Practice guides

Most practice advice stops at “play it slowly and speed up”. These go further: what tempo to start at, how much to raise it, and what to do with the two bars that keep going wrong.

• How to learn a guitar solo

  A step by step method for taking a solo apart, learning it slowly, and bringing it up to tempo.

• How to practice slowly and speed up

  Why slow practice works, what tempo to start at, and how much to raise it each time.

• How to learn a song by ear

  Working out a part from a recording, without tab, one phrase at a time.

• How to practice a difficult passage

  What to do with the two bars that keep going wrong, whatever you play.

• How to transcribe music

  Getting a part off a recording and onto paper, and the tools that make it bearable.

• How to get better at guitar

  The practice habits that actually move the needle, and the one most players skip.

• How to get better at piano

  Hands separate, small sections, slow tempo. Why the boring advice is the advice that works.

• How to loop a section of a YouTube video

  YouTube can only repeat a whole video. Here is how to repeat just one part of it.

• How to slow down a YouTube video

  The built in speed control, what it cannot do, and how to slow down just the hard part.

• Does slowing down a video change the pitch?

  Short answer: no, not any more. The longer answer explains why, and when it does.