Date:  Saturday, 3rd of September, 2011

Time:  3pm – 5pm

Topic:   Incorporating the Major 3rd and Major 6th into the blues scale to achieve a cool minor/major blues sound.

These workshops are fantastic value and a great way to meet other guitar enthusiasts.

For bookings and inquiries please contact The Guitar Gym on 07 3870 5261.

When beginning to learn how to play the guitar, it is very common for people to develop self-defeating thoughts and believe some of the myths about learning an instrument that seem to perpetuate in the wider community. Worse yet, there are people who have a desire to learn, yet never even start because they harbor these self-defeating thoughts and believe the myths.

Below is a recent email exchange I had with a student which addresses mentality and myths surrounding learning the guitar.

Hi John

Thank you for the lesson this week, which I thought was great.
I still can’t play the chords you showed me and it’s very frustrating. I feel useless! I should be able to play these by now. I’m also having a lot of trouble tapping my foot on the beat and strumming at the same time.
I think I’m too old to learn, and I haven’t got a musical bone in my body!
I’ll keep trying for now, but I don’t think I have the talent for this.

Regards
Jane

Dear Jane

I sense from your email that you hold some beliefs that may hinder your musical development, so I’m going to take some time here to explain a few things and dispel some myths because we want you to get off to a good start and keep on going! So please read on……

You mentioned you feel useless. Please don’t be so hard on yourself. As beginners we all felt limited. It’s a brand new skill!

After working with hundreds of people over many years of teaching guitar, I am usually able to identify those with the mentality to succeed (ie. meet their goals) and those with the mentality to fail. Please read below and ask yourself which category you fit into. I hope you fit into the “people who will succeed” category. If you don’t, all you need to do is change your way of thinking and success and enjoyment is guaranteed!

I will start by describing the people who succeed.

The people who succeed are those who:

1. Genuinely enjoy music
2. Hold no expectations in terms of improvement
3. Don’t use “should” statements, ie. “I should be able to play this by now.”
4. Do not pressure themselves to practice
5. Trust in their teacher’s guidance and don’t question it
6. Don’t flutter about with what they want to learn (a sign of not obtaining immediate success in executing something)
7. Understand the importance of taking consistent lessons and how the relationship between themselves and their teacher actually results in improvement. (Improvement is gained through lessons mostly due to accountability and inspiration and much less as a result of the passing on of information. A classic example of a student who doesn’t understand the true value of taking lessons is the student who believes they should gain some level of mastery of a task set by their teacher in a lesson prior to having the next lesson. eg “I’d like to have lessons fortnightly because I need more time to practice between lessons.”)
8. View playing an instrument as a lifelong pursuit and understand the concept of lifelong learning.

The people who don’t succeed (quit lessons and the instrument) are those who:

1. Don’t take lessons, or don’t take lessons consistently
2. When inquiring about lessons ask “How long does it take to learn the guitar?”
3. Hold expectations about improvement and use “should” statements
4. Pressure themselves to practice
5. Question their teacher often, “Why am I doing this?”
6. Challenge instruction
7. Flutter about with what they want to learn (due to unrealistic expectations of results)
8. Undervalue the importance of their teacher as a source of inspiration and accountability.
9. Believe they are too old to learn (see myth No 1 below)
10. Believe they don’t have talent for music (see myth No 2 below)

Let me dispel a few myths for you you now, as believing in them will severely hold you back!

Myth number 1: Age is a barrier

Age is NOT a barrier unless you believe it is! Many people falsely believe that kids learn faster than adults. Adults, in general, learn faster because they are more intelligent and can better apply knowledge and understanding. They are also generally more organised and responsible for their own practice.

In terms of developing muscle memory, I’ve never seen any evidence of age having an effect, except in the elderly and in the very young (where general co-ordination is still developing).

There are cases of teenagers who are really into guitar and improve quickly. This is because with few responsibilities (unlike adults) they are able to play for hours and hours a day.

I recall a 65 year-old, newly retired man who decided to take up the guitar as it was something he’d always wanted to do. No prior musical knowledge or experience whatsoever. Tony was probably my fastest improving student ever. He practiced 1 hour each day, and in 6 months was playing his favourite Shadows songs rather well, AND he had gout in his fingers, and some were all over the place with old football injuries.

Myth Number 2: “I haven’t got a musical bone in my body”

Music is learned, much like a language. There is no such thing as born “talent” or talent as defined by the popular idea of it being some inherent gift. Talent is simply the demonstration of a skill or an ability. The skill is acquired through practice and exposure.

I find it an insult to the years of hard work I have put in to develop my skill when someone dismisses it by saying, “Oh, you are so naturally talented.”

Two people who have never played an instrument before may commence guitar lessons and one may demonstrate more “talent” immediately. They may be more “musical” than the other person as a result of being exposed to music more. They have already been developing their language of music. There is more to playing music than the physical aspect of executing it on an instrument.

So Jane, think to succeed and don’t believe the myths! You may be surprised at the results you achieve with your guitar playing.

See you at your lesson next week.

Regards

John

So if you read this far, I hope what you have read helps!  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you’d like to discuss your guitar playing.

Copyright John Freiberg, 2011.

Essential albums include “Dirt Floor” (it will rip your heart out) and “Living With The Law”.