The Excuses Guitar Students Make - Which Is Your Favourite?

To be successful on guitar you need to be consistent with your practice and your lessons but more to achieve this you MUST put an end to the excuses you make.  I could write a book on the number of excuses I have heard over the years but here are some of the most popular ones you need to be aware of.

1. I had too much work/homework. Whether it be school homework or work homework this excuse is all too familiar. Too much home work is usually a case of procrastination especially if its a common occurrence. Perhaps you were given an assignment and had a month to do it but kept putting it off until the due date was literally the next day. Naturally guitar practice and everything else for that matters needs to take a back seat. Avoid procrastinating and you will usually have enough time to do most things.

2. I am just too busy. If you decide to learn guitar and find that you are just too busy to practice you may as well stop right now. Just are obviously trying to juggle too many balls. You need to decide what you have time for and what  needs to be eliminated. Guitar needs 30 minutes of your time each day. Anything less (except for young children who can do less) is really pointless.

3. Too many distractions. If someone or something in the house is a constant distraction you need to either make it very clear that your guitar practice time is a time for you to be left undisturbed or you need to find another place to practice or choose a time when the distractions are not present.

4. I didn't understand what to do. While this is a legitimate excuse for not practicing a new exercise or song it is not a good reason for doing no practice at all. If this is ever the case review previous exercises or practice something that you do understand.

5. My guitar was out of tune. Students should not rely on their teacher to keep their guitars in tune.You should have a guitar tuner on hand and if you don't understand how to use it this should be your first priority at your next lesson. If for some reason you can't tune your guitar take it to a local music shop and ask and perhaps buys some picks in return.

What's your No.1 excuse?

You might also like the following blog:

*Guitar Students Quit For 2 Reasons...So They Say.

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The Power of Tracking your Guitar Practice

Tracking yourself is extremely underrated. When you decide on a goal but have no tracking system in place your chances of reaching that goal are dramatically reduced.  I have seen it time and time again with myself, my students, my business, my health and the evidence is everywhere. I am going to give some examples to strongly persuade you that tracking your practice and progress when learning guitar (or anything for that matter) will make all the difference.

My own guitar journey.

As a young teen I took up guitar and drums around about the same time. With guitar I decided to teach myself and with drums I signed up for formal tuition. With guitar I would watch friends whereas with drums I worked from a book that had specific exercises. On the drums I was given a set number of exercises to complete each week so I was able to clearly track my progress through the book. A year later I was drumming professionally (at 14yo) and my guitar playing was going nowhere. Although I really enjoyed the drums the guitar was more attractive but I needed help. I didn’t realise it at the time but I had succeeded on drums because I was tracking my progress thanks to my teacher. My guitar teacher helped me to do the same for guitar and a year later I was playing professionally as a guitarist and also started teaching guitar.

Measuring equals progress

When I began teaching I still did not realise that tracking student progress was the key. For a number of years I simply gave students riffs, songs, scales, chords etc and hoped they would do the practice. I eventually worked out that great teachers and coaches had something in common. They tracked the progress of their students. Whether it be piano teachers who use a book with specific milestones or a swim coach who records times or a weight loss trainer who measures BMI they all seemed to be getting results. I must confess that I do a lot of reading so this realisation was not my idea. I probably read it a hundred times in various ways before I got it. When I did finally get it I knew I was about to join the ranks of successful coaches. Its a simple formula but does take work.

Why does it work?

The reason measuring works is because it keeps you motivated. If you say that you want to be able to play guitar by 2013 well enough to be able to play say 5 of your favourite songs that is a nice goal. Problem is that along the way you are likely to get frustrated, bored or just feel like you are going no where. If you track the amount of time you practice each day even if you don’t feel immediate progress you will feel good because you can see the investment of time you are making. This keeps you motivated. I know this to be true not just for myself but for my students. I made it compulsory for my students to write down their practice times each day. A few ignored my requests and they were the same ones who gave up. Almost every student who tracked progress stayed the course. Cause and effect at its best. But to be scientific you need to look at it from another angle to be sure. You could say that those who used the practice log were just more motivated to begin with but I was able to observe other teachers who did not use practice logs or enforced them to varying degrees and they on the whole had greater drop out rates.

