Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
During the summer I teach at a few music camps where I get to work with young guitar students in a classroom setting. This year, after finishing a two week session at the University of New Hampshire and a one week session at Berklee college in Boston, I really rediscovered my appreciation for the value of repetition when it comes to becoming a better guitarist. In one of my guitar ensemble classes at Berklee, I had the students working on a Steely Dan song that was filled with some pretty complicated chord changes. During one of our rehearsals, a student asked ‘What's the best way for me to really get these chord changes down?' to which I answered ‘Constant repetition'. As obvious as it might seem, there are many guitarists who are always looking for shortcuts to improving their playing, and one thing I've found over the past 24 years of playing is that there really are no shortcuts. It's all just a matter of being willing to put in the work to get better, simply because the amount of effort that you put into practicing is directly proportional to what you will get out of it. In one of my other ensemble classes, we were rehearsing a Red Hot Chili Peppers song that had some fast moving chords played with a complex rhythm, and we spent a good half hour of class time just drilling that one part of the song. The following day I had a student comment ‘I was working on that part all day after class but now I've really got it down.' By the end of the week when it came time for the final performances, everyone in the class had put in the time and effort to really nail the different parts, and the concert that the students put on was really amazing.
I've found in my experience as a teacher as well as a player that there really is no better method than just constant repetition. I told my classes that ‘You'll be sick of these songs after a few days but you'll also be at the point where you know them inside and out', which is really what repetition is all about. By training your body physically, you develop muscle memory so that the chords or scales that used to seem really difficult become second nature. Beyond that, repetition helps to build your confidence, because once you've done something enough times that it begins to feel natural, then the anxiety of whether or not you‘ll be able to perform a challenging part totally goes away. Jazz guitar legend Joe Pass talked about this many times when he would tell his students to ‘Spend a lot of time learning your chords and scales and notes and just keep repeating those things over and over. Then after a while, you will be able to forget about all of that stuff and just PLAY.' Joe's point was that if you have the guitar in your hands often enough, and you really drill those same ideas over and over, you'll begin to develop a level of proficiency on the instrument where you don't have to think about what you're playing, it just comes naturally, like the guitar is almost playing itself. Granted it takes a lot of work to get to that point, but the true secret lies in one important thing: Repetition, repetition, repetition.
Good Luck!
Nate
I've found in my experience as a teacher as well as a player that there really is no better method than just constant repetition. I told my classes that ‘You'll be sick of these songs after a few days but you'll also be at the point where you know them inside and out', which is really what repetition is all about. By training your body physically, you develop muscle memory so that the chords or scales that used to seem really difficult become second nature. Beyond that, repetition helps to build your confidence, because once you've done something enough times that it begins to feel natural, then the anxiety of whether or not you‘ll be able to perform a challenging part totally goes away. Jazz guitar legend Joe Pass talked about this many times when he would tell his students to ‘Spend a lot of time learning your chords and scales and notes and just keep repeating those things over and over. Then after a while, you will be able to forget about all of that stuff and just PLAY.' Joe's point was that if you have the guitar in your hands often enough, and you really drill those same ideas over and over, you'll begin to develop a level of proficiency on the instrument where you don't have to think about what you're playing, it just comes naturally, like the guitar is almost playing itself. Granted it takes a lot of work to get to that point, but the true secret lies in one important thing: Repetition, repetition, repetition.
Good Luck!
Nate
You are 100% right, there is no fast way to learn to play the guitar. Practice and repetition are the only way to get proficient at it.
I will admit that learning to play by guitar tabs is a fast way to feel like you are actually playing something but you must stick to practicing, the more you do it, the better you get!
Great blog!
KJ
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Couldn't agree more. Repetition is a key factor in mastering the instrument. Great post!
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