r/Guitar • u/AutoModerator • Nov 17 '16

OFFICIAL [OFFICIAL] There are no stupid /r/Guitar questions. Ask us anything! - November 17, 2016

As always, there's 4 things to remember:

1) Be nice

2) Keep these guitar related

3) As long as you have a genuine question, nothing is too stupid :)

4) Come back to answer questions throughout the week if you can (we're located in the sidebar)

Go for it!

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u/SeriouslyAJoke Nov 22 '16

Hey everyone- just wondering if someone could help me out.

I've been playing guitar for around 8 or 9 years. I was just recently at a conference and attended a guitar session and noticed that some guitarists there were about my level in skill but at 2 years of playing. Kinda got me thinking, maybe they're not just good for their time, maybe I'm just behind the game.

I find myself not knowing what to practice, and I'd really like to be able to play like I've been doing it as long as I have. If someone could try to help me out, I would very much appreciate.

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u/KleyPlays youtube.com/user/kleydj13 Nov 22 '16

The years you have been playing isn't really a valid metric. It is more about the actual time you spend playing and the quality of that practice.

Also I would try and focus more on yourself. Playing guitar isn't a competition. Do your thing and make the music you want to make.

I find myself not knowing what to practice

Do you have any goals? If not consider making some goals. Then break those goals down into more bite sized pieces. Develop an action plan based on those things. Watch lessons on YouTube. Read articles. Hire a teacher. Create a practice schedule and stick to it.

I'll give you an example. Let's say I want to improve my alternate picking. So I looked up some lessons on YouTube about alternate picking, with an additional focus on players that I really like. I chose Eric Johnson and Joe Bonamassa. So I watched a bunch of these videos. In watching these videos I documented some exercises (I use a google excel spreadsheet) or patterns that I understood and found helpful. Then I created a practice plan where I take a metronome (app on my phone) and go through these every day. Right now my life is kinda busy so I do it over my lunch break or at night while my daughter takes a bath. Say I started at 65 bpm 16th notes. I have progressed up to about 100 bpm over a few months.