If you are just starting out as a musician or even consider yourself to be an advanced player, you may be asking yourself: what should I be practicing? There are so many components to learning an instrument like the guitar that you might begin to feel like you are just going over the same concepts over and over again if you do not progress in certain topics. Finding the right things to practice will not only increase your skills and knowledge of concepts, it will also keep you motivated to continue practicing on a daily basis. If you are just starting out as a musician or even consider yourself to be an advanced player, you may be asking yourself: what should I be practicing? There are so many components to learning an instrument like the guitar that you might begin to feel like you are just going over the same concepts over and over again if you do not progress in certain topics. Finding the right things to practice will not only increase your skills and knowledge of concepts, it will also keep you motivated to continue practicing on a daily basis.
CHORDS AND PROGRESSIONS:
Guitar chords are one of the fundamental aspects of learning the instrument and expanding your capabilities along the neck. That is why practicing and being able to play basic chord shapes is incredibly important in setting a foundation for your guitar playing. Practicing these chords over and over again and eventually mastering them will eventually allow you to transition to learning and practicing the endless number of chord variations that are out there. Having the capability to know the various chord shapes will also lead you to get better at playing chord progressions, which is essential for playing and writing songs. This is just one example of how different facets of practicing the guitar can blend into one another.
SCALES:
Guitar scales are also one of the most crucial things for guitar players to be practicing during their practice time. Although there are many different scales to learn, practice and work with, they are key to becoming a better soloist and will even improve your understanding of music theory. If you are a beginner, the minor pentatonic scale is a great scale to start with if you are just getting into soloing over songs or chord progressions. In addition to getting better at soloing, practicing guitar scales will also help with finger technique, rhythm, hand strength and finding patterns within different styles of music. If you find yourself wondering what you should be practicing as a guitar player, it could be very beneficial to start with chords, progressions and scales. From there, you can start to branch out and learn more about a fantastic instrument.