Hitting the Strings—Learning to Love the Musical Workout

Much to the chagrin and consternation of many beginners, collectors, and guitar enthusiasts, acquiring the instrument itself is just the first (and easiest!) step in becoming a musician.   I know, I know, that’s just crazy talk....  But, whether you’ve just begun your journey with the guitar or whether you’ve been playing for years, there is one undeniable, inescapable reality:  it takes practice to improve.  As patently obvious as this statement may seem, many folks really struggle to when it comes to developing a sensible and consistent practice regimen—in some cases, people are outright dismissive of any kind of structured practice, which is profoundly ignorant!  Yet, the importance of good practice behavior cannot be understated, as it will determine how effectively you spend your time and how well you retain the repertoire and musicianship you are working to develop.  

My mother once wisely opined that a disciplined player will out-perform a lazy talented player anytime.  Perhaps the most daunting consideration in learning a musical instrument is the time one must invest; and, while some folks might be gifted with natural aptitude for an instrument, there is simply no getting around the fact that you must put in the time to get anywhere!  It is important, however, to keep things in perspective and not let yourself get overwhelmed.  For instance, if we do the math on the ever-popular notion that “mastery” (however that might be defined) is achieved after 10,000 hours, then it would require more than 27 years to master the guitar if one practiced an hour a day, which is a challenge for most normal people.  Confronted with that information, some folks would just quit right away!  It is much more constructive to consider the fact that music is not a competition, and there really is no finish line to what is hopefully a lifelong journey.  Despite the absence of a metaphorical finish line, you should adopt an attitude of “slow and steady wins the race” and strive to simply be consistent in your practice.  I frequently remark to beginners that it is much better to practice fifteen minutes every day than just two hours every Saturday!  So, even if it’s just for a couple minutes before you run out the door to work or school, try to pick up your guitar every day.

As I see it, practice should be focused upon two aims: developing your skills and maintaining your enthusiasm.  These aims are interrelated in that the more skilled you become as a player, the more enthusiastic you become about playing; and, the more enthusiastic you become about playing, the more likely you are to invest time in the discipline of studying music.  This could be said of the discipline involved in any activity, such as a sport.  For instance, I recall the sports practices of my youth where practice would be divided into drills and then time spent playing the game. Musical practice is no different—if you have only thirty minutes to practice, apportion twenty minutes to practicing your assignment and then reward yourself with ten minutes of just playing whatever you want!

Of course, the “just play whatever you want” part of the practice regimen is the easy part.  Yet, I find many folks misconstrue this activity as real practice!  In truth, the tricky and most rewarding part of practicing effectively is learning how to embrace the hard work—that being the discipline of rote exercise.  The repetition is where real progress happens, for it requires continual self critique and correction.  I find that it is essential to break apart the challenge before you into approachable phrases, be it a solo or memorizing a whole song.  Treat each phrase like an individual hurdle, practice it time and again until you have command of it, then add it to the previous phrase(s), and then practice the new longer phrase.  Repeat this process until you have command of the entire piece of music.  Like any exercise regimen, embracing the discipline is not so fun at the outset; but, as time passes, working out gets easier and more natural, until you actually get pumped up by the prospect of putting yourself to the test.  

Being a child of the Nintendo age, I find this approach to practicing very analogous to playing a video game, in that each piece of music is a effectively a series of small challenges that have to be met in succession in order for you to graduate to the next level (or piece of music).  Thus, much like playing a video game (which really requires a lot of tedium and repetition, if you think about it!), you must find entertainment in the small challenges amidst the excitement ultimate goal.  In the end, developing good practice habits takes practice!  I always encourage folks of all skill levels to work with a teacher for guidance on structuring your practice in a way that specifically fits your needs.  Otherwise, do your best to establish approachable challenges and then consistently invest the time needed to master them before moving on.  By doing the hard thing first, you will not only feel more justified in playing for fun, but your fun will ultimately be enhanced by the skills you’ve worked hard to develop--and fun is the ultimate goal!  - L. Petsch  December, 2018