When it comes to practising guitar, most people already know what they need to work on.
The challenge is usually not what to practise. The challenge is being aware enough to recognise it.
This got me thinking recently…
How often do we actually listen to ourselves when we practise?
And I don’t just mean listening to the notes that we play. I mean listening to our bodies, our tension levels, our frustration, our timing, our tone and even our breathing.
Because the reality is that our bodies are often telling us exactly what needs attention long before our brains catch up.
Deliberate Practice
When people talk about practising effectively, one word comes up often; deliberate.
But what actually is deliberate practice?
Deliberate practice is the act of specifically practising what needs to be practised.
Simple, right?
Well…not always.
A lot of us fall into the trap of repetition instead. We play something over and over again, hoping that eventually it magically improves through sheer force of will. Sometimes it does work. A lot of the time though, we just become really efficient at repeating the same mistake.
This highlights something important: there’s a huge difference between playing something repeatedly and practising something deliberately.
Deliberate practice requires awareness.
It requires honesty.
And honestly? It requires a degree of vulnerability too.
Emptying The Cup
One of the ideas that completely changed the way I think about learning was the Zen concept of “emptying the cup”.
There’s an old story about a professor visiting a Zen master to learn about Zen. As the master pours tea into the professor’s cup, he keeps pouring until the cup overflows.
The professor eventually says:
“It’s full. No more will go in.”
The master replies:
“Like this cup, you are full of your own ideas and assumptions. How can I teach you unless you first empty your cup?”
That idea was groundbreaking to me when I first heard it, because it applies perfectly to practising music.
If our minds are already full of ego, frustration, assumptions or attachment to what we think should be happening, there’s no room left to actually learn.
Sometimes we need to empty the cup. Sometimes we need to become beginners again.
And that can feel uncomfortable, especially for musicians.
In the past, I too have fallen into this trap. When we don’t know what to work on, and we don’t have our next action clearly signposted, we can start to meander. We move from lesson to lesson, filling our cups with more and more ideas about how to fix the issue.
Acquiring information feels productive, but sometimes it’s just an act of collecting intentions. And ultimately, that can lead to a lack of focus. This lack of focus can lead to a lack of direction. A lack of direction can lead to feeling lost. Feeling lost can lead to panic. Thats one full cup.
Self-Awareness Without Self-Destruction
There’s also an important distinction that needs to be made here. Being self-aware is healthy, and being self-deprecating is not. Those two things often get confused.
Recognising that something needs work is not the same thing as attacking yourself personally.
One mindset says:
“This needs improving.”
The other says:
“I’m rubbish.”
Those are very different things.
Good practising requires us to observe ourselves honestly without beating ourselves up in the process.
That balance matters massively.
Your Body Already Knows
In my experience as a teacher, once a guitarist develops an understanding of what a quality sound actually is, they can usually recognise when something doesn’t sound right.
That awareness is the first step.
If the sound is unclear, then clarity becomes the thing we need to practise. But it’s not just about the sound; it’s also about how playing feels. This is where body awareness becomes incredibly important.
People massively underestimate the value of relaxation when practising guitar. Half the time, we’re simply trying too hard.
Imagine trying to play a fast alternate-picked run, and the notes sound sloppy. Your picking hand feels tense. Your fretting hand feels out of sync. The timing feels uneven. Your ears are dissatisfied with the sound coming out of the amp.
Well…those are all clues.
Your body is already telling you what needs work.
The Problem Is The Solution
One of the most useful ideas I’ve found in practice is this:
“The problem is the solution.”
If tension is the problem, relaxation becomes the practice. If clarity is the problem, clarity becomes the practice. If synchronisation is the problem, synchronisation becomes the practice.
This is where deliberate practice finally enters the picture. Because now we’ve identified specific goals, we’re no longer just “playing the exercise again”.
Now we’re solving problems with intention.
Prioritising The Right Thing
This is also where prioritisation becomes really important. Not every issue deserves equal attention at the same time.
For example, if relaxation is the biggest issue preventing speed, then relaxation probably needs to become the priority. Not the speed itself.
That sounds counterintuitive at first, but relaxation is a huge part of playing fast guitar cleanly and efficiently. So instead of obsessing over tempo, we might spend time focusing entirely on staying relaxed whilst playing the phrase.
Interestingly, solving one foundational issue often improves multiple others at the same time. Relaxation can improve timing, clarity, and synchronisation.
Sometimes one domino knocks over the rest. If not, then we move onto the next priority.
Final Thoughts
Most people already know what they need to practise. Their ears tell them, their hands tell them, and their bodies tell them.
The challenge is learning to observe those signals honestly and objectively. Deliberate practice is really the practice of awareness. It’s the ability to recognise what is happening, identify what needs attention and work on that thing intentionally.
Because ultimately, practising more is not always the answer.
Practising with intention is.
Your next step is to ask yourself – what feels uncomfortable in my playing, and how am I going to fix that?
Once you know your intention, leave a reply and share it 👇
