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What do I need?
What do I practice?That is a very important question and thank you for asking!Do you think we went through all the trouble shooting these classes for nothing? You need to practice your homework you’ll get with each lesson and review previous lessons. We’ll make it clear so that you never wonder, “What should I play today?” Sometimes playing just a few songs is actually not helpful at all. You need to understand that PRACTICING and PLAYING are two different things. When you PRACTICE you work on material that is challenging for you and that is making you a better player. When you PLAY you play what you can already play. PLAYING (by yourself or any kind of ensemble) is very good and will help you to get better but comes after PRACTICE. So if you only have 30 minutes per day you could break up your practice session as follows. The first 5 minutes work on your technique playing Scales & Chromatic Exercises with a metronome. It’s imperative that you warm up before you get on with the bulk of your practice session. Then go to your homework for the week one or two exercises per day. Learn the exercises a beat at the time, a bar at the time then put the whole thing together with the metronome until they are RIGHT. Speed is a by-product of accuracy. Always practice at a lower/comfortable speed and then when you can play it and have a conversation at the same time gradually increase the tempo. Often as the classes are packed with exercises, you will need more than a week or two to learn the material properly and that is fine. Take your time and don’t rush through the material for the sake of learning quickly. There are no short cuts and the time you invest to get the exercises just right will pay great dividends later on. Always follow the order of the classes as much as possible, especially the ZERO Courses as we introduce all the techniques gradually. If you are taking both the Rhythm & Lead Series it’s a good idea to share your practice time between the relative exercises. How long do I practice?The promise of some websites to get you playing with only few minutes a day is unrealistic. Playing an instrument requires a certain amount of dedication and commitment. It’s not necessarily how long you practice but also what you practice that makes the difference. We cover things like accelerated learning techniques, posture, psychology, difference between practicing and playing and loads more to get the most out of your practice session.We only have 24 hours in a day, so we need to get the best out of what we have! Therefore we need a proper practice routine to get fast results. Set aside a realistic amount of time during the day and try and stick to it at least 5 to 6 days a week. If 30 minutes is all you can give so be it! Less than that is going to slow down your improvement so much that you might eventually loose interest. If one day you manage to practice a little longer that’s great but don’t neglect your instrument the next day. Sometimes it helps to have always the same dedicated spot and time. Remember the rule of under achieving! “Everyday a little bit.” Don’t commit to 5 hours a day and wake up at 4:00 am to practice when you can realistically only give 30 minutes a day. You will soon burn out and get discouraged. It’s like going to gym. You don’t just start out doing 4 hours straight away. You need to give your body and mind a chance to adapt to the new routine. We will recommend at least a 45 minutes to an hour a day to get ahead fast enough without getting bored of playing the same piece for too long. In the member’s area there are loads more tips and learning aids to assist you on the new journey. Remember a journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step.
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