How to Practice Guitar Without a Guitar
I have been counting down the days these past few months and TOMORROW I am finally leaving for my Europe vacay! In this post, I wanted to talk about what I’ll be doing on vacation to refresh my guitar inspiration and not lose all my practice progress I’ve made these past months. I will not be able to bring a guitar with me, so all these tips are for the traveler who can’t bring their instrument with them!
I wish I could bring my mini Orangewood Oliver with me!
I have been counting down the days these past few months and TOMORROW I am finally leaving for my Europe vacay (Ireland and Spain!) for me and my husband’s 5th anniversary (which what- I can’t believe it’s been 5 years)! We don’t have too many plans and I’m mostly planning on eating and drinking my way through both countries!
With that being said, these past few months I have been really trying to up my practice game (especially relating to theory and finger accuracy) and the idea of missing 16 days of practice is a little bit scary. And I know I’m not the only one — with the holidays coming up, I’m sure a lot of you are going to be spending some time away too! Even though I’ve thought about taking a travel guitar along and practicing every day, in reality it’s difficult because it’s pretty hard to tell the people you are traveling with you can’t come sit on a balcony and drink sangria (this is what I imagine my life will be like next week lol) because you have to practice the modes and do finger exercises. I am also packing the tiniest carry-on so I don’t have room for a travel guitar anyway.
Watch my video on how to not lose your guitar skills while on vacation here!
As I researched around the internet, I found some good ideas for coming back to your guitar feeling inspired and full of creativity! I obviously wanted to share with you what I will be doing, and would love to know what you normally do to not lose your guitar skills when you are on vacation!
1) Go see live music as much as possible
I haven’t traveled to Europe very much, but I did go to Ireland in high school — I know for a fact the live music scene in Ireland is amazing! Almost everywhere you go, there is bound to be local music somewhere, and absorbing new sounds, instruments, and different vibes of musicians in other places is SO refreshing! Whenever I travel, I love seeing the way other people do things and go about music, and it fills me with so much inspiration when I come back home!
2) Read or watch a musician bio
I have been wanting to see Bohemian Rhapsody and the Ken Burns Country Music documentary, so maybe this trip will be the time. It’s really fun to use time on trips to get a bit of the background of a genre or band/musician you are interested in. Sometimes with documentaries, I won’t as often choose then in the times that I would normally decide to watch movies, so using the plane/ train time for something like this seems perfect. I also will bring my in-ears so I have some fancy noise-canceling headphones!
3) Go to a cool music store
I love vintage music stores and it’s especially cool to see the variety of instruments in music stores in other countries. This can also be fun to just noodle around and add a tiny bit to your practicing. The only downside is if you find something amazing, you might not be able to bring it back with you!
4) Keep up your hand strength (more important for beginners!)
I remember being a beginner and my hands instantly getting weak if I didn’t practice for even just a week! There are a lot of random little gadgets out there to help with this, but an easy one is just getting a tennis ball or something around that size and practice squishing It a few times a day!
A nice thing about doing music is having in-ears for the plane! I got these bbs on Amazon and they are actually awesome (5 drivers!)!
5) Download my practice guide and make your practice plan!
I made this practice guide for you so that you can get inspiration and ideas for your practicing! You can download it for free right here and go through it if you have a little extra time on the plane. I tried to make It fun so hopefully it’s an enjoyable read for ya!
These are the main ideas I will try to be sticking with! There are more things you can do (like study the theory you have been struggling with on the plane, watching Youtube video lessons if you have good wi-fi, and just watching videos/ performances of guitarists you love)! I think the biggest thing I’m looking for on my vacation is coming back refreshed and inspired, being truly in the moment and enjoying every second, and trying to learn new things! And remember, you are way more than just your skills or playing and have such a huge purpose in life, so really take the time to be thankful for your life and enjoy getting to travel!
Wondering what you can do when you get back? Read my blog here!
Thank you all so so much as always for reading!! Comment your thoughts! :)
Have you gotten your chord sheets yet?
Download them for $6 here!
Finding More Time For Playing Guitar
When you are passionate about guitar, it’s easy to feel bummed when you can’t seem to find the time to fit it in your life as much as you’d like to. In this blog, I’ll give you a few tips that have helped me add guitar in my life daily!
Lately I’ve been including learning more about gear and trying new effects in my practice time!
