Senior Instructor at Halifax Guitar Lessons
When first learning to play guitar it is likely that you progressed fairly quickly. Many do. It is new, you are excited, and it’s fun, so with that motivation you likely put some extra time into it.
But then life catches up, and you lose some of that initial excitement, your time starts to get strained and then you have to make tough decisions with your practice time.
The progress starts to slow down, things become a bit more difficult and eventually you get suck.
This is not a fun place to be and can become very frustrating if you don’t learn to deal with it properly.
Why The Progress Slows Down
As you start to reduce the practice time the progress naturally slows down with it. There comes a point where you stop progressing and then it becomes difficult to get motivated to even pickup guitar. Why bother if you can’t move forward right?
Most people have an all or nothing approach to practicing. If you can’t get your entire 30 minute or 60 minute practice session then it feels like it will not be worth doing anything.
So you don’t. You put it off for a day, which will tend to grow into multiple days, until you simply don’t bother anymore.
Not Knowing How To Practice Properly
I’ve actually been there a couple of times myself. The biggest problem for me was that I did not know how to practice effectively. So I needed a lot more time to make any progress at all.
The biggest problem is that many people, and I was one of them, do not make practicing guitar a priority. It does not mean it has to be the top priority in your life, but it needs to be higher than many other things.
When my time was compressed, I did not practice as much and the progress disappeared. The fun then went away so I stopped practicing. A lot of people go through this. Fortunately for me I did not put it down permanently.
After some time I finally found a way to overcome this problem.
Practice Daily
The most important thing is to practice guitar consistently, even if you do not have a lot of time. Daily practice is the best. And no, you do not have to practice a full session of 1 hour or 30 minutes or whatever.
If you do it daily, even if it is a short session, you will build a habit. Once you do this long it will become automatic and this is what sets you up for success.
The next most important thing is to learn to focus on the specific items you are struggling with. If you learn to isolate and practice those pieces and get them better, everything else will improve with it.
That way you can get more done in less time and continue to progress.
Stay On Track With Your Guitar Practicing
Start by making it a priority. Invest in a teacher to help you learn better ways to practice. Do it daily, even if it is only for a short period of time.
If you can’t get in your usual long practice session break it up into smaller pieces through out your day. Then use those times to focus on specific areas like a laser beam.
I know these strategies work because I used them successfully and I have also helped my students do the same. Give it a go and watch your guitar playing progress consistently over time.