If you make it a point to practice every day for two weeks, you will find that it becomes a regular part of your day, like waking up every morning.

At this point, your hands, your ears and your brain are always primed to move forward.

It’s hard to sound good, no matter how much you're practicing, if your guitar is out of tune.

Tune up before every practice. Even if you just tuned last night, check tuning again. Doing so will keep you from having to stop in the middle of practice to check tuning. Plus, tuning primes your ear for the practice session.

Say it with me…

“My metronome is my friend” !

Don’t giggle, it’s true. If you are not practicing with some type of time keeping device (metronome, drum machine, backing tracks) you have no way of knowing if you are really locked into the tempo or floating in and out of the time.

The metronome will keep you real honest in this regard. Get a metronome, learn how to use it and let that little guy click away every practice session!

Running scales all day, picking technical drills until you’re blue, practicing chord changes over and over and over….

You’ve been there. Putting it like that, playing guitar sounds like drudgery. It is all about making music right?

- So, once you can play that scale, improvise with it (keep that metronome on though). See if you can make a short 4-10 note phrase that sounds like something you would hear in a solo.

- On those picking exercises, change the rhythm and grouping of the notes to see if you can make the exercise sound like a riff or a lick.

- When you get those two chords clean, make the right hand work and put a cool rhythm to your changes.

Even if you’re working on your basic foundation skills, take time to make them sound musical. It’s fun and will carry over to your playing when you play songs.

Going from 0 – 60 mph in 6 seconds puts stress on a cars engine…

Going from not playing the guitar to trying to play 32^nd note triplets in a solo puts stress on your hands – and probably sounds crappy also!

Before you jump into practice, pick some notes, play a few licks, improvise a slow blues solo. Do anything to “wake” your fingers up and get them ready to work.

For those of you that work out, you probably warm up before getting on the treadmill and punching 10 mph. Same with your guitar playing, take 5 minutes to warm up with some light playing and then get to work!

p.s. watch out for the dreaded “noodling” disease. This is where you start playing your licks to warm up and the next thing you know, you’ve noodled for an hour and have run out of practice time. Yes, noodling is fun, but stay off the noodle kids!

Be focused when you practice. Loss of attention or focus will hamper your results over time.

When you sit down to practice, have the mindset of “It’s time to work and get better”. Realize that the time you put in right now is moving you closer to your goal.

Once you’ve been practicing, it is inevitable that your mind will start to wander, all of us have the same problem. Work on brining your mind back to the task at hand. This is a skill that will improve the more you do it. If you can’t seem to get your mind back on track, take a quick break, get something to drink, stretch, but come back to work with the right mindset “I’m working now – I’m becoming a better player”.

When practicing, practice correctly.

- Thumb behind the neck to help keep your wrist and forearm straight. Use the thumb over the neck only when you need to mute the E string or fret a note for a chord.

- Wear a strap, even when sitting, to let the strap hold the weight of the guitar for you. Doing so means less wrestling with the guitar by constantly adjusting it as you move around

- When sitting, sit up straight, on your tailbone, both feet on the floor. When standing, don’t wear the guitar around your knees. (you can do that at the gig). Keep the neck at an angle that keeps your wrist and forearm straight.

Practicing correctly will reduce fatigue brought on by slouching, slumping, etc. Plus, if you practice hours a day, you will also reduce the chances of getting Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Your ear is one of the most important tools you need to become a competent musician. Your ear is what guides you when you learn songs from CD’s (or mp3’s for all you youngsters) and helps you get the music you have in your head out to your guitar.

Start easy, pick out a simple tune like happy birthday, twinkle twinkle little star, etc. From there, move on to more difficult (but still not too hard) songs like a slow blues or a 3-chord rock song.

For more information on ear training, check out my blog article “ Learning Songs by Ear”.

As much as you may not believe it, there are bands out there besides Green Day, 30 Seconds to Mars and MCR!

Some of the coolest music has come about through the marriage of different styles. For example, put a cup of punk, a dash of reggae and just a splash of pop together and you have a little band called the Police – ever heard of them?

Listen to different styles: blues, rock, punk, jazz, country, bluegrass, and funk. See if you can pull something out of those styles like right hand rhythms, lead lines, motifs, etc. and put it in your own playing.

Playing with others is the “super vitamin” of improvement!

You can lock yourself away in your room practicing that AC/DC lead until you’re blue in the face, but nothing will take you to the next level like performing with others.

When you play with others, you get an honest assessment of where your strengths and weaknesses are. Your time, your chops, your creativity, your ear, you name it – you will leave the performance knowing exactly what you need to work on when you get home.

Now, you have to act upon this newfound knowledge. If your chops were the best thing you had going, and your time was your worst, modify your practice routine to focus more on time and less on chops.

A side benefit is that playing with others is fun. You can learn from them (cough cough – steal their licks – cough cough) or hook up with them to form the next super group (remember to send me free CD’s and concert tickets!).

How do you find other musicians to play with? Find local jam sessions, if you have friends that play, invite them over to play. Go to your local music store and check out their bulletin board to see if anyone is looking for other musicians to play with. Just get out of your practice room and find someone to play with!

Playing music is fun. Even when you’re practicing, it’s not like you have to dig a ditch or move cinder blocks … you’re playing music!!!

If you’re not having fun, take a step back and ask yourself why. Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? Are you feeling frustrated because you feel like you’re not improving?

Whatever the cause, do something fun. Forget about improving for a while and just rock. Play your favorites songs, write a new song, stand in front of the mirror with your guitar and look like a Rock Star!!!! Do anything that will rekindle the fire you had when you first started playing. When the fire is lit, then go back to work to take your playing to the next level.

In closing – making music is one of the greatest things to do. The better the music sound, the more you do it. The more you do it, the better the music sounds. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle. Have fun, work hard and love every minute of it!!!