Good Guitar Habits

Whether you’re a guitarist who’s been at it for years or a new player, chances are that you’ve developed many habits… and not always the good kind.  In this course, I’m sharing some of my private students’ most valued first-hand lessons – how to develop good guitar habits.

In this course, you’ll learn how to play anything (chords, scales, etc.) in all 12 keys and you’ll learn how to practice effectively and efficiently.  The sections on playing in 12 keys will give established beginners (and transitional intermediate players) a much more complete understanding of how musical keys map out across the guitar fretboard AND how to use that to their advantage.  The section on practice routines will outline recommendations for refining, expanding and optimizing your practice time so that you can get even more out of the same time commitment. 

In between these fundamental training sections are two sections on alternate picking and fingerpicking – 2 areas where I see my private students developing their bad habits most often.  The purpose of these sections is to establish clear guidelines for learning and practicing these important skills.

Develop good habits and an optimized practice routine to see better results

• Stay focused and stay encouraged

• Get recommendations for improving your picking speed and precision

• No-nonsense kickstarter for adding fingerpicking to your repertoire

• Try new things and expand your horizons on guitar

Contents and Overview

After an orientation that will help you understand what to expect and how to succeed, you’ll get 4 distinct training sections.  Each section will isolate the method for acquiring new skills and learning to practice them in a productive, engaging way.

Following one after another, the courses 4 primary sections will address (1) Practicing in 12 Keys, (2) Alternate Picking Essentials, (3) Fingerpicking Essentials and (4) Practice Routine & Visualization.  Each section simulates a series of instructive video lessons modeled after private lessons that have proven helpful in thousands of actual past private sessions.

Practicing in 12 Keys

• Learning 12 “Roots”

• Scales and Arpeggios in any key

• 12 Key chord patterns

• Note-naming conventions on the fretboard

Alternate Picking Essentials

• Learn the Pentatonic scale (if you don’t already know it)

• Understand timing using subdivisions

• Learn to practice effectively using a metronome

• Get a clear, repeatable exercise demonstration

Fingerpicking Essentials

• Learn finger placement and ‘planting’

• Understand duple and triple and how to mix them

• Simple walking bass lines

• Learn about common chord progressions

Practice Routine & Visualization

• Discover the power of fretboard visualizationD

• Design an optimized, 3-part practice routine for yourself

• Find out what’s worked for my private students

Each section wraps up with a quiz and an optional ‘homework’ project.  These learning aids will help you see how much you’ve learned (or see where you need to improve further).  Students are encouraged to reach out to the instructor with questions at any time.  This course is designed to emulate the most common core lessons that I have been teaching my established beginners (and transitional intermediate) students for years and years.  If you want to expand your technical skills, improve your fretboard knowledge and optimize your practice routine, I look forward to seeing you in the course!

Who this course is for:

• Established beginner guitar players who can strum some chords should be enough.
• Students ready to learn scales, techniques and try new things!