HeyFriend,
Doh! How about that bonehead move? Did you catch my glaring mistake in word usage yesterday?
In the headline, I used the word "eminent" versus the word "imminent," which is the proper word to use in this instance. Eminent means to be "reputable or respected". Imminent means "upcoming or expected". And I call myself a writer...
I guess I need to fire my editor!
It just goes to show you EVERYONE makes mistakes from time to time. Even me (perish the thought!). Good thing I wasn't diffusing a bomb...
Mistakes are a good thing, especially when you're learning to play guitar. They're the only way to shake out the potential "gotchas" in your playing. When you make a mistake, it identifies an area in your skill set that needs work.
We have a tendency to stop what we're doing to work exclusively on that technical hiccup. The problem becomes a distraction that draws our attention away from the initial practice goal. That's not necessarily a bad thing, although I'm usually a big proponent of removing distractions from your environment (phone, Facebook, email).
NOTE: Stopping in the middle of something every time there's a distraction can lead you to creating a bad habit of never finishing anything. This can be especially embarrassing if you're playing in front of an audience.
I'd like to suggest another approach to these little issues so that you don't end up creating a bigger problem for yourself down the road.
STOP. Analyze what the issue is. See if you can identify the problem and how to fix it. Look at what each hand is doing and see if you can pinpoint the element in your playing that needs adjusted so the problem can be corrected. Write it down in your practice journal (wait, did he just say 'practice journal'?). Then continue on with your original practice session.
The idea is to find all the problem spots that pop up in a piece so you know what to target in focused practice sessions.
Use your discovery of problems as a way to create better practice sessions for yourself. You do some things better than others. You don't have to give as much attention to the areas you're already strong. Instead, you can simply identify the problem areas and make a note to come back to them. Believe me, if they truly need work, you'll be able to replicate them pretty quickly when you come back to practice.
This works equally well for left and right-hand problems.
Of course, it's one thing to identify a problem. It's another to know what to do about it. When you learn how to drill into a problem to identify the exact cause, you can start to see how to fix it.
For example, say you're trying to learn the alternate-picking technique. You practice a scale and as you're advancing from one string to the next, you notice you aren't changing the picking direction properly.
This indicates that you need to spend some focused time on your picking hand and the technique. You can then create exercises to focus on the specific movements you've identified.
Identifying problems in technique and solutions is an entire specialization in itself. This is one of the main reasons to hire a guitar instructor (coach). They can quickly help you find problem areas in your playing and give you solutions to implement.
That's one of the reasons I think ArtistWorks is a good program to consider, especially if you don't have a regular intructor. You gain access to a player that has not only mastered the problems you face, but can help you master them yourself. These pros will give you feedback on your technique to help you move past any area that might hold you back.
Don't be intimidated by the fact that these instructors are celebrities with tons of experience in live and in the studio. They're just people like you and me, and they truly enjoy helping people realize their musical goals. Take a look at the list of fundamental, intermediate and advanced lessons that are available on top of the custom advice you can get from each instructor.
Peace~
Dave | 
