Guitar Chord

How Long Should You Practice, and How do You Find Time?

Beginning students, especially adults, seem to have a lot of trouble finding time to practice. The list of excuses is very long, and I believe Ive heard almost all of them by now. Here are some tips to getting yourself into a practice routine.

• Make the time. Yes, thats right, make the time.  Like any other skill, playing guitar takes time, concentration, and commitment. A set time of the day is best, so schedule it like any other important appointment. 
• Youre too busy, really? I hear that more and more. Heres a hint: turn off the TV, close Facebook, put the computer to sleep and pick up your guitar. Just like exercise, practicing guitar will become a habit if you do it at a set time each day. 
• Any time spent practicing is better than none. We all need to practice more, me included. The question I get from parents all the time is "how much time should he/she be practicing?" The general answer is 15 minutes or more, the practical answer is as much as possible. You dont have to spend hours, but playing every day is a lot better than 3 hours one day and then none the rest of the week.
• Find a comfortable space to practice in. If at all possible, find a place where you can practice thats quiet, away from any distractions, and preferably set up as a guitar practice space. Having your guitar on a stand is a good idea, since its harder to ignore it when its right there in front of you. Invest in a decent music stand so you dont have to waste valuable time locating your music, finding a place to put it, and then finally getting started on your daily practice.

So make time for playing your guitar every day, or at least 5 days out of the 7. If youre an adult student, one of the reasons you decided to learn guitar is most likely as a way to relax and enjoy yourself. Make practicing fun, and devote some time to your playing. Even though guitar can be overwhelming in the beginning, the more you practice the easier it will become. Taking private, one on one lessons is a great way to not put pressure on yourself. Have your guitar teacher map out a plan for you and youll have no one to compete against, no set timetable, and no pressure.

The G guitar chord is a really useful guitar chord for beginners to learn.


To play this guitar chord shape, put your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the E String, your 1st finger on the 2nd fret of the A string and your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the top E string.

The G guitar chord uses the notes G, B and D. Check out other beginner guitar chords here

Right now on Amazon: Master the Guitar in 7 Days  $.099

Seriously? Wow, why the heck has it taken others so long? And were talking Mastering the guitar, not just playing it. Heres a dose of reality, its not going to happen! Yes, you can learn a 2 chord song in 7 days. Will you have it mastered? Doubtful. Is it a song youd be proud to show your friends? Hey, you guys want to jam on Skip to my Lou? Google play guitar in 7 days and youll be shocked and amazed at how many courses there are. Heres the hot tip of the day, save your money. Beginning guitar, getting better at guitar, mastering the guitar is a long term investment of time and money. If it were possible in a short time, there would be a lot more great guitar players.

OK, how long does it take?

The guitar is a very versatile instrument. Ive had students who took lessons for years, and Ive had students who were happy with knowing enough chords to strum and sing some songs. Remember, its not how long youve played, its how many hours you put in. I can tell you that it wont be a week or even a month. The big secret is that like every other worthwhile skill it takes time, dedication and practice. Getting by the total beginner stage in about 6 months is a good goal. The most important consideration is how good to you want to be?

Are these courses any good at all?

Surprisingly, Im going to say yes. I just cant imagine advertising something in that way when Im sure they all know its not going to happen. Theres good material in a lot of the lessons, theres even good stuff available for free. The problem is in making outrageous claims. Playing and learning guitar without a teacher involves lots of self discipline, the ability to decide if youre doing things correctly, and being able to not want or need any feedback. You cant ask a DVD, a CD or a book a question. Without being able to actually watch a student its very difficult to help solve problems. So, do you want to save a few bucks and be a do it yourselfer? Or, are you willing to make the sacrifice and spend the time and money to get started the right way?

Carrying on our series of 12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords you should know we move onto inversions on the middle four guitar strings. The next four chords all feature the same notes: G, B, D and F but in different inversions.


This inversion has the chords root note on the D string of the guitar (this is shown by the black box in the diagram). The previous inversions weve looked at on the top four strings have a thinner tone than these inversions on the middle four guitar strings. Those inversions can be useful for funk guitar amongst other things, these chords have a slightly fuller tone than the inversions on the top four strings.

Tune in tomorrow for the next installment of our series on 12 dominant 7th guitar chords you should know.

| Click to listen |

1. JT Bruce - Plunge Into Hyperreality
2. Andrea Puggioni - Notte Prog
3. Emerald Cave - Far From Any World
4. Progside - Inside My Robots Mind
5. PhaZer - Feat Itself


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