Summer is almost over and many of us are starting a new routine at work, home or school. Our guitar practice often takes a backseat when our world is thrown into tumult. I could, and do, sound off everyday about the importance of practicing to help you get better. After a while, however, it sounds like white noise. Like nagging. Ugh, I don’t want to be that guy, so I’ll let some of the great guitar players make my case for me.

Joe Satriani:
“One day, when I was a teenager, I decided that I was going to learn every chord in a Joe Pass chord book I had. I worked on it every day; there’s no substitute for bonehead repetition.” – Guitar World

“…what’s helped me quite a bit is when I’ve said, ‘What song have I heard my whole life, but I don’t know what the chords are? What solo do I really love, but I’ve never actually played it?'”
– MusicRadar

Tommy Emmanuel:
“Just play every day and sometimes record yourself and listen back. You’ll hear what you need to work on.” – Guitar World

“I always recommend practising songs every day. If you think that playing modes and scales is the answer, well, I believe you will get bored with that fairly quickly, so you must have challenging songs to practise. Songs inspire us and we need to be inspired!” – Acoustic Magazine

Larry Carlton:
“Practice what you must. Play what you love.”
– Premier Guitar

 

Guthrie Govan:
“I think one of the important things is, as a young aspiring player, is to find out what excites them and what motivates them. It’s the music that moves you and excites you that inspires you to practice.” – YouTube

For more information about me and the guitar lessons that I give in and around Baltimore, visit www.ewguitar.com.