Learn Acoustic Guitar DVD: Make Your Own Study Schedule
If you clearly know what your ultimate goals are, you can do this yourself. But if you need help in planning out the short and mid term goals to plan your strategy. Consult a teacher whom you trust and believe can help you with this – its worth it believe me.
Of course you will be working on many guitar skills: various guitar techniques, chords, scales, soloing, etc., but don’t neglect other skills that are not guitar specific like, ear training (also called aural skills), songwriting, improvising, creativity, reading, music theory, etc.
But for many people, it is a very disconcerting experience. I have gotten letters from people who have read some things I have written, and become afraid to practice! They are so aware of, and on their guard against, excess muscle tension, and the devastating effects for the developing player, they are afraid to touch a string!
Don’t compare yourself to others. There is no need to do this anyway. Music should not be a competitive sport among people, only within yourself. Compare yourself only in relation to where you are in your strategy! Are you on your way to reaching your next short term and medium term goal towards your ultimate goals? Are you on schedule, does your strategy need to be revised?
As I have said, some people become paralyzed, afraid to play, afraid of undoing work done in practice sessions by what they do when they play. And for those who play professionally, it is of course, absolutely necessary that they continue to play, even if they are doing “remedial” work on their technique.
Chopin’s natural ability was his ability to improvise. He was the master, but he worked very hard to become the virtuoso pianist that he would later become. Chopin also was the master at small forms, but struggled with large scale forms.
Knowing the fact that the approach you use to learn the guitar is the key-determining factor in your success or failure to actually learn, this conclusion follow:
Absolutely spend a good amount of time in practicing reversing that habit. Practice in a new way, where you make sure you do what you weren’t doing before. Analyze the essence of that bad habit, extract it from it’s musical context, and perhaps make up “auxillary exercises” based on the essence of it. Use all the practice techniques that I teach to effectively begin this process of reversal.
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