It does not matter if you are an absolute beginner or an advanced intermediate player. At some point you are hitting a brick wall.

That is mainly due to your mindset towards learning the instrument. Acquiring a new skill is always challenging. But it is important to see the bigger picture a couple of years down the road. Impatience, wrong expectations and short-term solutions do not really move you towards your goal.

Use these tips to get the most out of your practice sessions:

1. Keep it simple. Obviously you can’t do great things when you’re just starting off. Try to do small things in a great way, instead. Focus on tone, rhythm and feel. For example, you can play an unlimited number of songs with these four chords: G-Major, D-Major, e-Minor and C-Major. You don’t believe me? Check out “The Axis of Awesome” on YouTube. They’ll show you.

2. Be patient. Nothing happens over night. Yes, it is important to get some tiny results very quickly so you stay on top of it but ultimately you have to give everything time. Lots of time. But that does not mean waiting until something magically happens! Do you take action? If so, don’t worry about doing everything 100% right at the first try.

3. Use your time effectively. Just noodling around and playing chords or lines without thinking about it and watching TV at the same time does not get you anywhere. Set a time frame that suites you best and go for it with all your focus. Eliminate all distractions like your mobile phone, TV and internet and you will see some real results, if you do this consistently.

4. Have fun! Don’t be too serious about this. This isn’t a competition, although it might seem to be one from time to time. Be creative with your instrument and try out new things. But remember, the more you focus on one thing, the more you will get out of it. If you want to be a jack of all traits, that’s totally fine! Just be aware of it!
5. Get a mentor/teacher. Having a mentor is one of the most important steps to up your game. Doing it all yourself is fine but has its limitations. Especially in the beginning this may cost you a lot of time and frustration due to a lack of feedback and the wrong strategies. There’s plenty of amazing teachers out there, you just have to find someone who resonates with you.

Bonus tip: Use the internet. You have the knowledge of the world at hand. Literally! So do some research and make notes of everything that seems important to you. There are so many great teachers out there you can learn from and YouTube is one of the best platforms to get loads of information. The hard thing though, is sorting the odd ones out and finding the good stuff.

If you want to know more about this topic, don’t hesitate to contact me for a free consultation or (Skype)lesson. I’m looking forward to see you!
Also make sure to check out Suicide Owl Music on YouTube for free lessons.

Marius