Practice Archives - GUITARHABITS

Cool Acoustic Electric Blues Guitar Lick

July 4, 2019 By Klaus Crow 2 Comments

Today we’re going to learn a nice and smooth acoustic/electric blues guitar lick that you can add to your guitar licks vocabulary and use freely in your soloing and improvisation.

Blues licks are small soloing ideas that you can use and learn from. They are designed to expand and upscale your soloing skills. The licks are used in blues music but also in rock, country, jazz and other styles of music. The licks and styles are all intertwined.

I used to collect licks from every where and anyone. I always bought all the guitar magazines and videos there were available at the time and learn all the licks I could find. It was all about the cool licks. It was the fast way to learn and incorporate all the cool chops and techniques into my playing. Even now, I’m still looking.

You can play the blues lick in the video over an A7 chord, over an A7 Blues progression or blues shuffle. You can also transpose the lick to any key you like by moving the entire lick up or down the fretboard.

Enjoy!

How to Create Unshakable Guitar Habits

June 13, 2019 By Klaus Crow 6 Comments

Guitar habits, we want them, we need them, and we have to give them a place into our daily lives in order to reap the rewards of our efforts, to discover the boundless possibilities on the guitar neck, to learn the endless shapes and sounds and fulfil our vocation to the musicians life.

Guitar habits give you purpose, structure, growth and fulfilment. Its the habit that changes your life instantly, Its all about the process. You have to learn to enjoy not just the beauty and victory of your practice efforts, but also the struggle of the challenge you face. You have to enjoy the practice itself. Cultivate pleasantness in finding your way to make the guitar sound the way you want it. Be mindful, calm and focused on tiny improvements. It’s all about the tiny improvements that add up and move you towards an accomplished guitar player.

The Guitar habit sticks when not the goal but the proces has become your greatest friend. When you find a way to enjoy the process to the fullest, and learn to love and appreciate every aspect that comes your way you have created a friend for life. A beautiful, deeply embedded, musical and rewarding friend. The guitar habit.

How to Apply Kaizen to Guitar

February 10, 2019 By Klaus Crow 9 Comments

The word “Kaizen” is a combination of the words “kai” (change) en “zen” (for better), which makes “change for better”. The philosophy behind it is all about the act of continuous improvement.

The term originally comes from the book Kaizen by Masaaki Imai, through which Kaizen was first introduced to the western world.

Kaizen is widely known as a systematic approach for business improvement, but it actually refers to any improvement, one-time or continuous, large or small in all areas of life.

So yes, it can also be applied to guitar practice, to hone, improve, and perfect our skill continuously every day.

The improvement isn’t necessarily focused on large scale changes, and huge wins, but more on smaller, incremental and immediate changes.

So, instead of thinking how to make a big, giant step towards becoming a brilliant guitar player, and start buying expensive guitars, equipment, and executing an extensive practice regimen, you focus on the smallest improvements you can make in your guitar playing right now.

A continuous process that is less intimidating, doable, long lasting and definitely adding up.

The New Guitar Regimen: Feel Great, Superfit and Improve Your Playing Faster

December 5, 2018 By Klaus Crow 10 Comments

To improve your guitar playing you have to practice regularly. That’s a no-brainer. To make sure you actually do that you must have time, motivation, energy and focus.

Time is one thing (if that is not enough), but motivation, energy and focus are equally important and really need to be in place to make your guitar regimen rock solid.

For some this may look unattainable, but it can be done.

Let’s take a look at the key ingredients to make this work:

Prepare
Yes, prepare, prepare, prepare!
1 – Write down in your calendar at what days, what times and for how long you’re going to practice (30 or 60 min).
2 – Schedule another 30 min extra time before practice (I’ll explain in a minute).
3 – Inform family and friends your practice time is sacred and they can’t disturb you while you’re at it.
4 – Find or create a quiet and private practice space, where nobody will find you :)
5 – Set up your equipment, your guitar(s), sheet music, and necessary tools (pick,capo,tuners,etc.) the day before practice, so you are ready to roll.
6 – Make sure nothing comes in between you and your practice regimen. Make it so.

Table of Contents
Next, write out the table of contents for your practice workout. How are you going to spend those valuable 30 to 60 minutes of full blown practice?

Make sure it contains everything you love to play and things that drive you to get better and better. Choose, print and write down the scales, licks, exercises, chords, progressions and solos you want to work on. Get your nice blues jamtracks ready for improvisation, find some ear training exercises, and music theory to study, and above all, select the songs you love to play.
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