If you’ve been playing guitar for a while, chances are you’ve been playing bar chords. Maybe you’re good at them, maybe you’re just learning how to play them. Bar chords can always be a challenge, because your index finger needs to put all this pressure on multiple strings at once. Not always the easiest thing to do, especially if you’re playing a steel string guitar.
So, if you’ve never been properly trained to play a bar chord, you might be doing it incorrectly. If you’re really starting to hurt while you’re playing a bar chord, you’re definitely doing it incorrectly.
The wrong way to play a bar chord is if you use your thumb and the rest of your hand for the pressure on the strings. This causes a lot of hand tension immediately, since you’re using so much hand strength. If you’re playing a song with a lot of bar chords, pressing on the chord like this will make the last minute (or way more) of a song excruciating.
The way you play a bar chord is you actually use the gravity of your arm to push your hand against the strings. The distance between the strings and the fretboard of the guitar is so very tiny, you only have to move your index finger a little bit to fret the notes.
The very simple trick is to use the gravity of your elbow to bring the barring finger closer to the fretboard. With your elbow relaxed at your side, play the bar chord. Move your elbow back slightly, making sure not to raise your shoulder in the process. This should make it a lot easier to press down on the strings, so you can release some tension in your hand.
For a visual, please check out my video about using the elbow for bar chords!
Applying for college can be pretty stressful. For us musicians, there is an extra level of stress because we have to go out to each college and audition. Your performance in a short audition can make or break your chances of getting into that school – talk about pressure! Auditioning can be a great experience however, it gives you an opportunity to bring your playing to another level. Doing a great job at an audition is a major boost in self-confidence as well. With the right amount of preparation – and the right amount of practice – you can breeze through auditions like it’s your job. Here are some of the biggest lessons I learned from my college auditions.
About a year and a half before my college auditions, I decided I wanted to be a music major. This meant a major decision, should I study jazz guitar or classical guitar? I was taking jazz guitar lessons at the time and only dabbled in classical guitar. I decided classical guitar was something I would rather do as a profession, so I purchased a nylon string and had my guitar teacher show me the ropes. Practicing like crazy was necessary to get up to audition level in a year and a half, so practice like crazy I did. When the time came to apply for schools, I did so based on their audition requirements. I wasn’t going to apply for a school that required me to play music I was not going to be able to have ready in time. This essentially excluded all conservatories.
By the time my first audition rolled around, I had really grown as a classical guitar player. I had spent countless hours developing some pretty serious audition pieces such as Capricho Arabe. Every single school I auditioned at accepted me, except for Berklee College of Music (My classical audition didn’t entirely line up with their expectations). It was at that time I realized that I had applied for schools based on my expectations of how I was going to be able to play, and I could have certainly applied for a couple “stretch” schools. All this being said, I very much enjoyed my music education at The College of New Jersey. I also got to spend a semester studying at the conservatory in Frankfurt, Germany.
Preparing for Auditions
Now that you’ve done your research into the schools you want to apply/audition for, take a look at those audition requirements. The level of intimidation these requirements have all depends on how long you have been studying classical guitar and how long you have to prepare. Preferably, you want a good amount of time to prepare. Well over a year would be great. If you have less time (which is probably the case), you need to get a practice schedule together. It’s very important to be open with your current guitar teacher about the schools you’re applying for and their requirements. While I aim to help you with this article, I do not know you, your skill level, or your practice habits.
Let’s look at the audition requirements for two schools for reference. Let’s go for a high end conservatory – Juilliard, and a Liberal Arts School with a great music program – Ithaca. (I auditioned at Ithaca and very much enjoyed that school. I especially liked meeting and auditioning for Pablo Cohen, the guitar chair) If you follow both of these links, you will see the layout is much different. Juilliard has all of the application requirements on its audition page, and Ithaca simply has the requirements for the audition, classical or jazz.
It is good that Juilliard has all of their requirements on one page. One thing I noticed right away is that you must have a high school diploma at the time of application. This is the kind of requirement that warrants an email to someone however, because the “Applicants with High School Equivalency” section mentions SAT scores, AP scores, and high school transcripts as acceptable forms of documentation.
The Juilliard Audition
If we look at the Juilliard audition, we see a list of a lot of repertoire to be performed. It is required that they are all from memory.
Two contrasting movements of a J.S. Bach suite, partita, or sonata (includes Prelude, Fugue & Allegro BWV998).
Two etudes by Heitor Villa-Lobos.
A complete work of any period.
Two contrasting works:
One Renaissance, Classical (e.g. Sor, Giuliani, Regondi, Mertz, etc.), or 19th-century.
One by a 20th-century composer of any style.
So if we count this all up, they want seven pieces of music. It is very clear that they want as much contrast in era/style as possible. For number three, I would advise to prepare a work from an era that contrasts from the first part of number four. If you choose “Variations on a Theme of Mozart” by Sor (classical era) for number three, then it would be wise to go with a piece by Dowland (Renaissance) or Tarrega (19th-century) for the first part of number four. There is no mention (that I can see) of audition length, although that information is not usually included on these websites.
What will probably happen is you will be given a form to write down the pieces you have prepared. One of the guitar faculty will look at your list and say “Oh, you have prepared Recuerdos de la Alhambra, I would love to hear that.” (I would prepare for a much colder interaction) They may want to hear one more piece, two if you’re unlucky, all of them if you’re incredibly unlucky. This most certainly does not mean you shouldn’t prepare all seven pieces since they will be picked at random. The bright side is, if you’re preparing for a Juilliard audition, you will have plenty of repertoire to play for other auditions!
The Ithaca Audition
Now that we’ve been thoroughly intimidated by the Juilliard audition, let’s look at something more straight down the line: the Ithaca audition. One thing to notice is this audition is required for 8 different majors with classical guitar as the primary instrument.
Three pieces from the concert repertoire and from contrasting eras (e.g., works by Milan, Dowland, J. S. Bach, Weiss, Sor, Giuliani, Carcassi, Aguado, Tarrega, Villa-Lobos, Brouwer, Ponce)
Scales (two and three octaves); arpeggio exercises for the right hand; slurs and trills for the left hand
Sight-reading
Performance from memory is not required but encouraged.
Number one is clearly the main part of this audition. You will most probably be asked to play two pieces. Note that the term “concert repertoire” is used. Be sure to prepare works that are as formidable as possible (given the amount of time you have to prepare). While it would still be good for you to perfectly execute Bach’s “Minuet in G,” a movement from a Lute Suite would be better.
My Experience
When I was preparing for this exact audition, the second part killed me. I knew the scales meant Segovia scales, but I didn’t know what right hand arpeggios or left hand slurs or trills to prepare. Fortunately, I attended “How to Give a Great Audition” at The College of New Jersey and my future professor, Dr. Day, recommended I purchase Pumping Nylon by Scott Tennant. I practiced these exercises like crazy, only to not be asked to perform them at the audition. At the end of the audition I asked why I didn’t have to play them, and the response was “I wanted to make sure all students are auditioning have a good routine of exercises.” Genius!
