How do you best learn?

People invariably learn by doing whatever skill it is they intend to study.

Musical instruments are a very obvious example of this. The more time you spend working at this skill, the easier it becomes.

The “magic” figure that is frequently bandied about, is 10,000 hours. This figure is given as the amount of time that is needed for anyone to acquire a skill to a very advanced level.

In my lessons, I seek to give the student the necessary strategies to facilitate progress on their instrument of choice. It is my declared intention not to hide any pertinent information from anyone, especially if I can see that it will be of help to them.

For many students, it’s useful for them to bring a small notebook to their lessons. This is used for recording their goals for that particular week, and for reviewing purposes. If you have been given a “watertight” task, then it is a very measurable thing to check at the following lesson.

My way of teaching usually begins with setting some small and simple goals for the student, and then once they are achieved, we move onto the next logical step from there.

No two people are exactly alike, and so to some extent, I may find it necessary to modify “the plan” as we go along. What works for one, may not always work for another.