
283 - Should You Practice Guitar Faster Than You Can Play?
From Beginner Guitar Academy by Beginner Guitar Academy
April 25, 2026 · 11 min · Season 1 · Episode 283
About this episode
This episode discusses whether practicing guitar faster than you can play can improve speed, inspired by a community question.
Main Topic: Should you sometimes practice faster than you can actually play to improve speed? Inspired by a community question from Rob Tyler Discussion of "functional overload" and parallels to sports training (running, weightlifting) Updated Tutorial Announced: "Come As You Are" tutorial re-recorded, new tabs, play-along tracks added Includes adaptation for both beginners (open chords) and higher levels (power/bar chords & alternate tunings) Live Member Q&A: Scheduled for Monday, April 27th at 9 pm UK time (details in emails and newsletter) Video/audio recording will be available in the Academy and Members Only podcast Pre-submit questions if you cannot attend live Main Discussion: Overload Practice for Speed Traditional advice: Practice slowly and accurately to avoid repeating mistakes (03:09) Mistakes, if repeated, can become ingrained habits (03:20) Referenced "Rule of Three" from Episode 116: If you make three mistakes in a row, slow down or simplify (04:00) Overload technique: Play at a comfortable speed, briefly push slightly past your comfort zone, then return to normal speed (05:02) Similar to interval training or lifting heavier weights in sports Scientific…
People in this episode
Host: Beginner Guitar Academy
Topics covered
- guitar practice techniques
- speed improvement
- functional overload
- sports training parallels
- interval training
- mistake management
Keywords
- guitar practice
- speed
- functional overload
- interval training
- mistakes
- chord changes
- scales
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Come As You Are, Rule of Three, Episode 116
More episodes of Beginner Guitar Academy
- 290 - From Starting Over to Becoming a BGA Graduate – Antony Box's Story · June 13, 2026 · 1h 11m
- 289 – You Can't Rely on Motivation Alone · June 7, 2026 · 17 min
- 288 - The Most Inspiring Music Films Every Guitarist Should Watch · May 28, 2026 · 25 min
- 287 - 5 Classic Movie Guitar Scenes · May 22, 2026 · 32 min
- 286 - How To Start Recording Yourself As A Guitarist · May 15, 2026 · 22 min
- 285 - From The Vault: 10 Great Guitar Documentaries (Part 2) · May 9, 2026 · 25 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Beginner Guitar Academy podcast page.