May 14, 2019 by Klaus Crow
Most of us lead busy lives and struggle to find time to practice. That’s why I regularly aim for short guitar workouts. These simple and easy-to-do practice sessions will get you charged and back in the saddle before you know it.
There are times when you’re really into the habit of practicing. You keep it up for days, weeks or maybe even months and then suddenly something comes in between and you have to skip a few days.
Now you pick up where you left off and get back to your guitar habit, but then another thing comes along that needs to be taken care off and again you skip a few days.
Strike number three and all your best intentions are flushed down the toilet. Weeks go by without serious practice. It almost looks like you forgot how great it felt to improve on your guitar and surrendered to daily life of getting stuff done. So it seems.
But here at Guitarhabits we don’t give up! Life is all about falling and getting back up again.
Guitar playing is a journey with a lot of hurdles and challenges, but also victories, progress and loads of fun! So you just need to get back to the fun part of playing guitar.
But to do that, let’s first get you started in a busy week where leisure seems out of the question. To be honest, I think you just need a little spark to get you all fired up again. But for those who a really caught up in a tight schedule, here’s the key to get you back on your feet again slowly and step by step.
Once the train starts moving in the right direction, it will get going, speed up and you’ll be ready for all beautiful things guitar.
The one minute is just the trigger you need. It’s so small, so doable and so powerful!
Day 1:
All you need is one minute! You can do this. Just small and easy steps. You can think fun of it, but if you haven’t played in a while or not as much as you would like to, this is what you need to get the fire burning.
Get your guitar out of the case or bag and put it in a guitar stand in the living room. That’s it!
Almost…
Now tonight when you go to bed, just before you fall to sleep, think of what you would like to practice in the upcoming 1 minute session. What chord, scale, lick, exercise will improve your chops or what song would you love to learn? Think about, memorize the answer and fall asleep with it.
Day 2:
Put your favorite song, chord(s), scale(s) or exercise(s) on a music stand.
Again, tonight when you’re off to bed, close your eyes and visualize your 1 minute practice session vividly. See yourself practicing your chord, scale, lick, exercise or song. What do you see on your music stand? How do you place your fingers on the strings? How do you strum or pick? Now fall to sleep with that image.
Day 3:
Practice time!
Practice your chord(s), scale(s), exercise(s) or first part of the song for one minute with total focus and dedication.
Tonight in bed think back on your practice session. What can you improve? Visualize your next session and fall to sleep.
Day 4:
Repeat the practice session of the previous day with total focus, passion and dedication.
Day 5:
Play a new chord, scale, exercise or another part of your favorite song for one minute. No distractions, just focus and play. Give it your all.
If you passed one minute and you’re still playing, that’s fine. Stop when you ready.
Day 6:
Repeat the practice session of the previous day with total passion and dedication.
Before you go off to sleep tonight think about what you played and what you can improve.
Day 7:
Work seriously on one weak spot for improvement. If only for one minute you will make progress. Focus!
Congratulations! You just got started with small steps. The most important step of all.
You are now mentally prepared and ready for the second week to go one step further. A full 5 minute workout. Do that for a whole week. The week after that, go for a 10 minute workout and you’ll be on a roll.
Just keep at it!
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” ~ Lao Tzu
I love this. It makes a lot of sense logically and it’s also a fun, humorous look at what it takes to be a musician!
– Maile
Thanks Maile,
Sometimes everybody needs a little push to get their act together again.
It’s the small steps that make a huge difference. No doubt about it.
Thanks for you comment. I Appreciate it.
Best regards,
Klaus Crow
Klaus,
I think you noted a very important step in the whole processes!
Put guitar in accessible place, on a stand right near practice chair. Klaus this is so important…Make it in BOLD …
Danke Schoen