Advancing In Guitar Classes: How To Motivate Yourself To Practice
When you are attending guitar classes, it is expected that you allot certain time for practice. However, practice time is different when you are attending classes on guitar and when learning the instrument on your own. During practice, you don't have guitar teachers to guide, drive, and instruct you on the things you need to do.
Practice is very important if you want to succeed as a guitar player. During your class, you learn the basic things from your teacher. You also learn the science or the technicalities of guitar-playing. Practicing, on the other hand, will help you develop your own style while you are reviewing the things you learned from class. Furthermore, you learn to correct your mistakes and sharpen your skills.
Still, many beginners (or even advanced students) often feel unmotivated and least inspired to start practice on their own. If you are experiencing this problem, here are some tips:
Set Realistic Goals
When you try to achieve something out of your practice, try to push your limits, but make sure that your goal is still realistic. For instance, you can't become an expert guitarist over night, even if you practice the whole night. But you can set a goal of learning and mastering two new chords per week, or maybe master one song in the same time span.
Having goals for your practice is very important to give yourself some motivation. For instance, if you want to surprise your girl friend or wife with a guitar performance of a song she really loves, you'll have more drive to practice your guitar.
Improve Your Focus
Practice sessions are different from regular guitar classes. With the latter, when your mind starts to drift away, you can always go back or ask your seat mate for the things you did not catch or understand. When you practice on your own, it is easier to lose the momentum, especially if you start to feel sleepy or go out of focus.
To condition your mind and improve your focus, you can try different exercises. For instance, yoga and meditation can help. Simple breathing exercises in yoga can help clear your mind and focus your attention on your goal. You can also perform some stretching exercises to condition your hands and fingers which may feel strained or sore after continuous practice.
Get Help from Guitar Teachers
Your guitar teacher cannot help you during your own practice. However, you can ask for advice or guidance in advance. If it is possible, ask for tips on how you should practice depending on the lessons you took and your goal as a player. An observant teacher will notice right away your flaws during your guitar classes. If you are lucky to have a good teacher, he or she can give you the right tips on the things you need to improve more.
Practice with Friends
Practicing may mean the absence of guitar teachers to help you, using a structured lesson plan. However, it does not mean that you have to do it alone. From time to time, you can jam with your friends and improve on your guitar-playing skills together. Whether you have a friend who is a skilled guitarist or a newbie player, he or she can help a lot in judging wisely your performance and improvement.
Practice is very important if you want to succeed as a guitar player. During your class, you learn the basic things from your teacher. You also learn the science or the technicalities of guitar-playing. Practicing, on the other hand, will help you develop your own style while you are reviewing the things you learned from class. Furthermore, you learn to correct your mistakes and sharpen your skills.
Still, many beginners (or even advanced students) often feel unmotivated and least inspired to start practice on their own. If you are experiencing this problem, here are some tips:
Set Realistic Goals
When you try to achieve something out of your practice, try to push your limits, but make sure that your goal is still realistic. For instance, you can't become an expert guitarist over night, even if you practice the whole night. But you can set a goal of learning and mastering two new chords per week, or maybe master one song in the same time span.
Having goals for your practice is very important to give yourself some motivation. For instance, if you want to surprise your girl friend or wife with a guitar performance of a song she really loves, you'll have more drive to practice your guitar.
Improve Your Focus
Practice sessions are different from regular guitar classes. With the latter, when your mind starts to drift away, you can always go back or ask your seat mate for the things you did not catch or understand. When you practice on your own, it is easier to lose the momentum, especially if you start to feel sleepy or go out of focus.
To condition your mind and improve your focus, you can try different exercises. For instance, yoga and meditation can help. Simple breathing exercises in yoga can help clear your mind and focus your attention on your goal. You can also perform some stretching exercises to condition your hands and fingers which may feel strained or sore after continuous practice.
Get Help from Guitar Teachers
Your guitar teacher cannot help you during your own practice. However, you can ask for advice or guidance in advance. If it is possible, ask for tips on how you should practice depending on the lessons you took and your goal as a player. An observant teacher will notice right away your flaws during your guitar classes. If you are lucky to have a good teacher, he or she can give you the right tips on the things you need to improve more.
Practice with Friends
Practicing may mean the absence of guitar teachers to help you, using a structured lesson plan. However, it does not mean that you have to do it alone. From time to time, you can jam with your friends and improve on your guitar-playing skills together. Whether you have a friend who is a skilled guitarist or a newbie player, he or she can help a lot in judging wisely your performance and improvement.
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