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Let's talk about how to practice guitar effectively. Say you wanted to become a neurosurgeon. Do you think you could do it by just showing up to class and mindlessly doing all the tasks asked of you, year after year? Of course not. When you are in class you have to actually pay attention, think about the material, solve problems, integrate the huge volume of knowledge you need to be even a mediocre neurosurgeon. The same is true for all professions. Some give you more slack, while others require more focus, but all demand that you commit your mind to the learning process. Yet it seems many guitarists are just trying to exercise their fingers!

So first rule? When practicing, you should not let your mind wonder. You should pay attention to your muscles and to the music. You should seek to understand what it is you are doing. That is the most important rule of all. You could practice for hours a day, year after year, and see little progress because you weren't paying attention. It's like going to school just for the sake it and hoping your mind will gain knowledge automatically... it won't happen. So just do things slowly and calmly and try not to fall into the trap of just repeating things without thought. Repetition is vital, but your mind must be active; and when I say "active" I don't mean "daydreaming about being a rock star."

Second rule, "one bite at a time." Don't try to learn the skills necessary to play a song by learning the whole song at once. For example, if you are an absolute beginner you won't help yourself by trying to play even the simplest of songs before you know how to play the chords that make up that song. Let's say you know the basic skills and have almost mastered a particular song, you only have trouble in one section. Isolate that section and practice it, and it alone.

Third rule, "You can't force the mind to learn." It's much, much better if you keep your training sessions short and get enough rest than if you try to force your brain into learning what you want it to learn. Three 20-minute sessions spread out during the day are better than one hour-long session. Even if you have the whole day to practice, there is no point trying to force your mind. Concentrate for 20 minutes, then rest and let your mind absorb everything. If you find yourself resting all day long, then the "rest" becomes procrastination, if not outright laziness. Beware of "resting" too much.

Keywords: learn guitar

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Andre Sanchez,