We will discuss number three in the next section. We have some interesting language in number four. In my opinion, this is the equivalent of someone saying, “Oh, you don’t have to buy me anything for my birthday.” If you haven’t been put in this situation before – you still buy the birthday present. Memorize the music, it’s what classical guitarists are supposed to do.
The Audition Setting
The “Office” Audition
In my experience, there are two types of audition setting. Both can have their own level of intimidation. The most common is the “office audition.” You wait outside the teacher’s office, usually with one or two other candidates. When you are called in it may just be you and the teacher. What is nice about this style audition is it is very personal. You can chat a little bit with the teacher, and if you’re lucky you may even share a laugh. When you are playing for the teacher, you are sitting in close proximity to him and her, so a little bit of psychological preparation may be required.
The “Jury” Audition
The other type of audition is the “jury audition.” These have more of an impersonal nature to them. You will be sitting in front of the guitar chair, and a couple other faculty members. Sometimes it’s on a stage, sometimes it’s in a classroom. It’s still good to make the audition as personal as possible. If they ask you anything about yourself, be sure to give them as much of your personality as your nerves will allow (By “show your personality,” I do NOT mean act unprofessional in any way).
In both of these settings, it’s very common for those who are listening to your audition to be jotting things down on paper. It’s very easy to let this psych you out. Don’t worry, they’re not writing “hopeless,” or “fail” in big red letters on your application. These faculty members have to audition a lot of students each season, so they have to write stuff down.They are teachers after all, and they are probably writing down what strengths and weaknesses you have. It’s best to go into the audition with this in mind. Who knows, you might even get a mini lesson at the end of the audition! (Seriously, those are the best.)
The Audio/Video Audition
Many schools allow you to audition via audio/video. Sometimes this is a pre-screening. It’s important to read the instructions very carefully, especially when it comes to file/format requirements. If there’s something to be done, make sure you do it right!
Other Requirements for College Auditions
Most schools require more than an audition on your instrument. Every audition I went to had different tests during the day. This is usually to determine your placement in Music Theory, Piano, etc. You most definitely want to know what each school requires before going for the audition. Most of the information should be found on the website, some of it may be (e)mailed to you.
The guitar audition at Ithaca required sight-reading. If we look at Ithaca’s schedule for audition day, there is a sight-singing exam as well. I also had to do sight-reading on the piano, music theory testing, ear training testing, and other interviews at various schools. You want to do well for these exams while giving the faculty a realistic idea of what your skills are in each field.
Professionalism
The way you conduct yourself on audition day is very important. You should know where and when everything is. Fortunately most events are in the music building and there will be students, faculty, and signage to make sure you go to all the right places. It’s important to be well dressed. Be prepared to answer and ask questions. An audition is a lot like a job interview so being on your A-game as a musician and a student is a must. Get a good night’s sleep beforehand; if you have to travel a decent distance, definitely consider staying in a hotel room. Also make sure you have a nice big breakfast, these days can seem longer than they are.
It can be very overwhelming choosing the right college for classical guitar. There are so many colleges out there, and many of them have excellent music departments. Researching schools means spending many hours on the internet, and visiting schools can mean many hours spent on the road, on campus, and in hotel rooms. Just like any big decision making process, it’s important to have a checklist of factors you are looking for before conducting your initial research. This way it is easier to rank schools based on what really matters to you.
The Disclaimer
I consider myself to be a good source for this information. I looked at a bunch of schools when I was a teenager and did a whole bunch of auditions. After all of this, I decided to go to The College of New Jersey and was happy with my decision. Throughout the entire four years of my schooling, I was always thinking about how I could have done the audition process better. I’m not getting a do-over (I currently have no plans of going to grad school) so this is my way of sharing what I learned.
If you came across this post, please do not let it be the only source of information about choosing the school you go with. This is a very big decision and big decisions require a lot of research. Be sure to talk to musicians who are in college or have graduated college and talk with your teacher(s) at length about it. Collecting initial information about how to look for schools is one of the most important parts of the process.
Picking the Right Schools
There are many, many factors that are involved with picking a school that is right with you. These can be financial, such as tuition and financial aid, or logistical, like distance, room and board, meal plan, etc. For the sake of simplicity (and to avoid wandering out of my area of expertise) I will stick to those that are strictly musical. Be sure to do plenty of research on these non-musical factors as well.
As a prospective music major, you have the extra level of having to audition as part of the application process. It’s very tempting to go straight to the audition requirements to make sure you can meet them. If you have enough time to prepare for those auditions, make sure you really look at the big picture. If you are cutting it down to the wire, you want to be sure you will be able to meet those audition requirements. There are two important things you need to consider – does the school offer what you are looking for, and do you want to study with the classical guitar teacher there?
Does the School offer what I am looking for?
If you are looking to be a music educator, does the school have a really good Music Education program? (The school I went to, The College of New Jersey, is known for their Music Education program) If you are looking to be a performer, you may want to look at schools that are more performance based. Schools with great education programs will still have great performance programs and vice versa, you just have to do your research. If you are trying to audition as a classical guitarist at a school that isn’t so classically oriented, you may find you are out of place. Your best bet is to visit the school and talk to the faculty (and some students as well) to find out if you’d get the education you were looking for.
Another thing to consider is whether or not you would like to receive a Liberal Arts education. Going to a conservatory can mean only music, all the time. This may sound like heaven to you, or it may sound super intense and intimidating. If you go to a Liberal Arts school, you will have a number of liberal learning requirements to fulfill, such as math, science, gender studies, etc. I went to a liberal arts school and was happy to be able to pursue a foreign language as a minor. I became close to fluent in German and got to study classical guitar in Frankfurt for a semester. If you have an interest outside of music such as my interest in becoming fluent in a language, a liberal arts education is the way to go. For more about this topic, check out this article from PlaybillEDU.
Bachelor of Music (B.M.) or Bachelor of Arts in Music (B.A.)?
Schools with a music department will offer a Bachelor of Music degree. This is a very set track with a little bit of wiggle room as far as the courses you want to go with, but for the most part you are sticking very close to a pre-determined degree. If you are looking to strictly go to school to become a concert level classical guitarist, a music educator in a school, a composer, a musicologist, etc. this is the degree you want to go with.
Many schools have started to offer a Bachelor of Arts in Music Degree (B.A.) which allows you to combine your music education with a particular aspect of liberal learning to “create your own degree” so to speak. (Sadly, my school started offering this a year or two after I graduated. Otherwise, I would have totally combined guitar performance with ethnomusicology.) According to The Bienen School of Music at Northwestern’s description of a B.A., some options are “cross-cultural musicology, music and film, or web design and technology for music.”
One Bachelor of Arts in Music track to consider: combining your music studies with business. I found I graduated knowing an enormous amount about music and how to play it, but very little about how to actually make a living as a musician. I have an article about this coming soon.
Do I want to Study with the Classical Guitar Teacher at this School?
