Hey Friend,

Practicing guitar can sometimes turn into a mundane chore, especially if you don’t feel like you’re gaining any ground. This is one of the reasons you might find yourself “noodling” around the guitar neck instead of working on the lesson in front of you.

I totally get it. Practice can be dry, and frankly, boring at times.

Even stuff I give you! (LOL)

I received a lesson yesterday from my former teacher Tom Hess (well, I guess I’m still learning from him) that I thought I’d pass along - this can help you, too.

One thing I learned from Tom is the value of exponential learning, versus linear learning.

Most music instruction books take the linear approach. You learn things in succession, starting from the first step and working your way through sequentially to the end of a topic.

For example, learning the notes on the guitar neck. Traditional teaching has you start on the sixth string with the open E note and works you up the scale from string to string. 

With exponential learning, you might learn the first open scale pattern in the first lesson, but in the second begin learning how to form a simple triad from those scale notes you learned in the first lesson.

The third might then take you back to learning the positions for the next set of notes.

The idea is to make your brain shift gears to learn a new concepts in small increments while reinforcing skills you’ve already learned. You also begin to see how the skills in one practice area support and strengthen other skill areas.

In essence, you’re taking the various concepts and techniques out of their individual vacuums and forcing them to interact and feed off the practice you’ve already done.

This particular lesson Tom shared teaches a practice technique that allows you to implement physical skills with creativity (thus incorporating this exponential learning approach). 

I use these techniques all the time to hunt for unique ideas. They’re also one of the reasons I never find myself bored with playing. I know I’m only a few minutes from discovering an interesting riff or chord sequence.

Take a look at Tom’s circuit training approach to creativity. You won’t regret it! 

Peace~

Dave