Why do practice on your guitar?

I guess you hope that you will learn to be a better instrumentalist with the joy that follows. However, there are many learning processes going on at the same time when you practice on your instrument. After reading this article I hope you will be more aware of factors that can limit your progress as an instrumentalist and have more effective practice sessions on your guitar.

What has feelings to do with your guitar practice?

At times when you practice on your guitar you might find that you are nervous and dont feel too good when playing because you feel forced to play due to a guitar lesson coming up and you feel that you havent done your homework or maybe other negative feelings are present for some reason. The feelings we have when we practice a certain piece of music have a tendency to be evoked anew when we play the piece at another occasion.

Can tensions stick to your sheet music

Yes, in a way at least. My experience, also confirmed when reading about this topic, is that your actual tension level when playing a particular musical composition also tends to be present when you play the same piece of music in public. Or rather, it will be harder to perform a piece of music in a relaxed way when you have practiced it without paying attention to your tensions or rather not having tried to play in a relaxed manner.

Can you learn not to play a piece of music?

You practice on your guitar in order to become a better player and maybe to learn a piece of music that you like. My experience is that if you dont concentrate on your guitar playing you can make a lot of mistakes when trying to learn a piece of music. These mistakes tend to slow down the learning process or rather the will be a part of the learning process, which means the more times you make mistakes playing a particular passage the harder it will be to play it right because of those earlier mistakes trying to get your attention.

How to use these principles to your advantage

In accordance with the before mentioned dangers when practicing I think it is wise to always practice a new piece of music slowly so that you can pay attention to your tension level and correct posture when playing on your guitar. Another reason for playing slowly is to be able practice a guitar piece without mistakes if possible in order to maximize the benefits of your guitar practice sessions.