How often should one practice to become good at guitar?

Answer 1

Practicing is essential. Playing guitar isn't just something you know; it's something you do! When I was just starting I practiced 30-60 minutes everyday. The more I played, the better playing felt, and after several years I was playing 2-3 hours a day. To play well you need to train and condition your fingers, your ears, and your brain. To do that you need to spend time with your instrument.

Many of my students have trouble practicing a lot, because they don't know what to do. They run through their song a few times and then wonder, "What now?" I solve this problem by dividing big projects into smaller projects. If, for instance, I'm working on a classical piece, I will divide it into small sections. I'll spend 15-20 working on different hard bits. Often the parts that I'm polishing are just a measure long. I'll play the difficult part slowly with my metronome. It is important to practice at slow speeds where even the difficult parts can be played with relaxed hands.

If I am working on a new jazz tune I will usually spend 15 minutes playing the melody, 15 minutes and the chords, 15 minutes on scales related to the tune, 15 minutes on improvising over the tune or small parts of the tune. I might also spend time playing the tune in different keys, or identifying other things I'd like to try.

Dividing big projects into smaller, very specific tasks will help you identify techniques that you want to work on. This will make your progress more rapid. This is much more effective than just banging around on the guitar to see what happens, but I do that a lot as well. It's fun.

Answer 2

It might be worth asking yourself what you mean by "good at guitar." When you picture a "good" guitarist, what do you see? Maybe you see one of the greats, like Jimi Hendrix or Julian Bream. Or maybe you see yourself doing something in particular on the guitar. Do you see yourself shredding? Fingerpicking with a bluegrass band? Accompanying a jazz saxophonist? Try to define what you're aiming at in the most specific terms you can, and write it down. Just as an archer benefits from looking at her target before she pulls, a musician benefits from clarifying his aims before he practices.

The previous posters have given some good pointers on how long and how often to practice. I'd add that it helps to take into account whatever you have going on in your life, aside from the guitar. Be honest with yourself and make a plan you can actually stick to. If you happen to have a lot of responsibilities at the moment and can only afford to practice fifteen minutes a day, practice fifteen minutes a day. If you miss a day, don't get discouraged. Just resume your routine the following day. The progress may be so gradual you hardly notice it, but I promise that if you stay consistent about it for a number of years you'll get to where you want to be.

Answer 3

I believe you should practice every day. Even if you are tired or don't have much time one day, try to practice for at least 10 minutes. Even that small amount of time consistently done will show a lot of progress, especially if you're a beginner. If you want to be a more serious player, you should at least practice for 30 minutes to an hour daily. If you do want to take a day off here and there, that's okay and can be good if there is something that's been specifically difficult for you, but be careful that you don't take advantage of that.

Answer 4

If you know basic guitar, 20 minutes a day will keep you from losing any ability. If you want to get better, play more. If you want to get better faster, play a lot more. If you want to really improve, play with other musicians.

Answer 5

It depends on how fast you want to get good at playing and how passionate you are. I'd say you should practice for 20 mins or more and maybe take a day off. In my experience, I've always hated when my guitar teacher told me to play every day. It made me not want to do it and kept me unmotivated from trying new things on my guitar. I don't think there is such a thing as a "good guitar player." I have been playing guitar for 14 years now, and I'm still learning! The point is, if you are trying to become known for your guitar skills, you need to be in it for the long game. More importantly, it needs to be something you love to do. If you're up there on stage and are not having any fun, the audience can sense it. Make sure it's what you want before you commit to it.

Answer 6

I compare practicing to dieting. One approach is practice whenever you can, as long as you can, as often as you can. Just like how some people will eat 5 small meals a day to boost their metabolism.

But in my experience, both in music and dieting, I see a complete different approach that has also given me huge results. In dieting, there instead of eating little meals often, you eat one huge meal a day, either when you really feel hungry or on a schedule like only breakfast or dinner. This is called intermittent fasting or IM. In my practice, I have noticed where I would train hard for a period of time, say a week or three months. Then the next week or three months, just stop and get away from the guitar. Whenever I come back to practicing, though I may be a little rusty the first hour or two, but I usually pick up easy from where I left off. To add, I feel a new gush of inspiration, either to learn or create. I can only speculate why this works for me in my music practice, but this approach fits my current lifestyle and I almost don't have an option. I can't practice very regularly for a year or two straight.

Answer 7

One must practice every day for at least half an hour, better yet, three hours or more. Segovia, well into his seventies, still practiced for eight hours a day, and he was a master. Many guitarists strap on the guitar upon waking, and don't take it off until they go to sleep. Buddy Guy for awhile slept with his guitar. When he heard something he liked on the radio, he would figure it out on his guitar while in bed.

To become good, practice a little bit every day. To become great, practice all the time.