When my husband and I first got married, we started a woodworking and interior design business called South and Sea where we made custom furniture for peoples’ homes and helped them design the perfect piece for their space. We started growing pretty quickly and absolutely loved it! We had a bit of an unconventional workspace (aka the living room of our small apartment) and were constantly getting sawdust stuck in the rug and having to leave the sliding glass door open in the freezing cold winter to let out the fumes of the wood stain. But in a way it was kind of nice (not the fumes though)… we would put on a movie while we worked together and we were constantly reminded to finish our projects quickly because they were taking up literally all of the space in our house. We kept getting more orders and it was rewarding seeing the excitement of giving someone the perfect piece!
Having our business set up so it was easy to pick up and put down (since it was in the middle of our living room) made it easy to be productive…even if I did sometimes step on splinters and risked inhaling stain fumes. Because everything was right there, we never forgot about what we were working on and it fit into our lives.
Set up for the day! :)
I talk to so many guitar players through Instagram who say they would play guitar more or would like to get better but don’t have the time. But getting better at guitar doesn’t need to take a lot of time and can fit into your life even if you’re busy. In this blog, I wanted to share some tips about how to meld guitar playing and practice with the rest of your life so you can be a better guitarist without changing your schedule.
1) Practice While Watching TV
Finger exercises are so incredibly helpful for getting your muscle memory on point, and your left and right hand working together like a well-oiled machine. Since they take little to no mental energy, I have found that whenever my husband wanted to bond and watch a movie or TV, I can grab my guitar and noodle away unplugged. The repetition has helped so much, and having something else I’m thinking about forced my fingers to do what I want them to without thinking about it.
My Fender jag is my fav rn!
2) Jam With Friends
I used to think that my friends who weren’t trying to be in a band or weren’t actively playing music probably weren’t that interested in jamming. But especially this year, I have had more of my friends over who like singing just for a hobby (but don’t get to do it very often). Gathering around playing songs everyone already knows has made for some of the most fun evenings and sharpens my improv and playing by ear skills!
3) Have Your Guitars Out and About
Hanging my guitars on my wall has been the best decision. Similar to when all our woodworking tools were in the middle of our living room, it makes playing easily accessible! I still keep my higher quality acoustics in their cases (cause humidity amirite?!) but having all the electrics hung up makes it so easy to grab one while you’re waiting for someone to leave, waiting for cookies in the oven, or don’t know what to do with your night. Also if you are concerned with design, I love using the rustic looking wooden hooks you can buy on amazon for like $10!
4) Saving Videos On Insta
We have all experienced the feeling of scrolling through the grams and wondering how 20 minutes slipped away watching “picked for you” dogs being reunited with their owners videos, fast motion cake decorating, or videos of odd creatures found in the deep sea (or is this just me?). But lately, my scrolling has become more inspired through the save feature on Instagram. Now whenever I hear a guitar player I love playing a cool lick or song, I’ll save it and come back to learn it. It comes in really handy when I’m practicing the next day, wondering what to learn — I already have all this inspiration built up.
5) Playing in a Band With People You Love
My dad is maybe the best example of this. All of his friends are in his bands and this is also how he makes more friends. It makes playing out (especially when you get fun gigs at wineries, cool restaurants, and bars!) feel like friend time but you’re also doing the most fun activity. If you are wanting to get in a band and start doing this, you can start small by grabbing a buddy and build up a small set list.
Read my blog on how to get a gig for more on this!
Playing guitar doesn’t have to be a separate life activity that you either work at excessively or don’t do at all. Weaving it into your life makes it more fun, helps you stay motivated to get better, and brings other people into the experience. Leave a comment with your thoughts and what’s helped you!
Here’s the gear on my board in these pics!
Bring Your Guitar Skills Back from Vacay
Lost your guitar skills on vacation? Find out how to get them back here!
Photo by Ethan Robertson
I don't know about you, but this summer has been crazy! You may be the type of person who practices on vacation (if you are, go you!), but when I was in Mexico, I was sharing a hotel room with friends, constantly at the beach/pool, and wasn't able to pack my guitar. While spending time at the beach drinking pina coladas and soaking up sunshine is essential to mental health, it's not always conducive to making me a better guitar player...
It also makes it really easy to keep missing the practice train because I 1) am scared maybe not thinking about guitar for a week has somehow made me terrible 2) I can't completely remember what I had been listening to and practicing before I left and 3) My fingers always become weirdly slower. Because all these things are the literal worst, I thought I would make you a little guide to you can skip the vacation hangover and get back to your passion for playing guitar!
