Some people seem to pick some things up quicker than others. With music some students seem to pick up concepts and techniques quickly while others take weeks or months. It’s easy to feel that there is some kind of natural talent that some people have and others don’t.
Learn MoreAlmost everyone would love to be a great guitarist, pianist, drummer, etc. Unfortunately that dream alone is unlikely to sustain you through the thousands of hours of practice necessary to reach that level. If you’re going to achieve greatness you’re going to have to find a way to enjoy the thousands of hours of practice themselves.
Learn MoreThere are several pieces of software that allow you to slow down songs and pieces of music without changing the pitch. Many of these also allow you to loop sections of the track. This is incredibly powerful both for practicing pieces and also for transcribing (working out the notes and chords in songs by ear).
Learn MoreThe students I have who maintain a sense of humour through lessons tend to be the ones who progress fastest. I don’t entirely know why this is, bit it’s true. So if you can, take a light hearted approach to your learning too.
Learn MoreIt takes a bit of confidence to ask questions – whether it’s to you teacher or other musicians. But it really will help you progress with music faster.
No matter how good a teacher or a course is, there may still be bits that don’t quite make sense to you the first time round – or even the tenth! There are a whole bundle of reasons for this. It doesn’t really matter what they are. The important thing is that when you don’t understand something, ask about it.
Learn More“What?” I hear you cry, “We’re guitarists not singers, we shouldn’t have to engage our vocal chords. That’s not what we signed up for.” But employing your voice while you practice can make an enormous difference to the speed you learn things.
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