Module 6 Practice

Get ready to set up an effective practice routine for all the skills you're learnt in Module 6 :)


View the full lesson at Module 6 Practice | JustinGuitar

So Iā€™m pretty new to guitar. Iā€™ve been playing for about four months, but Iā€™m only six modules deep into JustinGuitar. When I make a practice routine (I make one for each module), I do exactly what Justin tells me to practice. I used to buckle down and practice every single routine I made, but as I go on, doing so becomes more and more overwhelming and time consuming. So how long do you guys practice? And what modules should I be practicing. I thought if each module was ten minutes long, I could practice the module that I most recently learned and then pick another two practices to do alongside that (and then song practice), but Iā€™d love to hear what you guys do :slight_smile:

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Hello Finn and welcome! When I started I followed Justinā€™s suggestion of 20 minutes 4-5 times a week. At the end of each module he outlines a practice routine and, if youā€™re on the website, there are two buttons next to the little media window where the video plays. One is a heart and the other looks like a square with an arrow. If you click that button it automatically adds a practice routine tailored to that module based on Justinā€™s suggestion. Then you just go to your dashboard, click Practice, and away you go. After I could play with little to no finger pain I still followed the practice routine but then just added more time to work on songs or work on things that I was having trouble with. I practice anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours a day but Iā€™ll break it up so I donā€™t burn myself out. Gotta stoke the fire and keep it going rather than dump gasoline on it.

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Thereā€™s also a tutorial on using the Practice Assistant on the website showing you how to tweak a practice routine to focus on areas you want and remove things that you are solid on.

When I started playing ten years ago, I followed Justinā€™s lessons loosely. I started doing 15 minutes a day, every day. At first I couldnā€™t play for that long, my fingers hurt too much. So I did 5 minutes 3 times a day. It took me several months to where I could play my first song all the way through and once that happened, it was such a reward I soon moved up to practicing more each day as time permitted.

Now that Iā€™m retired itā€™s not unusual for me to play for several hours a day.

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Hey Finn! Iā€™m new too - maybe a couple months. This is my first post :smiley: Iā€™ve been using Justinā€™s app for my focused practices, maybe 3 times a week at 20-30 minutes, and then lessons and dinking around with riffs, exercises, and other songs 2-3 days/week. Iā€™m on module 10, and youā€™ve inspired me to make a post of my own about pacing!

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This right here is my life goal.

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Hi Finn,
Iā€™m currently in Grade 2 and using the beginners app. Justin recommends at least 30min practice so I try to stick to this and so this is my usual practice length. When I can Iā€™ll do up to 1 hour. Sometimes I can only fit in 15 min and thatā€™s better than nothing.
I donā€™t practice as much as I want because I donā€™t have the time! Iā€™ve accepted that my progress will be slow and I just simply enjoy my practice sessions. I practice on average 4 days a week but it can be more or less depending on other commitments.
What I do depends on, how much time I have and what I will enjoy that day (focusing on just songs or exercises). Some days I might focus on just a few guitar experiences that need practice so Iā€™m not spreading myself too thinly and I can get more from the those practice sessions.

I think simply, itā€™s you do what makes you happy, where you can enjoy learning and playing.

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HI Finn, I think youā€™ll find that practice time and routines often ebb and flow. A good rule of thumb is to practice 20-30 in the beginning and then more as you progress and, more importantly, as time permits. Lots of shorter practice is better than fewer long sessions.

As to what to practice, Focus on the items in the module you are currently working on. Then, add specific items from previous modules you feel you want to improve on. For example, say your C ā†’ D chord changes are not as fluid as your other changes. You can continue doing one minute change practice on it. But if you mastered the A ā†’ E chord change, thereā€™s no need to keep doing it regularly.

With the new App, I decided to go back through Grade one and two again, this time keeping a notebook that I can easily refer to. I added a page for the key items from each module that I want to continue practicing as I progress to future modules. I donā€™t do all of them in every practice; rather, I glance at the list and pick a couple items to work on.

A warm welcome to the community Andy. :slight_smile:

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Thank you all for your help and for sharing your practice routines :slight_smile: You guys helped me to make my practice routines more structured and less overwhelming, so thank you guys for that.

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Hi @finn1 and welcome to the community.
Itā€™s great that you have had so many useful replies.
Remember too - have fun somewhere in your practice routine.
And, of course, my mantra, learn songs, learn songs, learn songs.
Cheers :blush:
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide & Moderator

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Retirement, or playing several hours a day? I have about 10 years to go before retirement. :frowning_face_with_open_mouth: I am hoping that if I average 30 minutes a day (some days more, some less) then I should be pretty decent by the time I retire. Perhaps I will be a rock god in the ā€œassisted living center.ā€ :smiley:

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Trying for both actually. :grinning:

I had guitar lessons for a year about 15 years ago (in high school) and I am just getting back into playing. Everything is coming back but Iā€™m having a harder time ā€˜memorizingā€™ songs like Justin recommends. Anyone else feel like they are flying thru the lessons but kinda think they should practice more on memorizing songs?

got the G chord nailed. Trying out a B Flat barre chord , which i m not too bad at ā€¦my fingers get stage fright when going from a G to a B flat, (trying the summer of 69 bryan adams song) any tips to get from a G to a B flat?