With this, research is everything. Look up the teacher’s website, CV, YouTube, or any other resource you can find. If the school isn’t too far away, see if you can make an appointment to meet with the teacher. You have to remember, this will be your teacher for 4 (or more) years. You have to feel that you will be both challenged and inspired. It’s also important to know how connected the teacher is with the classical guitar community. These connections can turn out to be as important as your education, if not more. Through my guitar instructor, Dr. James Day, I was able to participate in multiple competitions and master classes (Manuel Barrueco, David Leisner, and Duo Fresco). It was also because of his connections that I was able to study in Frankfurt, Germany.
It is very helpful to know about the size and skill level of the guitar studio (the other students who are studying classical guitar at that school). While it may sound stressful, you want to be surrounded by players who are on your level or better than you. This will inspire you to constantly do your best in order to keep up with the other students. A great way to meet both students and guitar faculty is to attend a studio concert. You will get the opportunity to hear all of the current students (and maybe even the guitar chair) play, you will be able to meet the guitar chair or other guitar faculty, and you will be able to talk to other students about how they like the school/teacher. That’s a great way to do your research!
Proximity to a Metropolitan Area
As a music major you want as many opportunities to start your career rolling before you graduate as possible. This is especially true if you are studying performance. Many of the best concerts, festivals, competitions, workshops, conventions, gigs, etc. are located in and around metropolitan areas. The best thing is you will be a student and you will get a student discount at most events you go to.
It’s crucial to do as many “extra curricular” music activities as possible while you’re at school. Your teacher can be a great resource for this, and given the proximity of your school to a city, you will get more opportunities. I do not mean the school has to be in a city. That can get pretty expensive. Being a manageable distance from a metropolitan area is great. My school was a 1 hour drive from Philadelphia and 1.5 hours from New York. On a Saturday, I could pop down to Philadelphia for a masterclass and be back to home in time to get a full day of practice in (but let’s be honest, I usually just stayed in Philly and had some fun).
Please go on and find more information about choosing the right college for Classical Guitar!
This is part of a series that I will be publishing over the next couple days!
In the world of guitar playing, there are many ways to get by without learning to read music. Tablature, chord boxes, YouTube videos, lyric sheets, and simply having a decent ear are all the tools a beginning guitar student needs to start playing. To prove this, I will refer to a joke most of you have already heard. If you haven’t already heard it, I’m delighted to be the first person to tell you.
“How do you get a guitarist to stop playing?”
“Put music in front of them.”
I have had countless lessons with new students who say to me, “I don’t want to learn how to read music.” I get it. As a young guitarist I suddenly lost interest in the note reading portions of my guitar lessons when I first discovered guitar tabs. Sadly, I’m not easily swayed when a new student resists learning to read music. When a student is learning chords, scales, and licks without learning to read music, there finally comes a point in lessons where the teacher will eventually sit back and say “You would definitely understand this more if you learned how to read music.”
I’ve had to give many “You definitely should learn to read music” pep talks over the years, so I decided to condense them down to a concise list.
1. You will have a deeper understanding of the music you are playing
When I have students who are struggling to learn something by ear, I always write out the passage so they can see the rhythms in front of them. Suddenly the veil of mystery has been lifted. The students stop second guessing themselves and start playing the music with true understanding. Vocal students have a much easier time finding pitches when they look at a written melody and see the direction the melody is moving in. Musical notation also serves as a roadmap, so you will know the form of a song on a deeper level.
2. You will have more opportunities as a musician
There are lots of ensembles out there, and many of them require you to read music. Whether you’d like to play with ensembles to make some extra money or just to have fun, being able to read music will help you pass that audition.
3. Your musical world will open up
There are so many resources for musicians out there. Method books, massive songbooks, technique books, solo transcriptions, sheet music collections, etc. etc. Let’s say you become obsessed with Charlie Parker and you want to learn his art of bebop improvisation. The Charlie Parker Omnibook exists, and the only key to Bird’s mind is the ability to read music.
4. You can learn music at a much faster rate
It is an incredible skill to be able to play by ear. In fact, I do not mean for this article to discourage you from learning songs by ear. By all means, go out and do it. Sometimes you need to learn music quickly, and the best way is to crack open the sheet music. Having the music in front of you will also help you to learn the music as accurately as possible.
5. You will be able to play other instruments
If the curiosity ever strikes you to take up the piano, clarinet, or violin, having the ability to read music on the guitar will instantly begin to help you. While some other instruments have their own forms of tab, there is only one instrument that reads “guitar tab.” Sadly, guitar tab will not help you learn how to play the oboe.
6. You can learn music theory
The biggest pre-requisite to learning music theory is being able to read music. Don’t have an interest in learning Music Theory? Well from one music nerd to another potential music nerd, it’s fascinating. Music Theory helps you understand all the hidden secrets behind what makes your favorite music work. With a good knowledge of music theory, all of the music you listen to will be changed for the better.
7. It helps with composition/songwriting
Many musicians are just full of ideas, and the better they are at reading (and in this case, writing) music, the easier it is to turn these ideas into songs, whether they are simple jingles or massive symphonic works. In addition to being able to record your ideas, being able to give other musicians sheet music of your song will make it much easier to put an ensemble together to play your music.
8. Create professional quality scores with notation software
If you find that you have become quite good at composition and/or songwriting, a big next step is to turn this music into a professional looking score. There are many great programs out there – Finale, Sibelius, and for those looking for free software – MuseScore. Since this is “notation software,” being able to read music is a pretty obvious prerequisite.
9. Become an expert at transposition
Transposing is a very important skill when it comes to being a musician. Many times you will need to learn music in a key that is different than what you have. Perhaps you are working with a singer that needs the music in a different key. If you get into making arrangements of music for solo guitar, you will need to know how to transpose the key so the music fits on the guitar easily. Being able to read music means you are able to simplify the very complicated process of transposing music.
10. Keep a record of the music you need to remember
When you see a truly organized musician at a rehearsal, you may notice they are constantly jotting little notes down in a notebook. There is nothing more embarrassing than showing up at a second rehearsal and realizing you completely forgot what the ensemble went over at the first rehearsal. By taking notes, you will be able to remember what you need to work on at home. You will also have a “cheat sheet” of the music you need to know for future rehearsals/performances.
11. Make money teaching music!
Let’s say you take your guitar playing to the level that you would like to make some extra money giving private lessons. It’s pretty important to be able to read music for this job. Teaching your students how to read music is a crucial part of training them as musicians. It’s also very helpful to be able to write music well. There are points in almost every lesson where you will need to write music down.
No matter what your skill level at the guitar is, practice and performance can become very frustrating. You think you’re putting in a good amount of practice, but you still find you are making mistakes. Learning the skill of playing guitar requires learning how to practice, which is its very own skill. Poor practice habits can lead to inconsistency during performance. (“Inconsistency” is putting it nicely.) Through analyzing your practice sessions and being aware of what you can do to improve the process, you will find you make fewer mistakes on the guitar.
