When (and Why) to Take Breaks from Learning the Guitar

August 09, 2023

It isn’t actually helpful to always be learning things on the guitar.  Track with me as I walk you through some insights that could really bless you on your creative journey.

 

I have a decent collection of guitar method books, DVDs, and yes, VHS tapes I’ve compiled from over the years.  Most of them are ones I’ve meticulously studied in order to enhance my knowledge of the instrument. 

 

I’ve also earned a Bachelor’s degree in music, taken lessons, attended masterclasses, workshops, symposia, and traveled far and wide to acquire guitar and music knowledge.

 

I am a lifelong learner.  But I’m also a doer.  By this, I mean that I am always looking for knowledge that can be put to use, and then, I’m also looking for ways to use it.

 

To that end, I’ve recorded four full-length albums to date of my original music, mostly on the guitar, using the skills and tools I’ve developed through my various methods of learning. 

 

I’ve also arranged songs by other people, and I’ve performed more concerts and led more times of worship all over North America than I can count. 

 

I’ve applied much of what I’ve learned, because I’ve learned a lot that can be applied.

 

Believe it or not, though, there’s such a thing as spending too much time learning things.  How is this possible? 

 

The bottom line is that we spend too much time learning, and not enough time doing.

 

Stu McLaren, an entrepreneur whose insights I have been blessed by in a membership I was a part of for several years, said something in one of his discussions. 

 

When the subject of knowledge versus action came up, he said something that really impacted me, and I have permission to share what he offered.  These were his exact words:

 

“Learning new things becomes a form of procrastination that stops people from doing the very thing that they need to do to in order to move themselves forward.”

 

Wait, what?  Learning becomes a form of procrastination?  It sure does. 

For the purposes of illustrating this point, I’ve come up with a hypothetical guitarist by the name of Mortimer. 

 

Let’s say Mortimer has been playing the guitar for a few years now.  If Mortimer is hoping to write his own songs on the guitar, what happens when he subconsciously says to himself, “I don’t know enough about the guitar yet to write songs”?

 

Well, Mort will continue on his trajectory, learning guitar tools, but not applying those tools to making actual music.  And that, in a word, can be…tragic.

What if, after a significant period of time (and even a year can be significant) Mortimer is still taking in guitar knowledge in some way, but nothing artistic has been expressed through his fingers or his voice?

To his dismay, a year has gone by, and although Mortimer may have learned some new guitar skills, he may have traded the acquisition of those new skills for time lost making application of those skills.

Poor Mortimer…let’s not be a Mortimer.

 

In order to avoid Mort’s fate, we need to have a balance between acquisition and application.

 

In our discussion, Stu went on to say that

 

"Ideally, our experience should be equal parts ‘learn’ and equal parts ‘do.’  Action is key.  Implementation is the key."

 

I think it can be elusive to embark on a quest for knowledge without necessarily having a plan to implement that knowledge.  So what can we do?

 

Well, I recommend five things.

 

1. Feel the Urgency.

We don’t have the luxury of unlimited time.  None of us has any promise of tomorrow.  Our health will not always be what it is.  Our physical ability to play and sing will not always be with us.

 

Having a sense of urgency gives us a bit of perspective when it comes to realizing that now is the time to make intentional progress in the areas of learning, but also applying what we know. 

 

If we subconsciously say, “Well, I’m sure I’ll get to a point to where I can use this stuff…I’ll just keep learning for now,” we may wake up one day when it’s quite a bit later in our lives, and some options aren’t there anymore.

 

Even if you’re not like Mort, you may still have some guitar-related goal that you haven’t checked off. 

 

You may want to record an album. 

 

You may want to join the worship team. 

 

You may want to team up with someone else in your friends or family circles to make music locally, or share your music with a community – whether in a living room or in an auditorium.

 

But you need to picture yourself living your God-given dreams, and have some goals written down, perhaps even forming a level of accountability with someone you know, so that the urgency can remain, and the progress can be made toward application.

 

2. Be Vigilant.

As you learn things, perhaps you have enough musical savvy to see where the application factor can come in. 

 

But if you don’t have this awareness yet, do your best to find out whether the stuff you’re learning can be applied to what you want to do.

In GuitarSuccess4U, my online experience for beginning and intermediate guitar players, I conclude every month of our Success Path with a Relevance Lesson. 

 

Just as you may suspect, the focus of that Relevance Lesson is to show where all the tools I’ve been teaching you that month can be applied. 

I spend very little time in GuitarSuccess4U teaching topics or tools that don’t have much use. 

 

Life is simply too short.

 

Now here’s the thing – some of the tools out there may be designed for the center of your wheelhouse.  Others may not. 

 

Exempli gratia – I’m a rhythm guitarist, not a lead guitarist, so most of my time is spent strumming or fingerpicking chords that have beautiful embellishments. 

 

I support my voice with the guitar.  So although I learn some scales to better understand melodies, modes, and even guitar position playing, you’ll most likely find me as an accompanist to my own voice. 

 

Someone else may lean away from chord formulas and more toward developing fast melodic licks because – you guessed it, they are more of a lead guitarist who doesn’t necessarily sing. 

Each approach is valid.  But as you can see, certain topics and tools are more applicable to one guitarist than another.

 

So I invite you to be vigilant, and to try to discern if what is being taught can be used by you in this season.  And yet remain open to the fact that maybe, down the road, something that doesn’t currently apply to you, may become useful.

 

3. Apply What You Know Now.

In GuitarSuccess4U, I wrote a song about the learning experience we all have as guitar players.  It’s called “My Sweet, Sweet Song.” 

 

It uses just one strumming pattern throughout, and it has five open chords that are very, very easy to play.

 

This song is one of five instant bonuses that are made available to our members as soon as they join.

 

Why would I make a song so simple available right away?  Because I want to get my members playing real music as soon as possible.  There’s something very satisfying about playing an actual legit song.

 

And if you’re curious, the song comes with a deluxe PDF and 14 levels of play to allow literally anyone of any level to enjoy playing the song with the video lesson right away.  It has waffle chord shapes, tablature, and even notation for those note-readers out there.

 

And it has a lead sheet, but also a chord chart, and even a rhythm chart.  All languages of music are considered and presented.

 

“My Sweet, Sweet Song” is a perfect example of being able to play a song with just a handful of tools. 

 

If you know just a few chords and can keep time with a simple strumming pattern, you have enough to get started.

 

Think about cooking for a moment.  Pretend that you wanted to make a meal one evening, and you only had a handful of ingredients, because grocery shopping was happening later in the week.

 

Could you creatively combine those ingredients you had to make a simple but tasty dinner?  We all gotta eat.  You’d probably find a way to improvise something, even if it wasn’t a subtle gourmet dish.

 

I doubt that if you had, for instance, bread, cheese, mayonnaise, and a can of tomato soup, you would choose not to eat because you didn’t have all the necessary ingredients for a slow-roasted brisket with spring vegetables drizzled in balsamic vinegar.

 

You’d probably make a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup, right?

The tools we have on hand can be put to use, and then we can add more to those tools over time.  Who says we can’t write a song with four chords, and later discover a way to enhance that same song by weaving in some color chords, or even some additional chord substitutions? 

 

I’ve done it, to my utter delight, and the songs I’ve refreshed have taken on a whole new level of artistry.

 

But here’s the kicker – I didn’t wait to write “the perfect song.” 

 

So make sure that you’re placing yourself in a posture of being inspired to write, or perhaps arrange a song, based on what you currently know.  Don’t procrastinate and wait – there’s a song within you that can come to life based on what you know right now.

 

4. Use Your Gut

This one’s a bit subjective, but this is where you need to be your own advocate. 

 

Let’s say you’ve acquired a lot of guitar resources, and you just don’t seem to have the time to implement them all, let alone go through the content.

 

I’ve met a lot of guitarists who are in this set of circumstances.

 

Before they know it, another learning opportunity comes along, with a new course, a new video series, a new guitar workshop or a retreat.  Are those opportunities detrimental?  Of course not.  They’re designed to help you. 

 

They’re also designed to help the person who wants to help you, and by that, I mean that they want you to purchase their product.  It’s how they make their living, and that helps them continue to help others.  

 

It’s a significant part of how I make my living.  Nothing bad about that.  But the right thing at the wrong time can be the wrong thing.

As good of a resource as something may be, those who offer it may not know where you are in your guitar journey, so you may need to assert your own needs.  This is where you need to be able to say, “Actually, I’ve got a good amount that I’m working on right now.  I’ll set a reminder to check that out.”

 

Or there may be an option for you to join a mailing list, to be kept in the loop to receive some free goodies, so that when the time is right for you to join, you can.  That’s exactly what we have laid out at GuitarSuccess4U.

 

There is so much out there on the web in terms of guitar resources and educational materials.  And a lot of it is excellent. 

 

GuitarSuccess4U is one of those resources, and it’s amazing. 

But it’s not for everyone, right now.

 

It is for followers of Christ who are teachable, humble, willing to pay for value, learn at their own pace, and are all about glorifying the Lord with their gifts.  Inside the portal are over 100 lessons, and each is there for a very specific reason.

 

But it is designed to be used in the season of life where you need that content and that experience.

Contrast this to websites and memberships that give you access to tens of thousands of lessons.  To me, that can lead to overwhelm, quickly.  If people who use those tools can find what they’re looking for and apply it, they can experience progress.

 

But I’d say that a simple, clear path with curated content, and access to a community, all of which we offer, provides a great recipe for success…provided that the person using that recipe is self-motivated and can apply themselves to what they’re learning, and then use that information to make real music.

 

So use your gut as to whether you want to take on more tools in the season in which you find yourself.  You need to create the “grid” for your success, and if something doesn’t fit through the grid, as attractive as it may be, it needs to wait.

 

5. Learn, Do, Learn, Do

So as we wind down for today, I just want you to take hold of this rhythm.  Learn, do, learn, do.  Say that with me.  Learn, do, learn, do.

 

Are there seasons of more learning and less doing?  Certainly.  Are there seasons of more doing and less learning?  Sure.

 

But if we find ourselves just learning and not doing, something needs to change…otherwise we are ineffective, and we will find ourselves regretting our choices. 

 

And if there’s one thing the devil always wants, it’s to see followers of Christ become ineffective, or too busy to be effective.

 

Wrap-Up

Well, I hope today’s discussion got you thinking about where you’re at when it comes to your “learning” and your “doing.” 

 

Are you merely acquiring knowledge, or are you taking intentional time and approaches to putting it to use?

Trust me, at the end of our lives, I think we’ll wish we had taken more action towards fulfilling our God-given dreams, and less time learning how we might make them happen.

 

Let’s have some serious fun on the journey.

 

So, if these words have resonated with you, it just might be time to take action.  And that might mean that it’s time, for now, to take a break from learning guitar and start applying what you’ve learned towards making actual music.

 

But when the time comes for you to level up your playing on the “learning” side so that you can “play” and “do” more, we’re here for you at GuitarSuccess4U.

 

Thanks for reading this post , and I’ll see you next time.  Now go learn, do, learn, do, learn, do…