertoire.
Even the best violinists admit that if they don’t practice for a day or two, their intonation will suffer. If they don’t practice for a month, you can be pretty sure that they wouldn’t sound very much in tune. This may sound silly but you only retain something as long as you’ve been doing that activity.
What I mean by that is- if you’ve only been playing the guitar for a few weeks and the callus on your fingers is just forming, you will find that you will forget most chords you have memorized if you take a year-long break. If somebody who has been playing for 5-6 years decides to take a year off to work on other things, they will still be able to pick up where they left much easier.
That boils down to many factors- but the key thing to remember is- if you want to improve on the guitar, you need to be putting in many hours consistently, and if you actually want to improve, you also need to focus on ear training and making the best out of the gear you’ve got.
What is the best way to practice the guitar?
There are many things that might speed up your progress on the fretboard, and the key things to remember are- consistency, discipline, and the right mindset.
Have a schedule that’s practical
Too many guitarists want to play Through the Fire and Flames or Tornado of Souls when they are starting out. While that might be an excellent goal for an intermediate-level player, it’s certainly not a good goal.
When setting goals for guitar, or anything really, you will find it helpful to adhere to the SMART acronym- which just means that your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and you also need to specify the time-frame in which you will achieve that goal.
For instance- saying that you are going to be a lead player in the next three months is a terrible idea. And that’s because you haven’t done any research into what being a lead player means. A much better way to rephrase your goals would be to state your goals as I am going to learn the pentatonic major and minor scales in the next two weeks, learn chord theory after that, improve my picking speed, and learn the solo section of Hotel California.
If I had to start from scratch, I would probably make a schedule and stick to that. You may feel like you always have a hard time sticking to a schedule, but that’s probably because your schedule is filled with impossible goals. If you set small and practical goals, you will find that it’s actually hard not to crush your daily goals. This mindset shift does take some time- so give yourself ample time to incorporate the new habit into your practice routine.
There are a lot of different techniques when trying to improve your speed. There is legato, tremolo, vibrato, sweep, economy picking, and a wide variety of techniques including a pick as well as without.
Learn your Intervals
While learning a song by tabs and chords is great and it does save you a lot of time, being able to figure out the chords to a song or the melody by ear is a huge asset. It’s just one of those skills that come in super handy if you are a musician who wants to get into arrangement and composition in the future.
If there is one thing in music that will help you become a better guitarist and give an overall boost to your ear-training, it’s got to be the intervals.
Not only will learning intervals help you form chords all across the fretboard, but you will also have an intuitive knowledge of musical notes. If you can identify the intervals upon hearing, you will find that you can figure out the tunes to any songs in very little time. When I was learning the guitar, and it wasn’t really my first instrument as I could already play the flute by ear long before that- one of my goals on guitar was to be able to figure out the chords being played and play to that.
I can safely say that my improvisation skills and sense of rhythm have improved a lot, and most of that is all thanks to interval training. There are many apps available on the market, and if you want to get used to the sounds on the guitar, you can try figuring out all the intervals on your guitar. Here’s a hint- if you play the fifth fret on the third string and the fifth fret on the second string simultaneously, that’s a major third interval.
There aren’t that many intervals, to be honest- and you will find that it gets easier with time. With some practice, you will memorize them in no time.
I think the best way to learn intervals is to practice them for ten minutes every day before you set out to practice anything else. Doing this is a great habit and will help train your ear so you can play without depending on tabs.
I would say that the most important intervals on the guitar are the major third and the fifth- but all of them are probably equally important if you want to be able to play a melody without thinking.
Metronome is your friend
If you’ve been playing for a while, you probably know that staying on time is one of the most essential skills you can have as a musician.
A metronome is just something that produces a beat- it could be something archaic, like a wooden device that has some sort of mechanism to make a click every second or so- or it could be a digital one with complicated circuitry that’s got plenty of built-in features.
Whichever version you choose to get, yours should at least produce an audible click sound at both slow tempos and fast tempos. You may be confused as to why you would need something that makes a click sound- the reason is very simple, it provides you a steady beat without any rhythmic distractions, so you can just focus on bettering your sense of rhythm.
