HOW

YOUR TO BUILD
EFFECTIVE
PRACTICE ROUTINE
Is your guitar playing getting better??

I’m not talking about learning new stuff - there is more

guitar tuition available online than I can wave my
whammy bar at...

I mean are you actually practicing

the instrument for improvement?

Deep down we all know

Fed up of that nagging
there is no substitute for
feeling when you look at
regularly playing, but so
loads of guitar stuff online
often things just seem to
but haven't actually
get in the way and progress
touched your instrument?
can stagnate.

You are going to write yourself a simple

routine that is engaging, achievable and thorough.

This guide is to help you understand how to build

yourself a practice plan - when to play, what to
practice and why.
 HOW LONG TO PLAY FOR?
The first thing to get to grips with is the idea
that it's not about how long you practice for, it’s
about how regularly you practice.

The key thing to think about is practicing

little and often.

I recommend just 20 minutes a day,

four days a week.

It might not seem like If you think four times a week

much if you are used to seems a lot, I would ask you
doing hour-long practice to think about your daily
sessions - and routine - it’s really not that
it’s great if you want to go much!
on longer.
If your iPhone is telling you
If you do extra on Monday that you spent 2 hours on
for example, remember you social media each day,
still have to do those other you can certainly find
20 mins sessions 20 minutes to
throughout the week - focus on the guitar,
that’s just how it works! so get a grip!
 The reason we You have to focus on
keep it snappy is getting something
because most right repeatedly so
people’s attention that it becomes a
span is short. natural ability.

As soon as your level of concentration

drops then the practice becomes
redundant and you’d be better off
stopping than continuing.

Don't let mistakes creep in and then

absent-mindedly sit and reinforce
those errors.

The brain absorbs and retains the

information better in smaller chunks
plus there is no need to put yourself
under physical stress by over playing.
 WHAT TO PRACTICE?
Now look, there is no point being a one trick pony.

Don’t be the guy that can shred like the devil but
can’t play a 9th chord, or the chick that strums
great but isn't able to play with others...

To be a decent guitarist, there’s a fair few

disciplines to conquer but I have broken these
down into five practice areas:

Chords - Picking - Improvisation

Theory - Repertoire

Some of these things might

be easier or more fun for
you and some might seem
terrifying, the good news is
that if we break things
down and practice them
regularly, then all these
things become second
nature.
Each time you practice
throughout the week, the
focus should be on a
different skill. Don't
repeat the same practice
in a week
Whilst variety is important
in your routine, that
doesn’t mean you have to
learn to play everything
from Bluegrass to
Grindcore!
Each of these disciplines is
relevant to guitar playing
in all genres, so you can
still design your practice
plan around the genres
you love whilst improving
multiple skill sets.
 CHORDS
Practicing playing chords will improve your
harmony knowledge, fretboard navigation
and rhythmic ability.

It’s not just about strumming though - the

aim is to build an understanding of where
chords can be placed across the neck and
learn how different chord types sound when
used in a progression.

We also want to eliminate the phobia we

sometimes have of certain keys - the beauty
of the guitar is that it doesn’t matter how
many flats and sharps there are if you know
where your shapes sit around the fretboard.

You can write your own progressions or take them from your favourite
The great thing about working
songs, what’s important is that you are practicing playing them cleanly
(so everywith chords
note rings isand
clearly) that a quick google
in time.
image search will usually give you
Don’t just strum through at full speed if it doesn’t sound crisp, because
all the answers you need to find
then you’re doing negative practice you muppet - just slow it down and
new shapes.
concentrate on getting it right repeatedly.
CHORDS

Here are some ideas for your Chords

practice sessions:

Play a chord sequence in the same key in 5

different places along the neck of the guitar

Play a chord sequence in all 12 different keys.

Play a chord sequence with 2 note, 3 note

and then 4 note chord voicings.

Play a chord sequence with only the top

three strings, or in the space between two
designated frets

Take a chord sequence and extend or alter

the voicings to add more harmonic interest.

You can write your own progressions or take them from

your favourite songs, what’s important is that you are
practicing playing them cleanly (so every note rings
clearly) and in time.