Practice Smarter, Not Harder
We all know the saying work smarter, not harder. These words are so important. In fact, every musician should have this on posters all over there house. With practicing, musicians can become obsessed with time spent practicing. There’s certainly nothing wrong with spending all day practicing, but if you’re not getting good, focused practice, it’s not worth nearly as much. Every note you play should have a purpose. Even when you’re just playing a song for fun – fun is a purpose right?
When I was in College, I had many problems with my left hand and wrist. Classical guitar is so demanding on the hands, and trying to maintain multiple hours a day of practice can get painful. During a period where my hand was really bothering me, my teacher told me to limit the amount I played each day to about an hour. That being said, I was still to get 4-5 hours of practice in.
The way to do this was to sit there with a stop watch. I would analyze the music, visualize the movements, ghost the passage on the guitar, and jot down some notes. Then I would hit the timer and play for maybe 5 minutes before going back to mental work. This was an excellent exercise in making practicing more of an intellectual exercise than it was a physical exercise.
To read further about advancing your playing, please read Strategies for Increasing your Skills on the Guitar.
The Double Error Reflex
A double error reflex is the act of immediately playing a note or group of notes again after making a mistake. Most of the time this is done automatically as the musician has developed a habit of trying to fix mistakes in this manner. Many of my students, beginners to advanced, end up working the bad habit of double error reflex in their practice. Fortunately I’m able to pick up on the fact that they are doing this at home and steer them in the right direction. The biggest issue with the double error reflex is it takes the focus away from momentum and consistency with the tempo. It can ultimately lead to more mistakes because the player isn’t focused on just getting the passage right.
Practice Performance vs. Passage Practice
The process to avoiding double error reflex requires you to identify what your intention is with the practice you are getting. If you are playing the song from beginning to end, this is a practice performance and the goal should be consistency of tempo. Of course, consistency of tempo can be very difficult if you are still getting familiar with the song or piece you are playing. Use this performance to decide what sections are causing you problems and need individual attention. Recording yourself is very helpful. This way you can take notes on your recording to see what needs to be improved on.
This is why “passage practice” is required. Think of each mistake as a pothole on a musical road. Each one needs to be filled in individually. If you make mistake, don’t go back to the beginning. Start at the beginning of the phrase or measure and spend 2-5 minutes correcting the mistake (or significantly longer depending on the difficulty of the phrase). This small period of time could permanently fix the mistake. Want an extra challenge? Set a goal for yourself. Play the phrase 10 times without mistake. If you mess up, the count goes back to one.
Take a Breath!
I tell this to my students all the time. In trying to master a phrase, many of them will start to play the phrase over and over again in a very compulsive manner. There will be no breaks between the repetitions, and most of these repetitions will be false starts. I can hear the playing becoming more and more tense as efforts to master the phrase become, well, frantic. My usual response in these scenarios is “Whoa! Hold on!” In away, this is like entering the section of the brain where the double error reflex resides.
My advice when I see this happening is always the same. Take a breath in between repetitions. Modify the depth of your breath depending on how frustrated you’re getting with what your playing. If you find you’re frantically trying to play a passage, take a long, deep breath to receive its calming benefits. Honestly, this is probably one of the best ways to assure you are getting focused practice. Each time you pause to take a breath you are allowing yourself to process what you are working on both physically and mentally. In this way, you are making practice more intellectual.
Building speed on the guitar can really be an uphill battle. It’s high maintenance, and sometimes hand tension seems to creep in long before your speed goals do. Perhaps you don’t like playing fast, but need to learn a faster tune for a gig quickly. There are right ways and wrong ways to develop speed on the guitar, so learning how to be relaxed while building speed in your fingertips is crucial.
My Story
When I was a young guitarist, I aspired to be the fastest guitarist in the land. I would spend hours a day practicing my favorite exercise and my metronome hardly got a rest. My hands were tense and my shoulders raised, yet the speed didn’t seem to come fast enough. My guitar would fall silent only when someone asked me that dreaded question:
“Hey! Do you know any songs?”
I finally got sick of not being able to answer this question, so I abandoned this practice to learn some real music. It was a great choice, both for my musical sanity and the safety of my hands. This didn’t mean I was able to abandon my practice of speed. I am always finding that I have to learn things where the speed of a passage is out of my reach, so it was crucial to develop an efficient routine.
Speed Bursts
Practicing scales and exercises at lightning fast speeds for extended periods of time will cause excess tension in both hands. The only way to be a truly efficient player at higher speeds is to be relaxed. Tension will tire your hands out quickly and it will make it close to impossible to stay in time.
The secret to building speed while reducing left and right hand tension? Speed Bursts!
(If you are already familiar with speed bursts, don’t give up on me just yet. My goal is to provide you with some insightful new information about speed bursts and how to get the most use out of them.)
So what are speed bursts? The name is pretty self explanatory. Speed bursts are short groups of notes followed by a short rest. They allow the right hand wrist and left hand fingers to get accustomed to the tempo without excess strain. With regular practice of speed bursts, it will become much easier to play the guitar with virtuosity. By developing this routine, difficult passages will be easier to master.
Developing a Speed Burst Routine
Let’s explore some speed burst variations with the A minor pentatonic scale as our example. The goal is to effortlessly play the scale at a fast tempo. This means the right and left hands are both relaxed the entire time. In order to play this correctly, please be sure to follow each step.
1. Learn to play the passage flawlessly at a very slow speed.
(If you’re interested in building your speed on the guitar, chances are you don’t need to spend any time getting the A minor pentatonic scale under your fingers. Regardless, this step is easily the most important, so pretend you’ve never played the scale before.) Whether you’re working on a new scale, a transcription of a John Coltrane solo, Yngwie Malmsteen style arpeggios, or a Bach fugue, there is absolutely no point in trying to build up speed if you don’t know have an intimate understanding of what you’re playing. If the passage is very long or particularly difficult, it is best to break it up into small segments (2/4/8 measures). When I say slow I mean obnoxiously slow. To practice this, play through the A minor pentatonic scale, half notes at 60 BPM. I have another post that talks more about the benefits of slow practice.
2. Practice bursts in groups of two.
Now we will start to break up the passage to really test how well you know it. This will also make problem areas more apparent. Sometimes, there are only one or two tricky maneuvers that will make it difficult to progress at something that is otherwise very simple. Set the metronome on 60 BPM (even if you know you can go a lot faster) and play the A minor pentatonic scale ascending and descending with a short-long-short-long pattern. Be very careful to make sure you are playing the rhythm correctly: 1 e & a 2 e & a
Now try to play the opposite: long-short-long-short. 1e & a 2 e & a.
Now, shorten the space between the notes: 1 e & a 2 e & a and 1 e & a 2 e & a. Remember to make sure your hands are nice and relaxed. If they are not, you will need to lower the tempo
3. Practice bursts in Groups of three.
Now we will continue extending the length of the bursts. The pattern for this is 3 short, 3 long. 1 e &a 2 e & a 3, and the opposite, 1 e & a 2 e & a 3.
