Review: Guitar Practice: Learn To Play Like a Professional Musician by Leo Doran

Guitar Practice: Learn To Play Like a Professional Musician 
by Leo Doran

Discover the mindset needed to become the best guitar player you can be and find the motivation to get over the dreaded plateaus
Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks new and experienced guitarists face is the dreaded “plateau”. This is a time during your guitar playing journey where you feel that you have reached you musical potential. The truth is there is no ceiling to your potential. You can always make progress.

Re-Ignite Your Passion For Music
Create Goals and Achieve Results
Learn to Be Consistent with Great Practice Habits
This book will go into detail about setting goals and finding your passion for playing again. Readers will re-learn the necessary practice techniques that are the building blocks to any great guitar players repertoire. You will also learn important growth mindsets to re-wire your thinking and get you motivated again. Finally you will learn about the best habits to insure your success over the long term.

My Take:
This was an amazingly quick read, though the material in it is packed in and can take a guitarist from wherever he currently is and move him to a pro. All it takes, and all it delivers, depends on what you put into it. Rather than an overload on chord charts and TAB, Leo Doran has produced a succinct manual on getting from newbie guitarist to a professional musician. The book is divided into two parts. The first half covers the basics - notes, scales, chords, fingering, TAB, strumming, picking, and exercises to get your fingers, heart, and hands in synch.

The second half works on the mind - the mental blocks and self-imposed limitations that keep a guitarist on the plateau he settles on. As a guitarist with over forty years of playing under my belt, I found the encouragement in the book heartening, as it was a solid reminder that I can improve and that I haven't reached the peak of my potential. Guess you CAN teach an old dog some new tricks.

The other day I sat down with my daughter's boyfriend and played a few songs on my Taylor, then watched him play a few. I've been playing for many years, yet this young man is leagues beyond where I am at. It was discouraging, somewhat, to see a guy who has been playing for less than a decade leave me in his dust. But this book reminded me that it's a time commitment, and if I put in the effort, I can improve. Not to impress the young guy dating my daughter, but simply to better use my talents at the level I'm called to. That was a timely message this 'stuck' guitarist needed to hear. Five Stars!