The Steve Stine Podcast

Five Hidden Practice Mistakes That Hold Guitarists Back


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Stuck practicing the same riffs and wondering why your playing won’t budge? We dig into the real reasons progress stalls and share a step-by-step way to turn scattered effort into steady gains. This isn’t about buying another pedal or memorizing another scale shape. It’s about practicing with intention, tightening your groove, and building a system that exposes weaknesses, connects skills, and keeps you accountable with honest feedback.

We start by reframing practice. Instead of vague goals like “work on scales,” we zero in on specific, measurable tasks: connect pentatonic positions one and two on the top strings, at a set tempo, for a short, focused block. Then we shift to rhythm and feel. Most players overtrain the fretting hand and undertrain the picking or strumming hand, so we break down subdivision choices, dynamic accents, and pocket control over backing tracks. From there, we get candid about weak spots and how to find them—whether they’re technical, theoretical, or visual—using short drills, tuner-checked bends, metronome grids, and targeted transitions.

We also unpack why learning songs often fails and how to fix it with a three-part model: know the roadmap by ear, own the tools under your fingers, and lock the groove before stitching sections together. Finally, we make the case for regular assessments and constructive feedback to eliminate blind spots, along with a healthier approach to comparison that fuels growth without crushing confidence. By the end, you’ll have a clear framework to focus your sessions, play tighter, and turn practice time into real musical results.

If this resonates, subscribe, share with a guitar friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review with the one habit you’ll change this week.

Links:

Check out the GuitarZoom Academy:
https://academy.guitarzoom.com/

  • Steve’s Channel → https://www.youtube.com/user/stinemus...
  • GuitarZoom Channel → https://www.youtube.com/user/guitarz0...
  • Songs Channel → https://www.youtube.com/user/GuitarSo... .
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The Steve Stine PodcastBy Steve Stine

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