A lot of people has heard of the saying “Practice Makes Perfect”, and that is the biggest lie I’ve ever heard.

Practice makes permanent, not perfect. You practice the wrong way for 20 years, you are going to play the wrong way for the next 20 years.

My goal in this post is to give you some very effective practice tips that will whip your playing into shape, but keep you safe.

“All I’m doing is practicing the guitar, what’s so unsafe about that?”

I’m glad you asked!

I started noticing a reoccurring theme among veteran players that I used to see play. A lot of them complained of hand and wrist fatigue. A lot of them had to where braces while playing, because they’ve spent years practicing the wrong way, and now they have carpel tunnel.

Playing the guitar can add a lot of strain on your muscles and tendons within your hand and wrist. So it’s very important that you take your practicing time very seriously. Use it as a time to sharpen your musical abilities, but also use it as a way to get your hands into shape.

Would you repeatedly go out and try to bench press 500 pounds, if you’ve never worked out before? No!

Because you could wind up killing yourself. But if you go out without proper training, conditioning and warming up, you can kill your chances at becoming the Rockstar of your dreams.

Exercise 1 – Stretch, Stretch, Stretch

Don’t dare pick up the guitar until you’ve spent at least 5 minutes stretching your hand. This will loosen up your muscles and tendons, and get the blood flowing to your hands. This is imperative to having endurance in your playing. Muscles need oxygen, and the blood it what get’s it there. So stretch your fingers, hands, wrist, and forearms.

Exercise 2 – Timing, Timing, Timing

Get a metronome, always play with a metronome, live, breath, eat with a metronome. You have to develop your timing. That’s the most important part about being a musician. That’s what set’s the greats, from the wannabe guitarist.

If you ever think that you don’t need a metronome, then you show your inexperience.

Exercise 3 – Use chromatic scales

These are no brainier exercises, with the sole purpose of conditioning your hands in mind. ItÆs the quickest way to increase your speed and dexterity, and since you donÆt have to worry about what whether or not you’re playing the right note; it’s and easy exercise you can do anywhere, anytime.

I used to sit for hours a day just practicing the chromatic exercise below, and I owe my speed and agility to just that one exercise.

Practice this every single day, and you’ll be able to zip around the fretboard in no time flat.

E|—————————————–1-2-3-4———-|
B|———————————1-2-3-4——————|
G|————————-1-2-3-4————————–|
D|—————–1-2-3-4———————————-|
A|———1-2-3-4——————————————|
E|-1-2-3-4————————————————–|

Once you play this then, reverse it:

E|-1-2-3-4——————————————|
B|———1-2-3-4———————————-|
G|—————–1-2-3-4————————–|
D|————————-1-2-3-4——————|
A|———————————1-2-3-4———-|
E|—————————————–1-2-3-4–|

Always practice using alternate picking!

Once you’ve done both of those exercise, then move everything up one fret and play it again. Once you’ve don’t that, then move everything up a fret and play it again.

Try to work all the way up the 11 fret and back down again.

If you start feeling a burn (which you will), then finish that exercise, and then stretch your arms, wrist, and fingers before continuing.

If you follow these tips then you’ll be the Schwarzenegger of monster guitar solos.

Music theory is a subject that still intimidates even the best players, but it shouldn’t. I used to think that if I wanted to be a professional player, then I would have to learn how to sight-read sheet music.

Well I found out that’s not the truth.

Now it is important to have a basic music theory knowledge, but you can make a full time living being a highly paid musician, without knowing how to read a single note.

The reason why is that most major producers and studios don’t use sheet music.

They use the number system (Nashville System).

Music theory comes down to number not notes. To this day, I still can’t tell you what note I’m hitting right on the spot. All though if I look I can tell you quick, but I never think that I’m playing a C, D, E, I only think about the numbers that I’m playing.

The reason why the number system is so popular, is that you can quickly transpose music on the fly. Instead of spending hours re-charting out the notes in conventional sheet music.

