| Most guitarists practice until they can play something correct — then immediately move on. “Can play it” and “play it well” are two very different standards. When you finally get through a difficult passage without stopping, there’s a little rush of relief, and that feeling tricks your brain into thinking the work is done. So you move on. And the next time you come back to it, it’s shaky again. So you grind through it one more time… and move on again. Same cycle, same result. What you’re actually practicing is getting through it — not playing it well. Don’t move on until you’ve played something correctly three times in a row. Not three times total. Three times consecutively. The moment you make a mistake, the count resets to zero. This completely changes how you practice. Suddenly you’re not just surviving a passage — you’re building real consistency. Three-in-a-row forces your hands to repeat the correct movement, which is exactly what muscle memory actually requires. One correct rep is a fluke. Three in a row is a pattern your brain can keep. If your practice feels like it’s going in circles, my free guide — 5 Mistakes That Keep Guitar Players Stuck — is worth a read. Grab the Free Guide |