Making the Most of Your Guitar Lessons
How to Maximize Your Time and Efforts
Have you ever noticed that two different musicians with the same amount of native talent wind up with quite different outcomes in regards to their success? While having talent is always a good thing, a guitar player who maximizes his time and effort is far more likely to succeed. How do we do this? This article goes over a few examples.
Overcoming the “Time Management” Myth
Many people who want to become successful are told by “experts” that they need to better manage their time. This is only partially true. The bottom line is that we all are given the same amount of time per day. It would be far more accurate to say we should better manage our priorities during a given day. This means not simply making time for what you are doing, but making it truly important to you.
What does this mean for the guitar student? This means giving the time you spend on lessons and practice a higher priority than you may already be giving it. How urgent is your desire to improve? Are you spending time on less worthy pursuits that could be set aside for practice? Could you be putting more energy into the time you already have allotted as a result?
There are no wrong answers here. Only you can know how important this is for yourself. But if you truly desire to maximize your time, you may want to consider writing down your activities for a few days, no matter how mundane they are, and seeing if there is anything you can “prune” to make your guitar playing a higher priority.
Play like a Boy Scout
The motto of the Boy Scouts of America is, “Be prepared.” When you prepare for your lessons and playing sessions in advance, you are taking a big step towards maximizing your time. In advance of your lessons, make sure your guitar is properly tuned, that you have done all of your homework, and arrive a few minutes early to get yourself mentally and physically prepared. Between lessons, write down any and all questions and concerns you have about what you are learning and playing. Don’t hold back! No question is stupid except the ones you don’t ask. Be sure to write them down as they occur to you; don’t try to commit them to memory. Not only will this better maximize your time, it will probably impress and inspire your instructor.
When practicing at home, preparation is also very important. Have everything ready to go when you start: properly tuned guitar, sheet music and lessons in place, drinking water to keep you hydrated, and a healthy, easy-to-eat snack to keep your energy up if necessary. If at all possible, shut off any computers and phones and set yourself up with as few potential distractions as possible.
The Big Payoff
What often separates the successful from the non-successful is merely a matter of prioritizing and preparation. By following the advice in this article, you are more likely to find yourself on the fast track to success.
Phone Glenn Sutton at: 619-306-3664.
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