4. Practice bursts in Groups of Four.
Repeat the same process with number three, just with four notes: 1 e & a2 e & a 3 e &, and the opposite: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a.
5. Extend the length of the bursts until you can play the whole passage at speed.
After doing the groups of four, you should be able to double the length of the groups. If this is not possible, continue to practice the groups of four until you have truly mastered them. If this is still not possible, consider slowing down the tempo. The A minor pentatonic shape is 12 notes in either direction. A modest goal is to be able to play ascending, break, descending at tempo. The ultimate goal is to play the whole scale ascending and descending at full speed.
Increasing Speed
The next step is to start pushing the metronome, which is very much a skill on its own. If 60 BPM is too much of a challenge for you, consider lowering the speed of the metronome. (If your metronome has a 16th note setting, turn that on for tempos below 60 BPM) It is very important to practice playing cleanly with a relaxed left and right hand, so do not set the metronome higher than you can do.
In order to speed up your playing, you need to find your “edge.” Play #2 (bursts in group of 2) and begin to increase the speed on your metronome until you have reached the fastest speed you can play (while staying relaxed). Your first goal at this tempo should be to get up to #4 (groups of four). If you cannot make this happen, lower the tempo until you can play the groups of four well.
Keep Track of your Tempos
Keep these tempos in a notebook, or write them on your sheet music. If you’re trying to get a passage up to the speed of a recording or a metronome marking, this is your “goal tempo.” You should keep this tempo in mind at all times. The tempo you are currently working on is your “current tempo.” In order to be able to play the goal tempo cleanly with a relaxed left and right hands, you have to be realistic about your current tempo. Increase the tempo a few clicks at the end of your practice to see what you can do, just be careful to not get too ambitious too quickly.
If you reach your goal tempo (congratulations!) it wouldn’t hurt to increase the speed of the metronome a little more. This will ensure that you will be very comfortable at your goal tempo, especially if you are bringing this performance to the stage. Just be sure that you know what your goal tempo sounds like so you don’t get into a habit of starting the song too fast.
Stay Consistent
Most of all, the only way to be successful at building up your speed is to keep at it. If you are inconsistent with your practice, it will be difficult to train your fine motor skills. Be consistent with the exercises you practice as well, I cannot emphasize this enough. Starting an exercise and abandoning it the next day is a waste of your time. If you decide to play an exercise, also be sure to practice it well for at least one or two weeks before you move on.
You’re flying through the new tune you learned. I mean, really playing at rapid speed, imagining yourself as a truly great guitar player – the wind in your hair and a roaring crowd. Then, Plunk! A mistake. Plunk! Another mistake. You end up really struggling to get through the rest of the song.
I’m sure we all have had this experience time and time again. We have the urge to play fast, but we are doing harm to ourselves. We are doing harm in the short run because it will take longer to master the song or new technique, and harm in the long run because we are building up very bad habits of playing sloppily. I don’t let my guitar students play more than a measure of music if they are playing it faster than their ability. This requires a lot of consistency on my part, but the results are worth it. In order to become a more precise player from the beginning, be sure to slow down. Here’s why.
It’s Easier
This is the most obvious and straightforward reason. If you are a beginner, think about all of the new activities your brain has to process for every note you play. What is the pitch? What is the Rhythm? What is the left hand doing? What is the right hand doing? Is the guitar being held correctly? If you are playing really quickly, you simply can’t process all of this. You are essentially moving your fingers in hopes it will be correct. As you might imagine, this is not the way to advance your skills correctly.
You are Building a Habit of Precision
From the very first notes you play on the guitar, you should be focused on precision. Although the material is new to you, let’s face it, it’s pretty simple stuff. (If you are just picking up the guitar and what you are playing isn’t simple, please consider choosing easier material or a method book.) Spend this time really focusing on playing everything correctly. Only move forward when you feel confident that what you are playing is precise.
In doing this, you will be setting yourself up for success as the material gets more complicated. This is because you are developing the skill of practicing. This is one of the best skills you can possibly learn.
You Have a Stronger Connection with the Rhythm
Try this: Count 1, 2, 3, 4 at a very fast pace. Tap your foot along while you’re counting. Now try counting again, but much slower this time. Notice how your voice really connects with the tapping of your foot. Maybe your head will subconsciously start to nod along with the beat. Slowing down gives your entire body an opportunity to feel the beat, which means you will really connect with the rhythms you are playing on the guitar.
Success on any instrument relies on rhythmic proficiency. Since guitar is a plucked string instrument, it is extra important to have a very solid sense of rhythm. By playing fast, you are missing the opportunity to connect with the beat. Think about all of the music you listen to. What would it be without a good beat? Especially consider pop music. The songs that show up in the Top 40 usually have a moderate tempo.
It Strengthens your Fingers
One of the hardest parts of learning how to play guitar is learning how to play legato. (Italian for connected, it is the musical term for smooth playing) Many beginners hold the string down for long enough to get a note, then move on to the next note. This is because playing guitar requires left hand finger strength and mobility. By playing at faster speeds, your fingers are not spending enough time pressing down on the strings. This will cause your playing to sound choppy and disconnected.
During your practice. Play slowly and play the notes for their full duration. This means playing a whole note for 4 full beats, a half note for 2, etc. Your fingers will learn to connect with the strings and the rhythm. As music starts to get more complicated, your fingers will have the ability to move forward.
Play with a Metronome
The metronome is one of the best tools a musician can own. Nowadays you can get one for free on a smart phone or tablet. I definitely recommend getting a simple digital metronome because they don’t have Facebook. (Using apps for practicing can be great, but smart phones are practice session killers. I say this from an enormous amount of experience.)
Many guitarists associate playing with a metronome to building up speed. I find one of the best uses of the metronome is to make sure you don’t build speed. When you are learning a song on the guitar, especially as a beginner, set your metronome at a low tempo so you don’t have the urge to play any faster. Is playing along with the metronome very difficult? Work with it a little every day, when you have the ability to play along with the metronome you will have achieved a new level of mastery.
When I was studying a very complicated Bach piece, I would essentially blow through it as a show off piece. During my performance, I would make a decent number of mistakes but shrug them off because I was getting most of the notes right. When I played the piece for my guitar teacher, he downgraded me to practicing it at 40 BPM to the 8th note. It was unnecessarily slow. The 6 minute piece would take 20 minutes to play through, but I played every note with the perfect right and left hand fingerlings. I also focused on the tone of every single note.
The process was tedious, but after putting the time in, the slow playing had done its job. I breezed through the piece flawlessly with perfect tone. The improvements I made to how I played the Bach piece immediately found their way into the other pieces I was performing. In other words, I had become a much better player.
My message about playing slowly applies to the most basic beginners to concert professionals. It is so easy to lose self control and start playing at top speed. Cut the speed in half or more during your practice and you will see your playing improve exponentially.
