Learn to play your guitar by actually practicing. What a thought. Everyone else will tell you that all you have to do is this “trick” here, or just subscribe to my “I’ll Make You A Guitar Hero In 10 Minutes” blog.

Oh, Please.

That kind of advertising may have worked on our parents, but not us. We know better. Yes, Yes, we KNOW it actually takes work to get good at something. Just look at the Karate Kid. Man, did that guy have it rough for a few months. But you know what, that Crane Kick move was pretty epic, and he got the girl. How?

Practice.

Alright, so, here I am, yelling it from the rooftops, and there’s only one thing left for you to do. Stop surfing the mindless web (except of course for when you read our fabulous blog to get a kick in the, well, motivational area…) and go practice for a half an hour.

You’ll get better if you do.

Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox

1.) Where you practice is important, so limit your distractions. If you’re not concentrating, you’re not going to make progress.
2.) It’s better to practice 15-30 minutes a day for 5-6 days a week than it is to practice 2 hours only one day a week. Why, you ask? Because it’s the repetition that builds confidence, muscle memory, and accuracy.
3.) Use a metronome or a drum loop of some kind while you practice your warm-ups, scales, guitar chords, etc. Learning to keep a consistent beat will take you far, and you can’t do it with just your imagination.
4.) Keep your guitar tuned at all times. Don’t be lazy with your tuning! Why, you ask? Because you’re building your listening skills as you practice whether you know it or not. Train your brain to hear the notes in tune! Your band will thank you later.

Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox

1.) Slow down.
2.) Make sure you press your fingers down close to the metal fret, and press firmly and HOLD your finger down for a split-second longer.
3.) Use the tips of your fingers.

Concentrate on being accurate, not fast. This will build your muscle memory and will in turn improve your tone.

Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox

However, on a more, philosophical level (metaphysical?), we are humans and we need interaction. And that’s a cliche for a reason. It’s true.

No where in life could this be more true than in music. You need to get out there and experience music with other people. Take some music lessons, ask around your neighborhood, your apartment complex, whatever, go find people that enjoy what you enjoy. Not on Twitter, not on Facebook, not on YouTube, but in the flesh. Learn from other people face to face.

It’s this combination, learning stuff on the internet for free, or for a few bucks, and then going and applying what you’ve learned in real life that will give you real satisfaction.

Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox

I expect it to be finished within the month, and it will feature high quality photos and graphics like the DVD. It will be available for purchase along with the DVD for a reasonable price, probably no more than $10.00.

Andrew Wonacott, President

Slow down your practicing (using a metronome of course) and make sure that you can play the part you’re working on without having to think about it too hard. When it becomes second nature, THEN you can speed up.

The more consistently you practice purposefully and slowly, the faster you’ll get faster. Therefore:

Slower equals faster.

May the metronome be with you, always.
The Musician’s Toolbox

That way, if there’s a part of the song that’s just too fast, you can slow the song down to, say, 70% of the normal speed and then work your way up.

You might want to try the “Amazing Slow Downer” or just google slow down audio.

Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox

Practically what this means is, slow down.

Make sure that you’re doing things right.  Consistent.  The only way to know is to go slow enough for your brain to “self-check” what you’re doing.  If you play too fast or just don’t care, chances are you’re struggling to get faster and improve your accuracy.  If you develop consistency, you’ll get better, no question about it.

Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox

So, practically speaking, the first thing you should do is set aside some time specifically for practicing.  It sounds obvious to say, but many people skip this crucial step.  Simply make up your mind, write it down on a giant piece of poster board and hang it in your room.  It could say, Monday’s at 4:00 Practice Warmups and bla bla bla for 20 minutes.”  The point is that you make your goal obvious to your brain, because your brain WILL rebel against you and try to distract you with other less important things, like….food….Wii…..sleep….you get the point.

Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox

Alternatively, if you’re strumming a chilled out song that’s slower, or just not as crazy rhythmically, then you could use a thinner pick.  The thinner picks will sort of blend the sounds of the strings together as you strum, and you’ll get a warmer sound.

In either case, just make sure you keep your wrist relaxed and that you’re holding the pick between your thumb and index finger.

Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox