Finding time to practice is NOT the problem.

Why is it that some people seem to achieve so much in so little time while others struggle? After all we all get the same amount of time right?  Working with guitar students they would often say they don't have time to practice and I knew early in my career that my response to their lack of time claims literally determine their success as a guitarist. I knew to be a successful guitar teacher I needed to get students out of the 'I have no time' mindset. Successful guitarists always have time to practice. Joe Satriani, Steve Morse, John Petrucci and whoever your guitar heroes are they somehow manage to do the practice and still have time for tours, interviews, promos, friends and family. Having no time is not about a lack of time but about how we use time.

Leveraging time.

Those who know how to leverage time will always achieve more so the aim is to leverage your time and the time of those around you. Leveraging means making the most of every minute and here are my tips and what I tell my students.

Focus - Break up your day into 10min time blocks. Focus on one thing for 10 minutes. Do not allow distractions where possible. Applying this to your guitar you should break down your practice into 10 minute sessions. One skill, one bar or section of a song etc. When you start to focus you will get more done. Keep working to 10 min blocks and you will work more efficiently. Knowing you only have 10 minutes will give it a sense of urgency. Ever notice how sports teams go hard in the last 10 minutes when the score is close? As an example I am writing this blog in 10mins.

Delegate - When you understand the value of time you can decide whether its best for you to do it yourself or to delegate. In other words where is your time best spent? Guitar students of course must do their own guitar practice but you could delegate some other task that will free up more time for guitar. Going to a guitar teacher will also help you because you can delegate some of your practice program (which can take a lot of time) to your teacher. 

Technology - Another great example of leveraging is technology. The Internet for example allows us all to find information faster but there are now many helpful apps that will save you time. For example AB Loop is good for picking out sections of a song automatically. Working out songs by hitting the rewind button on your iPod is very time consuming. This one app literally saves me hundreds of hours. This can be applied in many areas of your life but it requires taking time out each week to look for the opportunities. Keeping looking and you will find.

I hope that gives you a few ideas.

David Hart   

The G4 GUITAR METHOD.

For a structured proven method of learning guitar visit www.g4guitarmethod.com

The Idol delusion - Overstating your ability

The TV show American Idol has revealed a well known condition that we all suffer from to some degree in one area or another. That is we believe we are better than we actually are. When we watch Idol and see wannabe singers stand up and audition with no obvious training or natural we can't believe that they believe they even bothered turning up. Sadly what we miss are our own self delusions. For example when I began learning guitar as a young teen I believed that I was pretty good. It was only after about 3 months of lessons that I realised how bad I really was. I listened back to some of the recordings I did in my first 2 years while self teaching and they were really bad. We all do it. The question is where are you guilty of self delusion right now?

David J. Hart

The G4 GUITAR METHOD.

For a structured proven method of learning guitar visit www.g4guitarmethod.com

"I cannot get her to practice at ALL. Help!"

I received this email from a parent regarding practice.


"HI,      My five year old began guitar (acoustic) lessons approx 4 months ago. She begged for months and was very excited when she got her guitar. She does well in her lesson and seems to enjoy her hour w her teacher. I cannot get her to practice at ALL, however. EVER. I've thought about taking lessons with her, as I enjoy music and have always wanted to learn guitar, yet I don't want to insert myself in HER activity?  I recently saw an article/blog you wrote that seemed to recommend that? What do you think? I will take any advice you have for me.  I think she has great potential and really don't want to "let" her quit just bc she won't practice.  Help!"   

My reply

Thank you for your email. You are obviously a great parent because have decided to find a way. Many parents simply give up at this point believing that if their child doesn't like practice there is no point pushing them. The reality is very few young children will want to practice. I have been working with children for 28 years and it did initially take a few years to learn and understand the best approach. BTW I am currently teaching my own 3 year old daughter who can you see in action here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aQz-RZ6YQo

Learn guitar yourself 
 
Learning guitar yourself is definitely a good option for a few reasons. Firstly you are a role model for your daughter so she is more likely to see playing guitar as part of growing up. Secondly you will better understand the learning process and how your daughter feels. Daily practice is a discipline and is not always easy. 

Fun and rewards

So when it comes to practice we need to combine fun with discipline. Learning anything requires focused effort and children much prefer play. If they sense guitar is work they won't want to do it so our first strategy is to turn practice into a game and this requires a bit of creativity. You will of course need to sit with your daughter on every practice session for now. Over time once the routine is established you will be able to back away. To turn practice into a game you use small rewards based on what your daughter likes. With my daughter I give her sultanas and stickers. I also let her watch some Tinkerbell for 10 mins at the end if she does well. The trick is to put have small incentives and rewards that turn every challenge in to a game. Generally when I teach I work out a plan with each parent.

Discipline

The fact is making guitar a game is rarely if ever enough. Discipline is required. Now when it comes to discipline many parents find this challenging because they worry that if they force their child they will make a negative association to learning guitar and will end up hating it. The way I explain it is like most things children 'have to' learn. E.g. reading, writing, cleaning teeth, eating healthy foods. As parents we rarely compromise in these areas. I recently saw a show where the mother allowed her child to eat whatever he wanted. When he reached 18 years he was declared one of the fattest people in America. Children learn self discipline from parents. 

Guitar time

With my daughter (Mia) we do guitar time at 5pm each day. She usually doesn't want to do it at first (as she would rather play with her dolls) but she knows it is part of her routine. About 10 mins before I remind her that its guitar time. I never ask "do you want to do guitar?" anymore than I ask whether she wants to clean her teeth which she dislikes doing. I simply state that we are about to do guitar so be ready. I then give her choices like "Today would you like sultanas or stickers?" 

Routine

Once the practice is underway Mia will sometimes resist or mess around or even cry. When this happens I don't reward this behaviour with attention as it reinforces it. I simply ask her to keep focusing her attention back on the task at hand and use positive reinforcement like "You are really good at this one." I also go through a similar routine of practice so she knows what is coming. I always begin with the familiar to build confidence. If she gets frustrated with an exercise I will go back to an easy one to rebuild confidence.

Each child is a little different so I would need to see your daughter to understand the actual dynamics. Can I ask does your daughter have a teacher or has she had a teacher in the past?

David J Hart

The G4 GUITAR METHOD.

For a structured proven method of learning guitar visit www.g4guitarmethod.com

 

Tomorrow never comes. Start your guitar practice now.

Lets be honest here. When we procrastinate promising ourselves that we will start guitar tomorrow the odds are we will just find another excuse tomorrow. We are all busy these days and time is our most precious commodity. Well so we tell ourselves. If time is so precious why does the average household watch more than 6 hours of TV a day? How is it possible for so many people to clock up ridiculous amounts of time on playing video games or to post hundreds of times per week in Facebook. Is time really the issue? 

I don't think so.
As a guitar teacher time or lack of it has been the number one reason students use when they don't do enough practice. I would often catch kids out by asking them to raise their hand if they saw that funny episode this week of The Simpsons where Homer does.... Is it a coincidence that those hands tend to belong to the same kids who didn't have enough time to practice. Now adults are no better. In fact children learn from the adults around them. Think about how many times a day you say that you don't have enough hours in the day. What's worse is you probably believe it. Learning guitar is not difficult.  It just requires a simple strategy and here it is.

Strategy for guitar success.
1. Reserve a time each day (same time) to practice.
2. Find a teacher and book in for weekly lessons. (A teacher will increase your chances of success).
3. Follow your teacher's instructions and spend 30 minutes doing quality practice each day.
That's it!

No more excuses.
Stop making the excuses and just do it. It really is that simple. The great thing about guitar is it gets easier the longer you do it. I don't just mean playing guitar but the habit of practice. The key is be consistent. Don't miss a day's practice and it will become part of your everyday within a few months.

David J. Hart

The G4 GUITAR METHOD.

For a structured proven method of learning guitar visit www.g4guitarmethod.com

Why we need guitar heroes

It's easy to be cynical of idol worshipping. When we see the inside of a teenager's bedroom covered wall to wall with posters of their favorite pop/rock stars we laugh and think its silly or a complete waste of time and money and in some cases may even seem obsessive. Some people spend their last dollar on a concert ticket or a new song or memorabilia from their idol. I recall seeing the most expensive guitar ever sold was not the best guitar ever made but was in fact Jimi Hendrix's. No doubt purchased by a fan. Some people will lined up for days sleeping on the street to get front row seats at a concert. At times it does border on crazy but there is definitely a positive side to idol worshipping.

