'BIG 3' SECRETS OF GUITAR PRACTICE - PT.2/3 (Focus)

2. DETERMINE THE LEVEL OF YOUR FOCUS, THEN MAXIMIZE

Let’s face it, too many distractions exist in our world today, from the internet, to the television, the neighbor’s barking dog, up to the pretty girl next door, and our practice sessions are no exemption to their blows.

We have at the advent of multi-tasking generation and all we can do is adapt to our environment and determine when we can let our mind fly over the next-door fence or keep it leashed in our cranium, and still be able to practice in whichever scenario we find ourselves into. I call these the:

‘Levels Of Guitar Practice Focus’

a) Mechanical Multi-Tasker – this is the level of least focus where you hold your guitar while doing another thing like watching DEXTER on TV, noodling around youtube, watching over grill, or having casual conversation in a group, etc. You can exploit this level for the low-concentration demand part of your practice routine like warm up finger/strum exercises BUT ONLY if you have already taught yourself how to do them properly. USE WITH CAUTION because you don’t want to be programming improper things to the muscle memory of your fingers, or better yet avoid if possible.

b) WAYWARD WANDERER – this is the middle-ground level of focus where, during practice sessions, your mind gets the impulse to float to another town, thinking what to eat for dinner or what to wear for the party, even what your crush thinks about you, etc. and then you get a net and catch your brain back to the ground, and after a few minutes, the impulse comes back and the cycle continues.

Think of this level as a game, you get better and better when you become more aware that this scenario happens and you are able to choose to hold your brain in the practice ground for longer periods of time. You can still practice some finger/strum exercises along with songs or licks that you are already able to play PROPERLY that only needs a little recalling. The better you get at this level, the closer you are to getting to the next level.

c) FOCUS GROUNDED MASTER – as the name implies, this is the level that could give you the most benefit but also requires more concentration and intense focus. You use all of your possible senses in your practice session like watching proper finger positions, listening to fluid sound on chord changes, singing with your scales to develop a good ear, feeling the changes when your fingers touch the strings, being one with the metronome or drum machine.

You think of nothing but the NOW of practicing. You become mindful of your relaxation until it becomes a second nature. You can always be in control of this level, the first step is as simple as AWARENESS – when you stray, just choose to go back… always go back, over and over again. Mastery is a product of repetition. This is where you want to be!

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'BIG 3' SECRETS OF GUITAR PRACTICE - PT.2/3 (Focus)