Senior Instructor at Halifax Guitar Lessons
You glance at your guitar, you want to practice, you want to get better, but it’s late and you are tired. You can’t believe this is happening again.
You told yourself that tonight would be different, that you would find a way, but your day was full of unexpected turns and has slipped away.
It does not have to be this way.
Good Guitar Practice Intentions
The plan was in place, you set aside some time to practice each night, but by the time you get there you find that there are still important things that need to get done first.
Your practice session time shrinks and shrinks to the point where it seems there is no longer enough left to actually accomplish anything. So you decide not to bother and get something else done instead.
Is that the best choice? Is it really true that you can’t get better with such a short practice session?
Short Sessions When You Have A Busy Schedule
I’m here to tell you this is not the case. You can improve on guitar even with a short practice session. There is absolutely no advantage to try and practice in large chunks of time. In most cases it is actually possible to get more done and improve faster when you practice in shorter blocks because you are able to stay focused the whole time.
So instead of trying to cram a single and long practice session into your busy schedule, break it up into smaller blocks and sprinkle them throughout your day.
How To Spread Many Short Sessions In Your Busy Day
How would you do this? There are infinite possibilities available so find something that fits your schedule and will work for you. The key is to be as consistent as possible and to get in some practicing every single day.
I have had to do this myself and one way I was able to accomplish this was to break my practice sessions into four parts throughout my day. One part in the morning, one at lunch, one at supper and one before bed. So if you want to practice for a total of one hour a day, for example, you could practice fifteen minutes in each block. If you can work it out you could also practice for two thirty minute sessions and can work just as well. Find what works best for you and helps you stay consistent with your practicing.
Consistency Is They Key
This makes it a lot more feasible for busy people and if you focus on something different during each of the blocks you can make a lot of progress in your overall guitar playing. And if you happen to miss one of the sessions because things got crazy you still have three other ones left. Even if you only manage to get one of those sessions in, you are still going to progress, even if it does not seem like much. Consistency is the key and it’s like compound interest that you apply daily.
So do not buy into the false belief that you can’t progress with your guitar playing in shorter sessions or that you need to have long sessions. If you are a very busy person give yourself a chance and apply this technique to your guitar practicing. You will not regret it!