Here's a question one of your fellow students asked recently. Not only have I been asked this many times but I suspect quite a few people are thinking it without asking. I decided to spend a little more time than usual writing a response.

Q: I keep hitting and pressing the wrong strings. Any tips on how I can improve it? I’m doing the Speed Developer exercise every day and it’s easy to play when we have to hit the same string. It becomes a problem when I’m playing something more difficult like a melody. - Shivanshu

A: This is an issue that’s taken me years to come to grips with. I'm hoping I can save you and other students some time and stress by relating what I've learned.

First I slowly came to realize I was thinking about the learning process in the wrong way. It's not actually a “problem”. It's just the natural course of learning a skill. 

Playing even simple guitar involves learning to coordinate your hands together as well as getting them to do what your mind is telling them to do (And that's actually a simplification). It takes time and correct repetitions to get it right.  By thinking of it as a problem I was creating unnecessary stress and trying to “solve” the problem instead of patiently and meticulously working through it. 

So the first tip is to work at seeing it as a natural learning process.

This means letting go of expecting to get it right.  When it doesn't go the way you would like (i.e. you hit a “wrong” note) try to see it as just feedback.  And what is the feedback? Several possibilities… but I'll talk about that in a minute.

Let me say that this perspective itself usually takes practice.  Be patient with yourself. Don't expect to get this overnight. Just keep working at it. You're laying a foundation for learning that will serve you well.

When you play something during practice and it doesn't go the way you'd like (which is normal) the feedback is likely one of the following things…

1) I need to play it more slowly

2) I need to break it down into smaller parts and work on the parts.

3) I’m close but I need more repetitions

In some cases I’ve missed some steps and I need to go back and work on a specific technique or easier material and build up to it.  However when you're working step-by-step through a system like The Beginners Journey that's not likely the case unless you skipped some of the lessons.

If it’s #3 there’s nothing to do but keep at it. Usually I find it’s # 1 (practice slower) or #2 (break it down). 

So let's go with either #1 or #2... Or both.  Then you would take what you're working on and slow it down until you can play it right. Use a metronome to check your speed.  Then play it faster little by little until it's at the tempo that you want. 

What if you still can't play it right no matter how slow you go?  Then it’s time to break it down into smaller pieces. 

An example would be if you're playing something that is 4 measures long, start with the first measure and play it at a slow tempo. Then work on the second measure. Put the two together so you get the transition from one measure to the other. 

Continue in this way until you can play the entire 4 measures. Then start picking up the tempo as we discussed earlier.

This can take minutes, days or weeks. Does it matter how long it takes? No… As long as you can muster up enough patience to stick with it.

Here’s a quick summary:

• Play through the lesson or exercise... Listen!
• Ask yourself, ``What do I need to do now?”
• Did you skip or skim through earlier lessons. If so consider going back.
• Otherwise choose one of these three strategies.
  • Play it more slowly
  • Break it down and work on part of it.
  • I’m close. I’ll continue practicing it.
• Proceed with the path you’ve chosen and make more decisions as you continue on.

This works best if you have an organized practice routine. It's easier to muster up patience when you’ve set yourself up to work on it regularly and as part of a holistic program.

Remember: This is where you’re at. If you could play it faster and correctly you would. 

To get to that place (fast and correct) you start slower or break it down.  When you slow it down or break it down you have more time to figure out what’s going on.  Pay attention. Experiment to find what works. Simplify to isolate the issue.

You’re training your mind and your body to work together to get the results you want. It’s a worthy pursuit 🙂