Practice made peasy!
Freshen up your rehearsal time with these easy tips.
Mixitup
Not into scales or sight reading? Then mix things up. Start by mixing two minutes of scales, chords or theory in between 10-minute bursts of playing what you do like. It’s an easy way to learn the tough stuff!
Visualise scales andchords
Just learned a new chord? Or a scale? Look at your fingers as you play it. It might sound obvious, but visual cues are as important as getting the ‘feel’ down.
Lea rnsongsonthe move
Listen to a song you’re learning and say the chord names as they change in the song or visualise the fretboard and imagine yourself playing the parts. You’re effectively ‘revising’ the songs so when you’re next on your guitar you won’t have to remind yourself how it goes.
Ne tflix and scales You can still keep your hands limber by playing scales, exercises and licks on your unplugged electric while you’re watching your favourite shows. This puts the guitar in your hands on a daily basis to help build strength and dexterity.
TV and jamm ing Stuff on TV usually has music, so trying playing along. Jam along with the minor pentatonic scale starting at the 1st fret. Move up a fret at a time until it starts to sound good (ie, you’ve found the right key).
Le sstone;mo replay Don’t lose track of time thinking about how your guitar sounds. It’s all too easy to jam aimlessly while scrolling through the presets on a multi-fx pedal! When you’re experimenting with your sound, try to include new chords and licks so that your gear time isn’t dead practice time.
Arrangeplayda tes Practice is easier when you have a companion. Arrange a time to jam with a friend and pick a song or an exercise to work on together. You’re more likely to stick to your appointment and you can take turns accompanying each other as you try out new ideas.