Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy

Specific Plans

Getting clear on what to practise is really useful. How you should practise is not the same for everyone. Some days, weeks, or months, you may be more/less motivated, or have more/less available time to practise. The key is not to feel guilty if you can’t do as much… Instead, you should adjust your plan so you can still make progress.

Below are three plans and some powerful little tips that will help you know exactly what to practise each day. Choose whichever suits YOU.

A word of warning – I once had a student who spent most of his practice time messing around or doing some random playing. He knew he wasted years doing this and as soon as we got him a plan together, he was much more focused and made much more progress. That is the power of having a plan. 

Choose ONE of the plans and stick with it for at least 14 days before trying another. Write down the plan and keep it next to your guitar so you can look at it daily. Try to keep my #1 rule of learning in mind at all times. That is: 

“Do something fun and improve one tiny thing every single day”. 

Here are the plans

READY, STEADY, GO…

PLAN 1

The Easy-to-Follow…

“Simplest Plan in the World”

Who is it for? This is for you if you are busy, overwhelmed or you need to keep things simple for a little while. 

This plan is suitable if you don’t like to be overly organised, ,or for days you are very busy. This is the plan:

• Guided Workout – Do one of the Guided Workouts (7-minute or 3-minute) each day.
• Fun Stuff! – This can mean working on anything you need to, want to, or feel like playing. 

This works because… If you ever feel overwhelmed (which is natural from time to time), you can strip your practice back and spend a few days working on just a few things. The guided workout (7-minute or 3-minute) will help you improve and the fun stuff will give you more fun! 

Going further – If you have the time, you can work on one of the Monthly Lessons and have a little more bonus fun.

PLAN 2

The New Member’s…

“5-Star Plan”

Who is it for? Those who are fairly new to the DTAA and/or want very specific things to practise.

Here’s a very simple routine that will help you get the best out of the DTAA. You can spend 5-15 minutes on each section (or more or less time if you prefer). The time spent on each section is entirely up to you. Here’s the plan…

• Guided Workout – Do one of the Guided Workouts (7-minute or 3-minute) each day.
• In Focus – Work on a lesson from the In Focus course going from top to bottom of that course.
• Fix – Improve ONE thing holding back your playing (this will usually be from a song but it can, of course, be a technique).
• The ‘5-Star’ Award – Spend some time working on achieving your first (or next star) in the ‘5-Star’ Award.

This works because… It will help you warm up and improve many fundamentals with the Guided Workout, make progress with the In Focus course, fix issues, and have something to work towards with the ‘5-Star’ Award (while also having fun!)

Going Further – Finish off with some fun stuff. I.e. your favourite thing to play (maybe a monthly DTAA lesson, maybe a song, or whatever you fancy). 

PLAN 3

The Experienced Member’s…

“Wallchart Plan”

Who is it for? More experienced members of the DTAA who have already taken the In Focus course, enjoyed the monthly lessons, etc., and now want to put it all together in a specific plan.

This plan is based on the ‘Wallchart’ I created for DTAA members. You can get the Wallchart and print it off HERE. This plan covers multiple bases and is my favourite of all the plans. Feel free to adapt it as you see fit to…

• The ‘5-Star’ Award – On the left-hand side of the wallchart are all the criteria for achieving each star in the ‘5-Star’ Award. Spend time each day improving the ‘star’ level you are aiming to achieve.
• Key Reminders – On the right-hand side of the wallchart are key reminders of technical things you should aim to practise. You will find these lessons in the In Focus course as well as throughout my books and courses. 
• The ’10x Method’ – Choose one thing to practise the ’10x Method’ with. This will help you build up great practice habits and improve one thing in a faster and smoother way.
• Songs – Play a song you are good at and practise any songs you want to improve. This is all fun stuff and will help you to keep improving what you already know and it will help you to have some fun!
• The ‘To-Do’ List – Write down the things that you need to improve. Think about the things that are holding back your progress and work on one thing (the most important) each day, trying to improve it. This will allow you to make faster breakthroughs.

You don’t have to do everything on this wallchart every day – that is the beauty of it. Do it all, or do what you have time for each day. 

This practice routine works… Because it is unique to you and covers many key bases such as the ‘5-Star’ Award, songs, core skills, important reminders, the ’10x Method, fixing issues, and more. Plus, having all the things you know on one sheet of paper is powerful as it will constantly remind you to practise things which you would otherwise forget (that happens a lot to most people!)

Going Further – If you have time, feel free to dive into the DTAA, and start using a new lesson or take a bonus Challenge or Quiz.

Key Pointers!

• Get a Notebook – These are super handy for being organised and making more detailed notes to go along with your wallchart and the above plans. 
• Mix and Match – You don’t have to follow the above routines exactly, but you can create your own based on these if you prefer. 
• Mini “Kettle Sessions” – These are little bonus 2 to 5-minute practice sessions I do while waiting for the kettle to boil for a cup of tea! Do the same thing whenever you have a spare few minutes. Just pick up and play! Use this time to run through ONE specific thing (e.g. one bar of a song, a chord change, or work on memorising a part).
• The “One-Chord Promise”. If you need more motivation to practise, simply promise yourself that you’ll play just one chord per day. This will help you form the habit of daily practice. Once the habit is formed, you can kick on from there.
• “Maintenence Mode” – Try to dedicate a little time each week to “maintaining” what you already know how to play and don’t want to forget. You can have a specific maintenance day or you can spread this throughout the week. (Plan 3 will help here).

Don’t forget to read the motivating emails I send (I usually send 5-6 per week), so do make sure you’re getting the emails and contact me if not.

Summary and Tips

I hope the above plans are useful.

Getting clear on what to practise is important – The answer to the question of how to practise is not the same for everyone. Remember, there will be times when you have more/less motivation and time. During those times, it may be useful to adjust your plan or switch to one of the other plans above.

No plan is perfect all the time – You need to be flexible to some degree. If in doubt, never forget my #1 rule and that is:

“Do something fun and improve one tiny thing every single day”

Revisit this page as much as you need to. It will help give you clarity and never forget, as a DTAA member, you get full support from me as and when you need it. If you ever get stuck, please use this support. We have your back and I want the best success for you!