The inspiring teacher

Some teachers had inspiring personalities that kept students hanging in there but the students were usually only inspired in the lesson but not to practice at home. They enjoyed the lessons and liked their teacher but were still not confident about their ability to learn guitar. You see the student needs to become confident in their ability to learn guitar and that comes from knowing they are in control. When you teach a student to track their own progress they begin to correlate that with progress. Knowing that your progress is in your hands and under your control is ultimately what drives you to work harder and eventually achieve your goals.

Examples

You don’t have to look far for examples of where tracking works. Watch shows like ‘Biggest loser’ or check out bestseller books by Tim Ferris (4 hour fitness) or Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers). Look at any sport today and its full of statistics. Players are constantly measuring their vital statistics. It has been shown that people who weight themselves each day are less likely to gain weight. Tim Ferris says that measuring is far more powerful than any kind of motivational tool. You can watch Tim Ferris doing a Google talk by clicking here. I hope I have convinced you but please feel free to email any questions you have. g4guitar1@gmail.com

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Finding the TIME to Practice Guitar

Finding the time to practice for most guitar students is their biggest challenge but this is especially true for the beginner. We know any new routine takes time to establish but we often overlook the fact power of habit. Think about the many things you now take for granted such as taking a shower, brushing your teeth, checking your emails, Facebook and so on. In the beginning none of these were habits. You had to consciously make a decision (or your parents did) to do them each and every time. But eventually they just became a part of your everyday routine and now they require almost no effort on your behalf.

The habit of guitar practice.The goal for you as a guitar student should be first and foremost to establish the habit of making time to practice. The best thing I have found for most students is to try and be regular with your guitar practice even if all you do is have a little fun. Once the habit of practice is establish you can work on the quality of your practice. 

Start small

Its actually better to begin with short practice sessions of say 20 minutes a day than doing say 2 hours one day a week. The reason is that a 2 hour session once a week is much less likely to turn into a habit and is far more likely to be skipped altogether or cut short.

Don't feel like practicing?

On those days you just don't feel in the mood try doing 5 minutes and then making a decision. Often your mood will change once you pick up the guitar. Skipping days will just delay the habit building process. I pick up guitar everyday and rarely have to make a conscious effort to do so but it wasn't always that way.

You might also like the following blog 

Are You Serious About Guitar? Take the 365 Day Challenge

The G4 Guitar Method

The G4 Guitar Method is a structured method of learning how to play guitar. Its a unique system built on 27 years of research and experience based on a series of checklists. To view a video and learn more please visit our website at http://www.g4guitarmethod.com. 

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Improving your guitar skills. Start with what you are good at.

When I ask people the question 'What are you good at?' the answer is almost always related to a hobby (E.g. painting tennis, golf or writing poems or repairing cars etc.) Rarely do they mention the little things like cleaning their teeth, driving a car, getting dressed, taking a shower, speaking, writing or using a computer. We often over look these daily tasks because we are so good at them that no effort is required. In fact very little conscious thought is needed to execute them.

So why are we so good at these things? 
There was a time long ago when you had to learn these skills. Each day you would struggle but gradually you mastered them. It was the daily attention you gave these tasks that resulted in your current level of mastery. That's right Daily Practice. Almost anything you do on a daily basis will become natural and second nature over time. In contrast if you were to do something only occasionally it will likely always take concentration and effort.


Is daily practice enough?
It is enough to reach a certain level but if you want to improve beyond that point we need to be continuously challenged. Without this continuous challenge improvement is unlikely. We see this with language. Most people reach a point where their vocabulary for instance begins to plateau out. Without a conscious effort to increase your vocabulary through reading along with a dictionary and perhaps a thesaurus you are unlikely to improve much beyond your current level despite the fact that you use language everyday. The daily practice helps you to maintain your level but improvement comes through stretching yourself.  