Learning an instrument can be very difficult at first. There are new fine motor skills to learn, and you have to decipher a new written language. After doing all that work, you certainly want to make sure you’re having fun. Musicians get to have so many amazing experiences, and so can you. Here are some things to do to make sure you’re having the best time you can have learning guitar. Some of these may seem pretty obvious, but they are what really makes a difference. If you check all the boxes, you will most definitely find that you are enjoying yourself.
1. Take Guitar Lessons
In our modern world it’s easy to skip out on this step. There are tons of resources on the internet, especially with the amount of video lessons on YouTube. While most YouTube lessons don’t come with a price tag, there’s nothing like a live guitar teacher to help you along the way. Many people have success with self-study, but it is very easy to get overwhelmed by all of the information available. A good guitar teacher will put you on the right path and make sure you stay on it.
If you’re already taking guitar lessons and you’re not having fun, be open with your teacher about any confusion you’re having. Guitar teachers will be able to pick up on the fact that you are not practicing, and not progressing because of it. By letting them know what you are experiencing when you play at home, you can help them find a way to keep you inspired. It’s also important to make sure you are in the method book that works for you. I did a review of four of the most popular books for guitar for beginners in my previous post. Read it here.
2. Practice!
Before you roll your eyes, really think about this. Learning an instrument can be very fun, but it also takes some dedication. The only way to really enjoy yourself is to have a sense of knowing what you’re doing. This of course, takes practice. Knowing how to practice is just as much of a skill as knowing how to play the guitar, and if you don’t spend time doing it, you’re not going to learn!
It can be very difficult to fit a practice routine into a modern schedule, no matter what age you are. I have so many younger students who are busier than my adult students. Planning your week of practice ahead will really help. If possible, try to find a consistent time during the day. It is also very helpful to set a goal to practice every day for a month (or even a week or two). Results come after these periods of time, not just a couple days. If you stay consistent with your practice for this amount of time, you will start to figure out how to hone in on your guitar skills. You might just have fun while doing it too!
3. Listen to Music
I have many students who don’t know what to say when I ask them what music they like. Especially with younger students, the act of learning an instrument sometimes come before they really have learned to enjoy music. I also have plenty of students who love to listen to music, but do not listen to anything that has guitar as a prominent instrument. Listening to music trains the ear, it also helps you build up an emotional connection to music. It is because of this that the most inspired musicians are the best listeners.
You may already listen to music, and you may be very inspired by some notable guitarists. Perhaps this is why you started learning guitar in the first place. Take your listening a step further, learning an instrument is an opportunity to expand your musical interests. Start broadening the genres you listen to in order to learn about even more notable guitarists. If you’re taking guitar lessons, ask your guitar teacher for recommendations. If you’re not, please first reread #1, then do some research into notable guitarists in all genres on your own. It’s important to have an open mind. If you allow yourself to enjoy a genre you are not used to listening to, you could possibly find your new favorite artists!
4. Go see Live Music
Going to see live music is taking listening to music to the next level. There is no better way to get inspired and to learn about the instrument than to see people play. Live music can take place at a huge variety of venues: stadiums, concert halls, bars, churches, restaurants, and even on the street. If your favorite artists are still performing and happen to be coming to your area, spend the money to go see them. The inspiration will be worth every penny. Find out about where live music happens in your town. With social media, this is easier than ever to keep track of. If there are musicians in your town that you enjoy, become a fan. Go to a bunch of their shows. You will learn from them and enjoy yourself all while supporting local music.
In addition to seeing live music in person, there is an unlimited amount of concert footage on YouTube. Watching live performances helps you focus on the music better. Plus you get to see how your favorite artists performed, they may be really wild performers!
5. Learn the Music You Want to Learn
Being successful at an instrument means starting out with a goal. If you have a favorite type of music, or if there is something that is inspiring you to play the guitar in the first place, then your goal should be to learn how to play it. If you are curious how one of your favorite songs is to play on guitar, there is no harm in looking up how to play it. There are online resources for practically every song. You can even watch guitarists playing more simplified versions on YouTube.
If you are taking lessons, be open with your teacher about what you want to learn. Your teacher can then help guide you in the right direction when the time is right. It is very important to listen to your teacher however. If he or she is giving you specific materials to practice, be sure to practice them well.
6. Play Music with Others
I can’t emphasize this enough. In essentially every culture around the world, music has been used for community building for a very long time. There is something very magical that happens when you play music with other people. The great news is you are working towards experiencing this. Not only is this an opportunity to get inspired while increasing your skills, it is also an opportunity to meet new people. If you have any friends or family who play music, reach out to them right away. If the genre or instrument they play doesn’t seem to match yours, see if you can make things work.
In order to meet new people to play music with there are many ways to put out feelers. Putting an ad on a community board at a music store, library, or anywhere else is a good way to start. You can also try posting ads on online outlets such as craigslist. Most areas have many events you can take part in. These include open mics, meet ups, jam sessions, or community ensembles. If you don’t feel comfortable playing guitar in front of or with other people just yet, it’s always fine to observe. It’s still a great way to see what musicians live nearby and to be inspired by their playing.
7. Perform
Performing can be very scary at first, but it does get to be an enormous amount of fun. For a beginner, performing does one major thing: it gets him or her to practice. If you practice diligently for a performance, you will be very satisfied with your results. It is also a great way to show off your new skills to friends and family.
Finding ways to perform can be a bit tricky. If you are taking guitar lessons, there is a chance the school you are part of will hold a recital. If you have not performed in a recital, ask your teacher if there will be a recital any time soon. Open mic nights are a good way to get comfortable performing in front of people. All open mic nights are different, but they will generally be very supportive of any beginners who have the courage to take the stage. If it’s your very first performance, let everyone know! You will receive a lot of encouragement afterwards.
It’s also just good practice to get comfortable playing around people. If you are happy with your progress on a new song, don’t be afraid to share it with everyone you can. If it’s a nice day, take your guitar to a park and practice. Just knowing there are other people around makes practicing feel a lot like performing.
8. YouTube/Social Media
Making videos of yourself playing is a way to perform without leaving the house. This helps you practice as well, because if you want to make a quality video you need to have a quality performance. YouTube is full of amateur musicians performing their covers and originals, so your videos may even be an opportunity to connect with them. If you don’t feel comfortable having your videos out there for the entire internet to see, post them on your favorite social media outlets so your friends can see your progress.
To find out more about Lambertville, New Jersey based guitar teacher Alan Rigoletto, please read his About Me page.
As a guitar teacher, one question you may be asking yourself is “Which guitar method book should I use?” There are many books out there, and all of them seem to offer something different. Finding the right method book is crucial, but the process can take a lot of trial and error. This article will take a look at 4 of the most popular beginner guitar method books in an effort to make your teaching experience a lot easier.
What Makes a Good Guitar Method Book?
Before we look at the books, let’s consider some factors that we will be looking for in each book:
Pacing
Pacing is particularly important for younger beginners who have no experience with music. Some books tend to get ambitious with their expectations of the student. You don’t want to put months of work into a book, only to realize it will take you forever to finish it.
