As a child I couldn’t wait to get to my guitar lesson each week. It was the highlight of my week. I would hang out with other musicians at my local music center and by age 14 years was regularly jamming and even gigging. By 17 years old I had a network of musicians who…

I would have to say that around 4 out 5 people who stop guitar lessons stop guitar completely despite the fact that most intend to continue playing and practicing. In a recent study on dieting in the USA they reported that people who are on a program with a coach are far more likely to…

For children repetition is key to developing skills especially in music but this can sometimes be challenging for those who have to listen. As adults it can become a little aurally challenging to hear the same song again and again. Children on the other hand like repetition for several reasons. This is a topic that…

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…

We often underestimate the value of a coach.  In the NRL St George have now won 2 straight premierships under the coach Wayne Bennett. Whether you like the sport or not one can’t help but admire a great coach. Wayne Bennett has miraculously taken a team that has not won a premiership in over 30…

One big determining factor between children who succeed on guitar and those who give up is parent involvement. It is the emotional support from parents that makes this critical difference. This is especially true in the early phase. Statistically children of musical parents have a higher chance of success. A great example is Mozart whose father Leopold was…

The well known saying ‘An hour of planning is worth 3 hours of execution’ most definitely applies to learning guitar. Think of it like climbing Mt Everest (assuming you have never climbed Mt Everest of course) its hard to know what to expect and how to prepare for it. Having prior knowledge of the climb…

Many teachers fall into the trap of just pleasing students at the cost of sticking to a proven program. I am all about keeping things positive but if a teachers only goal is making someone happy in the moment this can be a problem. Think of children. If your child wants to eat sweets every…

Students (especially children) often become victims of the shadow effect. When two people compete for the same space the one who seems to have no chance of winning will usually bow out. In guitar this means they will give up. Imagine two siblings learning guitar. As one gets ahead usually by doing more practice the…

School holidays are a well deserved break for children who have been at school all year 5 days a week 6 hours a day not to mention homework and extra activities. The summer holidays are 6 weeks and as a child I remember looking forward to this time as it meant I could spend all…

Children (like most adults) want to succeed at what they do. They do not want to appear to fail but sometimes success can seem elusive or just not worth the effort. Basically they lose their confidence to succeed. Success on guitar can only be achieved if the student perceives some kind of progress. This perception…