Sooner or later, every guitar player hits a brick wall in terms of their progress.
And that brick wall has nothing to do with how much they’re “practicing.” Instead, it has to do with WHAT and HOW they’re practicing.
Because if your goal is progress, then the “how” is vastly more important than the “how much.”
There are many reasons people pick up lousy practicing habits, from inexperience/lack of knowledge to lack of time.
With the world filling up with more and more time-sucking distractions than ever, it’s best to be as effective and efficient with your time as possible to ensure you get the full benefit of your practice routine.
So to help you reduce your wasted time and frustration, we’ve highlighted 7 of the most common mistakes guitarists make that grind down the speed of their progress to a crawl – and how to correct them.
Mistake #1: Practicing the same licks you already know, over and over…
We all love sounding good when we play. And we love certain riffs and licks for a reason. They are a direct reflection of our musical sensibilities and taste.
Learn a few chords, add a bit of gain and some palm muting and suddenly those seemingly simple A, G, and D chords sound amazingly huge when playing along to AC/DC.
But playing them over and over (or any technique for that matter) is one of the fastest ways to end up in a “rut” as a guitar player.
To keep growing as a player, you need to not only play what you know, but also play what you don’t know.
Mistake Buster: Once you have a new idea (like those chords) sounding strong, it’s time to purposely move on to stuff where your playing sounds weaker and less confident. Try playing along to a song you are unfamiliar with, ideally, in a new key. You’ll start to gain a better understanding of how a different key lays on the fretboard. Now try to only play licks using the scale shapes you are least familiar with. This will help you acclimate yourself with the “money notes” in these different shapes. Before you know it, you’ll have more flexibility and confidence to move around the neck.
Always keep this in mind: “If you’re going over stuff you already know and can already play, then you’re not “practicing”…. you’re just “playing.”
Mistake #2: Not policing your own practicing
Most guitar players have played their favorite riffs and songs dozens, if not hundreds, of times. They are intimately aware of every note, every palm mute, every bend, how fast or slow someone is playing, the scale shape they are using, etc…
But because of this, they usually aren’t listening to their own playing objectively enough to notice their weaknesses.
In order to measure your growth as a guitar player, it’s important first to gain and practice self-awareness. You need to be clear about what you are working on and set measurable goals.
- Are you over-bending or under-bending a particular note?
- Are you ending the sustain of a note or chord too early or ending the sustain of a note or chord too late?
- Is there excess string noise, uneven vibrato on notes while soloing, inaccurate and uneven palm-muting etc
- Are you constantly staring at the neck, or playing with sloppy and/or inaccurate attack, etc…
These are the details that separate the greats like Eric Clapton or BB King from the more inexperienced players.
The difference is not in their instruments; it’s in their hands. So…PRACTICE WITH PURPOSE!
Mistake Buster: Set specific clear goals that are measurable (like playing 16th notes at 130 bpm) and make sure they challenge you, but at the same time, they are attainable. You also want them to be relevant to what you want to achieve – so try to keep your goals tied to the music you are passionate about – and give yourself a deadline!
Regularly record your practice and listen back objectively AFTER you finish playing. Be your own worst critic and listen to where you are not quite on time, or where your note lengths are inconsistent, or where you’re a little off with your bends. Isolate the problem areas – and work on those as you move forward.
Mistake #3: Not practicing to a metronome or drum groove
The importance of practicing with a time-keeping device, either a metronome or a locked drum groove, can NOT be overstated.
Being able to lock in, timing-wise, is imperative if your aim is to be a truly professional musician. Most inexperienced players, and even some “pros,” have a tendency to rush or drag.
The goal behind practicing with a metronome, click track, or drum groove is not to make your timing so perfect that you sound like a robot. THAT is not music… it’s math. The goal is to eventually internalize the pulse so you can hear and play time so well that you can bend it consistently, at will, depending on the style of the song.
Think of Willie Nelson’s singing or Jimmy Page’s guitar playing. They are often slightly ahead or behind the beat. Not because they can’t keep time, but because they add or resolve tension, which in turn adds emotion and meaning to the performance. And that ability to bend time is what helped them create their own unique sounds. You always know it’s them when you hear them.
Mistake Buster: Always have a metronome or drum grove ready to go. These days, a simple google search or app download will result in some great options. You can also keep track of your progress by making notes about your tempos and slowly increase them over time.
For example, work on specific scale shapes or riffs at a particular BPM value. Once you are comfortable and feel confident with your playing, increase the tempo…but not too much, a few BPM faster will do. Trying to build up your speed too quickly will usually lead to frustration. If you are playing faster but your notes are not clean, drop back down a few BPM until your rhythm and accuracy are both rock solid.
