Insert your custom message here. close ×
+

Achieving success

To achieve success on the guitar, you need to work on it. I’ve developed strategies over the years to help students pick up the guitar and practice. It’s not always easy.

Getting the guitar in your hands

Just picking up the guitar can be hard. Anything that isn’t a habit takes a little more effort, but having a few strategies makes it easier. The following have proven useful for many of my students.
1. Create alerts on your phone for each day of the week. When the alert goes off, you have five minutes to pick up the guitar.
2. Before going to bed, check your schedule for the next day, and write down when you will practice. As a reminder, put that wherever you eat breakfast.
3. Pick up the guitar with the intent of practicing for only five minutes. Students often don’t pick the guitar up because they don’t think they have enough time. But five minutes isn’t long, and once you have the guitar in your hands, you’re usually there for more than five minutes. Especially if you’re trying to get better at something.
4. Use the pomodori technique. This was developed as a way to deal with procrastination. Simply get a timer, set it for however long you want to practice, and then stop as soon as it goes off. This motivates students by removing open-endedness. If you know when you’re going to stop, you tend to be more focused in your practicing, and you’re more likely to actually practice.
5. Have your guitar on a guitar stand, and have the music you’re working on that week on your music stand. Picking up the guitar is easier if you don’t have to prepare to do it. Make sure that you can just walk in your room, pick up your guitar, and start playing.
6. Attach to habit. Practice immediately after something you’re already in the habit of doing. For example, if there’s a show you watch every day at the same time, practice for 15 minutes once it’s done. Or practice right after you play your favorite game.
7. Have the end result uppermost in your mind. For example, if you’re practicing a difficult move between two chords, keep in mind that they’re part of your favorite song. When you’re working on details, it can be difficult to see the big picture.
Share : facebooktwittergoogle plus
pinterest