I’ve been a guitarist in a live band for 27 years now. I started playing guitar 29 years ago so people often ask me how they can improve their guitar skills. The answer is so simple that it catches them by surprise as soon as I tell them.

You will become a better guitar player simply by practicing. That’s right, you must practice your guitar on a regular schedule to become a better guitar player. It sounds simple but so many guitarists fail to have a regular practice schedule.

Setting up a practice schedule is as easy as deciding on a convenient time for you to sit down and practice your guitar. Then make sure you block out that time every day just for guitar practicing. You almost have to have a religious conviction to your practice time in order to keep that time set aside only for practicing.

After you have a practice time set aside every day, you need to set up a comfortable and convenient practice area. Preferably you’ll have your own room where you can set up a practice studio. You don’t need a lot of space, just enough for you, your instrument and some practice aids.

Guitarists should have a good chair that doesn’t have armrests. Armrests on chairs just get in the way of you handling your guitar. You’ll also want to have a good metronome and a music stand. Make sure you have some way to listen to the music you are trying to learn. A computer or portable music player with speakers is very handy.

After you have your practice space set up, make a list of everything you want to practice. Have a list of songs you want to learn that you will be playing in your live band. You should also have tablature or notation for the musical scales you want to learn. Having a list of goals for your practice sessions will really help you along the way.

You must also have a structured routine for your practice sessions. A standard practice session consists of a warm-up period, a learning period and a fun period. So start with some basic warm-up scales then work on new songs or scales. Finally, just jam along with your favorite songs or backing tracks.

The most important thing to remember is that practicing your guitar is really playing your guitar. Playing your guitar is fun so when you play your guitar while practicing, you’re really having fun! For more tips on practicing your guitar, check out my article titled: How To Practice For Your Live Band.

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