G4 Guitar Andover

Congratulations to Tyler for completing Senior Level 3 of the G4 GUITAR Method! Tyler is in a great place right now with guitar. He is consistent with his practice, and because of that he is excited, so then he practices more, and so the positive cycle continues. 2 more levels to go buddy! Let's get after it!

Hi All,

Ok, so it's the New Year and your son or daughter is learning the guitar and your teacher is telling them that they need to practice EVERY DAY?!? This all seems really easy and self explanatory on paper or in the class environment but at home it seems practically impossible. The reality is in many cases there are other after school clubs and sports, homework and even chores that guitar practice has to co-exist with so how do we make it all fit?

Firstly, let me say that yes, practice is really necessary in order to have success. The myth is that it has to be hard. Here at G4 we actively invite parents to become part of their son or daughter's learning experience. This doesn’t mean that in order to be helpful at home, the parent has to be a guitar pro, but it is a case of parents looking at their child’s schedule and being intentional and saying "at this time we will call that guitar practice time".

By setting that time aside you greatly increase the chances of success. I often hear from parents "I just don’t know how to help". The simplest steps are often the most effective. Practicing guitar is a habit that needs to be implemented daily in order to not feel like work. Once it becomes a true habit, then it will feel less and less like work, and more of a routine in your child's day. Think of it like this, I’ve asked many kids I teach "do you brush your teeth before bed?" to which they say "yes". They know full well it's what needs to be done as part of their ‘before bed routine’ and if for whatever reason it's being left out the parent would usually enforce the principle of brushing before bed so it always gets done. It sounds strange but guitar (or any instrument) works in the same way. Take for example an after dinner scenario. Your child may be allowed to watch a certain program on TV or even play on an iPad or tablet before bed, so right away there’s an opportunity. In some cases, parents have said in the past that the 20 minutes of practice is to come before the TV or iPad activity and the TV or iPad is used as a reward for their hard work. So there’s food for thought in terms of when to practice, but ultimately you the parent will know the best 20-minute gap in their day to dedicate to practice.

Your child will be familiar with what needs to be covered and a practice should closely resemble classes which many of you have watched them participate in. Practice is split over 20 minutes for the Junior grades and 30 minutes for the Senior grades and is split into chunks of 5 or 10 minutes. It looks like this:

*Picking: 5 minutes (the speed is shown on their checklist)
*Skill 1: 5 minutes (e.g. scales)... 10 minutes for Senior levels
*Skill 2: 5 minutes (e.g. chords)... 10 minutes for Senior levels
*Songs (usually the one that’s being worked on in class) 5 minutes.

As you know, the checklist in your book is used to measure your progress. This is where the G4 GUITAR Method stands out from the crowd. I check the boxes on a pdf and every few weeks I will email you your updated checklist. You can print it and put it in your book or just keep the pdf on your computer or tablet. Here's a review of how it works:

- If the box is filled in green, then you have reached the required level of proficiency and while not required to practice daily, you should still regularly review.
- If the box is filled in yellow, then you the student are required to practice this exercise.
- If the box is empty, then you are not currently required to practice this exercise, primarily because we have not gotten to it yet.
What's exciting about the checklist is that you will always know what to practice and there should be little confusion. If you are confused about anything or have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me!

Use a timer and set it for 5 minutes at a time. A kitchen timer, stopwatch or timer on your phone works well. My favorite is the Metrotimer app that can be downloaded for free on ipads and iphones, and it's a timer and metronome all in one.

By breaking it down you can see how manageable it is and it gives you the opportunity to encourage them on their journey of learning the guitar. Try and stick to the above format as this is the proven method of successful students. Again, if you are unsure of anything then please feel free to contact me any time!

Happy New Year and Happy Practicing everyone! See you soon!