Guitar Practice FAQ

I've had a few friends ask about what I do for guitar practice.  Here my Guitar Practice FAQ.

• What websites do you use?

• Justin Guitar: The main source for self taught training I am using.
• Get Instinct: An innovative guitar lesson site that uses javascript to deliver a play along/scoring lesson.  Well worth a try.  Also handy for looking up and learning riffs.  Lots of fun can be had in the riff library.
• Justin Guitar Youtube Channel: I just subscribe and get regular updates in my email when Justin posts new vids.
• Ultimate Guitar Tabs: Well not sure I need to mention it but hey, beginners like tabs.
• Six String Recess: New but great info and tips.

• What do you practice?

• Chords
• Rhythm guitar: Strumming patterns
• Finger strength exercises: Hammer-Ons and Flick/Pull-Offs.
• Aerobics: Riff and techniques like finger picking, string bending, vibrato, etc.
• Scales
• Timing: Keeping a beat, keeping rhythm, and playing at different speeds.
• Doodling: Where I just play with chords and try applying my practice to come up with original songs.
• Songs: Songs last?  Yes, I used to practice songs more often earlier on but now I practice them less as I spend more time working on technique and doodling.

• How do you practice?
• Practice Partner
• Once a week (we miss a few) I practice with a friend.  We do some warmups like aerobics and then play songs.  We play for about 2 hours.  The partner really helps keep you motivated, allows you to practice playing with another musician, and allows you both to introduce new techniques you are learning and push each other to do better.
• I highly recommend finding a friend to play with.
• Solo Practice
• The majority of my time is spent practicing by myself.  This is where recording yourself becomes useful so you can listen back to how you are doing.

• What books do you use?

• Justinguitar.com Beginner's Course by Justin Sandercoe 
  
• Justinguitar.com Beginner's Songbook by Justin Sandercoe 
  
• Guitar Aerobics by Troy Nelson 
  

• How often do you practice?

• I try to practice daily but usually it works out to about every other day.
• Regular practice is huge to helping you improve.  You really get out of anything what you put in and that goes for guitar as well.

• For how long?
• I aim to practice for 15 minutes if I have "no time".  This lets me get in at least a little practice.  Normally this turns into about 45 mins or more.  When I am doodling or practicing songs I don't track that time and it can be hours.

• What software do you use?
• GarageBand for Mac  
• Recording your playing and then listening back is a humbling experience.  Trying to get a piece perfect the entire way through is difficult and listening to yourself will help you pick up areas to improve.  
• Listening to yourself play solo will let you hear if you are adding dynamics effectively to make your playing stand out.
• Rocksmith
• I use the Xbox 360 edition.  This is worth it for the USB guitar cable which I also use for recording with GarageBand on my Mac.  
• The game is fun and it really has helped me learn neck positioning so that I can move around the neck of the guitar faster and land frets more consistently.
• The scales practice is also out of this world for speeding up your playing.  It is a great finger workout.
• Soundcloud
• I am just getting into this and use it with my practice partner to share stuff we are working on privately.
• This is very handy for sharing music with friends of practice partners.