If you are new to beats, you should know that the most common time is 4/4 which just means that a bar would have four beats- and if you play once per beat, that would be a quarter note. If you play two or four notes per beat, it would be eighth and sixteenth notes respectively. From this, it should be very obvious that a sixteenth note would be twice as fast as the eighth note, and four times as fast as the humble quarter notes.
I know you might be itching to go fast on the fretboard- but trust me, you should build your speed and stamina over time. Just start playing quarter notes at a tempo you are comfortable with, and once you can play with a steady beat and have the feel down, you can move on to the next note values.
Personally, I find that players improve the best when they are focusing on accuracy and not speed. Speed is just a by-product of practicing the same thing many times. If you have been playing for a while, you may have noticed that you are already faster than you were on the first week that you picked up a guitar.
You need to play slow in order to be able to play fast, and that would look like- practicing eighth notes and sixteenths at 60bpm before bumping up the tempo by 5 bpm. You should take your time with slow tempos because practicing slow helps you hone your techniques. If your technique is sloppy and you are doing unnecessary motions, going slow can also help diagnose what’s slowing you down.
There are many options in the market for metronomes- you’ve got phone apps as well as built-in metronomes in amplifiers but the one I would suggest is a physical one. It might cost you a little today (they’re pretty cheap), but they will offer amazing value and last many years. This is one of the absolute best investments you can make on yourself- so keep an eye out for budget metronomes.
Learn A Song
If there’s one thing that makes a guitarist, it’s the ability to play songs. Whether you choose to learn nursery rhymes (some of them are pretty catchy) or want to start out with a classic like Hotel California, learning a song can be an excellent learning opportunity.
There is only so much you can do if you only know scales and chord progressions. Every guitarist starts out not knowing how to approach a song- and if you keep at it, you will be better in a very short span of time.
You learn about the song structure- verses, chorus, interludes, and intro sections- and you will also learn new chords if you aren’t already familiar with the ones used in the song of your choosing. If you are learning a song, you are also learning the harmonies and the strumming patterns.
Every circle of friends has that one guy who seems like a magician on strings. If you want to be that guy at parties or campfires, go ahead and learn fun songs that everybody can sing along to.
There is, however, a trap that most guitarists fall into sooner or later- you might be motivated to learn a song and learn some parts- but then you lose the motivation to follow through and move on to the next song. I was guilty of doing this in the past but I’ve learned, by experience, that you should always finish what you’ve started.
Even if you feel like it’s a drag or hates the lyrics mid-song, just learn the song in full and move on to the next song you want to learn. Doing this has two-fold benefits- for one, your repertoire of the complete songs you know will improve, and second-you will have formed a habit of sticking through with your resolutions.
Learn Chord Theory
I know that learning songs should always come- and there are a plethora of players who have no idea what music theory is, or what sheet music notations mean. But trust me, there are also many amazing players who know exactly what they’re doing.
The short version is- you need to know basic theory before you can move on to making songs with amazing parts and a fun harmony.
Chords are probably the least boring of all things that you need in order to fully grasp music theory. In essence, a chord is just a collection of two or more notes that when sounded together, produce a certain harmony. If you want an example, you can take the notes of the C major scale- C, D, E, F, G, A, and B.
A chord is when you play either of these notes together- if you combine the first note with the third, you get a third interval- and if you combine the first note with the fifth, you get what’s called a fifth interval. So, C-E would be a major third interval and C-G would be a major fifth interval. You can also combine intervals- and you would get chords.
For instance, if you play the C-E-G note combination simultaneously, you get a C major chord. And if you play C-Eb-G is the C minor chord.
You may have realized that some chords are called major while others are called minor. What makes a chord major or minor is – some chords have a major third interval, which would make that chord a major chord- and some have a minor third interval- and this would make a chord minor.
There are many ways that you could use your knowledge on chord theory- and one of the things that I find most interesting is the fact that you can actually play the chord in various inversions. Inversions, in music, are just a different way to play a chord by changing the bass notes.
Knowing a little theory can go a long way when trying to come up with new sounds for your playing. For example, if you know what a suspended chord is, you can easily experiment with the different voicings in different areas of the fretboard.