The number system adds for quick communication among musicians in live playing situations, which breeds on the fly, creative compositions.

So what is the number system, and how do you use it?

Well the number system is based off the major scale.

If we go to the key of C Major, the we have the notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C

This is how you should play it on the guitar:

E|————————————————–|
B|————————————————–|
G|————————————————–|
D|——————-9-10—————————|
A|———-8-10-12———————————|
E|-8-10-12——————————————|

So forget about what the notes are for a second, just play the notes in the order above, and count to 8.

So instead of saying, C, D, E, F,:

Put a number to the notes, only refer to the notes as their number. I.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (octave)

All you need to know is the key, and you’re able to improvise on the fly.

Learn the major scale, because no matter what key you’re in the 2 chord is always in the same position, the 4 chord, is always in the same position. So you can play and transpose the music on the fly.

So instead of saying, play C-F-G, I just tell you; “Hey we’re in the key of C, and we’re doing a 1-4-5 progression”.

But if at the last minute I say switch the keys to Eb. Then you don’t have to try to run around figuring out what chords to play. You know where the 1 chord is, the 4 chord, and then the 5 chord.

Let’s say spontaneously I want to go to the 6 chord to take the music into a different direction. All I have to do if we were in the key of G is say the number 6 vs. trying to mouth go to E minor.

By studying the number system youÆll be able to increase your communication to any musician, and increased communication equals better music hands down.

The pentatonic is THE scale when it comes down to soloing. 90% of the lick you here are based off the pentatonic and it’s the easiest scale to learn.

The pentatonic scale consist of only five core notes, and the best part is you don’t even have to know what the notes are.

It’s a scale that can easily be moved all over the fretboard, used in any key, in any situation, but there’s so much more to it than that.

Everyone knows the basic “box” shape of the pentatonic, but I want to introduce you to the pentatonic modes.

All that means is that wherever you are on the fretboard, you’ll be able to rip into a solo. As you begin to learn these different shapes of the pentatonic your soloing is going to take off, and the fretboard is going to open up.

Practice these shapes every day, and at the end of 7 days I guarantee that you’ll be a better guitarist.

If you don’t know how to read tabs, the easiest way to explain it is to pretend that the guitar is laying on your lap face up. So you’re looking at a birds eye view of the fretboard, and the numbers on the strings indicate which fret you need to play.

Let’s begin.

If we were in the key of G, the standard box shape of the minor pentatonic would look like this:

E|———————3-6—————————————–|
B|—————–3-6———————————————|
G|————-3-5————————————————-|
D|———3-5—————————————————–|
A|—–3-5———————————————————|
E|-3-6————————————————————-|

Now expand your practice, by learning each of these modes of the G minor pentatonic, remember once you have the fingerings then you can easily transpose these modes to use in any key.

E|———————6-8—————————————–|
B|—————–6-8———————————————|
G|————-5-7————————————————-|
D|———5-8—————————————————–|
A|—–5-8———————————————————|
E|-6-8————————————————————-|

E|—————————–8-10——————————–|
B|————————8-11————————————-|
G|——————7-10——————————————-|
D|————8-10————————————————-|
A|——8-10——————————————————-|
E|-8-10————————————————————|

E|——————————-10-13—————————–|
B|————————-11-13———————————–|
G|——————-10-12—————————————–|
D|————-10-12———————————————–|
A|——-10-13—————————————————–|
E|-10-13———————————————————–|

E|——————————-13-15—————————–|
B|————————-13-15———————————–|
G|——————-12-15—————————————–|
D|————-12-15———————————————–|
A|——-13-15—————————————————–|
E|-13-15———————————————————–|

And then that will lead you right back up to the octave of the first “box” shape starting at the 15 fret.

Learn these patterns, and you’ll be playing faster, and better than you’ve ever had before.

If you’ve been playing solos for any amount of time you know how easy it is to get stuck in the pentatonic rut. They call it a box scale for a reason.

You take five core notes, and decades of guitarist playing every combination of those notes possible, and you can see why coming up with fresh solo ideas can be challenging.

