practice Archives - GUITARHABITS

How to Apply Kaizen to Guitar

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.

How to Get Your Guitar Playing Back in The Saddle

By Klaus Crow 8 Comments

There are times when life gets in the way of playing, and practicing is falling short. Real short. Like zero activity.

Don’t worry, that can happen. There’s no reason to panic.
Yet.

The trouble really starts when more and more time passes and your guitar is getting from dusty to rusty. That’s when the alarm bells need to go off.

At this time your mind is creating it’s own illogical explanation for not getting behind the instrument.

It’s going to rationalize your absence of regular woodshedding. You will start telling yourself these stories like, “I’m always late from work”, “I’m just too old for this”, “My fingers are getting sore or stiff”, “I have my kids to take care of”, “I just don’t have what it takes”, or “I’m just too tired”. There are a zillion of those you can come up with.

Just stop making those up! They are all worthless excuses. Don’t believe them for a second. They are things you choose to tell yourself, but they are not real.

They are lies that crawl up because you don’t play. You got to play to get back in the groove!

Here’s what you got to do:Continue Reading

The Intermediate Path to Learning Guitar

By Klaus Crow 7 Comments

After a considerable period of time and regular guitar practice you will pass the stage of the beginner and move up to a more intermediate guitar level. You’ve acquired all the basic skills and you’re looking forward to take things to the next step. But what does that actually mean, intermediate level? What should you be practicing now to take it even further?

A lot of guitar players start out all excited in the beginning. They learn how to play songs, fingerstyle, some riffs and solos, but then lack the persistence to follow through. They lean back in their comfort zone, practice less and improvement becomes meager. The basics are solid, but it becomes difficult to maintain the same eagerness and passion to grow into an even better guitar player.

So how do you go from the beginner path to the intermediate path and keep walking? How do you keep that same spirit and pace of improvement to get to the next level? Well today, we’re showing you the intermediate path of learning guitar. The path of progress and becoming the guitar player you set out to be.

Here are the keys:

Level up your chords

Work on learning, memorizing and applying new chords. Learn slash chords to create smooth transitions between chords. Work on a vocabulary of jazz chords that are also often used in pop, rock and blues music like Maj7, Maj6, mMaj7, Min6, m7b5 and dim7 chords.

Apply the chords to songs and keep using them so they are fully integrated into your playing. Learn the chords you already know and new chord types in different positions on the neck to become more versatile and free in your playing.

How To Enjoy Your Guitar Practice The Most

By Klaus Crow Leave a Comment

There are times when practicing is a joy and everything falls into place, but there are also times we need to discipline ourselves to practice or we need the right motivation to start practicing in the first place. This is normal, we are only human beings. Don’t beat yourself up about it.

Once you’ve gone through a couple of solid guitar practice sessions you’re back in the saddle and you’ll feel the love and desire again to practice and improve yourself.

Today we’re going to give you the tools to make practicing enjoyable again when the going gets tough.

Let’s dive in!

1 – Reward yourself, set a fixed time
You’re a guitar player now so you need a fixed time to practice. Plan 30 or 60 minutes on your calendar (and don’t let anything undermine that). You don’t always have to plan a full hour, but if you can manage to do that once or twice a week you will really get into the groove.

Having set a fixed time means you have prioritised your practice and given yourself a chance to really enjoy playing your guitar. You deserve it. Don’t let the trivialities of life stand in the way. Reward yourself, you only live once!

2 – Get excited again
Why did you want to learn to play guitar in the first place? What is it that intrigued you about guitar playing? When did or do you love practicing the most? What song, solo, riff, guitar hero or dream goal makes you want to pick up your guitar? What can you do to make guitar playing exciting again? Find your spark in practice and implement it!
Continue Reading