If you are wondering what a suspended chord is, it’s just a bunch of notes without a major third. Root-Second-Fifth or Root-Fourth-Fifth would be called a sus2 and sus4 chord respectively.
Always Tune your ax
If there is one thing that can hold you back from becoming the best musician out there, it’s not training your ears from early on in your guitar journey.
You may not realize it right away but you are getting used to whatever you play. If you are used to sloppy playing, that’s what your playing is going to sound like. If you are always playing without tuning your guitar first, that is what your ear is going to register as music. It can seriously mess up your ear and you will have a lot of problems making bends or vibrato sound in tune.
It’s super easy to tune your instrument before playing, and frankly, it’s just a habit that you need to form. With time, you will find that you always reach out for a tuner when you pick up a guitar.
Which tuner should you get? Well, it depends on many factors. If you’re just a casual player and play guitar rarely, you will be fine with an app on your phone.
If you’re somebody who is serious about the guitar- you should definitely invest in a decent clip-on tuner. Many amps also come with built-in tuners but I don’t really recommend going for those as carrying an amp around everywhere is not convenient, especially if you are more of an acoustic player.
Mind the dynamics
What separates a pro guitarist from a novice is not only the fact that a professional knows the value of discipline and practice, but also that pros can alter the dynamics they’re playing at.
A song usually has many different parts- some parts are quiet with just the keys going on and other parts are loud with bass, keys, and drums. You should know when to play loud and when to not play at all.
What separates an average player from a good one is that a good player can discern when not to play- which I think is a very important skill.
Varying the dynamics can also have different effects on the song. You can experiment with the loudest can play and the quietest you can play. In your practice sessions, you should try coming up with variations of what you can already play.
Look at the bigger picture
As a guitarist, it’s very easy to want to play leads over other members. And while that can be the right thing to do in lead sections, it’s not really appropriate or a welcome behavior in most musical ensembles.
What is the bass player doing? Is he playing slap or grinding on the highest notes within his disposal? Is the song in a shuffle feel?
There are many things you should keep in mind before playing with another instrument.
The first thing you want to notice is the key in which the other instrument is playing. If the rhythm player is playing an I vi IV V progression in the key of F (which would be F Dm Bb C), it’s usually a good idea to stick to the key of F major unless you know what you are doing.
You don’t want to be that guy who plays on a scale that sounds horrible over the chords being played. You also don’t want to be the guy who is constantly showing off or finding flaws in somebody else’s playing. If you have been told to tell them what they’re doing wrong, you should certainly tell them but if they are just playing, you really shouldn’t be giving out unwanted advice.
As a guitarist, you should also have some basic knowledge of different feels like the straight feel and swing/shuffle feel. It just makes you a well-rounded player, and if anybody ever wants a member in their band, they’ll be sure to ask you.
Playing Standing Up vs Playing Sitting down
There are two major ways you can hold your instrument- sitting on a couch or standing up with the guitar strapped to you. You can also try playing your guitar behind your back but I don’t really recommend that.
What you want to be doing is- if you are going to be standing at the gig, you want to practice playing while standing up, and if you are going to be sitting while performing, practice by sitting on something comfortable.
If you practice your parts seated, you might have some trouble playing that live and standing. So, it’s always a good idea to practice in a way you are going to be performing.
Learn Scales, Arpeggios, and Modes
If you haven’t heard of scales and modes before, it can be a great thing to brag about in front of fellow musicians. Have you ever heard of the Mixolydian b6 scale?
Jokes aside, learning scales and the notes within them can open up a whole new world of possibilities. Knowing those early on will also help you hone your technical abilities.
A scale is just a bunch of notes that sound good together. Consider these notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, and B.
This is the C major scale, and if you play any of these notes over a Cmajor chord, or over any chord in the C major scale (C-major, D-major, E-minor, F-major, G-major, A-minor, B-dim), it won’t sound off.
There are many other scales you should be familiar with – but the main ones that I would recommend are pentatonic major, pentatonic minor, major (the Ionian mode), and minor (the Aeolian mode).
