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Guitar Lab: The Art of Practicing, Vol. 1

Practice Smarter. Play Better. Grow Deeper.

Marty FriedmanTommy EmmanuelSteve VaiEric GalesEric Johnson

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Guitar Lab: The Art of Practicing, Vol. 1
Brad Carlton

Brad Carlton

Educator

—

Genres

About this course

The Art of Practicing is a deep dive into the mindset, discipline, and self-awareness required to become a better musician. Drawing on more than 56 years of teaching experience, Brad Carlton shares the core principles behind effective practice, showing you how to listen more deeply, assess your own playing honestly, and build the habits that lead to real musical growth. This is not a course about memorizing licks or running exercises without purpose. It is about learning how to practice with focus, intention, and a clear understanding of what you are trying to improve.


Brad breaks down the different roles you need to play in your own development, from teacher to student to coach, while helping you understand how to identify weaknesses, set goals, and stay motivated through the process. You’ll explore concepts like the investment of time, the difference between difficult and different, the three levels of assessment, and the major areas of study, including the classroom, the gym, the playground, the stage, and the studio.


Along the way, the course strengthens much more than your practice routine. You’ll sharpen your listening, improve your time, develop better fretboard awareness, build stronger technique, and learn how to approach mistakes, improvisation, performance, and recording with a more productive mindset. By the end of the course, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how to guide your own musical growth and make your practice time more focused, creative, and rewarding. So listen closely, take your time, and let’s dig into The Art of Practicing.
Release date: 05/01/2026 • 1h 39m runtime
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Sample lessons
The Discipline of Practice
The Discipline of Practice
Investment of Time

What's included

10 lessons • 1 charts

Guitar Lab: The Art of Practicing, Vol. 1
My name is Brad Carlton, and if you know anything about me, you know I’ve been teaching for a very long time, over 56 years. So I have put together a course, or a series of courses here, that are really me speaking about these principles and the things that I know from watching students, from teaching myself, and from being a musician all my life.

So, The Art of Practicing is the title of this course, and truly, it is an art. It involves some self-awareness. It involves setting up goals, the discipline, and also the elements of what a musician has to study to be fluent in this language called music.

Now, I would say grab your guitar, but in this case, you’re not even going to need a guitar. All you need to do is just listen to these principles, and it’s going to get a little tedious because I’m going to go on and on and on. So listen to these segments and take your time, and then apply these principles to your personal practice, and I promise you, you’ll be a better musician.
The Discipline of Practice
In this lesson, we’ll go over the discipline of practice and the importance of investing focused time into your playing. I’ll explain that progress does not come from simply spending time with the guitar in your hands, but from practicing with purpose, concentration, and consistency. We’ll also look at how listening, singing, time management, and focused repetition all help develop the foundation needed to become a stronger musician.
Teacher vs Student vs Coach
In this lesson, we’ll go over the different roles you need to take on in your own musical development. I’ll explain that while a teacher or coach can guide you, you ultimately have to become your own teacher by assessing your playing, staying open as a student, and encouraging yourself like a coach. By learning how to change hats, you can better understand your weaknesses, solve problems, and keep growing as a musician.
Difficult or Different?
In this lesson, we’ll go over the importance of replacing the word “difficult” with “different.” I’ll explain that calling something difficult can create a negative mindset before you even begin, while seeing it as different keeps you open to growth. By using discernment, staying motivated, and letting the music guide the technique, you can push yourself without shutting yourself down.
The Three Levels
In this lesson, we’ll go over my three levels of musical assessment and how they can help you decide what to practice. Level one includes the things you can already play comfortably, level two is where growth happens, and level three is where new and unfamiliar material begins. Real progress comes from honestly assessing your playing, moving ideas between these levels, and using new approaches to keep your practice fresh.
Areas of Study pt.1
In this lesson, we’ll go over the classroom area of study, where the focus is on the intellectual side of music. I’ll explain that the classroom includes rhythm, melody, harmony, notation, theory, score study, and anything else that helps you understand how music works. This is the kind of practice you can do even away from the guitar, and it helps build the knowledge needed to hear, see, and organize music more clearly.
Areas of Study pt.2
In this lesson, we’ll go over the gym area of study, where the focus is on technique, strength, flexibility, endurance, and control. I’ll compare practice to working out, because you need intensity, focus, and variety if you want your hands and mind to develop. The gym is not just about playing harder or faster, but about building the physical tools needed to express music with freedom and confidence.

+ 3 more lessons

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Reviews

6 results

cougarbob

06/29/26

Valuable knowledge!

I always enjoyed Brad's courses because he doesn't just show you how to play a lick amd move on. He is focused on the underlying principles that can teach you to really make music. This course was especially enjoyable for me, partly because of the interesting perspectives Brad shares, but it also came along at a time when I realized I was rehearsing and gigging a lot and hardly practicing at all. Thanks Brad. Cant wait to jump into volume 2

stmhol1

Verified buyer

06/08/26

A great guide on how to practice

Great practical advice from an expert with years of playing and teaching experience

Johnelmago

Verified buyer

05/17/26

The Art of Practicing vol. 1

This course will help align your goals with a practical, logical and satisfying mindset to help us move our thinking forward.

Spiegelkind

05/10/26

Stuff You Need To Hear

What Brad has to show is the stuff that differentiates a simple educator from a great coach. We think guitar lessons are all about technique, speed and theory –and while these are the elements of music, a musician is more than the sum of these parts. This course is like sitting down with a mentor to understand more about your own practice and where you want it to go. Recommended.

Flippy

05/04/26

The wisdom of a working musician

There's many great courses and instructors on truefire, but as far as I'm concerned, Brad Carlton IS truefire. He's the whole reason I signed up for All Access. The moment I discovered his courses and teaching style is the moment I finally started to improve as a musician and really began to understand the instrument. I'm a huge fan of his work and teaching philosophy, and I'm sure you will be too after you go through this course. This course is a treat for many reasons, but one of them is you really get a in-depth look at this philosophy he's sprinkled in his other courses over the years, and if you're a self-taught musician finding yourself in a slump, you'll finally feel "seen". Even after watching so many of Brad's courses over the years, I was immediately surprised to hear how well he knew about all the nuances that come with these mental battles, pitfalls, and frustrations of practicing, and what it means for the self-taught musician. Listening to him explain musical concepts is one thing, but his keen insight into the actual process of learning and applying these skills on an abstract level is what I found very interesting and useful. His teaching experience is truly exceptional, and it's reflected in his deep and insightful explanations in these lessons. Listen to this course and keep every concept of it in mind when you're watching other courses, and of course when it's time to practice.

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