Deliberate practice is, in my opinion, the fundamental practice strategy for effective practice. In this quick guide, I’ll explain what Deliberate Practice is, the steps you need to apply it to your music practice, and how you can use its principles when practicing alone to make faster and more secure gains.
So…What is Deliberate Practice?
- Goal Setting
- Strategic Problem-Solving
- Immediate Feedback
Steps of Deliberate Practice
1. Identify the Mistake
Instead of starting from the top again, stop immediately when a mistake occurs. Determine what happened and what type of mistake it was (e.g., rhythmic, mechanical, or expressive).
2. Analyze the Mistake
Then figure out why the mistake happened. For example, if you missed a note, was it due to improper finger positioning or arm movement? Once you come up with a possible cause, the next step of deliberate practice is to come up with a possible solution.
3. Implement the Solution in Isolation
Next, try your solution immediately. I find that it’s most effective when you start just a few notes before the mistake and play up to and including the error spot.
4. Get Feedback
External feedback from an expert (e.g., a coach or teacher) is the defining characteristic of Deliberate practice that sets it apart from basic “Strategic Practice,” which is the same thing minus external feedback from an expert. If you can get expert feedback, you’ll be in the best position to make faster progress. If not, the next best thing you can do is use your senses (e.g., ears, eyes, and hands) AND a recording device for immediate auto-feedback.
5. Adjust or Validate
The last step, after feedback, is to decide whether to repeat your correction a few times, make adjustments to your first solution, or find an entirely new solution. Then…rinse and repeat!
Applying Deliberate Practice Without a Coach
The reality is that most of our practice sessions are done alone. And while deliberate practice typically requires external feedback from an expert, you can still apply its principles through “strategic practice” which, like I mentioned above, involves giving yourself honest and detailed feedback to ensure progress.
Let’s try it out. Grab your guitar or other instrument and pick a VERY small passage of music. Start playing until you make your very first mistake, no matter how small it seems. (By the way, I usually recommend focusing on mechanical mistakes like wrong notes, wrong fingering, missing a fret, etc. first).
Once you identify your error, your first step should be to stop immediately and hold your position to analyze the error. Then identify the type of mistake (e.g., mechanical), determine the cause (e.g., elbow positioning?, wrong finger?), and propose a solution (e.g., adjust the elbow inward? correct finger?).
Once you’ve come up with a possible solution, try it out with ONLY your specific error section which should start just a few notes before your error and up to and including your error spot. After trying your solution, evaluate whether or not your correction works and decide whether to repeat it, adjust it, or try a new solution.
If you were successful, repeat your correction 3-5 more times IN A ROW to start solidifying your correction into long-term memory. Then start extending your phrase by starting a few more notes before your error and ending a few notes after. Gradually you can start increasing tempo, varying your dynamics, etc. to put your correction into a larger and more musical context.
If you were not successful, try again but SLOW DOWN to make sure that your correction works. If it doesn’t, you may need to come up with another solution. And, in the worse case scenario, if you try 3-7 solutions and you still are not successful, then reach our to a teacher/coach for help.
Working on Multiple Challenges
Working on each challenge is essential, but to really boost your progress, you’ll want to work on your challenges using Deliberate or Strategic practice in sets of 2 or 3 by using another related practice strategy called Interleaved (a.k.a., distributed) Practice. After addressing one challenge, move on to the next. Once you’ve identified 2-5 challenges, alternate between challenges (e.g., ABC, ABC, ABC) to reinforce learning and improve retention.
Progress on the guitar isn’t always a straight line—and that’s okay. If you’ve ever wondered what real music progress looks like, this reflection might bring some clarity. Looking back, there are also a few things I’d do differently if I were starting over—lessons that could save you time on your own journey. And perhaps most importantly, here’s how you can accelerate learning by slowing things down—a counterintuitive but powerful approach.
If you’re ready for real progress and want a proven, structured system, check out the Spanish Guitar Mastery course—it’s designed to guide you every step of the way.
For those interested in learning more of practice strategies and beginner-friendly classical and flamenco guitar pieces, check out my educational blogs right here!
Happy Practicing!
