Researchers at the City University of New York studied two groups of basketball players. One group had a very good free throw percentage, the other very bad. They tested them in order to find out what set the two groups apart. The results are very interesting.
The first thing they found was that there was no significant difference between the knowledge of each group. Both knew a lot about basketball, about technique, etc. Knowledge did not make one group better than the other.
There were two things, however, that did separate them, and it has significance for you as a guitarist and musician.
First, when the experts practiced, they set specific goals. For instance, the goal was not to “make the shot” or “get better” but to “make 10 out of 10 shots”. The amateurs did not have specific goals. They simply practiced to “get better” or “use good form.”
Second, the experts attributed failure to specific causes. For instance,they determined that they had not bent their knees or did not keep their elbows in. The poor free throw shooters did not determine the cause of their failure, they simply said that they “had bad form” or “were not focused.”
As you practice, implement these two tactics. Every time you sit down, write out a specific goal or goals. “Getting better” is not a specific goal. Maybe you need to improve your right hand picking technique or you need to work on synchronizing the right and left hands. Whatever it is, be as specific as possible.
Second, when you make a mistake, ask yourself, why? The default many of us have is to say, “I’ll never get better” or “I’m not good enough.” This kind of talk does nothing to help us and, in fact, discourages us. Instead, diagnose the problem. If you can’t figure out why you’re making mistakes, write down the problem and ask me at your next lesson…if you’re my student 🙂 We’ll figure it out.
Implement this into your practicing and I’m confident you will make more progress at a faster pace.