Repetition
After learning a new set of notes, a new musical concept, or a new technique on the guitar, the student should be able to practice the new skill before moving forward. A well-paced book will take into account that the new information needs some practicing. It will provide a decent number of songs for the student to practice for that skill.
Focus on Rhythm
There is no doubt about it. If you fully understand how to read rhythms, you will be a better musician. I spend a very good chunk of my lessons making sure my students are playing each rhythm correctly, preferably while counting out loud. A good book will have a variety of rhythms without overwhelming the student.
Song Selection
This is a struggle for all guitar method books. Most of them rely on American folk songs and songs that younger students would have known – in the 1960s. I find that it is easier for a student to truly read a song if he or she does not already know the tune. That being said, a book with a good song selection gives the student an opportunity to learn traditional songs. It also gives the teacher an opportunity to teach a little bit about the notable musicians who performed them. Kids these days are definitely being deprived of “Red River Valley!”
There are certainly many more factors that can be taken into account when deciding whether or not a guitar method book is right for you. For the sake of simplicity let’s leave it at that four. We have some books to look at. The order in which I have chosen to list these books outlines my own personal journey as a teacher. The first was the first guitar method book I used and the last is the current book I am using.
My Guitar Pedagogy class in College used this book as the main example of how to teach beginning guitarists. This book certainly tries to cover as much ground as possible. In order to accomplish this, it has a very unique format. There are two sections: Section 1 is all about chords and accompaniment and Section 2 teaches musical notation. Both sections are to be used simultaneously so the student can develop a working knowledge of both chords and melody at the same time. This book covers so much ground, those finishing this book will know techniques on the guitar that most methods don’t cover until well into book 2.
Section 2 (which is similar to other method books) has students thinking about rhythms from the very first song. There is a great emphasis on rhythm, and plenty of helpful information about music theory. Many of the songs are melodies taken from classical guitar repertoire, which makes the classical guitarist in me very happy. Most songs also have an interesting, but not terribly difficult second part for the teacher to play.
Section 1 starts with basic chord progressions and uses many popular melodies such as “Amazing Grace,” “Our Land,” and “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In” to help the student understand basic strumming. This section covers a wide variety of techniques, including power chords, bass-chord accompaniment, and fingerstyle accompaniment.
The Cons
I eventually stopped using this book because of how it is paced. Almost every song has something new to teach. This is excellent for the student who picks up on musical concepts quickly. I found it rather difficult for a student who needs a bit of practice with each concept to fully grasp it. That being said, I definitely recommend this book for a more mature music student who may already have some musical training.
This book is a classic. I trudged through this book in the earlier days just like many others. Unlike Jerry Snyder’s Guitar School, Mel Bay has a much more straightforward approach. Students learn the guitar string by string while gradually learning musical concepts and 3-4 string chords.
The Cons
This book is my least favorite of the books mentioned in this article. In my early days of teaching, I was having a hard time getting my students to move on from songs because of how difficult they were. Finally, I had a major epiphany: “What if I don’t use this book anymore?!” There you have it, one of the most scathing things I’ll ever write on this blog – I hope.
The portion of the book concerning the first string (Pages 7-8) has good examples of the E, F, and G notes with different rhythms. The page introducing the second string is exactly what it should be. Page 10 launches the student immediately into confusion. There are longer songs that skip between strings like it’s not a problem for little fingers. By page 15 students are already learning eighth notes and alternate picking. By the time chords are introduced, the book becomes downright impossible for some students.
I used this book for a very long time. It is very similar to Mel Bay in its layout but it is definitely more mindful of any learning curve the beginning student may have. There are plenty of songs for the student to practice after each string is introduced, which allows the new notes to really sink in. The book teaches musical concepts and 3-4 string chords at a slower pace than Mel Bay as well. There are a lot of good folk/Great American Songbook songs in this book. This provides lots of opportunities to talk about Pete Seeger, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, etc.
The Cons
Reading shorter musical examples is very helpful for the student who is learning to read music for the first time.Alfred’s Guitar Method doesn’t seem to agree with me on this. Many of the songs students learn early on in the book are 16-25 measures long. At this point in time, it is more important for the student to be focusing on reading 4-8 measure songs that contain pitch and rhythmic variations.
Another issue with this guitar method book is there are way too many quarter notes. A good number of the songs are a torrent of quarter notes, not allowing the student to properly focus on counting. There are songs with plenty of rhythmic variation towards the beginning of the book, but they are so long that the student ends up spending more time trying not to lose his or her place than reading rhythms correctly.
Finally, it is my opinion that learning to read rhythms is much more important than being able to play bass-chord accompaniments. By the time students have gotten to the low E string and have begun reading 8th notes, there is plenty of material to keep them challenged. At this point, the book puts a lot of emphasis in Carter style bass-chord accompaniment, which most students aren’t ready for yet.
This book is my current favorite. I do not think it is perfect, but there is a substantial use of the first three “factors:” it is well paced, there is a lot of repetition of concepts, and the major emphasis is on rhythm. The book immediately introduces a variety of rhythms in very short songs and examples. The student gets plenty of practice reading simple rhythms before the book begins introducing eighth notes.
My favorite thing about this guitar method book is that chords and melody are kept separate. This makes the songs much less of a physical burden. Less physical burden means more time counting and focusing on technique. As the student starts to learn different strumming patterns with the chords, his or her working knowledge of rhythm is strong enough that changing chords is more natural. By the time my students approach the more sizable duets at the end of the book (including Bach’s “Minuet in G”) they are much more confident in their reading abilities.
The Hal Leonard Guitar Method’s song selection has some real gems. Many of the untitled songs are actually “Easter Egg” songs, which are famous pop/rock melodies disguised as mere exercises. There’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Spirit in the Sky,” and others. It’s always fun seeing if the student can recognize the song just by reading the notes.
The Cons
My main complaint about this book is the lack of even spacing between notes. This book could definitely use a good cleaning up as far as layout is concerned. There are spots where quarter notes are jammed in with eighth notes and other spots where quarter notes have as much space as the surrounding half notes. I have to remind my students once in a while what rhythm they are looking at, and it is usually not their fault.
Other Books
There are many other guitar method books out there that I did not mention. I have spent countless hours going through these books with my students over the years, so I thought it would be best to write about the books I have experience with. Perhaps in the coming months I will write a follow up to this with some different books. If you have a particular favorite, please don’t hesitate to let me know!
What does it mean to be “stuck in a rut?” I’ll attempt a quick and easy definition: A prolonged period of time where little to no advancement is made. I just got chills writing that out, it hits home pretty hard. All guitarists have this problem at some point, and getting out of this “rut” can be pretty difficult. The key to pulling yourself out of this situation is very clear. A change of mindset is required. Don’t worry, I’m not going to just tell you to “chill out” and chalk that up as my two cents. There are very distinct things we can do to change this mindset and in turn start to see progress on the guitar again.
