“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” -Aristotle

 

Here is a summary of Justin Colletti’s Building the Practice Habit

which has some great ideas to help inspire guitar practice. 

 

1. Make a commitment in writing of what your goal is during guitar practice.
   • Studies have shown that by writing down your goals and plans, you will have a greater chance of following through on them.
2. Be realistic about guitar practice.  
   • By putting an unsustainable routine together, practice becomes a punishment rather than something to look forward to. Mr. Colletti uses a perfect analogy of how workout facilities in January are full of new people trying to get into shape, but after a few weeks, people give it up. This is usually due to taking on too much in the beginning.
3. Make a list of things that might stop you from practicing the guitar.
   • What things will prevent you from sticking to a routine? Does checking email or Facebook prior to starting your practice prevent you from following through? Try to reschedule those events to a time where they will not interrupt your practice schedule. By limiting certain triggers, more focus can be placed on the practicing itself.
4. Treat Yourself.
   • One way to break a bad habit is to keep the reward but use it as a motivator for practicing.  One example may be to have a cup of coffee while practicing instead of reading a newspaper or watching a video.
5. Social Accountability.
   • Studies have shown that by committing publicly what you plan to do can be a huge motivator. This can increase follow-through dramatically, even more than writing down a goal. You may want to let your friends on Facebook know that you have picked up the guitar and are learning how to play.
6. Keep track of your success.
   • Watching your progress and keeping track of your success in a journal or Excel can really reinforce your commitment.

 If you would like to try a guitar lessons, please contact me. 

Should I have an Online Guitar Instructor or YouTube It?

With so many videos on YouTube, why should a person pay for an online guitar instructor instead of using YouTube? After taking and teaching lessons my entire adult career, I believe it is important to have someone who can watch and assist you while playing. This can be both in person or online.

I have had the privilege of working with many self taught guitarists who have had to unlearn habits making certain songs hard to play. So I want to pass along several reasons to have a live instructor assist in learning any instrument. Here is a list of 5 reasons it helps to have a guitar instructor.

Increase Your Musical Understanding

It is such a good feeling to learn a song and be able to play it for friends and family. But having a background on how things work together really gives a person a whole new musical perspective. Learning how things fit together and why is important when taking the next step on any instrument. If you ever want to write a song or make your solo a little tastier, having a few tools can make all the difference in the world. An instructor can tell you why a song used a certain set of notes, or show you how a small tweak can make a solo come to life. One example is to move a rock scale (pentatonic minor) up a four frets and all of a sudden you have an amazing jazz scale.

Adding Helpful Playing Hints

Something so small such as a certain fingering can preventing you from playing a song smoothly or even at all. This can be reason enough to sign up for online lessons. Relearning chords and solos is much harder the second time around because it is so easy to fall back to what we are used to.

Playing without correct form can also put a lot of strain on your wrist leading to tendinitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. An instructor can recommend a simple adjustment of the guitar neck or your hand position which may be all you need to remedy this.

Stylistic differences can be important as well. If you are learning blues, your hand position is often much different than a classical guitarist’s hand position. The reasons are clear from a guitar instructor’s point of view, but maybe not to a beginner. Knowing what to look for can save a lot of anguish in the long run.

Advice For Your Band Situation

If this is a direction you want to go, then having a guitar instructor who has been there is extremely important. This is one area that can save you considerable time hunting through videos. Sometimes articles play up one area or another in order to keep their audience entertained, but having someone to ask the questions to is invaluable.

If you are with someone who has toured, they will volunteer ideas and information you may have never thought to ask. Even simple things like how to run your guitar cable can make a big difference on a crazy night on stage.

Staying on Schedule

Probably the biggest reason people stop learning anything is because they do not stay with it. YouTube could be a great resource if you are very motivated and dedicated, but knowing you are accountable to a preset time with an instructor can keep you on a regular schedule. There are many adult students who only have time to play their instrument during that half hour or hour lesson and that can be enough to keep propelling them forward. Otherwise, other life events may take over.

Online Instructors Will Keeping You Motivated

The biggest reason to have an instructor is to help you stay motivated. An instructor can pass along songs that they know students really enjoy playing. Sometimes this is all it takes to get back into the excitement of music. Having a song or solo etc. can really make a person want to sit down and take the time to practice. Practicing is tedious without a goal or inspiration to help us along.

All and all, a live instructor is a great way to save countless hours hunting for the right video and hoping the teacher really knows what they are talking about. If you ever have any questions, let me know. I will be happy to help you start, or continue on, your musical path.

 

I am excited to announce that I am now offering online lessons!  If you or the kids would like to pick up a new skill, I would be very interested in the opportunity to help!

 

 

Rocking the Jam sessions!

Jam sessions are one of the events the students really look forward to. There are generally five to seven students for each jam session. They will all perform one song that they worked on in the private lessons.  The older students will also solo over a blues progression if they would like to. It is a lot of fun to improvise over a 12 bar blues with other musicians.

Scott, Ralph, Colin, and Cooper will be rocking out some oldies for the next session. Anyone who is interested has an open invitation to get together in a band situation with other students. It is a lot of fun and there is absolutely no pressure.

How Do the Jam Sessions Work?

The sessions are slated for Sundays between 2pm and 4pm. Each student is asked what song they would like to play. Those songs are put on a list and each person picks from those. Sometimes, if the songs have parts that are too difficult for any instrument, we remove those or simplify them if possible. We currently only perform one song in order to keep the sessions at a comfortable length.

After that, we take about a month or two to work on the songs in the private lessons and get them ready for the next jam session.

When the day arrives, the students meet at the studio with their instrument(s). All the cables, amps, microphones, drums, and sound reinforcement are provided. The parents, siblings, wives, husbands, friends etc. are all encouraged to attend. Students are welcome to bring snacks or drinks.  We then run through the songs three to four times; once with the music, once without, then again to work out the little bugs. After that, the song is performed a final time so the parents can take pictures with the light show or record the performance on video.

If you are interested in taking lessons and be a part of the optional jam sessions, please contact me for more information.