Very practical method of playing guitar
1. When learning new things, the speed of practice is based on not making mistakes
Every time you learn to play a new melody, the first time you play it, your brain is instructed to memorize it and play it in the future. Therefore, if you allow yourself to make mistakes without stopping to correct them, you are essentially telling your brain that it is okay to make the same mistakes over and over again. Unless you use some kind of signal to let your brain know that mistakes are not acceptable, they will be programmed to stay in your subconscious forever. To avoid this, you need to try not to make mistakes in your usual practice, especially the first few times.
2. Don’t look at your hands or the neck of the guitar while playing
If you have to keep your eyes on the fretboard while playing a piece, then you haven’t really mastered the piece. Not only that, but you don’t even know the various positions on the guitar. The eyes are the least important of the five sense organs when it comes to playing music. Think about it, Beethoven and some blind musicians, their advantage is that when there is no vision, the sensitivity of hearing and touch will be improved to a new level. You may notice that some good players rarely look at their hands or the guitar while they are playing. So try playing with your eyes closed.
3. Watch TV or chat while practicing scales or other repetitive skills
This may sound a bit strange, so let me explain. As I said before, when you learn something new, try to minimize distractions so that your mind can write the correct program. But by the time you’ve learned enough to close your eyes and imagine the whole melody, the nerves responsible for speed and agility should take over.
So doing exercises like scales while watching TV is actually distracting your brain from working. In this way, the relaxation can be maximized, and the neurons can be maximized, and the playing speed will be improved accordingly. If you feel the volume of the guitar is loud while watching TV or chatting, you can use a piece of cloth to tuck it under the strings near the saddle.
4. Must memorize
When you have figured out the rhythm, speed, position and notes of a melody, you should put the score aside. The sooner the better. You have to try to memorize everything on the score and turn it into a melody and engrave it in your head. In the future, as long as you think of this melody, you can play it immediately.
5. Lots of short practice sessions work best
A person’s attention span can only last so long. It has been tested and proven that several short sessions with rest are more effective than one long session. If you concentrate on practicing for an hour to two hours, rest for 15 to 30 minutes, and then continue to practice, the effect will be very good. If you’re out of shape on a certain day or you don’t know why you can’t concentrate, shorten each practice time to 15 minutes, with a possible 15-minute break in between. Experiment and find your own unique biological clock before deciding when to practice and for how long. If you have time, you can also find people nearby, and friends who are learning musical instruments nearby to practice together.
This is the end of this COVENANT guitar class, see you next time！