Practicing jazz guitar can be a time consuming activity. There is so much material to cover, and so many skills to develop, it is easy to feel like you’re behind or stuck.
Because of this, it’s a normal assumption that you need to practice for hours on end to get good.
Long practice sessions and time “in the shed” are often romanticized with stories about how “So-and-so locked himself in a room and practiced 8 hours a day for a year, and now he’s amazing!”
Now, for music majors in college who want to become professionals, spending the time is essential – there’s no way around it. In fact, that’s kind of their job while in music school.
But is that the only way? Do you have to follow that same track if you want to be able to play jazz guitar?
Most of us have jobs, families, responsibilities, and other interests in life. It’s not all about jazz guitar.
As I got busier with my teaching, performing schedule, and personal life, I found that long practice sessions just weren’t doable for me anymore. I had to find a way to cut back.
And for my students, I have to assume that they have a life outside of jazz guitar… maybe a family, a demanding job, frequent travel, or all of the above.
It’s important to face the reality that you only have a certain amount of time to devote to playing jazz guitar, no matter what your situation is.
And it doesn’t mean you can’t get good… or even really good.
If you do it right, you can still improve steadily and become a better jazz guitar player on just a little practice time each day.
In fact, I’ve had students get great results on a very minimal practice schedule – as little as 5 -10 minutes per day.
Because you can get a lot done with just a little bit of time… if you do it right.
Let’s look at some of the strategies my students and I use that can help you become a better jazz guitar player, even if you don’t have tons of time to practice.
1. Work on the Right Stuff:
What do you want to be able to do that you can’t do right now?
It’s always worth taking some time to figure out where you’re going, instead of blindly charging ahead. Plus, it will save you a lot of headaches down the road.
Try to work from vague goals like “play jazz guitar better” or “get better at soloing” and figure out what you’d need to do to get there.
The simple (and sometimes painful) truth is that there are skills you’re probably lacking in right now – that’s just how it goes.
Take an honest look at what you can’t do yet, and that will help you figure out what you need to do next.
In general, there are 3 areas you need guitar-specific information on in jazz:
- Chords – Get started with our ultimate guide to jazz guitar chords
- Scales – Check out our in depth guide to jazz guitar scales
- Arpeggios
Find the simplest thing in each category that you can’t do yet (especially if it seems like you “should” be able to do it already…), and start there. Make a list of what you need to do over time, and start checking off items one-by-one.
Spend your effort on the individual skills that need to be improved, not on reviewing what you can already play well.
You’ll find that the big picture of “playing better jazz guitar” will take care of itself when you’re taking care of the little details, like making sure you really know all of your scale shapes, or building up your chord vocabulary.
2. Whatever you do, be consistent:
Whether you have 8 hours a day or 8 minutes a day to practice, consistency is the most important thing to your success in jazz guitar playing.
Practicing a little every day is always going to give you better results than spending one or two “marathon” practice sessions per week.
It’s not as exciting of a story, but it’s much more doable… so it will be much more successful for you.
Coming back to the same material over and over is the key to this. You’ll learn things about a chord shape or scale pattern tomorrow that were impossible for you to learn today.
You’ll be better at that chord shape or scale pattern tomorrow than you were today.
We just need repeated exposure and effort to really learn the secrets of this stuff, so make sure you’re chipping away at it over time, day by day.
3. Embrace Focused Practice:
Staying focused in your practice sessions is maybe the hardest part of all this. There are constantly new things pulling at your attention:
- A new routine to follow
- A new chord voicing you just heard of
- This other teachers approach to playing scales
It’s important to realize that none of these things are actually new.
There might really be something in there that you don’t know yet… but can you already perform the fundamental skill you’re working on right now? Or is this a distraction from what you really need to be doing?
You can only do one thing at a time, so make an effort to stay disciplined, and do the work you need to do right now.
If there is truly something new you want to explore, add it to your list and focus on it when it’s manageable. If it’s exciting, it’s probably a few steps past where you’re actually at right now.
Here is what has given my students (and myself) the best results over the last decade or so:
Only do one thing in your practice session. But do it for the entire session.
That might mean just working on one scale pattern over and over in different ways.
It might mean working on 8 measures of that new song you’re learning.
It might mean working on one measure of chord melody that you’re arranging.
It’s focusing on one thing, and putting all of your attention into it.
Then you can scratch it off the list of things you can’t do yet, and start on the next thing.
Conclusion:
You don’t need hours per day in a practice room to become a better jazz guitarist.
In fact, one of my most productive periods of time was when I was practicing less than an hour a day. I was just practicing on what was really important for me to improve on, every day, taking one step at a time.
What matters is that you’re working on the skills that need it, that you practice every day, and that you stay focused. That’s it.
Take some time today and figure out what you really need to work on to improve your jazz guitar playing.
It might even be something that you feel is too basic, that you shouldn’t have to practice. I know that was the case for me when I really decided to get my playing together.
But make your list, be honest with yourself, and get to work. You’ll thank yourself for it in just a few weeks.
Let me know how it goes in the comments below.… I’m always happy to hear what you’re up to, and I’m more than happy to help you if you get stuck in your practice.