I recall some years ago seeing the phrase ‘What you measure you can multiply’. At first I was confused. After all I can measure my height but I can’t multiply it. As I read on I realized the author was referring to self improvement such as a physical skill, fitness, finance etc. Even once I…
Tag: music
Advice from Maroon 5 guitarist
The following is an extract from an interview with Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine and he makes a very interesting point. See my comments below. Interviewer: When you started playing, did your parents ever make you practice? Valentine: My parents made me start taking piano lessons when I was 8 and I hated it and they made me…
Are piano students just better students?
In my early years teaching guitar I worked along side a piano teacher. We both had roughly the same number of students but there was an obvious difference. Almost all of her students were improving at a good steady rate whereas my students were inconsistent. At first it wasn’t so obvious but after a year…
Are piano students just better students? Part 2
Continuing on from the previous blogAre piano students just better students? the second lesson I gained from the piano teacher experience was to observe and question every situation especially where someone is getting results. In this case the answer was not obvious at first but I realised the power and influence of the teacher is…
The Art of Persistence
I will often say that persistence is perhaps the most important trait required by a successful guitar student but lets take it one step further by understanding how you become persistent. After all persistence is obvious in hindsight. When we look at successful people in anything it is all too easy to say they were…
Why do children really want to stop lessons?
This is perhaps the most important question parents will need to ask at some point because understanding the answer may prevent your child giving up guitar unnecessarily. In fact I would go as far as to say over 90% of children give up on guitar due to a misunderstanding. When I take teachers through…
The importance of fundamentals
I recently watch a football game where both teams were evenly match but the more experienced team (the average player had played more games at this level) appeared to be sticking to the fundamentals even when the pressure was on. The less experienced team took the lead in the last 10 minutes and it looked…
Advice for guitar teachers (and parents) of young children
Parents of young children (under 6 years) often ask two important questions. 1. Do you have experience teaching young children? 2. What do you actually teach? Teaching young children guitar is an extensive subject that would require a book or two to really cover in detail but a good way to answer these questions is…
Guitar mind games
When we set out to learn music we rarely consider the psychology involved. Our main considerations tend to be connection to the physical aspects such as how to hold the guitar, where to put our fingers and perhaps the theoretical aspects like string names, general music theory and so on. Dealing with the monotony of…
The art of learning guitar
Many musicians see music purely as art. Some will even see structure and planning as the enemy of the artist. Art is in fact the expression of one’s imagination and really has nothing to do with ‘learning’ guitar other than the teacher finding creative new ways to teach when required. Learning guitar is about acquiring…
The average 21 yo American has spent 10,000 hours on video games. Why not guitar?
This is an intriguing question. Almost every 21yo I speak to would love to be able to play guitar but few find any real satisfaction in their mastery of video games. In fact they usually won’t even admit their gaming obsession. There are no real long term benefits to playing video games and in fact…
Do you enjoy guitar practice?
If your only reason for practicing guitar is to one day become a great guitar player ironically you may actually be decreasing your chances of success. After many years of teaching guitar, associating with guitarists, reading about and living among guitarists and wannabe guitarists you begin to see patterns. Maybe its just a coincidence but…
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