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With so much technology, gadgets its all too easy to find Yourself being driven to distraction – its no wonder that many schools find that this can create a lack of focus and a lack of concentration where it counts in the classroom where many young lives are being shaped for the wider world.
And yet the notion, the idea that it is possible that being inspired and fascinated by making music, and progressively making better music can improve concentration and thinking skills so much seems unusual to say the least, especially if You have not heard this idea before?
How can something like being able to Play Guitar – whether…
that’s songs all the way through or more advanced playing – how could this possibly lead to finding your focus and stop You being driven to distraction?
While on the surface this idea that Music Lessons can improve concentration may perhaps even seem weird almost, the one thing about making music that You learn that will increase Your concentration, your cognitive skills – is… Staying in the Musical Moment.
At Our workshops there are Guitar enthusiasts excitedly engaged, actively involved and fascinated with making music – not just for 3 minutes – but for multiple hours at time.
Even NeuroScience is showing that nothing uses more of the Brain than Music Making
More about the NeuroScience in another article.
Because it’s You Discovering Meaningfull Music Making, Music that has resonance with You, Music from the soundtrack that has shaped Your life from Your teen years onwards it is this that is the equivalent of a full workout for the Brain.
It is more about The MeaningFull Music Making effect than The Mozart effect – so if Meaningfull Music for You happens to be rock, blues Indie based – then discovering and playing that will have far more beneficial impact on your brain than passively listening to Mozart – as good as Mozart can be.
Mozart Effect A topic for another time.
If it was not possible for concentration and focus to be extended and increased – then none of the student videos here, from those who decided to take their playing beyond face to face immersion sessions, to attend workshops, nor videos showing student performances would be possible – and what’s more these are enjoyable for the students – after all they do not have to sit in and stay in a workshop environment for multiple hours – and yet that is exactly what they do.
But This all starts with Focus – Priming Your Musical Mind BEFORE You even get to Play Your guitar – something you can easily do yusing NET time (non essential travel time) and then focussing Your mind when You play, so when Your hands are on guitar, your eyes are on the guitar – then Your mind is also on the Guitar.
One of the challenges sometimes with New Guitar Enthusiasts, or those coming back to the guitar, is engaging their focus, and increasing especially if You have had a tough day before You even get to the guitar.
Guitar would be so much easier if You had all the hours in the day to play and practice as much as You want; except You and I Know that’s just not the way it is – what with work, career or maybe studies.
This is why a key element of immersion sessions, is learning how to prime your Musical Mind in advance of picking up Your Guitar to Play.
For example If You only have say 20 minutes or 30 minutes to actually play in between Face To Face Immersion sessions on a certain day, it makes sense that when You pick up the guitar, You are already
And once You begin to learn how to increase your concentration levels, You also find it is easier to track your mistakes when You are playing in between Your lessons – which in turn results in Your Progress and Your deeper sense of personal achievement and fulfilment instead of the frustration that You like sadly too many Guitar players may seem to needlessly feel, at least some of the time if not most of the time.
And increased concentration, co-ordination and thinking skills that You develop for Music, do not just stay with Music – the same way that muscles developed in a Gym are not just used in the Gym – instead these improved thinking skills, improved concentration can be used in other subjects,both inside and also outside of the classroom as well.
” There is enormous pleasure and satisfaction where I think aaah I’m Not going to be able to do that, but then I do…..and that has happened on several occasions in my lessons with Andre…” Retired HeadMaster Arnold Chave describing his unique Guitar Journey.
Til Next Time
Andre
Andres Guitar Academy – Where Students Have Fun, Improve Musical Thinking, Concentration and Focus