The Secrets To Practice Guitar Chords, Leads and Songs

Have you ever wanted to know the secret to practice guitar? There is a reason some people just zoom ahead of others in learning how to play, and you can do the same thing.

Almost everything complicated is made up of little pieces that are not that complicated by themselves. It is the same with learning chords, leads, tunes and songs. Once you break them down into bite-sized chunks, you can master them. This is great news because it is very easy to play simple guitar, but quite difficult to master it.

Click here to learn how to play guitar...

It does not matter if you are learning rock, blues, bluegrass, Celtic, jazz or swing; once you can identify phrases, or sections, you can learn to play just about anything. You may have to begin with just one note, but that is a beginning!

I first learned this secret when I wanted to learn a fiddle tune: Cotton Patch Rag. I just loved the sound and cool swinging rhythm and so I decided to learn it. My oh my, was I in for some learning. It sounded fairly straight forward and doable, but when I began I realized I had a lot to learn.

First, my discipline was lacking, second, my right hand had to learn proper picking technique, and thirdly, I discovered the principle of bite-sized chunks.

Once I decided to practice instead of fooling around I began making some progress. This was going to require work and effort, I needed to work at it everyday, not just when I got the whim to play.

Then I had to learn the down-up method of picking,which made life a lot easier and carried over into my other playing.

But the main secret to effective guitar practice is to take a tune or riff or lead and break it down into small pieces and play it very slowly and correctly. A metronome is essential to keep your timing correct. Speeding up and slowing down are two nasty habits that can be corrected by a metronome.

Once you can play a section, slow it down gradually until you can't stand it anymore! How slow is slow? Very slow, like molasses. Then you reverse the process and very gradually speed it up, always taking care to play it right. If you practice it wrong, you will learn it wrong. It is much easier to learn anything right the first time, rather than unlearn it later and relearn it correctly.

If you do this for a week or two, you will engrave it into your muscles and memory. Once you do this, you will retain it forever. This takes some discipline and self-control, but it works every time. No matter what type of music you are learning, the same principle applies.

Another very important concept is that you should not try to learn until you can sing, hum or whistle the melody. Once you can whistle or sing it, you can play it. If you do not know how it sounds, it will be a mechanical process that may or may not sound like music. Take your time, remember the tortoise and hare!

You can learn chords, leads, runs, rhythm and strumming, fingerstyle, slide guitar and anything else you are interested in. The best way to learn to play fast and clean is to play slow and correctly. Learn it right the first time and save yourself a lot of aggravation later on.

Click here to learn how to play guitar...

With some practice, you can learn to play like your heroes. Some of my favorites are Norman Blake, Dan Crary, Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Jimi Hendrix, Jorma Kaukonen, Keb Mo and, of course, Eric Clapton!