Roberto Capocchi, guitarist: Blog

These are guidelines for music majors. If you play as an amateur, you have more freedom, although some of my amateur students have been very inspiring to me over the years regarding their dedication.  Remember - devotion to your music looks like discipline...
 
First, the basic stuff – things that will get you fired in the real world if you forget them:
Show up. Sober, alert, and focused.
Have all your materials: music, instrument, practice sheet, pencil, etc.
Be prepared. Your lessons aren't random. They are part of a well planned curriculum, and we build on previous lessons. If you play a lot between lessons, but don't do your assignments, you will miss out on the whole process. Being unprepared is as bad as not showing up.
 
Now some less obvious ideas:
Save your practice sheets.
Record your lessons: this helps so much, I believe it should be mandatory. Soon after your lesson, review the recording and take notes. I suggest adding instructions and details [...]

Thanks to Guilherme Vincenz for finding this!
What can we learn from it?
"The fame of Andrés Segovia, the Spanish guitarist whose name has been a prominent one of late years in capitals of Europe, had preceded him. An audience including many Spaniards and many more of the musical connoisseurs of the city greeted him when he made his first appearance yesterday afternoon in Town Hall. But the appearance of Mr. Segovia is not that of the trumpeted virtuoso. He is rather the dreamer or scholar in bearing, long hair, eyeglasses, a black frock coat and neckwear of an earlier generation. He seats himself, thoughtfully, places his left foot on its rest, strikes a soft chord, then bends over his guitar and proceeds to play like the poet and master he is of the instrument.Granting a knowledge far greater than this reviewer possesses of the technics of the matter, it would not avail to describe Mr. Segovia’s performance in technical terms. He belongs to the very small group of musicians [...]

Try keeping these seven qualities in mind as you practice.  I borrowed these from Gerald Klickstein's 'Musician's Way"
He has a short article about them at: http://musiciansway.com/blog/?p=1137
1) Ease
2) Expressiveness
3) Accuracy
4) Rhythmic vitality
5) Beautiful tone
6) Focused attention
7) Positive attitude
I like thinking of these as "improvable" rather than having a pass/fail attitude.  This means a practice session can be fulfilling and successful if you end up playing more accurately than before - even if it's not perfect.  You can make your tone more beautiful than before, even if it's not yet the best tone you'll ever have, etc.  Excellence, in this sense, is to continually, and happily, improve from where we are.  This does not mean settling for a lesser result, but rather keeping in mind that your practice is an ongoing, lifelong process.
How do we invite each one of these qualities into each practice session?

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Guitar Students Make
 

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Guitar Students Make By Jamie Andreas
1 - Practicing Too Fast
Virtually all guitar students practice everything at a speed that makes it impossible for their muscles to work in a relaxed fashion. Unknown to students, their muscles are in a state of chronic tension during the whole time they are practicing.
This tension stays in the muscles due to the power of "muscle memory". Because of this, the student will be placing a severe limit on their guitar abilities. Everything will feel difficult because the hands, arms, and body have a level of tension during movements that simply does not allow for smooth action.
The real secret is a super slow type of practicing that I call "No Tempo Practice". It has the power to unlock the professional level ability in any player.
2 - Not Paying Attention to the Body During Practice
We play the guitar with the body. That is the central fact that cannot be ignored. Students who have [...]

This is a wonderful framework that works for me, and that I've learned to teach - and then coach - my students.  In a nutshell, here's what I do, in small "bites:"
1) Study the score
2) Read it on the guitar
3) Run through it in my head
4) Drill it a little, playing from memory
5) Incorporate the new bit
Then, I move on to the next bit.
Try it!
This is not a comprehensive practice method.  It just gets new music into your head, so you can do all sorts of other practice methods more freely. 
The steps can be fluid - often, I'll alternate studying the score and reading on the guitar to make fingering decisions.  Or alternate reading on the guitar with visualizing to create a stronger, clearer mental picture.  Alternating visualization and playing from memory allows me to study my fingers in detail, and compare what I see with the "ideal" technique in my head.  At this point, I avoid drilling too much.
Make the process you own:
1) How big are the bites?  [...]