Expert Performance and Deliberate Practice
There is a field of study called “expert performance”. It is basically the study of “people who are great at doing something”, and trying to figure out why they are the way they are, and how they got to be that way.
There is a name given to this process of "getting good at something". It is called "Deliberate Practice". I love that name, especially the "liberate" part of "deliberate". Because that is what it does - it liberates you. It's sets you free to become what you want to be - in our case, a good (or great) guitar player.
It is really a fascinating study, and more importantly, it is the best news that any guitar lover can get, especially those who have been moving slowly or going nowhere. Why? Because it proves to us that becoming good at something does not depend on any degree of "innate talent". It depends entirely on getting the right training. I should repeat that, it's that important.
Seriously...
If someone has never learned to read or write, how would we ever know what they might have achieved?
Most people who have Guitar Principles Stage 1 Training are amazed at how much potential they really have on guitar!
Now, if you have natural talent, that's great. You'll move even faster, if you do the work. But anyone who does the work will get good. Anyone who does the right thing, and does enough of it, will get very, very good. Many of my Stage 3 students are proof of that.
Doing that work means doing "Deliberate Practice", or what I call "Correct Practice On Guitar".
Watch this short video and meet Stacy and Tracy. They both start to play soccer, but they each take very different paths. One does deliberate practice, the other does not
Meet Stacy & Tracy
Stacy and Tracy are sisters. They both join the soccer team. They have similar talent for the sport.
Over time, one of them begins to excel. The other lags behind and hits a wall.
Why? Watch this video and find out.