This is what often leads people to explore other scales or modes in search of finding fresh ideas. The problem is with guitarist, it really is hard to teach and old dog new tricks.

I don’t think that there has been a class of people who were more dedicated, and yet suffered from severe A.D.D.

When you already think you know how to play, it’s hard going back to the basics. Learning knew scales, and learning new theory.

That’s why I’ve assembled the exact way that I like to play.

If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, you’ll learn more in one hour jamming then you ever will in isolated practice.

So when I want to break out the box playing, or learn new styles or techniques:

I go to the masters.

I find someone who already can do what I want to know, and I mimic them. Figure out their solos.

This really serves two purposes. It helps develop a repertoire of songs you can play, and it’s an fun way to expand your musical horizons.

So if you’ve ever found yourself caught in a pentatonic soloing rut, this is what I recommend:

1. Force yourself to go melodic. Start picking up the melody of your song, and just play that. This will force you to start writing solos geared more towards the piece, instead of relying on your standard back of licks.
2. Listen to something you’ve never listened to before. Get music that you’ve never listened to before. Maybe a whole different style then you’ve even listened before. Browse the world sections of music stores and see if you can find something that forces you to think outside your traditional box.

What you listen to really does effect what you play. Each song engraves in the back of your head a musical idea. So I try to force myself to listen to something new at least once a week.

But don’t stop there, pick up your axe and try to actually play it. This is a great technique for interrupting your usual thought process when you are holding your guitar.

If you’re new and want to add a different element to your playing fast, then I would suggest listening to, and learning these two songs.

I always tell people that it is imperative that you learn these two songs if you want to be a great guitarist, because it’ll show you how to use melody, timing, and careful phrasing outside the standard pentatonic scale, while at the same time showing you how to master the pentatonic scale to its fullness.

Those two tracks are:

1. Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd
2. Europa – Santana

If you can play these songs note for note, then youÆre on your way to becoming a great guitarist

In our last post we covered how to add the Aeolian scale to your pentatonic to make for very easy learning and instant application of the new scales. The Aeolian scale is the natural minor scale. Minor scales and chords have a darker, sadder feel.

Now let’s just into the Dorian scale, which has a happier tone. Something you can use in a lot of funk, jazz, major based chord progressions. I love using this over a good jump blues jam, as well as adding some spice to some funk licks.

Remember you don’t have to abandon what you already know, use the licks and tricks you already know.

Stick to a pentatonic foundation, just use these new modes to add some flexibility and zing to your playing.

You can find the Dorian in use by listening to greats likes Santana – Black Magic Women, or one of the best examples of how to use this scale in rock is Tony Iommi’s – Planet Caravan.

So let’s go back to the to the key of A.

Here’s the A Minor pentatonic scale –

For the sake of keeping this post short, I’m just going to cover the D, G,B, and high E strings. The rest of the strings just work of the octaves of these notes.

E|——————————-5-8—————————–|
B|————————-5-8———————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|————-5-7———————————————–|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

Now let’s add in the Dorian scale.

All you’re going to do is add 3 additional notes to the pentatonic scale above.

E|———————————–5-(7)-8———————|
B|————————-5-(7)-8——————————-|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|———(4)-5-7———————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|
The notes in the brackets mark the added notes.

So if you add all the notes together you will get this scale:

E|——————————– -5-7-8———————–|
B|————————-5-7-8——————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————-|
D|———–4-5-7———————————————|
A|—————————————————————|
E|—————————————————————|

So solo the way you normally would, just add these new notes as passing tones, and now you are jamming with modes that again only took a minute to learn.

When it comes down to contemporary music, there are two “modes” of the major scale that are used the most often. If “modes” have scared you in the past, or you just really didn’t understand them, then you’ve found the right blog post!

Once you know how to incorporate them into your playing effortlessly, then you’ll really start to have fun with your playing.

Everyone know that the pentatonic is the basis for all soloing. (and for your extreme classical and jazz nuts who beg to differ, get over it. It’s true!)

