Practice: a method of learning through repetition

Practice is like brushing your teeth… best done every day! Without daily practice, progress is likely to be very minimal.
Frequency over duration!!!
But there is a standard of how long one should practice – and this will depend on how long you’ve been learning the guitar. For the beginner two minutes a day will start to develop a non-threatening habit that can be extended as they have learnt more on the instrument to something like; AMEB Preliminary Level = 10mins a day, AMEB Grade One = 15mins, AMEB Grade 2 = 20mins and so on going up in 5min intervals.
How did your practice go this week?
It is my job to encourage every day practice, but I know that in the real world this is unlikely to happen for anyone. Things get busy at home – and students need to develop the self-discipline to commit to a regular practice routine. It often falls on the parents and caregivers to help set up the routine. I tend to count the practice days in the week to define the level of practice:
6-7 days is excellent practice
3-5 days is ok(ish) practice
0-2 days is no practice…yes, I see similar results from students who practice on Sunday for an hour as those that don’t touch the instrument between lessons.
I’m so sorry – I didn’t practice this week
There’ll be weeks where the practice drops off dramatically, for example camp, exam period, sickness, family things etc. etc. These do not inhibit the progress of a student who usually practices 6-7 days a week. The opposite is true too… one excellent week of practice for a student who generally doesn’t practice isn’t going to help a student catch up. Playing guitar is like a fitness and builds up over time.
Structure of a good Practice session
First let’s be clear what practice is. Practice means repetition, particularly on the hard bits – you know these bits because secretly you say “I hate that bit”. Practice is not simply playing through the song you’re working on…. That is Playing the guitar – and yes that’s more fun! Balance Practice and Play in your session. Divide your session into three parts;
1)    Technical Warm-Up. A scale, exercise, arpeggio or study.

2)    New Song. Practice time. Find the hard bits and play through each bit slowly and carefully 5 times each, then play through the whole song.

3)    Revision. Play time. We build our ability through our old songs in music. Play through your favourite songs, at least two.
WHAT DOES A GOOD PRACTICE SPACE LOOK LIKE?
We need to set up a good practice space to encourage good habits – mostly around posture but also to help students to want to practice. For posture and technique; sitting on the couch or end of the bed reading music on the floor or flat on a surface (chair?) will mean posture will slouch and the hand positions collapse. There is a ‘sweet’ spot for the hands to be in, and slouching makes it hard to find. So a good practice space includes;
  • A chair with no arms, 
  • Footstool, 
  • Music stand,
  • Pencil & eraser,
  • Guitar Stand. 
Semi-permanently placed in a nice spot for convenience will help the practice and progress long-term. ​​​
MY CHILD WON’T PRACTICE, WHAT DO I DO?
Welcome to the club, this is kinda normal. I often think of the analogy; three of us are in a boat. I, the teacher am at the back steering the boat. The child is at the front enjoying the view and it is the parent in the middle doing the rowing – all the hard work. It is a very exceptional child that is born with the long-term resilience to put in place a regular quality practice routine by themselves. They almost always need help. This may be for years, but this is a gift you are giving to your child for their adult years – I’ve lost count of how many adults say something like “I wish I had learnt music as a kid” or “I wish I hadn’t given guitar away so easily”. This is the best time in their lives to learn music – their only real job in life now is to learn! But with the prospect of years of parental support, we need something sustainable. Some ideas (to work together with);
  • Bribery. You know your child best, but make them work for it. E.g. for 7 days consecutive practice = a special meal. 
  • For the very young, sit with them and point to notes to play. Run them through the comments I’ve made in their Music Record Book. Because practice can feel isolated and like punishment until we get some momentum going.
  • Bribery. Get an A in the exam = a newer guitar.
  • Leave the guitar out of the case, and the music set up during the week so it is easy to pick up and get straight into it.
  • Bribery. Four weeks of excellent practice = a special event (Sleepover? Concert? Favourite sporting team?).
  • Sneak in practice between other subjects during homework. Maybe 30mins of maths then 3mins of guitar, 20mins of writing, 3mins guitar, 20mins of… etc.
  • Bribery. Join the ensemble = pocket money.
  • Little home concert to grandparents? Nothing like a performance to focus the practice.
  • Bribery… a certain x-box game
  • Set the expectation for practice before screen-time, or TV. This means removing other distractions to make it fair.
  • Bribery…
I AM NO MUSICIAN; HOW CAN I SUPPORT MY CHILD’S MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT?
Great question! You don’t have to be a musician to help your child learn guitar. Once they gain some momentum they can become more independent, but at the outset they need help. Some ideas to help support them:
  • Sit with them as they practice. This is great because:
    • It helps you to realise that 2-5mins at the start is more sustainable than 30+ minutes. It can raise the question of How Much Practice should we be doing?
    • It makes it social for them, and can help build quality time together… as long as it stays positive and not dissolve into arguments. 
    • I make notes of the lesson in the Music Record Book. You can use these to help the practice remain high quality. Young students will avoid the ‘challenging’ and ‘annoying’ bits… like good sitting posture, hand positions, the new ‘hard’ song for example. Of course, we need the fun parts too, but incorporating these other bits can help build steady progress long-term, because these things get less challenging and annoying. Then they learn resilience and courage to undertake the next challenging and annoying bits.
    • Get them to “show me what this means” from the Music Record Book.
  • Learn with them! Not always possible, but them seeing you struggle and push through is a great example for them to follow, and puts their struggle into context.
  • Come to the Lesson occasionally. Ok, during the pandemic this isn’t possible (unless we are on zoom), and we all work. But the invitation to the lesson is always open for parents. I run lessons how the practice session should be. Observing this will demonstrate the three parts to the lesson and thus the practice:
    • Warm Up… often neglected.
    • New Song/technique… often forgotten.
    • Old songs, because we build musical ability through old songs… the part of the session most students will skip to and ‘forget’ the rest.
  • Mix things up occasionally: 
    • Maybe split the practice sessions into two shorter ones?
    • Incorporate the practice in between different homework subjects. E.g. 30mins of Maths, 2mins of Guitar, 30mins of literacy, 2mins Guitar…
  • Encourage the ensemble.
  • Encourage performances – both internal in their school and external ones (age appropriate).
    • Reward this! Make it a positive thing. Performing is terrifying, and nearly everyone focuses on ‘how bad they played’, and everyone will ‘fall apart’ on stage. Focus on the positive, maybe have a ‘hot chocolate’ after to build a positive association… bribery?
  • Encourage the exam process (with bribery?)…
  • Think about other musical activities that help develop a well-rounded musician. Because we are musicians first and guitarists second.
  • Think about other musical activities that help develop a well-rounded musician. Because we are musicians first and guitarists second.
Last updated January 2023