I found a great way to practice a particular chord progression!

I started working on the changes to Spain by Chick Corea with a few of my students this month. I am using an app developed by Tom Quayle called Solo. This app is fantastic! I’m visualizing the guitar fretboard so much better now. First thing I do is start to work on the root of each chord in the change. Then I add the root and 3rd of each chord. I then continue to add the 5th and then 7th and so on until the practice session is making me stretch way out of my comfort zone. I’m not moving on to new chord changes but staying with Spain and then the next day I start the process all over again.

Two things are happening here. First I am truly getting comfortable with the chords that are being used in the song and where my limitations are being exposed. Secondly, I am taking out all the guesswork of my practice session. By being methodical with this one song, I can get in a great session no matter what time limit I have. Next time you practice try this approach for a couple of sessions and see how it goes!