Practicing

There are a few questions that may be more important than any other you could ask your teacher.  They are more important for your progress than knowing which chords to play, what a quarter note is, where a G note is on your guitar, or any other musical question.  How much should you practice?  What should you practice?  How should you practice?  There are many ways to answer these questions and certainly more than one way to approach practice.  The ability to practice well is a skill as much as the ability to play a chord progression.  We should work to improve that skill and learn more ways to practice and achieve the success we want.  We'll begin today with what I include on the student web site when students sign up, and a quote from a musical legend.  Without proper practice I cannot help you learn to play guitar so let's make sure we understand what I mean.  We will continue to learn more about practice as we move forward.

From www.blakenix.org 

"It is assumed you understand there is a necessary commitment of time and energy to achieve progress. We will discuss a practice routine that is consistent with your expectations and goals. In general, no less than four days of practice per week and at least one 20-minute session or two 15-minute sessions of diligent focused practice on the lesson material on those days is expected to see any progress. As you learn more and begin to have more fun you'll likely want to play more. Continue with the lesson material but play as much as you like!"

 And here is what most successful, experienced players say: 

 "Practice every time you get a chance"...Bill Monroe