Can I learn to play guitar?

Hi everyone.
I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend.

I hear the question "Can I learn to play the guitar , even at my age?"  I hear this from people in their 30's and in their 40's. And the answer is yes! With a qualification: if you'll allocate the time to learn/practice/play the guitar. Just taking lessons isn't enough. And I know everyone knows this, but when it comes to doing it we don't always allocate the time. You need to set aside some regular time almost every day. I say almost everyday because we as busy adults can't always play EVERY day. But we should have the time scheduled and when we have to travel etc, we should get back on the practice schedule as soon as possible.

I can hear you saying "I know, I know". And I know you know. But you have to do it. After playing guitar for 40 years, I wanted to learn a new instrument (for me) to remember what it is like to be beginner adult. So I started to learn the banjo! I spent years standing next to a banjo playing rhythm guitar in small clubs. But I never bothered learning. A few months ago, I bought a banjo and started learning.

It was going well. I was learning rolls and started a couple of songs. I was playing/practicing everyday, even if it was just for 10 or 15 minutes. Then disaster struck; I slipped on the stairs and jammed my left shoulder. Nothing was torn, just bruised enough that I couldn't hold my arm up enough to play banjo. Not at all. So I stopped learning for about 5 months. After some physical therapy my shoulder is great. A few weeks ago I picked up the banjo.

I had forgotten just about everything I had learned; the muscle memory had faded. Not surprised. I started all over, learning some rolls and learning some songs. I now have 2 songs about up to speed and I can fake a few more. I'm doing it the old fashioned way, a little bit at a time.

Even though I'm a guitar teacher and I run my own business as a guitar teacher, I'm just as busy as anyone else. I have lots of things to do when I'm not giving lessons. I have to always tend to my marketing and sales needs. Then there's the books and maintenance of the guitars , etc. Things to do around the house. And I got kids! And three cats! Ok, only Zuko is a high maintenance cat.

So, what I do is I look at my schedule each day and figure out when I can plug in at least 15 minutes of banjo practice. With the way my schedule changes throughout the week, I can't say I can practice banjo the same time every day. But I target about 15 minutes each day. I don't always hit my target. I was never good with shooting at things.

But, and here's my secret, I watch for unplanned practice opportunities. If a student cancels, I pick up my banjo. If I'm home for a lunch break I grab it for 5, 10 or 15 minutes. If Zuko wakes me up at 5 in the morning , after I feed all three of them, I grab my banjo. I have it on my mind that if I get a few minutes, I will play the banjo for a few minutes. As long as other higher priorities have been fulfilled. If you can't do that, then maybe learning an instrument ins't high enough on your list of priorities.

I have a lot of adult students all the way from 21 to 67 years old. And I've noticed that the most successful of them are the ones that consistently find time to play/practice. Yeah, the more you practice the better you get more quickly, but anything consistently will work.

Try it out for a month and see how it works.
Keep playing guitar!

Terry
www.napervilleguitarlessons.com
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www.napervilleguitarlessons.com/ebook

Teach Guitar Lessons

Hi, everyone.
I am always amazed at some of my intermediate students. They have worked real hard and sound pretty good. More importantly they have a lot of fun just playing guitar. They jam with their friends and help others learn some songs. What amazes me is that, when I suggest they should think about teaching guitar, they look at me and say " I don't think I'm good enough! " . That almost dumbfounds me. The first time that happened I just thought it was humility. I later found out it was a little insecurity mixed in with the mystique of teaching.

For some reason, people think there is some magic in teaching others to play an instrument. There isn't. The main element is a strong desire to help other people. I still love to see beginners light up when they start to get it, even after playing for over 40 years and teaching over 30 years. It's one of my greatest joys in life!

Yes, sometimes you have to have an overabundance of patience, you should be organized and the more you know about playing guitar the better you will do. But you will also learn as you go. I have learned more things from my students and from trying to find things to keep it interesting than I ever would have on my own or from another teacher.

The other thing you need is to be a business person. Many guitar ( and piano teachers ) I know are lousy business people. They find a few students but not enough to make it a viable business. They feel they are an artist and can't be bothered with the business side of teaching. Well, without marketing and sales , you don't have a teaching business. You have a hobby. If that's what you want, that's fine. But it's wonderful to have your own business doing what you love to do . I know because I've done both; I've been a slave to others and I've been my own person. You don't have to try to figure out which I prefer!

The three key area you have to work at to be a viable business is Product, Marketing ( subset sales) and Financial. The product is obvious, the more you know about guitar and can organize it the more you have to teach.
Marketing is knowing your potential customer and targeting advertising ( be it Internet, paper or word of mouth ) to that customer; you have to let them know you are there. Then you have to close the deal, convince them that you are their best choice. You do that by showing them what you have and how that will benefit them. If you have a degree in music, you have to show them how that will help them. You can't assume they know, they might just thing you spent a lot of time reading music scores!
Then there is Financial. That covers a lot of things. Like accounting, banking, how and where you spend money, paying taxes (yeah, if you're going to treat it like a business you have to pay taxes), etc. If you don't keep a handle of the finances you can easily get into trouble.

One of the best ways to learn to run a guitar teaching business is to get Rob Hampton's eBook . He covers a lot of information. I swear he has been reading my mail for the last 30 years (jk) because he did everything I did but in a shorter period of time. It took me 30 years to learn some of the lessons Rob wrote about in his book.

Go to www.napervilleguitarlessons.com/ebook.html for more information about one of the greatest jobs in the world!