| | | Hey Friend,
It's all wrong! Whoever thought multitasking for humans was a good idea needs to brought up on criminal charges!
Okay, maybe a little harsh, but seriously, regardless of what you might think, multitasking is not a smart idea if you want to become good at something.
But you think you're good at multitasking?
Computers are good at multitasking. They're good at it because they're fast, they can have multiple processors (brains) and you can assign multiple processes to each processor to do multiple things at once. It would be like you having two or four or eight brains in your head.
Our brains are fast, too. Crazy fast. But we only have one conscious processor to rely on. While you might think you can work on two or three or seven things at once, the brain actually has to change focus for each activity you engage in.
Think you're saving time when you multi-task, working on a handful of projects at once?
Think again. There are plenty of studies supporting the fact that the conscious brain can only do...
One.
Thing.
At a...
Time.
And contrary to popular belief, women's brains work the same way men's do - one process at a time. Women tend to be better at remembering things, so that gives them the leg up on us guys, but even that notion has been questioned.
Reflect with me for a moment....
When you're concentrating on something and someone asks you a question, what happens? Your train of thought is derailed and you interrupt your action. Now you're focused on the interruption. Interruption complete? Now it takes you five minutes to get back to what you were doing - even longer if it was something complex.
We don't do each other any favors. We're all masters of distraction. We're all guilty of being interrupters. I guess that's the hazard of being social animals.
Let's get to the meat, though.
If you want to be good - dare I say... the best - at something, you have to focus your effort. Ya can't have two masters!
Some examples:
When they were growing up, what did Michael Jordan and Lebron James focus on - exclusively? Basketball... Only basketball.
Google focused on web search. Microsoft focused on marketing software. McDonald's focused on selling hamburgers.
What did Joe Satriani and Steve Vai and Joe Bonamassa focus on? Becoming guitar virtuosos.
How about bands like The Beatles, the Eagles, Def Leppard, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, etc.? Their total focus starting out was on creating and performing music.
Focused effort leads to success.
That's not to say these examples didn't have life to deal with in their pursuit of excellence. We all do. We have to make time for daily living and the inevitable "wrench in the works." Everyone has stuff to deal with.
But they all figured out how to keep pushing for their primary goal in life - and they each made it happen.
The key to getting it all?
FOCUS!
You've seen this in your own life. Maybe you focused on getting your education, or growing your career, developing a relationship or raising a family. Wherever you gave your attention and focus, that was the area of your life where you saw the most growth.
All this to say, if you want to get good at guitar, focus. When you're practicing, practice. Don't have your phone on or the TV. Get away from the computer (or at least shut off email, Facebook and Twitter). Know what you want to accomplish in each practice session and where it's leading you.
For example, when you're learning the chord fingerings in Easy Power Chords, focus on one fingering at a time. Pick a chord you can finger easily. Listen to how the chord sounds when you play it. Play each chord note individually. If the notes are muffled, adjust your fingers so each note is clean.
Check your picking hand. Are the pick strokes solid and strong? Is your picking technique smooth and even? Can you strum along to a beat?
Take it slow. Master that power chord. Own that chord!
Once you've done that, the others will be easier to play. You'll see your improvement happening exponentially. This is a key to becoming awesome!
You'll create a solid guitar footing for yourself with the basic power chords - so focus on 'em with Easy Power Chords to guide you today!
Peace~
Dave
|
| | |
|
