Glenelg Guitar Studio

No it’s not a free offer and it’s not going to make you rich but the start of a new year is always a good time to reconnect with some habits that will help you get the most from your guitar lessons.

It’s “concentration and focus” that we are talking about both during lesson time as well as your practice time and here are a few ground rules to think about.

Turn off your phone, tablet or any other distracting “social media”. In lessons you don’t need a phone unless you are using as a Tuner; but then turn it to Flight Mode. Anyway it seems that the Tuners on phones are not always accurate.

At Practice time get rid of all distractions; turn off the phone, close the door, do whatever you have to do to aid concentration for the next 30 minutes.

1. Make practice regular. Maybe allocate a certain time of the day and try to stick to it. I have two periods set aside for practice and if one doesn’t work out then the next period usually does.
2. Be organised. At lessons know what we are going to be doing and have any questions organised in advance. You can warm up at practice with scales and exercises but this can be difficult when travelling to lessons, so use a mental warm up. Go through the scales and pieces you are learning in your head. It’s a great way to help memorising music.
3. Ask questions if you’re not sure. If you’re unsure of something in a lesson, stop and get it clarified. It’s better to fix it or understand it now, rather than later. I have some students, who every time they are given a new piece request a video of me playing it and at a speed that they can play along with. When they are able to play the piece along with the video I’ve made for them, a second video is made at a slightly faster speed. And on it goes until they are able to play the piece at the suggested speed.
4. Review your goals. It’s great to have long term goals but you need to break them down into achievable and measurable short term goals. Talk about your next guitar goal; be it learn a line of music by the next lesson or maybe just get the rhythm right on one pesky section.

Think about it this way. You are paying me for a service and you want to get the best value for money from me so every minute is important.

Remember that “Concentration and focus” has to be offset with fun and enjoyment so think about why you’re learning guitar and make sure that you set aside some of that practice time to just enjoy the challenge and have fun with music.

Happy New Year
Leigh