Generally, at least starting out, you should strive to practice an absolute minimum of a half an hour per day. That doesn't included looking for your music or TAB, setting up your guitar and amp or any of the other things you need to do to get ready to practice. Ideally you'll be able to practice longer than just a half an hour. I've read of many truly great players practicing several hours per day...every day. Andres Segovia, most likely the most accomplished classical guitarist ever to have played, is just such an example. He practiced many hours every day, and although he had more talent than most, it showed in his playing. There are very few players, if any, that would reach his level of near perfection, regardless of the amount of time they devote to practicing. Don't let this get you down, you're not striving to be another Segovia, you ARE striving to play to the best of your ability.

Now, you understand the importance of practicing a certain amount of time, but also, how and what you practice is of the utmost importance. It does almost no good to 'jam' on a few 'power chords' to a CD. Yes, you may be able to learn a new tune, but if you're wanting to further you true ability and knowledge, you must do what is necessary when you practice. That involves using a metronome for one thing. I don't care how good you think you are, how good your timing seems to be...practice with a metronome. You'll be glad you did, I can promise you that.

Technique is also of the utmost importance. If you lounge around on your bed, holding the guitar in an awkward position, good luck on obtaining good results. Sit in an upright position, with the guitar resting on your weak side leg (right handers use left leg, lefties use right leg), keep your back straight and keep your thumb against the rear of the neck...not hanging on the neck. Obviously, if you're playing the many 'electric styles' of guitar, you might be standing. The main to remember, is to hold the guitar in a natural position with your hands positioned to play. I'll be adding diagrams, audio clips and video as this site progress, so please check back for a more thorough instructional section later.

So, there you have a general guideline of practicing. It is beyond the scope of this article to tell you what to practice. There will be specific lessons in the Lessons section of this site. Just remember, use your practice time wisely. If you 'practice' (2) hours per day, but you don't use a metronome, watch TV while you're playing, take frequent breaks and any number of other common distractions, you're better off waiting to practice when you can actually dedicate a block of time to practice seriously. You get out of it exactly what you put into it.

Until Next Time, Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

For any of those that have found the site, but have also noticed that there isn't much here in the way of quality content, please don't give up. I haven't given up on the project by any means. I am still in the process of

getting lots of material ready to be posted. Instead of trying to get together an entire site, and then uploading everything at once, I'll be adding tips, lessons and much more, in a controlled flow.

This isn't a big corporate site, and it will be operating on a very small budget, with myself responsible for everything that goes on the site. However, that only means that there won't instantly be a fully populated site, it doesn't mean that any of the content will be anything other than useful, entertaing and educational...hopefully.

I've played guitar most of my life and it's something I love, so I do plan to add only items that I would like to see myself. Any lessons, at least initially, will all have to be TAB based because of my very limited budget. Eventually I would like to add some type of FLASH player that will have the capability of playing the TABS, with all the transport type controls that will allow for the typical functions....STOP, PLAY, REWIND, FAST FORWARD etc.

Thanks for stopping by, and please check out the Ebay feed if you're interested in buying a guitar or amp. I've added only the better categories of equipment so you don't have to sort through some of the junk that you would on the corporate Ebay site. I will continue the feed even after I get the site configured as I envision it. I may however reduce the number or categories, and/or items listed.

Thanks for Stopping By and Please Continue to Check Back Occasionally for Updated Content,

Jeff