Whether you admit it or not, everyone has New Year's resolutions of some description. For many, learning guitar is one of those resolutions.
So to help you see it through, I've decided to share with you 5 key tips that are easy to implement and which have helped me a lot in the past.
Clear goals
Clear goals are essential for achieving anything, especially New Year's resolutions. While "learn the guitar" or "get better at guitar" is a great goal, it's still somewhat vague. You would be doing yourself a favour if you broke that down a bit more into elements you care about a bit more.
For example, some more specific goals may be:
- be able to play your favourite song
- be able to improvise
- learn to sightread
- write your own songs
- perform in front of people
- play a Hendrix solo with your toes while the guitar is on fire.
- have a better understanding of the fretboard
These types of goals not only give you a stronger sense of motivation but also help you in your day to day practice and planning so that you are actually working towards those goals.
Ask why it is important
It's no secret that New Year's resolutions are idealistic - it's much easier said than done to tweak a lifestyle.
This is why it's so important that you actually spend some time and put some effort into identifying WHY learning the guitar is important for YOU.
Write it down, tell a friend etc. because this is going to be really important to draw upon in February and all those other months when life is getting into full swing again.
Be ready to start
Don't wait until the new year to start getting ready to start working on your goal. Make sure that everything you need in order to achieve your goal is in place BEFORE the new year.
The most basic example is that if your New Year's resolution is to learn the guitar. Make sure you have a guitar ready to play on January 2nd, don't wait until then to go buy a guitar.
Practice log
This is something that is amazingly helpful and that's why I also mention it in my post about practicing.
This is a great source of motivation and also provides a sense of achievement every time you fill it in.
More importantly, it's great for you to track progress and to be able to regularly reassess what can be done differently.
Tell people about it
I know, I know, no one likes that person who tells everyone how amazing they're going to be in the New Year. But there is actually great merit in telling people that you want to learn guitar.
Firstly, you're naming your goal out loud, you're actually acknowledging that this is something you want to take seriously, and there is great weight in that.
Secondly, it introduces a sense of accountability. Friends may later ask you how you're doing with it and keep you motivated, but even if they don't, it introduces an extra element that makes you want to succeed. You've put it out there so you can no longer lie to yourself and say it doesn't matter to you. It also gives you more motivation as you try to live up to what you said you would do.
I truly hope this helps you with your New Year's resolution. Let me know if you have any other great tips you've found to be helpful.
Also don't forget to contact me for the best way forward with your New Year's resolution of learning the guitar: LESSONS! #shamelesspromotion
And with that, I also have my New Year Skype lessons special as part of my New Year's resolution to have more Skype students - get in while it lasts. .