How Do You Win at Guitar Playing?

Sometimes you put down the guitar with a feeling of defeat.

You’re disappointed that you did not play as well as you hoped.

How could you finish each practice session with a feeling that you won?

1. Define Small Goals

I was recently working with a student on a piece that was too difficult for him. So I recommended that we pivot and move to a simpler piece. On the simpler piece, I set a small and achievable goal for him. To play the piece accurately at half tempo. He was able to do that by the next lesson.

2. Celebrate Small Wins

Sometimes we think we have to wait until we have mastered the hardest guitar music in the world to celebrate our accomplishments. But when you have small wins, celebrate them. When you play a piece accurately at half tempo, celebrate! When you see improvement in your technique, celebrate! Taking time to savor progress will help you to stay motivated.

3. Keep Adjusting

No matter what you do, there will be times when you don’t achieve what you hoped. In many cases, you can just keep trying the next day.

But if you have been pursuing the same goal for weeks and you’re getting frustrated, consider adjusting your expectations. Continually make your goal smaller and more achievable until you hit it. Then you can set slightly higher goals. If you do this on an ongoing basis, you will see progress!

Keep making music!

There are two ways I can help you when you’re ready:

1. I teach private guitar lessons on Zoom. I can help you set goals for your playing that are appropriate for your current level and that put you in a position to win. If you would like to consider scheduling a lesson with me, just email me at [email protected] and we can talk about it.

2. I created a mini-course called 7 Steps to Next Level Classical Guitar Playing. It includes short videos and downloadable PDFs that walk you through clearly defined steps for improving your playing.

As a special offer to you, I'm opening up the opportunity to go through the first 2 steps of the course for free! Just go to this link and enter your email address and you will have free access.

First 2 Steps for Free!