Like any well-oiled machine, great guitar playing requires maintenance. It's not all about consciously "improving", and this, the 2nd installment on this subject, shows why and what you can do to become more effective as a guitarist.

1. IMPROVEMENT VS.
MAINTENANCE, PT. 2
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2. Alright...if you've been following along, we've discussed the basic differences between
practicing for the sake of improvement and practicing with the intent of keeping what
we already have (otherwise known as the improvement and maintenance models) in a
previous installment. As mentioned before, the maintenance model is also driven by
motivation, and although the same motivators are often present for both models,
they're usually less obvious when working to maintain what we've already built.
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This is completely the domain of doing it for its own sake, and doing it because you
“have” to or are “supposed” to. While this isn't always the most fun, and it's not
always what we dream of when formulating ideas of ruling the world with a guitar, it
is necessary. It's absolutely necessary, and contrary to what others might tell you,
doing this stuff for real isn't always “fun”, or even moderately appealing. And, doing it
for its own sake never ends, either, regardless of how long you've been playing or what
level of experience you have.

3. So, does this mean that we just resign ourselves to the fact that it's gonna suck
sometimes? Well, yes. It kinda does. Most things worth doing fall under the
category of doing just for its own sake, at least sometimes. But, this doesn't mean
that guitar maintenance work itself sucks, or that it's unproductive. In fact, we'll
often make bigger gains and get more results from the maintenance model than by
practicing for improvement, at least in terms of physical technique.
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Why is this? Well, my theory is that because we're basically going on “autopilot”
with the maintenance model, and effectively getting our conscious mind out of the
way, we're able to work on technical aspects that we already have without as much
hindrance or interruption. We've all got those “voices” in our heads (some of us
more than others) that tell us that we're doing something wrong, we need to do
something else, we need to stop wasting time with certain things, we need to quit
altogether, and so forth.

4. One of the most effective ways to tell that voice to shut up is by tuning it
out, just like you would with anyone else who you've chosen to ignore
because they've gotten on your last nerve with their incessant, distracting
bullshit. How do we do this? There are many ways, but one of the best is
to go against the stock advice that most people give you about effective
guitar practice (big surprise there.) Turn on the TV, listen to something
else, or whatever else you can do to “zap out” for a bit and put your
conscious attention elsewhere. That's pretty much it.
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In short: you get the hell out of your own way and just do it.
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5. Also, doing this elicits a slight sort of trance state, and by putting conscious attention
elsewhere, the work we do may sink deeper into the unconscious mind, making it
more automatic and permanent. In reality, the majority of what we do as guitarists is
unconscious, yet so many players focus on the conscious, intellect-driven side of
things while ignoring the unconscious side altogether. Since most of what happens
goes on “behind the scenes”, it makes sense to work with those mechanisms directly,
rather than taking a haphazard approach to what we've already established, as well as
new input.
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What it comes down to is this: we want to use the maintenance model when drilling
techniques and ideas we're already familiar with, and the improvement model for
new things. Do NOT use the maintenance model when working on new material or
things you're still struggling with: these areas need more conscious attention, and we
want to establish a degree of competence with them before they become automatic.

6. Once you've nailed that, though, turn on the TV and that “Gilligan's
Island” marathon or whatever else happens to be on, and perform your
maintenance without a hassle. Not only does this help to embed and
improve what you've attained on a deeper level, it also can help take the
boredom and “I hate to practice” sting out of whatever you're working
on. Try it, do it, and make it work for you.

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