If you haven’t heard of these scales before, these are the notes within these scales (in the key of G):
G major pentatonic: G A B D E
G minor pentatonic: G Bb C D F
G major: G A B C D E F#
G minor: G A Bb C D Eb F
You would learn the scales by playing them both ascending and descending, and personally, I find that I learn scale shapes very fast if I practice that along with a track. You can find one very easily on Youtube.
Once you know the basics of these scales, it’s a good idea to get into modes. There aren’t that many modes that you really need (if you don’t want to learn all of them), and the ones that you might want to know are (in the key of C):
C major (Ionian mode): C D E F G A B
C Dorian: C D Eb F G A Bb
C Phrygian: D Db Eb F G Ab Bb
C Lydian: C D E F# G A B
C Mixolydian: C D E F G A Bb
C Aeolian: C D Eb F G Ab Bb
Knowing scales and modes can be a great asset in your playing and vocabulary, but if you only practice scales- that’s what you will be good at. If you want to be able to improvise more fluently, you should incorporate that into your playing as you can.
Technique is Key
You can learn a hundred scales but if you are holding your pick or making unnecessary motions with your picking hand, your speed and accuracy will suffer.
There are many things that you want to keep in mind if you don’t want to suffer from injuries in the future. There’s the obvious carpal tunnel that can happen if you haven’t warmed up properly, and if you haven’t watched your posture while playing, you can also experience back problems.
So, the best way to practice guitar is in a way that doesn’t cause you any inconvenience in the future.
Many players, me included-prefer hold the guitar in a classical position by resting the guitar over the left leg so it’s actually easier to play the instrument. I also keep a slight gap between the palm of my fretting hand and the back of the guitar for easier mobility across the fretboard.
Most guitar teachers have their students practicing alternate picking and tremolo early on in their playing. Doing so can also help you build speed much faster.
If you are thinking of learning metal, you absolutely need an insane amount of hand-eye coordination. Learning alternate picking, sweep and tremolo will help you build the skills needed to play fast shreddy chops.
You also want to incorporate a decent amount of string skipping and legato into your practice routine as you move on to an intermediate level of proficiency on the fretboard.
Discipline
Discipline is something that gets a bad rap among people. When you hear the term, you automatically think of schools trying to keep their students in check.
How I am using the term here – is in the context of self-control. It is very easy to want to pick up the guitar and play a couple of chords that you already know. But that won’t get you anywhere in terms of improvement.
If you want to progress faster on the instrument, it’s a great idea to have some kind of a plan to follow along. Maybe work on a new song for half an hour, scales for 10 minutes, and metronome practice for another half hour. Something like this will certainly help you track your progress and better manage your time spent learning the guitar.
Of all the skills that you will learn on the guitar, learning to stay disciplined can be the biggest challenge you will face. It will readily translate into all the other aspects of your life and not only will you be more focused on your guitar journey, but you will also have retained the skill to stay disciplined on the task at hand.
Soft skills
You can have the skills of a guitar maestro, but if you have poor communication skills or just an obnoxious personality, pretty much nobody will want to work with you.
Personally, I would rather choose a humble and fun guy to play with rather than a moody guy who knows all the scales and stuff who is always bragging about the speeds at which he can shred.
Once you know a few songs and are pretty confident that you can play them without making a fool of yourself, you will need to put in some effort into marketing yourself as a decent gigging musician. Try playing at a couple of open-mics and build a presence in the musical community, and sooner or later, you will find many opportunities knocking at your doorstep.
Being a musician also means talking to people and hanging out with contacts, so you should definitely put some thoughts into that.
Final Thoughts
Practicing the guitar is an essential part of learning the instrument. If you want to master the skills required to be a pro musician, you will need to have a solid practice routine and immediate goals in mind.
If you practice regularly for a couple of months, you will notice your improvements and it will serve as motivation so you will stick to your practice habits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to learn the guitar?
The best way to learn the guitar is by immersing yourself completely in the genre of music you want to play. Try playing your favorite songs with a metronome or with a friend, try practicing every day- and you will have learned the instrument in no time at all.
How to play fast on the guitar?
Playing fast on the guitar can be tricky, especially if you are a beginner with no knowledge of the fretboard. When it comes to speed, you just need to put in many hours of work- just try learning three-note-per-string patterns and basic scales and shred patterns, and you will find yourself playing faster in no time at all.