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R.A.C.S

Relaxed, Accurate, Consistent, Smooth

A simple acronym. Easy to keep in mind while practicing, but with major payoffs if properly followed. We will delve into greater detail through the course of this book, but for now, lets discuss R.A.C.S at its highest level.

You are sitting down with your guitar, practicing a piece of music. What goes on in your mind, how are you gauging your progress, do you know what to strive for?

You have your guitar and favourite instructional video. You play through the exercises one by one until the end of the show. What were you thinking, what were your criteria to examine what you were doing on the guitar?

This is where R.A.C.S comes in. It is a simple yet effective goal to strive for while practicing any kind of exercise, or song for that matter.

Say for example, you are practicing a 3 note per string scale. Playing through the scale over and over with no aim in mind is going to get you nowhere. You may feel like you are doing “work” but you could be way more effective.

So, apply RACS and test each individual movement making up that scale as well as the final product, the scale itself.

Play through the scale, paying full attention to what you are doing in mind and body:

Is your body relaxed as you play? Scan for tension in your body, make a note of it, and practice to eliminate it. Each note should be played in a relaxed fashjon.
Is your playing accurate? Check that you are not hitting wrong notes, wrong strings etc Are your left hand fingers playing as closely as possible to the fret wire. Are you using economy of motion to your advantage at ALL times. (More on economy of motion later on) Are you using dynamics properly? Are you playing in time? You are looking for precision here.
Is your playing consistent? Are your downstrokes the same size as your upstrokes. Are the sizes of your alternate picking strokes the same each time or are you using a different size stroke hap-hazardly. REMEMBER, you are programming your brain and fingers when you practice. No room for hap-hazard methods here. Be consistent.
Is your playing smooth? Are your notes flowing smoothly and evenly in all regards or is your playing sounding and feeling strained with every note. Strive for effortlessness. Please note that in some cases, your musical expression may dictate that your notes be “jerky” or uneven. In these cases, by all means, exercise your musical creativity. The main thing to remember is you want your playing to sound and feel smooth and easy as the norm.

That is RACS. It is an extremely simple concept, but one that so many people tend to forget or ignore.

You can apply RACS to every note, every exercise, every lick, every song.

By doing this, you immediately set a worthwhile goal and outcome to the things you play. This structured approach reinforces itself as you progress through your guitar playing life, ultimately making you a better player in both short and long term.

The above example can changed to suit your particular exercise, experience or required outcome. Under each point in RACS you can expand and elaborate on things to watch out for in your own playing. This analysis of what you are playing and how you are playing it is extremely important to your growth as a player. What a waste of time it is if you mindlessly sit and play exercises and songs just to get the notes under your fingers with no real focus on improvement.

Players making a conscious decision to practice for speed will find RACS a useful practice tool. Players at all levels will find RACS exceptional for continued improvement.

Learn it and use it. Make it a part of your guitar playing routine.