Our Process

Some people say that “practice makes perfect” when improving as a guitarist. While others emphasize the importance of correct technique and state “perfect practice makes perfect.”

But here’s the thing, a musical performance doesn’t necessarily have to be technically ‘perfect’ to be impactful.

That’s why we have a slightly different approach here at MusicPro.Academy. While we think being technically skilled is important, we also strongly believe that “Creative Practice Makes for Creative Performance.”

What do we mean by this? 

We mean that to become a well-rounded, proficient guitarist, you must have both technical and creative skills.

There are also some other key areas you should focus on if you’d like to progress most efficiently, which we’d like to present to you right now. They all form part of our proprietary learning mechanism, the LPR System:

• Learn
• Practice
• Refine

Here’s an introduction to our proven three-part system that underpins all of our educational courses and lessons:

#1: Learn

There are many ways to learn new guitar skills, yet some methods are more effective than others. That’s why we have developed a structured and sequenced learning process that gives you everything you need and leaves out everything you don’t.

Focus on the Right Things at the Right Time

While there’s no way to learn everything out there on guitar, there are some absolute fundamentals you need to know as a working professional.

The order in which you learn things is also important. Certain areas are best to focus on first so that other aspects of your playing can benefit and be more effective.

Many aspiring guitarists simply focus on the wrong things at the wrong time, which significantly hampers their progress. And when progress is slow and hard-won, it can be very demotivating for a musician.

That’s why we’ve dedicated thousands of hours of trial and error to develop the most effective and efficient learning path possible for the MusicPro.Academy community.

Your learning path, or way of acquiring knowledge, is a significant determinant of your success. The learning path we’ve created will allow you to progress quickly, retain knowledge, develop a sense of ownership, and feel empowered.

Develop New Skills in a Unified and Systematic Way

Music education, especially with the advent of Youtube and online courses, can often be highly fragmented and disjointed.

The different ideas and concepts taught in many educational courses tend not to be well integrated, so they all feel separate and unrelated. There’s also often an overload of rules, conventions, styles, or genres, leading to confusion and little real-world applicability.

Instead, we believe that lessons and courses should flow naturally from one to the next. They should build upon and reinforce what has already been taught while introducing new concepts.

This has been a big focus of ours because we know it’s the best way for our members to build and retain knowledge. And even more importantly, it keeps them engaged, motivated, and feeling good about their progress.

#2: Practice

The importance of practice cannot be understated. But not all practice is created equal, and some forms can even be counterproductive. We believe the best way for a guitarist to progress is through a combination of deliberate and creative practice.

Gain an Edge with Deliberate Practice

What is deliberate practice? It’s about practicing with a specific goal in mind and a plan for achieving it. It requires sustained conscious effort and deep focus, differentiating it from regular practice, which often involves mindless repetitions.

While deliberate practice isn’t as comfortable and easy as regular practice, the payoff in progress can be vast in comparison when done correctly. So if you want to gain an edge as a musician and master new skills, deliberate practice is the way to go.

Our courses provide clear instructions for effective deliberate practice so that you can avoid the mindless strumming sessions that bring few benefits. We also place a heavy focus on efficiency and micro-productivity.

We want you to make the most out of the limited time you have yet still see significant results. Therefore, we break our lessons down into micro-tasks so you can practice during the short moments of free time you have scattered throughout the day.

Foster Creativity with Creative Practice

The best musicians are not only technically great but also immensely creative. And while many think creativity is an innate trait, it’s actually a skill you can develop and build over time.

Unless you’re only interested in performing music created by others, it would be unwise to neglect creative practice! That’s why we have made creative practice a priority and integrated it into our educational courses.

But what is creative practice exactly? Well, it’s about intentionally creating and incorporating all parts of the creative process into your practices and routines.

For example, this could mean you dedicate time each week to generating new ideas and creating original content. Or, it could be finding innovative ways to approach common musical situations and then learning how to execute these new ideas.

There are many ways you can practice creativity, and we offer lots of guidance on how to do so in our courses. Just remember that the creative process is a journey of exploration and discovery. It begins with new ideas and experimentation and gradually leads to valuable and unique musical solutions and creations.

#3: Refine

It’s important to continually refine your approach as you progress so you’re always learning and never stagnating. However, you can only refine if you keep track of what you’re doing. Being personally accountable and having an outside mentor are two ways to accomplish this.
The Importance of Accountability

Being accountable is about taking responsibility for your learning and staying committed to growing as a musician. However, there are two steps you can take that are key to improving personal accountability:

1. Setting Clear and Attainable Goals
2. Keeping a Practice Journal

When it comes to setting goals, the best approach is to make them challenging yet small and attainable. They also need to be specific, relevant, and important to you. Setting goals this way will lead to higher performance, increased effort, and greater commitment.

Keeping a journal is the next essential part of being accountable, and it also goes hand in hand with goal setting. While it can take a little time to develop the habit of journaling, it’s well worth the effort.

Only through journaling can you track your progress, analyze how effective specific exercises are, and refine your process to maximize results. A key piece of advice is to keep idea-capturing devices nearby at all times, such as a notepad and audio recorder.

Our courses offer plenty of tips for organizing your practice journal and different metrics you can use to track and measure progress. We also dive into effective goal setting and offer examples you can use.

Get Feedback Through Coaching or Mentoring

While it may not be as common, it’s important for musicians to have a personal coach just like professional athletes do. A coach or mentor can provide valuable feedback, offer guidance, and help you spot things you may have missed.

Coaching is especially effective when it comes from someone who has already done what you’re trying to achieve yourself, understands firsthand the challenges you face, and can offer practical solutions.

A good mentor can also help you develop the right mindset and strength of character needed for success in a specific field. Also, when things get tough, your coach will be there to offer encouragement and motivate you to keep going.

Most of the musical geniuses in this world are not self-taught. Instead, they’ve had coaches offering them guidance and support throughout their careers. So, if you want to be the best you can be as quickly as possible, having a good coach or mentor is vital.

Having benefited hugely from various coaches over the years, this is one of the main reasons we set up MusicPro.Academy!