“Climbing The Mountain” or “Vertical” Learning
In my first post in this series, I went over two different types of learning that I have identified. You can imagine this grid as a line graph. There is “Vertical” learning, or advancing skills, techniques, and overall knowledge of the instrument. Then there is “Horizontal” learning, or the progress you make honing in on each skill. This can be learning new songs, scales, or exercises. To put things in more poetic terms, we can call this “Climbing the Mountain” (horizontal) and “Loving the Plateau” (vertical).
Let’s explore what it means to “climb the mountain” of guitar playing. Real patience is required to scale this musical Matterhorn, as well as strategy and pacing. Trying to advance too quickly can cause some serious self doubt. This can also lead to over-practicing, which can lead to physical (and mental) injury. We all want to advance quickly, but it is much more important to advance correctly. This brings to mind the alternative to the famous phrase: Perfect practice makes perfect. Just practicing doesn’t cut it. You have to practice perfectly. If you just found what I said intimidating, don’t worry. Here are a couple pointers to help you implement this in your practice routine.
Have Very Clear Goals
Try to catch yourself next time you say, “I’m just not getting better at the guitar.” Maybe you’re saying this to yourself, a friend, or your teacher. (If you’re saying this to your teacher, try to think about whether or not you’re doing everything he or she is telling you to do. Many people (including myself) are guilty of receiving excellent lessons, only to go home and do something completely different during practice.) When you ask this question, be sure to follow it up with “Well, what are you trying to get better at?” If you’re response to that is “guitar, duhhh,” then you are setting yourself up for a vicious cycle of broadness. It’s time to seriously narrow down what your goals are.
If you’re lucky, you will be able to immediately identify what these goals are. Perhaps you’ve earned yourself the opportunity to skip this paragraph. If you’re not quite sure, start by thinking about what genre you’re playing. It’s also good to think about who your main inspirations are. What do those guitarists do that you’d like to do? Is there something all of these artists have in common? Perhaps you are trying to make an audition or get into a band that plays a specific genre. What are the requirements? Maybe there is just a song or group of songs that you’ve been trying to learn for a really long time without any sign of progress. Spend some time trying to figure out what techniques this song requires that you are falling short on.
Learn Guitar Exercises
If you’re anything like I was as a teenager, you would have seen the heading “Learn Exercises,” said “cool!” and left this page looking for new exercises to learn. Hold on! It’s not like that. I used to be like a sponge for exercises. Every website, every article in every Guitar World magazine I owned, every VHS tape I owned (OK, now I’m dating myself) had some fancy new exercise. “Increase your speed with this arpeggio sequence!” “Gain sick chops with this fancy chromatic trick!” It can be an information overload which can lead to very disorganized, distracted practice habits.
It’s important to take a step back to think “what do I need to get better at?” If you’re looking to get better at chord transitions, you want chordal exercises. If you want to improve your speed, you need to do some training with a metronome. Every skill has an endless amount of exercises that goes along with it, you can even make up exercises yourself based on the specific things that are hanging you up. Once as you have done your research, choose some favorites.
Routine, Routine, Routine
Continue for at least two weeks doing only two or three of these exercises every day. That’s right, that sentence is bold, italicized, AND underlined. If you want to get the full effect of the exercise, playing it once for five minutes is going to do nothing for you. If you are really looking to advance your skills, consistency is your best friend. Start every practice with the same exercises. This way you will advance your ability to control your fingers. If you have chosen your exercises well, you will find that you are subconsciously putting these new skills to work on every song you play. Sometimes, you may even find yourself reminding yourself of an exercise when you are getting hung up on a passage of a song.
If you are trying to advance your speed, don’t get ahead of yourself. (I’m not just talking to shredders when I say speed, this also refers to chord changes, arrangements, anything that you are incapable of playing at performance tempo.) Choose the metronome setting that is just enough of a challenge for you and stick with it for those two-three weeks. This may be painful for some readers, but your brain needs to really sink in to the challenge tempo.
Take Songs you want to Learn and Stick with them
Now that you have an exercise routine, spend some time figuring out what songs you want to learn that have been a challenge for you. Perhaps you may need to spend some time finding new songs to play. Only choose one or two depending on how much of a challenge they are. Make sure your song selection is something you are interested in learning, because you want to practice it every day for at least a month. If you find you need longer at the end of the month, don’t worry, just keep going.
In an age of immediate gratification, it is easy for us to get frustrated over lack of progress very quickly. Setting a goal with a time period of a month or longer allows us to relax and sink into a routine. Instead of saying to yourself “I’ve been playing this song for three days and I still can’t get it!” you will find you are simply saying “Day 3/30.”
If you find you haven’t mastered the song(s) after the month, don’t immediately start to get frustrated. Take a step back and consider what this month has done for your playing. You will find that you have absorbed a lot and that you are a better player for it. If you are sick of the song at the end of the month, put it down and start something new. You’ve earned it. If you still feel determined to master the song, by all means, go another month.
Consider Your Deadlines
If you are preparing for an audition or a performance, there can be a much larger element of stress to the feeling of lack of progress. You have no choice but to get better. In the end, that’s a great thing, but the process is stressful. For the sake of relevance, let’s say your audition/performance is one month away. Take some time to consider what you have to accomplish in this time and how many hours you have each day to do so. Then make a commitment to practice exactly what you need to every day for that thirty days. When you set a goal like this, you are less likely to slack on it. I don’t want to cheat my future self with an imperfect 29/30 days of practice.
Without doing this extra element of scheduling, it can be very easy to procrastinate (if you’re even the slightest bit like me, that is). You will find that the deadline is getting close and you haven’t been practicing. This causes an extra element of stress, which makes practicing even harder. “Cramming doesn’t work,” remember? If you stick with your pre-determined routine for the time period you have available, you will find that the performance you give is as close to the best you could do as possible. Feel like you could have done much better? Learn from your mistakes. Perhaps you needed much longer than a month to prepare, or the routine you had chosen wasn’t appropriate enough.
I have an a series about auditioning for college coming up soon!
Have Faith!
I have a lot of students who say to me “I’m practicing a lot every day, and I’m just not seeing results yet.” A lot of times they make this statement after demonstrating to me that they have come a long way in the past 7 days. I always say to them, “If you are putting the time in and having good, focused practice sessions, you will see results, you just have to keep at it.
The difference between their perception of improvement and my perception of their improvement is that they seeing their progress on a day-to-day basis. It’s hard to perceive change that way. If you plant a seed, put a chair in front of the pot, and watch the plant grow, you will find the process to not be rewarding because plants grow too slowly for spectators (with a natural amount of patience). If someone watches you plant the seed, goes away for a month, and comes back, they will return to see a fully grown plant.
A great way to help yourself realize your progress is to record yourself at the beginning of every week (or every day if you’d like). Each recording is like a snapshot of your progress. After a month, you will be shocked at how much better your recordings sound.
Learning an instrument really can be a leap of faith. There is so much time and money invested, and most of the time you never know when you will get where you want to be. By sticking to a routine, your practice really becomes “a practice,” and you will learn to see, hear, and feel tiny improvements in your skills from day to day.
