In this lesson
A practice routine gives you a starting point when you pick up the guitar and cannot decide what to work on. Choose something you want to play, then give a little attention to the chord change or rhythm that is getting in the way.
The plan below is one example for a beginner who already knows a chord or two. Adapt it to your lessons, interests and available time. Exploring sounds, making up a riff or playing a favourite song can be part of practice too.
An example 20-minute session
These are rough time budgets, including pauses. You can shorten a block, take a break or finish early. Daily practice is an option if it suits you; there is no need to make up a missed session with a longer one.
| Part of the session | Example time |
|---|---|
| Tune and get settled | 2 minutes |
| Begin with easy, familiar playing | 2 minutes |
| Work on one chord change | 4 minutes |
| Practise a rhythm | 4 minutes |
| Play music you want to learn | 8 minutes |
| Total | 20 minutes |
Tune and get settled
Check the guitar’s tuning, using the tuning guide if needed. The online guitar tuner is an option when you choose to use a microphone tuner. Let tuning take longer if it needs to; borrow that time from another block.
Sit or stand so the guitar is supported without either hand having to grip it in place. Check for unnecessary squeezing in your pick grip and fretting hand.
Begin with easy, familiar playing
Play a few notes or a chord that you can already manage, slowly and gently. Leave pauses between attempts and listen to the sound. You do not need a fixed one-finger-per-fret stretch exercise to begin this session.
A new movement can feel unfamiliar without hurting. Pain is a reason to stop, not a difficulty to push through. Take breaks, and seek qualified healthcare advice if pain or other symptoms persist or keep returning. This example schedule is not a return-to-playing plan after injury.
Work on one chord change
Choose two chords from the music you want to play.
- Form the first chord and pick its intended strings one at a time.
- If a note is unclear, check the finger placement before trying again. Use only enough pressure to sound it clearly.
- Move to the second chord, check its notes, then return to the first.
- Pause to adjust a recurring problem. When the movement is manageable, try it with a slow, steady beat.
The lesson on getting the hang of new chords develops these checks. If either shape is too difficult today, choose a more comfortable pair or spend the block on one chord.
Practise a rhythm
Start with one comfortable chord so you can concentrate on timing. For this exercise, use four quarter-note beats in each bar and strum down once on each count: 1 2 3 4. Repeat the bar without adding a pause after 4.
If you use the online metronome, select four beats per bar and let each click represent one numbered beat. Try 60 beats per minute as an example, then adjust if it feels rushed or difficult to follow. At 60 BPM, the clicks are one second apart.
Listen for whether the strums land with the clicks. If you lose the count, stop, listen to a full bar and restart on 1. When that is comfortable, the beginner strumming lesson adds explicitly counted upstrokes.
Play music you want to learn
Use this time for a short song section, riff, melody or chord progression. You can simplify the rhythm or play a smaller section while you learn it. If you use written tab, the guide to reading guitar tabs explains string and fret numbers and why you also need rhythm information.
Try the passage, notice one place that needs attention, work on that part briefly and return to the passage. Leave some room to play for enjoyment or experiment with your own ideas.
Adjusting the session length
For a 10-minute session, you could allow two minutes to tune and begin gently, two for a chord change, two for rhythm and four for music. Choose fewer tasks if setup takes longer.
If you have 30 minutes available, you could use the same 20-minute plan, take a five-minute break away from playing, then spend another five minutes on music or listening back to a recording. Extra available time does not have to become extra playing time.
Notice what is changing
A short note after practice can help you choose the next session’s task. Record the exercise as well as the result: a tempo by itself tells you little.
For example: Two bars of four downstrokes on Em at 60 BPM; the last beat rushed. Next time, listen through a bar before starting. You might also note which string in a chord is now clearer or where a song needs a pause for a change.
If you count chord changes for a minute, count only changes that meet your chosen standard for clear notes. Compare the same chord pair and conditions on another day. A higher count is only one observation; comfortable movement and steady timing matter too.
Review the plan as your playing changes. Keep tasks that serve the music you want to learn, and replace exercises that no longer address a useful problem.
Source notes
The timings and exercise sequence on this page are adaptable examples. D’Addario’s beginner routine with Justin Guitar provides a teaching example that separates chord clarity and changes and reserves half the session for songs. BAPAM’s warm-up guidance distinguishes warming up from stretching and advises breaks and stopping for pain; its return-to-playing guidance explains why symptoms and playing load need individual attention.