What is mindset? Here is the Google dictionary definition. ‘mentality: a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations’. Mindset is a hot topic among today’s psychologists, teachers and coaches because it plays such an important role in achieving a successful outcome in life. My aim in this blog…
Tag: guitar
Successful guitar students seem to be predictable
Its surprising how much we underestimate our own predictable behaviour. Numerous well known studies have been done which prove that we simply don’t know ourselves as well as we think. In fact perfect strangers know us better than we do. Consider the fact that in categories such as IQ, driving ability and even looks the…
Creative learning makes all the difference
When it comes to learning guitar your best option is to use a structured method because a method will contain a clear goal with specific steps. The idea of any guitar method is to essentially save you time and to avoid common mistakes. A method of course is a system and effective systems are designed…
Learning guitar is about attitude
I personally find the best students are those who like a challenge. Its not so much about being able to play guitar but being able to overcome the obstacles. Its an attitude. Learning guitar is like climbing a mountain. You have to be prepared for lots of hard work before you can enjoy standing on…
Guitar teacher, The Internet or both?
When I was a child learning guitar I was limited to either finding a local teacher or learning from a book. Today the Internet, the iPad, iPhone and all their apps are now providing a range of alternatives. While this new technology may appear to be an alternative to the traditional guitar teacher I believe…
Am I too old to learn guitar?
A common question with a simple answer. It’s never too late but age does make a difference. A fact all beginner adults need to consider is the speed at which young children learn is nothing short of miraculous. In a sense if you started after the day you were born you started late. Our brains…
Mistaking guitar teacher confidence for competence
When I was a young child I thought my parents and teachers knew everything. Overtime my adult delusion turned to reality. Of course this is just part of growing up and realizing the Tooth fairy was Mum and Santa Claus was Dad in a red suit and cartoons were drawings done by actual people. In…
“Why can’t I just learn songs?”
Let’s face it. The reason we learn guitar is to play songs. No one in their right mind takes up guitar to play boring old exercises. In my first few years as a young teen I learnt many songs and most sounded pretty bad. I couldn’t understand why the kid down the street (let’s call…
Spend time listening to music. I mean really listening.
I can’t remember the number of times I read or heard interviews with great musicians being asked the question about what advice they would give young music students and they almost always mention answer listening. Becoming a great musician begins with listening to music. If you or your child are not inspired to pick up…
Are you prepared to quit guitar?
In Seth Godin’s book ‘The Dip’ he gives a very good analogy on achieving true success which fits perfectly with guitar. The dip is basically the period between the initial enthusiasm of starting a new challenge and achieving your ultimate goal. Almost every imaginable challenge involves a dip. The make or break period if you like. Those…
Understanding Scales – For Beginners
Understanding scales may at first seem daunting mostly because of the overwhelming number of possible scales. The trick is to start with one or two and when you feel confident move add a new scale to your repertoire. Also keep in mind that certain scales are used the majority of the time. Some blues players…
Achieving begins with believing…especially on guitar
Do you really believe you can be a great guitarist? Neuroscience researchers are building a growing body of evidence that our minds play a very powerful role in our physical and mental health and perhaps life outcomes. In fact in some cases the evidence is so strong that it’s surprising how little media attention these…
G4 GUITAR Blog 