Lesson 19 of 43GuitarBeginner

Rob Luft on how to practice exercises

3:28

Guitarist Rob Luft shares how he practises technique - working slowly and accurately with a metronome so the faster tempos look after themselves.

Part of the courseRockschool Guitar Grade 343 lessons (3h 11m)

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What's in the course

43 lessons (3h 11m) · 1 free

- 01. Welcome to the online course
  1:33
- 02. Meet Charlie Griffiths
  1:23
- 03. Meet Rob Luft
  3:02
- 04. Meet Stuart Ryan
  1:52
- 01. Overrated
  2:03
- 02. Old Bones Blues
  1:56
- 03. Indecisive
  1:55
- 04. Maiden Voyage
  2:03
- 05. Reggae Island
  Free lesson
  1:56
- 06. Fallout
  1:59
- 01. Overrated
  11:37
- 02. Old Bones Blues
  15:12
- 03. Indecisive
  9:55
- 04. Maiden Voyage
  12:22
- 05. Reggae Island
  10:50
- 06. Fallout
  12:10
- 01. Intro to technical exercises
  2:44
- 02. Tech advice (early grades)
  3:10
- 03. Rob Luft on how to practice exercises
  You are here
  3:28
- 04. Group A: Scales
  2:45
- 05. Group B: Arpeggios
  0:47
- 06. Group C: Chords
  3:08
- 01. How to hold guitar and pick
  3:47
- 02. Picking hand position
  2:22
- 03. Fretting hand position
  2:44
- 04. Alternate picking
  3:08
- 05. Legato (hammer-ons & pull-offs)
  5:29
- 06. Barre chords
  6:15
- 07. Vibrato
  7:37
- 01. Intro to Approaches to improvisation
  1:00
- 02. Getting started with improvisation
  9:22
- 03. Improvising over chord tones
  10:18
- 04. Assignment: Finding chord tones
  4:05
- 05. Adding rhythmic interest to your solos
  4:11
- 06. Assignment: Improvising over a chord change
  2:52
- 07. Challenge: Submit your improv
  0:24
- 08. Embelleshing a melody
  5:36
- 09. Challenge: Submit your melody
  0:26
- 10. Rhythmic improv & comping
  9:55
- 01. Sight reading tips
  1:51
- 01. Course outro
  0:32
- 02. About Rockschool exams
  0:30
- 03. Preparing for your Rockschool exam
  1:28

Lesson transcript

Music Practice Tips

One thing I've always thought about practicing is that if you do the slower tempo first with a metronome, really nail it, and be accurate, you will develop the faster tempos without hesitation.

Key Concept:

Practice things slowly and accurately, and the faster tempos will take care of themselves.

Example: C Major Scale

Let's take the C major scale, C Ionian, the most simple scale on an instrument like the piano.

Here's how to practice:

Use a Metronome:
- You can use an app for a metronome on your phone.
- Set it to a slow tempo, for example, 60 beats per minute.
Practice the C Major Scale:
- Try playing this scale with:
  - Two strokes per note
  - Three notes per stroke
  - Four notes per stroke
  - Double it up
  - Five notes per stroke, etc.

If you take care of these slower tempos and work on things at the base tempo, when it comes to playing fast, these things will take care of themselves.

Learning a Piece

If I was learning a piece such as Scarred for Life and I wanted to incorporate my reggae playing and my scar playing, I might go like this:

Work on each individual phrase at a slow, methodical tempo.
When you reach my stage in the development of your playing, you'll be able to just look at the sheet music, read it off, and produce sounds that are accurate, musical, and clear straight away.