Conclusion
Begin with daily practice and once you have locked yourself into a routine focus on making every minute of your practice count. Make sure you are being challenged and pushing yourself to the next level.

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Why you should practice early...

Morning practice for many makes all the difference. In fact it can be the most important practice session of the day. There are several reasons why.

Freedom. When we practice in the morning we don't need to spend the day thinking about how we are going to fit in our practice later in the day. If you have a busy day thinking about how and when you will fit in your practice it can feel like a burden rather than a pleasure. 

Clear. We are generally more alert in the morning oppose to later in the day or evening when we have a head full of the days events. Our heads are clear so the quality of our practice is often better.
Theme. You can set a theme for the day. E.g. G major scale. So as well as your morning physical workout you can add an mp3 to your ipod and listen through out the day to develop your aural awareness. You can also visualize the scale to help memorise.

Skipping. Leaving something till late in the day often means if something comes up you are likely to skip practice that day. Morning practice ensures you have done something (even 10 mins) therefore you are moving forward.

Uninterupted. I find I am less likely to get interrupted. Friends tend to ring at night more so then 7am in the morning.

Relax. At night you can just relax and jam out. Make the morning focus time and night chill time.

Faster. Those who practice in the morning also have the luxury of doing more practice at night. This means an option for faster progress if you so desire.

Feeling good. Perhaps the most important point is how it makes you feel. When you have a routine of morning practice you will feel good for the day because you know your dream of playing guitar is actually coming true. Each day as you leave for school or work (or not) you can feel good about the fact that your practice is done.  


If you choose to do morning practice I can assure you it will pay off.

If you have any questions email me. david@g4guitar.com.au

How to trick yourself (and others) into practicing guitar.

Taronga Zoo's (Sydney, Australia) magazine 'Wild Life' (WL)  featured an article about training seals to do tricks. Throughout history animal training was largely based around cruelty but most of today's animal trainers  have learned to use positive reinforcement techniques. In WL the author says "Today's training is based on operant conditioning where seals change their behaviours because off positive reinforcement".  They use a variety of fish snacks as well as toys and even gelatine. They also incorporate the use of a whistle which creates an association that a fish snack is on the way.

So how does this relate to you? 

Comparing you to a seal may seem strange but the reality is you are not so different. The seals change their behaviour because it brings an immediate positive result. Everyone loves an immediate positive result. This is often termed as instant gratification but usually in a negative sense. The results of your life whether it be learning how to play guitar or getting fit or almost anything else comes about as a result of your behavior. Reinforce the right behaviors through positive reinforcement and just like the seals you will learn to associate the actions to the rewards.

Can you train other people to do tricks? 

You might ask what kind of manipulative person would want to train other people to do tricks. In the WL article they mention how a common question is 'why do trainers want to train seals?' Their answer is that it allows them to take care of the seals. For instance getting them to open their mouth allows them to keep their teeth clean and getting them to lie down and rollover allows them to inspect their body for any problems. They have even trained female seals to lie down for an ultrasound to monitor their pregnancy. This same idea is probably applied every day in your own life. Anyone who is parent is constantly training their child to behave in a certain way. By using positive reinforcement you can usually get your child to want to brush their teeth, eat their vegetables, go to bed on time and to do their homework.

Cause and Effect.

We are basically motivated toward pleasure and away from pain.  Think about what drives you to go to work even if its a job you hate? Either the pleasure of being paid or avoiding the pain of poverty. Credit card companies, airlines, department stores are all examples of organisations that use reward systems (point cards) to keep you motivated to buy their products. They know the power of rewards all too well.

Frequent flyer reward system for guitar

How you ask? Firstly create a reward system based on your practice. The positive behaviour. Create a rewards catalogue for yourself that rewards you or your child for minutes spent practicing. E.g. 1 minute of practice equals 1 point. So for 1000 points you might get a choice of a movie ticket or an iTunes card. At 5000 points you might reward yourself with a concert ticket. 10,000 points and its time for that new guitar.

