Originally Posted by: LisaMcC
You are training your fingers and your brain to learn a whole bunch of new things. The more FREQUENTLY you remind them, the more quickly they will absorb them. So even just a five minute run-through of a few exercises or chords or a song is better than waiting all week, and then giving it an hour on the weekend.
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Absolutely! This simply cannot be stressed enough.
Also, oldtimehobbies had some great advice about setting goals, making and sticking to practice schedules. And an approach to practice that I've given to all students:
[quote=oldtimehobbies]Having this practice schedule has kept my focused and organized. It also keeps me hitting the things I struggle with most often (first).
Right on. Do the hard stuff first, hit it hard! Then you can finish with something fun. This is rewarding yourself for having worked at doing the hard stuff that builds your skills. Also, finishing up with something fun gives you the incentive to return to the guitar for the next practice session. You are more likely to remember that the last session was fun! And not a drag because you finished with a failed attempt to do something hard you couldn't quite manage.
Finally, the other priceless advice mentioned in this thread: absolutely make sure your guitar is handy. Put it in a place that you can SEE it when you walk in the door if it helps!
To anyone with the luxury of more than one guitar, put one in each room you frequent. I have guitars on stands and in corners all over our house. Even though I don't keep one in the kitchen, I can see one from there, through the doorway in the corner of the dining room. :)