But once you hit the intermediate level guitar you start to look at other options outside the pentatonic scale to get some licks. This is the wrong attitude.

All music is interconnected, so don’t think that you have to abandon the pentatonic scale to “learn something new”. That’s just not the case.

I’m going to show you how to use the two most commonly used modes, the Aeolian in this post, and the Dorian in pt. 2, WITH the pentatonic that will allow you to quickly and easily learn these new scales, but also start using them today in your playing.

If you keep the pentatonic as your core foundation, then moving out into some more progressive fusion based music will be a breeze.

So let’s go to the key of A.

Here’s the A Minor pentatonic scale –

E|——————————-5-8—————————–|
B|————————-5-8———————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|————-5-7———————————————–|
A|——-5-7—————————————————–|
E|-5-8———————————————————–|

For the sake of the this training post, I’m just going to cover the G,B, and high E strings. The rest of the strings just work of the octaves of these notes.

E|——————————-5-8—————————–|
B|————————-5-8———————————–|
G|——————-5-7—————————————–|
D|—————————————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

Now let’s start adding modes, the first mode we’re going to work with is the Aeolian. Most people now this as the natural minor scale, but lets use the pentatonic to make this a real simple learning process.

All you’re going to do is add 3 additional notes to the pentatonic scale above.

E|——————————-5-(7)-8————————|
B|————————-5-(6)-8——————————|
G|——————(4)-5-7————————————-|
D|—————————————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

The notes in the brackets mark the added notes.

So if you add all the notes together you will get this scale:

E|———————————–5-7-8———————–|
B|—————————5-6-8——————————-|
G|——————4-5-7—————————————-|
D|—————————————————————-|
A|—————————————————————-|
E|—————————————————————-|

So solo the way you normally would, just add these new notes as passing tones, and now you are jamming with modes and it only took a minute to learn.

David Gilmour is the master at using this scale, and it fits perfectly over any minor based rock.

I still remember the day I made the decision that I was going to play guitar for the rest of my life. I was 11, flipping through the TV stations, and came across the Stevie Ray Vaughn PBS special.

When I heard Voodoo Child Slight return for the first time, I locked myself in my room for the next year, armed with nothing more than an $8 acoustic I got at a garage sale.

I learned the hard way. Hours a day, with my cassette player; listening, stopping, figuring out a note, hit play again, stop, rewind, figure out the next note, and so on.

I grew up dirt poor and couldn’t afford guitar lessons. At that time, $80 a month (the average for guitar lessons) was not even an option.

I justified my position by saying that I don’t need a guitar teacher showing me how to play like him, I’ll play the way I want to play!

And I was an idiot.

There was nothing I loved more than the guitar. Blues, Rock, Jazz, anything that I could listen to and get some emotion, and one thing that I know is true, if you love something you need to invest everything you have into it.

I used to say with pride that I was self taught, and that I could play by ear. However,  after almost two decades of playing, if I could give people just one piece of advice it would be TAKE FREAKIN’ LESSONS!

I used to spend 8 hours a day, 7 days a week trying to figure stuff out, and it wasn’t until a year and a half later when I started to play in bands that everything clicked.

You’ll learn more in one hour jamming then you will in a year and a half of isolated practice, and that’s a fact. Why should you spend hours a day trying to “figure stuff out”, when you could have someone that knows how to play show you the exact same thing in 5 minutes?

Also, the 2nd biggest piece of advice I would give is to always, always, always invest into jam tracks. Like I said, you can learn more in an hour jamming, then years of  ‘running scales’.

I never could afford lessons, and now with the internet that’s not even an issue anymore. You can get world class training from some of the industries best teachers for less than the cost of ONE conventional lesson. That’s crazy!

So if you wanna be a great guitar player fast, then I would highly suggest checking out Jamorama. You can download a free lesson, but the thing I love is that you have world class teaching, and some of the best jam tracks I’ve ever heard in one place.

If you want a complete guide to playing guitar fast, then you will not be disappointed!