If you’ve ever juggled multiple guitar goals at once, you know how overwhelming it can get. There’s always more to improve, more to maintain, and never quite enough time.
Today I want to share a simple idea I’ve been using in my own playing for years. I call it back burner practice, and it’s helped me stay organized, less stressed, and occasionally surprised by my own progress.
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🔥 The Expression That Inspired It
This idea came back to me while cooking with my fiancée. We were making pasta. I had a sauce on the front burner that needed constant attention, while the pasta boiled quietly in the background. I casually said something was “on the back burner,” and she paused.
The phrase made sense to her immediately, but she’d never heard it before. English isn’t her first language—though she speaks it fluently—and since she learned mostly by reading, some everyday expressions didn’t become part of her vocabulary.
That moment reminded me how often this cooking metaphor shows up in my guitar practice. Some things need your full attention. Others just need to simmer quietly, without pressure. That’s the idea behind back burner practice.
🎯 How I Use It
Right now, my primary practice goals are focused on two things:
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Creating and refining solo guitar arrangements
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Expanding my improvisation vocabulary across rock, blues, and jazz styles
These are my front-burner tasks — they demand time, repetition, and daily focus.
But I also keep two techniques quietly simmering in the background:
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A finger-style tremolo technique I’m developing for solo arrangements
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My legato technique, which I already know well and want to maintain
These goals are important to me, but they don’t need to dominate my daily schedule.
🧠Long-Term Development Without Pressure
The finger-style tremolo technique I’m building is far beyond my current ability. It’s the kind of skill that takes time—lots of it—and you can’t brute-force your way to mastery. With coordination-based techniques, the brain and body need consistent exposure and rest in between.
So I dedicate 10 to 15 minutes a day to it. I set a metronome, keep the pace slow, and let the process unfold. I don’t chase progress. I don’t track tempo increases. I just show up and repeat.
What eventually happens is very consistent. A few weeks or months later, the movement clicks. The technique is just there. It grew while I was focused on other things. And I didn’t have to sacrifice my primary goals to get there.
đź› Maintenance Without Burnout
Legato is a technique I’ve used for years. I can play it well, but it still needs upkeep. If I stop practicing it completely, my execution starts to slip.
To keep it solid—around a 7 or 7.5 out of 10—I touch it briefly every day or two. Ten minutes of clean, thoughtful repetition is enough to keep my coordination alive. And when I’m ready to elevate it again, a week or two of focused attention will bring it back to peak.
Letting it drop too far would make recovery much harder. But maintaining it in the background lets me focus on my primary work without losing ground.
📉 The Real Challenge: Maintenance Debt
The hardest part of progressing as a guitarist isn’t just learning new things. It’s managing everything you’ve already learned.
Every skill—sweep picking, chord extensions, alternate picking, improvising over changes—requires some form of upkeep. As your skills grow, so does your maintenance workload.
This is what I call maintenance debt. And if you’re not careful, it can take over your entire practice session.
Back burner practice offers a clean, sustainable way to balance growth with retention. It keeps you moving forward without forgetting the ground you’ve already covered.
âś… Guidelines for Back Burner Practice
If you want to implement this idea, here’s what I recommend:
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Choose no more than 1–2 techniques to keep on the back burner at a time.
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Dedicate 10–15 minutes per session — enough to stay connected but not fatigued.
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Focus on repetition over progress. Let improvement come gradually.
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Use light tracking if helpful, but avoid turning it into a goal-driven exercise.
This works for both new techniques that need space to develop, and old ones you want to preserve without heavy focus.
🧠Why It Works
Back burner practice creates two major benefits.
First, there’s quiet momentum. A technique slowly improves over time without becoming a source of stress or pressure.
Second, it protects your progress. Important skills don’t fade while you’re exploring something new. And when you’re ready to bring them back to the forefront, they’re still warm and ready.
For players managing multiple goals, this approach offers steady results without burnout. Keep your main focus clear, give space to one or two supporting skills, and let time do the rest.
🎓 Life Long Guitarist Program Update
April’s limited spots for the Life Long Guitarist Program are now officially sold out.
If you already had a consultation with me, you can still join through this weekend.
For everyone else, I’ll be reopening spaces on May 29th. You can click here to join the waitlist and be the first to know when new spots become available.
Thanks as always for being part of this community,
— Andre
