Ear Training and Cohesion

One good way to practice, which will help both your ear and the quality of your playing, is to sing, hum, or whistle along with your playing. Most people can instantly sing or whistle a melody after hearing it just once, however, most of us can't instantly play things on the guitar that we have just heard. Singing along with your playing will help you develop the connection between your natural musicality (being able to hum and sing things on command) and your guitar playing. This helps your guitar playing sound more natural, and also helps when you go to figure out songs.