Always Begin Here!

Set Your Goals Before Starting

Without goals, there is no movement. Wherever we are now is both the origin and destination. Compared to water, lack of goals is like the Dead Sea. Already at the lowest possible elevation, it can flow nowhere, can exert no kinetic or potential energy upon other objects nor sustain complex life.

For our goals to be effective, they must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Action-Oriented, Relevant and Time-Framed), or they will eventually give way to pressures or frustrations. Let's examine each one at a time:

Specific Goals limit the variables we have to deal with at once, and allow us to focus on those areas that need work. Areas that do not need work should not be practiced at the expense of those areas that do. Specific goals should be written down to keep you on task until mastery is gained, and you check yourself off.

Measurable Goals allow us to quantify or substantiate progress from one day or one week to the next. How do you really know if your playing of diminished arpeggios is getting faster and cleaner if not confirmed by a metronome? How do you really know that you are making fewer mistakes unless you can compare two recordings of yourself? Always measure, always record, always listen critically.

Attainable, Action-Oriented Goals ensure that regardless of our current abilities, the next step is always possible, but requires effort. Trying to tackle extended chords before you are proficient with triads, for example, can be frustrating. Channel your energy into mastering your current level and then move on to the next. Our belt level system is geared to help sequence these musical concepts into a logical order for you.

Relevant Goals serve the purpose of helping us study the right material in the right context, and weeding out activities that distract from the specific goals set earlier. For example, if you are preparing a Bach piece for a classical master class with David Russell in two weeks, why would you spend your training time jamming to BB King? Save BB King for later, and work on your posture, breathing, memorization, articulation and phrasing on your classical guitar. Be comfortable in the knowledge that you cannot excel at all styles at once.

Time-Framed Goals always have a deadline attached, but just as importantly there is a beginning time where you block out other activities to focus on the task. This window must be commensurate with the work to be done during that timeframe. You might not make every deadline, but unless you put dates on your goals, they have a way of dragging themselves out much longer than necessary. This is one habit that will separate you from your friends by a long shot.

Let's Get Started

Before beginning any lessons, take some quality time to dream about what you want to become, and how guitar will enhance your life and the life of others. The pursuit of guitar can consume hours each week, and even years of your life, so take some time to dream and plan for you dream to realize itself. Let the clarity of your vision and the thrill of creating that future take control for a little while.

What will make you want to keep going when your fingers hurt, when people tell you that your playing stinks, or have no future in guitar, or most common of all when the novelty wears off, and things become boring?

Go to a quite place, put away your guitar and pull out a piece of paper and a pencil. Review the following steps and spend some quality time with your future self.

Jot Down your Inspiration

Take some time to list your inspirations. Who are those who move you with their music? Whose songwriting causes you to marvel? Whose technique causes your jaw to drop? These players might be famous, but they do not have to be. They can be your friend, a local band member, a teacher.

As you list the players who inspire you, think about them and let the emotions flow through you. List the things they do in their playing, songwriting, or in their personal character that makes you want to be better at this guitar thing. Pay attention to your motivation meter and note whether they really move you or not. If you think you are writing down characteristics that inspire someone else, don't list them.

Write down what you want to become.

Write down what you want to be using specific declarative language as if you already are what you want to become. Examples would be:

• "I am a well-rounded competent player that plays blues and jazz for live audiences and in the studio", or...
• "I am a teacher who motivates my students through my recorded music and my interaction with them", or...
• "I am a world-class professional player that inspires other guitar players around the globe through my performances and recorded music", or...
• "I am a business man who likes to play guitar to relax in the evenings".

Write down major milestones.

Major milestones are important achievements combined with dates. These must be written to be effective. Without milestones real progress cannot be made or measured.

Examples of major milestones might be:

• Save enough money to buy a new Martin guitar by my next birthday, or...
• Start teaching students in my basement by next spring, or...
• Start a band by next month, or...
• Get admitted to music school by next semester, or
• Build a studio in my basement by next year, etc.

Write down the steps to make your milestones it happen.

Write down the practical things you can do each day to make your milestones a reality. Write them down. Examples might be:

• Practice daily
• Read publications
• Look for bands auditioning for players
• Do marketing for new students
• Save 10% from each paycheck for new guitar

Write down your daily time commitment to make it all happen.

How much time can you give each day to make your goal happen? Write down your ideal daily commitment, and your minimum daily commitment, in case your ideal commitment can't be reached for some reason.

During this time each day, make sure to remove distractions, such as TV, phone, kids, visitors, etc. It should be just you, your instrument, and your practice routine.

Write down all the songs you would like to play.

Take some time to write down in one place all the songs you can think of that you would like to play. At first, don't worry about the order, just list every cool song that you would like to add to your repertoire either now or down the road a ways. Return to your list often, to pull songs off of it into your short-term practice routines.