Don’t just strum through at full speed if it doesn’t sound

crisp, because then you’re doing negative practice you
muppet - just slow it down and concentrate on getting it
right repeatedly.
 PICKING
We must practice our picking regularly
if we want to improve our playing speed,
accuracy and dexterity.

There are lots of different ways to sound the strings on a

guitar, and a good guitarist will have a grasp of most of them.

Your aim is to cycle through the different techniques

and build up a core ability with each..

You can write your own picking drills if you wish, but there
are also thousands of exercises available online - have a look
at your favourite resource and pick one or two patterns to
work on per practice.

Picking techniques to include in

your routine:

Alternate picking - up and

As with all your
practice, it’s important
to do these with a
metronome (or even
better with a drum
machine/loop).
The key is to start
slow, and only
increase the tempo
when you can play it
perfectly 10 times in a
row.
down, this is your bread and
butter
Hybrid picking - using your
thumb and a plectrum together
Sweep picking - raking across
the strings, great for fast
arpeggios
Fingerstyle - ditch the pick and
pluck the thing
String skipping - training the
right hand to jump between
strings smoothly
 IMPROVISATION
Any axe slinger worth their salt is able to take a solo
when needed, which means we need some
improvising ability.

A lot of people get nervous about improvising but

unless you tackle it at some point, that feeling will
haunt you forever.

Think about when you speak in conversation - that

is improvising. You are drawing on an existing
vocabulary to articulate something - it’s the same
with music!

By regularly practicing improvisation in

different ways, you will develop your
harmony knowledge, creativity and
playing feel.

If you are new to noodling, you might try playing around on

a minor pentatonic over a single chord vamp. If this is
already your thing, you could be shredding over Giant
Steps in all keys - it doesn’t matter, the more you do it the
better you get.

Your improvisation should be relevant to its context, so you

do need some sort of backing. If you have a loop pedal you
could record yourself a chord pattern to play over,
alternatively you can go on YouTube where there are a
million and one jam tracks available.
 IMPROVISATION
Some ideas on how you could approach your
improvisation practice:·

Jam a new scale over a backing track

Play over a blues with using only two or
three strings.
Try leaving one bars rest within every 4
bars.
Shift scale shape position every 8 bars
Expand your pentatonic shape into a full
scale or mode
Emphasise dynamic contrast in a 16 bar
solo - start slow and sparse and build up
to a screaming crescendo.
Introduce chromaticism to your solo

Choose a backing track, establish the relevant scale(s)

to use, and play over the top whilst trying to
incorporate your approach for that session.

Don’t worry about playing fresh, interesting stuff for

the entirety of a 5 minute jam track - even the best
players would be repeating their vocab over this time.

A normal solo is probably only 16-32 bars (jazz cats not

included!) so improvise for that, take a few bars rest
and go at it again.
 THEORY
OMG OOMMGG MUSIC THEORY!!! RUN!

Everyone is terrified of it, I get it, but I’m not telling

you to sit down and analyse Beethoven.

A decent guitarist should have musicality. If you are

going to play in a band or work on sessions, you
need to have got to grips with a few ideas that will
transform you from a robotic play-by-numbers
guitarist into a musician that can work with others.

I’m not here to teach you these things - you all

have your own preferred instructors, teachers,
subscriptions that can fill you in all the concepts
below, and that’s great!

I just want you to take them seriously and

incorporate them into your new routine, I promise
you will thank me later.

I've outlined five concepts you should be looking at

in your Theory practice session.

Rhythm Good rhythm

Swing vs straight grooves.
Pushed vs laid back feel.
Time signatures.
should be a no. 1
priority
Example
Play scales and chord pattern
first with straight feel, then
with swung (shuffle) feel.
Scales and modes Dynamics
Getting different scale In a strict sense this literally
shapes under your fingers. means how loud or quiet you
play.
Understanding how
In a modern sense, it means
different scales sound and
the intensity of what you are
how to use them in
playing. Dynamic contrast is
context. key to a good performance.

