Including a couple of guitar lessons I wish someone told me earlier.
So here’s the situation: you’ve been noodling around with the guitar for a few years. You know your chords, you can read a tab, maybe even a little sheet music if you squint hard enough. You love the instrument. You don’t suck. But also—you’re stuck.
That familiar cycle of “play a little, get discouraged, take a break, come back, feel rusty, get discouraged again” is a rite of passage for almost everyone. It’s not laziness. It’s usually just… bad practice habits. Or more accurately, not knowing what practicing actually is.
1. Practicing ≠ Playing
One of the biggest guitar lessons I learned the hard way: playing and practicing are not the same thing.
Jamming out to your favorite riff, improvising over a backing track, or trying to nail that Slash solo—that’s all fun, it’s valuable, but it’s not structured practice.
Structured practice means sitting down with a clear goal. Not a vibe. Not a “let’s see what happens.” But a decision. Today I’m going to work on alternate picking at 100 BPM. Today I’m going to learn the first eight bars of that solo and play it cleanly with no slop. That kind of thing.
You don’t need to do that for three hours. But you do need to do it on purpose.
Why are you still reading this article? Go practice.
2. Make Your Practice Bite-Sized
One of the most common traps is setting unrealistic expectations. Practicing for 90 minutes straight sounds noble, but usually just leads to frustration or burnout.
Instead, break it down into manageable chunks. 20–30 minute sessions are ideal. You’ll stay more focused, and your brain won’t start checking out halfway through. Stack a couple of these throughout the day if you want to put in more time. And if you can’t? One focused 20-minute session beats two hours of distracted noodling every time.
Example structure:
- 5 min: warm-up (spider exercise, finger stretches, basic picking pattern)
- 10 min: skill focus (alternate picking, barre chord transitions, sweep picking, whatever you suck at)
- 5–10 min: apply it (use that skill in a riff, solo, or improv session)
Keep it tight. Keep it focused.
Reading articles on practice isn’t practice. Go practice now.
3. Practice the Stuff You Actually Want to Use
There’s a difference between studying theory to unlock creativity and drowning in theory because you think it’ll make you “a real musician.”
You don’t have to learn the Melodic Minor scale if all you want to do is play stoner rock riffs. You don’t need to read sheet music if you’re never going to use it. Start with what you love. Use that to guide your practice.
Do you want to play solos like Slash? Then learn his solos slowly, pick them apart, figure out the scales he uses, and build technique around that. Don’t waste time running modes you’ll never use. Unless you want to. In which case, go nuts.
The hardest thing is to start, DO IT NOW! Go practice.
4. Set Micro-Goals (And Track Them)
Nothing kills momentum like feeling like you’re going nowhere.
Set small, specific goals. Not “get better at guitar,” but “cleanly switch between F and Bm without looking.” Not “learn solo,” but “learn first 4 bars of solo at 60 BPM.”
Track your progress—literally. Write it down. Use a notebook or app. You’ll start seeing real, tangible improvement. That’s motivating. That’s fuel.
Recognize you are procrastinating: go practice.
Guitar Lesson: Progress Feels Like Plateau
This one’s personal: I used to think I wasn’t getting better because I wasn’t learning new songs every week. But the truth is, improvement is rarely obvious while it’s happening.
You’re tightening up your bends. Your rhythm is getting steadier. Your brain is actually learning—even when it feels like you’re just spinning wheels. Record yourself playing something simple once a week and come back to it a month later. You’ll hear the difference.
This article is an Ai generated bunch of rubbish, you should be practicing.
6. Repetition Without Mindlessness
Repetition is great—if you’re repeating with awareness. Don’t mindlessly blast through the same mistakes. Slow it down. Focus. Pay attention to the angle of your pick, the tension in your hand, the placement of your fingers.
Use a metronome. Record yourself. Listen back. Be honest. That’s how you clean up your playing and actually learn something.
The best time to practice is now: so go practice.
7. Mix in Some Play
After practice, give yourself time to just play. No metronome, no goals, no judgment. Jam. Improvise. Try to write something. Or just screw around.
This is how you fall in love with your instrument again and again. Practicing makes you better. Playing keeps you going.
Time to practice.
8. Get Real About Consistency
You can’t cram the guitar the way you cram for a test. Skills take time. Progress is slow, even invisible, until it suddenly clicks. That’s normal.
You’ll suck until you don’t.
So instead of relying on motivation, rely on routine. Build a daily practice habit, even if it’s just 15 minutes. Show up. Chip away. Trust the process.
If you like this article more than practice, quit playing guitar. Go practice.
9. Bonus: Record Yourself
One of the best things you can do is hit “record.” It doesn’t have to be fancy—your phone is fine.
Recording shows you what your ears miss in the moment. It humbles you, but it also shows progress over time. It’s the most brutally honest teacher you’ll ever have.
Plus, hearing yourself get better is addictive.
So, go practice.
Final Thoughts
There’s no “perfect” way to practice. There’s just what works for you. But if you want to stick with guitar and actually improve without burning out, you need structure, clarity, and patience.
Practice doesn’t mean endless scale drills or suffering through theory you don’t care about. It means being intentional. It means showing up. It means pushing the edge of your ability just far enough that it stretches—but doesn’t snap.
Most of all, it means not quitting. Not when it sucks. Not when you’re discouraged. Not when it feels pointless.
Because one day you’ll look back and realize: you’re doing the things you thought you couldn’t.
That’s the point.
Now, can you please go practice ??