1) Play a song you already know and love
It never hurts to build the old guitar confidence back up! Starting by playing a song you like rather than trying to play something really hard right of the bat is going to help revive your muscle memory and start getting those creative juices flowin' again. If you have someone to jam with, even better. Whenever I sit down and start jamming with my husband (he's a bass player), it always helps me remember why I love playing so much and it's nice to have someone to bounce creative ideas off of!
2) Start your real practice with some finger exercises
Love this beachy tank from Walrus!
S-L-O-W
If you try to start your finger exercises off too fast, you are going to feel sloppy and discouraged (yay...). So just start slow and don't worry about proving to yourself that your fingers are still speedy!
3) Choose a solo
Once you are all warmed up and feeling great (I'm convinced sometimes playing guitar is half confidence!), choose a new solo or lick and dive into copying it note for note. This is the main way I practice all the time. Reviewing your scales can only take you so far and then it becomes all about the finesse and the feeling you can put into your sound!
4) Find another human with an instrument
Lastly, schedule a jam, gig, or ask a friend to come play with you! Nothing gets you back into playing like another person-it's the main factor that forces you to play whole songs through and try to sound as professional as possible. :)
I hope this helps you if you are coming back from a full month of vacation like I am! Obviously none of this is rocket science, but sometimes a little outline can just help give you the little push you need to start!
I would love to know if there is anything that's been helpful for you getting back into playing when you've felt a little rusty- please comment below with your thoughts!
Practice Like you Mean It
It's easy to go through guitar practice time and not feel like you've improved at the end of it. Here's some tips to help you get the most out of your practice time.
"Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong."
I had my first traumatic mandolin incident when I was in third grade.
My bowl cut had barely grown out, I think I was wearing a plaid dress and it was Christmas Eve at my church's annual service. My family always did a bluegrass song that we wrote together and performed and normally I just sang the high harmony. This year though I had learned mandolin and was feeling great until the second I came on stage. Third grade me was freaked out! I was supposed to play a "solo" my dad helped me with that had about 10 notes in it. However, those 10 notes were too much for me. The moment the solo came up my hand started shaking so much my pick fell out of my hand and my solo was non-existent!
I know some of you get nervous playing guitar or will know something until the second you actually have to perform it, so I want to give you some tips on how to practice guitar so you are prepared for your own Christmas Eve service moments. I also want to help you find more material that challenges your guitar playing and grows you as a musician!
1) Stop being hard on yourself!
So many times I would find myself using guitar practice time unproductively and playing things I already knew. I would set my guitar expectations too high and would get discouraged that I wasn't learning things as fast as I "should' have been. So I ended up playing things I was comfortable with. So before you get practicing, throw all yo negative comments about your playing out the window and put of your "here to learn" hat!
I love this goal notebook my friend gave me- writing my goals down on paper makes them seem more offical!
2) Choose a goal of a song or technique you want to master on guitar
It's really important you have a goal in mind when you are practicing guitar like learning a song, figuring out how to solo in a certain style, speed picking etc. Choose just one at a time and go SLOW learning it! Which brings me to the next tip...
3) GO SLOW
Like sloth level! The dream is to use your guitar playing to bring hope and joy and to connect to people. So practice for the time when these people are all looking at you and you are nervous and everything suddenly vanishes from your head. Use a metronome to help you play consistently and slowly and ONLY increase it by 10 BPM a day!
4) Don't get distracted
Set a guitar practice time limit and turn off your phone during this time.
Personally, using medium picks to practice always helps me make sure I'm not playing too hard.
5) Do it right
Make sure you really get whatever you are trying to learn on guitar right before you move on to the next part. Make sure to choose music that you like and that inspires you. If you are playing a part a million times, it's best if you love that part!
Here are some of my favorite guitarists to learn from if you aren't sure where to go from where you currently are.
I always practice things that seem way too hard for me and take it one baby step at a time. You'll be amazed what you can learn by going slow!
Blues/Rock Foundation: Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, John Mayer
Country: Brent Mason, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban
Acoustic: Jon Foreman, Civil Wars, Ed Sheeran, Tori Kelly
Alternative/ practice getting your pedal board sounding amazing: The 1975, Walk the Moon, Fleetwood Mac
If you have any tips for ways you've made your practicing more productive or if there any bands with guitar parts that have challenged you, please share! Thanks for reading and I hope this helps you!
