When I started learning the guitar, my learning process for a new song was “First fret, sixth string…move this finger to the first fret, fifth string… then slide it up to the third fret…”
There’s nothing wrong with this – it’s how we all learn in the beginning. As I learnt more songs and studied music theory, I developed better ways to learn pieces more efficiently.
1.Sequence
Just because we listen to music from start to finish, doesn’t mean we have to start learning a piece from the beginning. My preferred method is to listen to the whole piece first and identify the tricky parts; if there is a difficult lick in the solo, for instance, you can start practising that now whilst learning the rest of the piece alongside it. We can master things quickly by learning them in parallel, rather than sequentially.
2. Give yourself a deadline and stakes
I find myself more motivated to learn something if there is a definite deadline and some sort of pressure or stakes involved. If I know I will be performing a song in a gig, the pressure will motivate me to make sure I learn the piece thoroughly and to a higher standard. Other ways to motivate yourself might be to play the song to some friends, teach the piece to someone else, or upload a video to YouTube.
3. Tempo
It might sound obvious, but practicing with a metronome really helps me to stay focussed on my timing as well as gradually building speed on any difficult sections. Once I can play the piece at the correct speed, I will then play along to a backing track to improve my musical feel.
4. Technical ability
This refers to how well your fingers are connected to your brain. Developing this should be a daily part of your routine, usually by playing exercises, but you can also use the piece you are currently learning to develop your technique: if you are struggling with a legato lick or a particular chord change, you can make this into an exercise by playing it slowly with a metronome and gradually speeding it up. Also try moving the pattern around the neck or onto different strings. Many of the musical patterns we encounter will repeat in various other songs, so it all helps to build our musical repertoire and makes it easier to learn future pieces.
5. Sing as you play
When you are learning something new, sing along with what you are playing on the guitar. I started doing this when I was learning a lot of solos and it really helped me build the connection between my fingers and my ear, meaning I could learn the solos quicker and also remember them for longer. If you are learning a chord progression, you could either sing the root notes of the chords you are playing, or you could sing the whole arpeggio.
6. Look for familiar patterns
If I really understand what I am playing from a music theory perspective, I find I can learn it faster and remember it for longer. By having a solid understanding of theory, you will be able to analyse the scales which are being used and also the harmonic framework of the chord progressions. Most songs follow very similar chord patterns, so understanding common progressions like ii-V-I , I-IV-V, and I-vi-IV-V allow me to “chunk” the piece into familiar patterns, so I don’t need to reinvent the wheel each time I learn a new piece.
Impact Guitar 