Mistake #4: Not counting in
Yes, music is about melody….but it’s also about rhythm.
How does your brain know what incremental division is happening if you just start playing?
By now, you should be picking up on a common theme with this list. Simply playing guitar, while fun, is not practicing…and it will not lead to measurable progress.
When starting a riff, lick, or song – get used to counting yourself in. Then be sure you have the right “feel” or “groove” of the song or track before you even start to play.
After all, in the studio, or while playing live with others, everything is counted in. So you may as well start building that good habit, until it becomes second nature, so you’re ready when you are called on in a live or recording situation.
Many of the top call guys in the session world are not at the top of the list because they are flashy, but because they are precise and can nail takes quickly. And that is a skill that is not perfected by accident. It is perfected by practicing certain techniques deliberately.
Mistake Buster: Take a breath to center yourself before you are about to play, and get into the habit of using 2 bar count-ins. A 2 bar phrase is a natural phrase length and very musical sounding to our ears, reinforcing that even a count-in can be musical when heard and used properly.
Mistake #5: Not tapping your foot correctly, or at all
1 and 3 are the primary beats in popular music. The quicker and deeper you drill that into your brain and internalize that in your body, the better.
Many of us are taught in school that if we want to remember something, read it aloud so that our eyes and ears are both engaged. And to go even further, writing it down will usually drill it one step deeper into your brain.
Making the pulse a physical thing by tapping your foot helps you FEEL the rhythm. And the more senses you engage, the more you truly understand something.
Watch your favorite musicians….are they simply playing and counting with their ears? No.
Most are tapping their feet and/or moving their bodies in some way…they are HEARING and FEELING the rhythm.
Those primary beats on the 1 and 3 are the most important in a standard bar of 4 beats. So don’t only play them with your hands…engage your body, so you can feel the rhythm in your bones.
Mistake Buster: Spend time just internalizing the pulse of a metronome at different tempos. A great exercise is to tap along with a metronome for 3 measures and then mute it for the 4th. Keep tapping and see if you come right back in time after a silent measure. Once you get that – try muting the click for two measures. You’ll be amazed how this will gradually improve your sense of time.
Mistake #6: Practicing with guitar effects that are too forgiving
When you practice with effects that are a little too “wet,” it may “sound” great, but over time, it can actually do more harm than good and impede your progress. Depending on how much you are using, effects can blur or even cover up what’s really going on.
A heavy delay or echo can disguise note accuracy, while playing with a lot of gain/distortion can mask sloppy picking or legato techniques.
Mistake Buster: If you are working on alternate picking, use a clean tone, so you can hear every detail. At most, you can add a little reverb and/or compression so that it’s a little more pleasing to listen to. On the other hand, if you are practicing with a more legato feel, use as little compression and/or distortion as possible so that you get a more realistic representation of the accuracy of your hammer-ons and pull-offs.
After a while, try going back and forth between YOUR tone and a completely clean tone. That way, you’ll be able to hear EVERYTHING…every rushed or late note, every bit of pick noise, every missed string, inaccurate fretting, etc… But….after you’ve put the work in, feel free to crank it up and have some fun.
Mistake #7: Too Many Random Sources of Music Theory and Information
Even in a best-case scenario, improving as a guitar player takes focus, dedication, and efficient practice. By trying to learn from too many random sources, you can end up with concepts that are too vague, too broad, or not specifically designed for your particular issues as a player.
Without clearly laid out objectives, the structure of your practice routines can quickly become chaotic and overwhelming, leading to tons of wasted time and inconsistent results. You simply end up frustrated as a player, losing the drive, passion and mental focus to continue to grow.
Mistake Buster: Find a single reputable course or mentor that is achieving or has achieved the results you are looking for. If you are a rock player and simply want to learn rock songs, find a great mentor in that genre that can help guide you through that style. If you want to learn more about composing, specific techniques or improvisation, find a course or mentor that focuses primarily on those subjects. The key thing is that you have someone helping you and guiding you towards the goals you’ve set for yourself.
Remember to keep exploring…no one grows without trying new things
Of course, growing as a guitar player doesn’t stop here. The point is to become comfortable being uncomfortable as a player.
Always remember to PRACTICE WITH PURPOSE.
Set goals for yourself…achievable benchmarks that are relevant and exciting to you, and that can be measured.
Progress is not a race… it’s a personal process that is different for every player.
But if you are focused and disciplined, you will start to see improvement over time. And that improvement will lead to increased confidence in your own ability, which in turn, will create more enjoyment in your practice regimen.
Good luck….and have fun!!