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By Craig Bassett
You've probably noticed that there is an almost infinite
number
of guitar tuition books that you can buy. And if you're
anything
like me, you've probably bought dozens of them. You've also
probably noticed that some of the books would take SEVERAL
lifetimes to master! And would it be fair to say that
sometimes
you don't know where to start? So much information, so little
time! Don't worry, you're not alone...
I used to get totally overwhelmed by my guitar book
collection.
I used to pick up a book and not really know where to start. I
usually would play around with a book for a week or two, and
then move onto another book...even when I hadn't mastered what
I had learnt from the book. End result? A feeling of
frustration! The good thing about this though was that this
frustration inspired me to create a system to get the most out
of my books. Let's take a look at it now...
***Step One: Quick Overview***
Find a guitar book that you would like to work on. Read the
front and back covers only. What are some things that you
think
the book might help you with? Please write these down now.
***Step Two: Define Your Purpose***
Have a quick think about your musical goals. With your goals
in
mind, write down your purpose for studying the book. What
EXACTLY would you like to get from the book? Make it specific.
If you feel that the book is not totally relevant to your
goals
right now, then DON'T study it. It will be a waste of your
valuable time. Instead, find another book that is more
relevant.
***Step Three: Preview The Book***
Read the table of contents. As you read it, ask
yourself..."What ONE section of this book will help me the
most
with my current musical goals?". Once you've finished reading
the table of contents, choose the ONE section that you feel
will help you the most.
***Step Four: Detailed Reading***
Read the section that you chose in Step Three. Do you still
feel that it will really help you achieve your musical goals?
If you do...great! If not...just repeat Step Three and choose
another section.
Once you've read through the whole section, choose the ONE
thing in it that you think will help you the most. It could be
a specific lick, theoretical concept, chord progression etc.
The idea is to choose the one thing that will benefit your
guitar playing the most. Life is too short to practice things
that aren't INCREDIBLY important to your musical development!
***Step Five: Get To Work***
Practice the thing that you chose in Step Four. Practice it
like a maniac! Really work hard to integrate it into your
playing or knowledge. Keep working on it daily until you feel
that you have mastered it.Depending on what you chose, this
could take hours, days, weeks, months of even years!
I hope you find this method works for you. Dust off those
books
now, and get to work!
About The Author: Craig Bassett is a professional guitarist,
author and guitar tutor. To gain TOTAL mastery of the guitar
fretboard, please go to: www.GuitarNoteMastery.com
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