Example
Pick a scale and play it in all
positions on the neck.
Use 3,4 and 5 note groupings.
This can be the boring shit, but
this is what gives you the tools
to improvise and write with.
Example
Play a chord sequence and
increase the intensity over 5
different levels. Could involve
employing the use of muting,
leaving space, 1-6 note voicings,
high/low range, tone/effects,
picking techniques etc.…

Chord relationships Arpeggios

How chord progressions are Chord tones and how to use
built from related chords. them
How the circle of fifths Chord extensions and when
connects all 12 keys based on to use them
how close they match. Arpeggio shapes across the
Common chord and song neck.
structures.
Example
Take a G minor triad (Root = G,
Example
Min 3rd = Bb, 5th = D) and play
Take a favourite lick and
it up and down from your
moving it around the cycle by
lowest possible note to the
moving up a fifth each time
highest. Remember, unless you
(carefully and accurately of
do it in time and cleanly it
course!)
doesn’t count!

Again, don’t worry if some of these intimidate you to start with -

each time it’s a theory practice day do a little bit of reading on the
subject then a short, sharp session putting it into practice.

By the end of the month you will have done a few hours of music
theory study which you wouldn’t have done without your plan -
well on your way to being a rounded musician.
 REPERTOIRE
It’s no good doing all this technical stuff and
not playing any bloody music!

It’s so important to play songs as a guitarist -

it gives us an understanding of the music we
love and you can clearly see your
development as you tackle more
complex songs.

Most importantly though, it’s

about enjoying yourself!

Now you gotta be a bit creative - there’s a million

guitarists who just sit and play along to songs they already
know and call it practice, but you have made a decision
not to be one of them.

This means you need to choose repertoire to learn which

poses at least some challenge to you!

Choose your song, and learn how to play it. Really play it.
Not just muddle through a few times, but get your guitar
cover to the point where you can comfortably and correctly
play the whole song without frantically staring at your fingers.

Even better - stand up and record yourself playing it.

Once you’re getting a few clean takes, then you’ve properly
learned that song. Why not even upload it and keep a record
of your progress?
 STAYING ORGANISED
Great, so you're all hyped about a new set of
guitar practice material, but remember - this
whole plan to improve your playing can only work
if you set yourself up for success - don’t construct
something you are not able to commit to!

Do write it out - having a copy of your

guitar plan written down (digitally or on
paper) is vital. It doesn't need to be
anything fancy - just a simple schedule.

Plan out at least 2 weeks of practice in

one go. Better still, do the whole month!
This will make your life easier and your
practice better.

The hardest part is making this a change of

routine and habit stick long term.

You need some accountability - a log of your

sessions, a vlog or Instagram page to document
your journey… something that will make you feel
great for completing each session and give you
the drive to practice when you've gone a couple
of days without.

It’s the same thing for people who track their

healthy eating, have work progress meetings,
use an app to stop smoking etc…
 You should be inspired to play - this is
where motivation comes in.

Listening to the music you love, and following

inspirational material can be enough to drive you
to succeed, but it's also important to set yourself
some achievable goals so that you can truly
acknowledge how much better you are getting.

Goals could be anything from

recording a guitar cover video or
nailing a particular solo to playing
your first live performance or
releasing your sixth album - just
always make sure you have
something you are working
towards

One last point - have a tidy practice space!

A cluttered environment leads to a cluttered
brain, which leads to an ineffective rehearsal
session. Keep a neat space with all your guitar
stuff ready to go and you will find that practicing
becomes less of a chore and more of a habit.

The whole aim is to be in a position where there is

no thinking required when you practice - you just
check the plan, pick up your guitar, focus on your
practice for 20 min, then go back to your day a
little bit better than you were before.
 Example
Just to give you an idea of a
typical week's practice, here is an

week
extract of this week's practice
plan for me.

Again, if it doesn’t seem like a lot

of weekly practice - remember
this is fully focused, careful practice... not mindless
repetition! I might do a bit longer on some of these,
but I might not - 20 mins is the requirement each
session, 4 times a week.

# 1 - Chords Play ‘Irene - Courtney Marie Andrews’ chord

progression in 5 different places on the guitar neck.
Use 6, 5, 4 & 3 note voicings.

# 2 - Picking + theory
Play natural minor scale. Use only alternate picking.
7 positions. Use 4 & 5 note groupings.
Repeat in all keys.

# 3 - Improvisation
Improvise over Mixolydian rock backing track.
Repeat in multiple keys.

# 4 - Repertoire
Learning solo to ‘Life Is A Highway - Rascal Flatts’.