Getting Through Guitar Practice on Days You Just Can't
Effective Methods to Help You Stick with Practice on Your Most Unmotivated Days
It’s 12:30 PM on a Saturday.
I’ve been practicing for a couple of hours even though I’d rather do something else if I’m being honest with myself.
I feel great having gotten the practice in another day, so even though it wasn’t the best practice session ever, it got done.
That’s the most important thing.
Consistency.
Inspiration will come and go—that’s just how life works. If you let inspiration or motivation decide whether you’re going to practice or not, you’ll most likely not get very far in your playing.
I’m not saying you have to put in a massive practice session every day, but even keeping it to 20-30 minutes of technique maintenance will go a long way. That way, when the inspiration to play comes back, you won’t be held back by a sluggish technique.
Here are some ways to think about practice that have helped me to consistently get it in over the years.
1. Big Picture Thinking
When I know I should practice but pretty much anything else seems more interesting, I remind myself of the big picture.
The thought that scares me the most: one day I won’t be able to play.
It’s so easy to take everything for granted. Just the physical act of getting out of bed, walking downstairs, and sitting down with a cup of coffee to practice for a few hours is something to be extremely grateful for. One day, hopefully very far in the future, I might not have the ability to do it.
This way of thinking, while a bit bleak, is really effective in getting myself to snap out of the "woe is me" feeling when it comes to practicing. In fact, it’s something that I use for a lot of things, like going to the gym and running every day.
When you realize that someday you won’t be able to, the will to do it becomes much stronger than spending another hour in front of YouTube videos.
2. Having A Project
When I was just starting out, I’d practice a lot of different things. Even though I’d spend little time on any one thing, I still improved quickly since I was new to the instrument.
Now, I have what I call "projects."
This can be covering all 12 keys of the melodic minor scale with a particular set of picking sequences as opposed to just any random picking exercise. Another example is listening through an entire discography of a player I like, song by song with my guitar in hand. I stop at any point where I hear something I like and don’t immediately know how to play.
I learn that part by ear and then move on until I hear something else that fits my criteria. I don’t care about playing the newly learned thing up to tempo—I simply want to make sure I understand how to get that sound.
This practice develops my ears, technique, and musical vocabulary, and it gives the rest of my practice a direction that’s coming straight from the music I love.
Having projects gives you clarity. This is crucial when sitting down to practice. If you have to not only use your willpower to sit your ass down but also decide what to practice as well? That’s a recipe for YouTube binging.
It’s like going to the gym with no plan whatsoever. You’ll end up wasting a lot of time hemming and hawing about what exercises to do instead of just showing up and putting in the work.
Clarity is key. Any plan is better than no plan.
3. Be Selfish
I always tell my private students, “No one is going to hear you play guitar more than you.”
What I mean by this statement is that you should focus on the music and styles you like, not what’s considered cool at the moment.
When I started playing in 1992, grunge was at its peak.
Even though I appreciate the music today, it wasn’t very inspiring to listen to as a budding guitar shredder wannabe.
In my hometown, it was almost a bit taboo to be able to play fast, so I learned the songs of the day and played in cover bands to fit in.
When I was practicing for hours and hours at home, I was devouring all the Shrapnel players like Vinnie Moore, Tony MacAlpine, Racer X, and Jason Becker. I had also just discovered Dream Theater, on top of my already ongoing Yngwie obsession.
I kept all this to myself since it wasn’t considered cool, and, like any teenager, I wanted to fit in.
Thankfully, I kept that up, and as I got better and better, my confidence grew, and I slowly realized it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.
The only time you should learn music you don’t like is if you’re in any type of cover band where it’s part of the job.
My recommendation is to learn anything you like the sound of, regardless of style. If you like it, it’s your duty to understand how to create that sound for yourself.
Summing It All Up
Practicing guitar isn’t always glamorous, and it definitely isn’t always fun. But the key to making progress lies in showing up—day in and day out—even when it feels like a chore. Consistency beats inspiration every time. Whether it’s remembering the big picture, having a focused project, or simply playing for yourself, these approaches have kept me going for decades, and they can do the same for you.
The next time you feel the urge to skip practice, remind yourself why you play, think about your long-term goals, or pick up a small project that inspires you. Keep moving forward, even if it’s just a small step each day, and trust that the work will pay off when that spark of inspiration returns.
So, be consistent. Be clear. Be selfish. And, most importantly—just keep playing.
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