Guitar practice becomes its own reward

The final destination is getting to the point where practice becomes its own reward. This is where you begin to really enjoy the the practice. From my experience it is connected to confidence. Lets use say learning to swim. If you can't swim learning is hard word and a little scary but once you can swim at a reasonable level it becomes fun. 

So good luck and let me know how it works out.

Hope that helps.

David Hart - Program Director

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Count the minutes

There is a saying that says "What you can measure you can multiply". By measuring how much practice you actually do in theory you can improve on your score. I can say with complete confidence that in 99% of cases the students who use a practice log to measure their practice are the ones who improve the quickest and rarely give up. But why?
There are several reasons. The analogy I like to use it what I call the 'Bart Simpson analogy'. His classic phrase "Are we there yet?" is one that if you are a parent have heard many times I am sure. This comes as a result of not knowing how long the journey will take. When we learn guitar frustration sets in because we want to be able to play our favourite songs and we want to know "WHEN?". Our teachers tell us to be patient and keep practicing but gradually our confidence fades and finally we throw in the towel.
If on the other hand I was able to say to you that with 1000 minutes of practice you should be able to play Smoke on the Water and with 10,000 mins the intro to 'Stairway to Heaven' chances are you are going to be more patient. It is not exact science because everyone is different and it also depends on where you put that practice time. But if you measure your practice habitually you start to get a good idea of how much practice equals how much progress.
There are also other benefits. E.g. Most people are naturally self competitive. In other words we like to improve on our scores. One of the reasons computer games are so highly addictive is because we want to beat our high score. Imagine if these games had no scores. Would they be as addictive? When you measure your practice I can assure you that in no time you will be trying to out do your high scores. First month you might do 1000 minutes of practice but in the second month you will be looking to exceed that amount. After 1 year you will be doing 5000+ a month and on your way to guitar legend status.

So start measuring. You can downlod a practice log from our STUDENT WEBSITE on the DOWNLOADS page.

If you have any questions please email: david@g4guitar.com.au

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Today's Mode is Locrian

Each day I post a mode for you to practice. The idea is to practice only one mode for the day. This will help you to focus. If you don't know what a mode is go back to our previous blog on MODES.

So today's mode will is Locrian. The 7th Mode. Yes it does sound a bit strange. In the 17th century many believed it was the devil's mode but I will leave you to decide that one.

To see a demonstration visit our MODES Webpage and scroll down to the Aeolian. Its the 6th mode.

You can also download the G MODES as a FREE pdf.

If you have any questions email me. david@g4guitar.com.au

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Bite Size Theory Lesson - Reading Music

Almost anyone who learns music starts with learning the names of the 5 lines and 4 spaces with Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit (Lines) and F A C E (Spaces). But most of us don't really understand why this is so important so let me explain.

Our brain identifies with pictures more so then simple letters. Its easier to remember a phase or a word with meaning then a bunch of letters. Memorising the letters is the first step but the critical part is using it every single time (and I do mean every single time) until you are crystal clear on every note.

My top 5 tips for learning to read music are;

1. Say 'Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit' and spaces 'F A C E' while looking at each note until you can instantly recognise any note with 100% accuracy.
2. Isolate the melody and rhythm. Start by simply clapping the rhythm and then try only saying the note names and then gradually try doing both at the same time.
3. Choose simple melodies that you are familiar with so you can recognise mistakes more easily.
   
4. At first do one bar at a time. Break down in to achievable steps.
5. Practice as slow as you need to with a metronome. E.g. Begin by playing one note every 4 or 8 counts of the metronome. Yes that slowly. Aim for no mistakes.

The whole idea is to 'learn how to read music' first. I see too many impatient students who are frustrated because they want to play the song now. Take a deep breath, slow down and remember you are learning. The rewards will come later. Give it time.

If you have any questions email me. david@g4guitar.com.au

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