We all need heroes

Many successful musicians are themselves the result of idol worshipping. My own passion for guitar started from idolizing bands like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, AC/DC and Pink Floyd. In fact I think having such music idols is one of the key ingredients to long term success. As guitarists our heroes keep us going through the tough times. There were certainly many times early on I thought it was all too hard but it only took a small dose of one of my heroes in the form of a record, video or live concert to get me back on track.

Finding your hero

Our heroes play a vital role and should never be underestimated. In nearly every in depth interview I have seen with successful musicians they quote someone as being their idol. For The Beatles it was Elvis, for Eric Clapton, Angus Young, Keith Richards it was Chuck Berry and on it goes. So if you ever question your reason for playing guitar you might want to look at who your heroes are. If the motivation to practice is low you may need to ramp it up a little by seeking out a hero or two.

David J Hart
www.g4guitarmethod.com

The benefits of Music - The Swiss Study.

The benefits of learning music are well documented. Children who learn music often do better in many subjects such as maths and languages but also in other areas.


In Switzerland they conducted a study where 1200 children in more than 50 classes proved scientifically that playing music does improve a child's reading and verbal skills through improving concentration, memory and self expression. The control group who replaced three curriculum classes (math, science, language) for 3 music classes per week were found to improve their speech and reading skills with greater ease compared to other students.


 For more examples on this topic checkout the Kidspot article.


David J. Hart

The G4 GUITAR METHOD.

For a structured proven method of learning guitar visit www.g4guitarmethod.com

.

Is taking a break from Guitar a good idea?

I will be the first to say that taking holidays are great and are arguably an important part of life. Holidays are essentially about taking a break from your everyday life to recharge. Holidays give our bodies and brains a chance to consolidate and can even act like markers that indicate the start and end points. Stepping out of the picture also allows us to see things from a different perspective. Our bodies require around 7 to 9 hours a day of sleep. Sleep deprivation can lead to poor concentration, a lowered immune system and in extreme cases death. Holidays and breaks should be viewed in a similar light. To work constantly and never take breaks may actually be counterproductive and even damaging to your health.

So what about guitar?

If you practice guitar 6 hours a day 7 days a week a break is advisable but my guess is most students reading this blog do a lot less. Taking a break from guitar if you are not a serious professional with a heavy schedule is really unnecessary. School children I find will get to December and declare 'Schools out' and suddenly everything and anything that seems like study gets shelved for 2 months including the guitar.  Over the years I have received many calls from parents in early December wishing me a happy holiday and announcing they will give me a call in February to re-enroll their child for guitar lessons. This is a big mistake. As I said above I believe holidays to be important but 2 months is akin to giving up especially for the beginner student.

Long breaks dramatically increase your chances of giving up

The hardest time for guitar students is the first 6 to 12 months. Over 50% of students who stop lessons for more than a few weeks will never return to lessons. Even when a student returns after 2 months the feeling that their fingers can no longer perform the same tasks as the previous year is often enough for the student to throw in the towel. No one likes to go backwards. Imagine for a minute that you were building your own home and it was about half finished when you decided to take a few months off. On your return two months later you found nothing but the foundations. We humans don't like going over old ground. Seeing all our hard work diminished often leads us to seriously contemplate giving up. 

Talk to your teacher

If you will be away for any period of time I strongly advise talking to your teacher about how to work around your holiday. If you are going to be traveling and taking a guitar is impossible than its time to use your imagination. In fact in one study they compared two group of beginner students learning piano. The first group did their practice as you would expect on a piano. The second group just imagined a piano and went through the exercises in their head. They found that at the end of the experiment both groups had similar levels of development. What this study set out to prove was that the brain cannot tell the difference between the imagined stimuli and real stimuli. This means that if you spent 30 minutes a day going through your practice in your head it will keep you moving forward and at the very least will reduce the negative effects of a long break.

Keep practicing 
 

I strongly urge you to keep up the practice and the lessons through out the year and only take short breaks if necessary. Guitar unlike work or school rarely needs a holiday except if you are a working guitarist or student who practices 4 or more hours a day. For the rest breaks of more than 2 weeks are unnecessary.


David J. Hart

The G4 GUITAR METHOD.

For a structured proven method of learning guitar visit www.g4guitarmethod.com