What is your beginner practice routine?

Hello, I'm quite curious about other beginners' practice routines. How long do you practice ? What is your frequency ? What do you practice ? Do you have some insights to share ?...

My routine is to practice 2 or 3 times a day, for 45 minutes to an hour. I start with spider legs, followed by a few G major scales. Then I practice chord changes with a metronome (4 strums / switch / 4 strums / switch /...) The metronome allows me to monitor my progress. After playing every possible switch in the 5 chord power pack, I play one or two melodies from earlier lessons and I finish of with some spider legs and another few G major scales. I try to make some progress every time I practice. This doesn't mean that I try something new every time, but for now, I increase the rythm for my chord changes... I'm really happy that I'm able to play 'Cross the Line' at full speed by now

I don't think I can improve anything but what I did that worked very well is I made practice part of my schedule. 1 hour every day - 7 days per week. Same time everyday. I did that for 2 years.

In terms of structure:

Fundamentals

Songs

Theory

Best of luck.

I might add some theory as well. Sounds like a good idea. Thank you.

You are welcome. Theory is more important than most realize starting out. It is the road map that helps us understand what chords work well together and what notes work well over those chords.

Once you have some very basic theory such as what chords sound good in the key of "C" for example, you can string a few together and make a little music. Throw some solo notes on top from scales that compliment the key of C and you will have a light bulb go off in your head. Put some words on paper and you have a song.

How to practice is something I've done a lot of google searches on..I am completely new to guitar, started a couple of months ago. I have generally been trying to follow the framework she laid out early on. Originally I would not listen to the next lesson till I got the previous one down perfectly. Then I noticed that sometimes what I needed to know what in the next lesson so I started to be a little more flexible. I continue to go back and practice pieces that I didn't master but going forward a little keeps me from getting too bored with the same thing.

Another thing I did is I bought a few book called Really Easy Guitar and I flagged songs that have chords from lessons and songs that I like. That makes chord practice more fun for me, and I do very well with shapes and different transitions. I think its also helped with the quality of my notes, I can easily tell when they are off.

What I don't have though is speed. I can do the 8 chords I know well but only about as fast as 70 bpm. So now I'm trying to figure out how to bring that up to about 120 bpm.

Originally Posted by: stacykhuffman

Another thing I did is I bought a few book called Really Easy Guitar and I flagged songs that have chords from lessons and songs that I like.

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I just started to play the chord-songs in the lessons and for now, they're still sufficiently challenging, but I'll check out some other songs after "mastering" the 5-chord power pack lessons. Those books seem to be fun indeed.

[quote=stacykhuffman]

What I don't have though is speed. I can do the 8 chords I know well but only about as fast as 70 bpm. So now I'm trying to figure out how to bring that up to about 120 bpm.

That's where the metronome comes in... I practiced at 60 / 70 bpm for a while and then gradually moved up a few beats every time when I start to feel comfortable. Though, I have to admit that some changes are easier than other. A minor to E minor is much easier than D to G. Especially on that D to G switch, I'm lacking accuracy on the first strum, but then I slide my fingers to the correct postition for better tones. Mostly, by the end of a measure, I'm good I don't always play at my highest speed. Sometimes, I lower the rythm and focuse more on accuracy and tone.

[br]I have to admit that playing with a metronome is not as fun as playing songs, but it allows me to have a clear view on my progress. Knowing for a fact that I'm improving is very motivating, so I'll continue with this "boring" part in my routine.