THIS Is What Separates GREAT Guitar Students From OKAY Guitar Students
THIS Is What Separates GREAT Guitar Students From OKAY Guitar Students
Hey guys, Brad Litton from SimpleGuitar.com. This blog post transcribes my YouTube video on the one simple trait that separates really great guitar students from really mediocre students — and how you can start to embrace it even if it doesn't come naturally.
Shout out to my buddy Michael Gumley, who was talking about this. I've been discussing it with the teachers at my school, and we all agreed: this is the thing.
The Trait: Embrace Monotony
Great students can sit there and do repetition after repetition after repetition. They don't get bored and quit after a few tries. They're not constantly adjusting the chair, the pick, whatever — looking for a distraction.
Mediocre students get bored. They only do it a few times, if they do it at all.
Learning anything on the guitar — a scale, a chord, a song — takes a lot of reps. Getting a lot of repetitions in a small window is magical. That's what changes your playing.
How to Train It: One-Minute Chunks
- Grab a timer on your phone.
- Set it for one minute.
- Work on nothing else except the exercise. Put everything else out of your mind.
- When the minute ends, reset. Do another minute. Then another.
This week, start in one-minute chunks. When that's comfortable, go to two minutes. Then three. Then four.
You're building stamina for the "boring" work of getting a lot of reps into a small window. Everybody's attention span is shot. Guitar still needs you to sit with the reps.
The Key
The more repetitions you fit into the smaller window of time, the faster you get better.
That's the difference teachers see: this person is going to get good really fast, because they get their reps in. That other person needs to work on exactly this.
Go apply it in your practice this week. Embrace the monotony.
If you want a simple place to start, grab my free Top 10 Things to Learn on Guitar First at http://simpleguitar.com/top10.
And hang out with other adult guitar players in the Simple Guitar Facebook group: http://facebook.com/groups/simpleguitar.
About the Author
Brad from Simple Guitar helps adult learners play the songs they love without the frustration. Visit simpleguitar.com for more free resources and lessons.
