Advanced – Fretwise

I know from personal experience how tough it can be to achieve your guitar goals and improve as a guitar player. It takes a lot of time, practice and dedication to advance and without the right guidance or practice plan it’s easy to feel stuck.

In this post I will share some of the best methods for achieving your guitar goals to help you overcome any blockages on your learning journey:

First off, do you know what your guitar goals are?

If you do, I have some tips on how to best achieve them.

If you don’t, let me help inspire you to figure it out… and then achieve them!

Find Your Inspiration

Before you can set any goals, you need to find the source of your inspiration. What drives you to want to pick up your guitar and play?

Do you have the desire to join a band?

Do you have a big dream of becoming a performer?

Do you want to be able to play your favourite songs?

Do you feel inspired by your favourite artists or bands?

Do you just enjoy the challenge of learning something new?

Take some time to reflect on what drives you to play, and use it as the foundation for your goals.

If you admire a particular musician, start by carefully listening to their music and try to identify what makes their playing stand out to you. The unique combination of guitarists that you listen to, is how you’ll begin to carve out your own unique sound and identity on the guitar.

Outline Your Goals

Be specific and realistic.

Instead of thinking, “I want to get better at guitar,” try thinking, “I want to learn two new riffs per week.”

By setting specific, achievable goals, you can measure your progress and stay motivated.

Also, make sure you differentiate between your short-term and long-term goals. Smaller more immediate goals may take a week to achieve vs. larger, more ambitious goals may take months or even years.

This will influence your plan and approach.

Create Structure

To achieve your goals, you’re going to need to create a structured plan.

Decide how much time you can dedicate to practicing each week – again, be realistic, otherwise you won’t stick to it! Schedule that time into your calendar – make sure you set reminders.

It’s also important to create a structured practice routine.

This could include warm-ups, music theory, technique-building exercises, or working on specific songs or riffs. By breaking your practice time into smaller, more focused segments, you can maximise your guitar learning efficiency.

Keep in mind that we all have different goals so no practice routine is the same.

Stay Disciplined

I understand that life can get busy, which is why it’s important your practice routine is realistic and matches your lifestyle. To reach your guitar goals, you will have to stay committed to your practice.

It’s like going to the gym, just more fun! 😄

If staying disciplined is something you struggle with, finding a fellow practice partner or joining an online community of guitarists (like Fretwise), can help keep you motivated and on track.

Challenge Yourself

While it’s important to set achievable goals, don’t forget to challenge yourself, you don’t want to be too comfortable. This could mean learning a more difficult song or even experimenting with a totally new style of playing. By challenging yourself, you can continue to grow and improve as a guitarist.

Track Your Progress

My favourite way to track my progress is to record myself play. Not only will that help you identify your areas for improvement, but it’s the most effective way to see and hear your progress.

You could also keep a practice log. Set some milestones and break them down into smaller goals. As you achieve these smaller tasks you will move closer towards marking off your milestone. Feeling accomplished will help you stay motivated.

Don’t forget to have fun

Playing guitar should be enjoyable, so don’t get too caught up in achieving your goals that you forget to have fun.

Take breaks when you need them, and switch up your practice routine if you’re bored of it. Don’t be afraid to try something new just for the sake of enjoying yourself.

There’s No Better Time Than Now

Achieving your guitar goals in 2024 is within reach with the right mindset and strategies. By following these tips you are almost guaranteed to make steady progress towards your goals and continue to grow as a musician. Remember to stay focused, committed, and above all, have fun.

I know that was a lot of words, but I hope you took something away from this and now have a clearer idea of how to reach your goals.

If you ever feel stuck or that you need more guidance and structure to improve your guitar skills, consider joining me here on Fretwise.

Exercise 1: Thirds

Our journey begins with a straightforward yet essential exercise to broaden your scale knowledge. Start by playing your chosen scale, but don’t just focus on memorising the shapes! Focus your attention to the relationship between the intervals you’re playing, and how each note fits into the scale.

In exercise 1, you will sequence through the scale in thirds. Here are the four variations I demonstrate in the video:

Ascend the scale in ascending thirds;

Alternate the direction of thirds as you ascend. For example, ascend a third from 1 – 3, then descend a third from 4 – 2, then 3 – 5, 6 – 4, and so on;

Descend the scale with ascending thirds;

Alternate the direction of thirds as you descend. This is the same as the second variation, except you’ll descend the scale instead.

Be sure to master these variations, as I will be reusing them throughout the next exercises!

I often tell my students to “say it as you play it”. Even better than that, try to hum or sing the intervals as you play them – that way you’ll also be training your ear! This exercise lays a solid foundation for the more exciting challenges ahead.

Exercise 2: Sixths

For this exercise we will increase the difficulty by expanding the relationship between notes. You will run through the same practice examples noted in exercise 1, but instead of thirds we will use sixths.

To clarify the alternating direction whilst ascending, you will play:

1 up to 6

7 down to 2

3 up to 1

2 down to 4

and so on. Remember to say it as you play it!

Exercise 4: Seventh Arpeggios

You know the drill by now! This is going to become very difficult by now, but is a real test of your interval knowledge and awareness.

Take your time! It’s ok to suck at this if it’s your first time! Persevere, and I promise that after a few weeks of practicing, you will have a much better perception of intervals on the neck!

Summary

In essence, these are the best scale exercises for a fresh and exciting approach to the ultimate scale practice, offering you a chance to enhance your awareness of intervals and notes of the guitar neck significantly. This will help you to break out of finger patterns and scale boxes, and instead make decisions much more intuitively without always depending on shapes.

Once you’ve gained proficiency in one key or area of the neck, feel free to venture into others or even explore the realm of minor keys! The possibilities are endless, and these exercises will undoubtedly prove to be a valuable stepping stone on your journey to master scales.

If you’re just starting out with these exercises, don’t be discouraged if it takes a few weeks to get the hang of them, especially as you explore different neck positions. If you’re looking for additional guidance, consider checking out my CAGED Fretboard Visualisation Masterclass. This class is all about interval visualisation across the neck and will give you the tools to work all the way from beginner to expert!

Category: Advanced

How To Achieve Your Guitar Goals In 2024