[Braden]

I’m all in on the 10 minute a day thing and think Mark @the-old-coach is dead on. I especially liked the line… “ten minutes a day…is a bunch of BS, unless you plan to live to be 100”! good one Coach, thanks for the chuckle

In this world of instant gratification, telling people that all they need to do is play ten minutes a day 2 or 3 times a week and before they know it they’ll be decent guitar players is smart marketing. They’re going after that prevalent mentality of I want it now, and as easy as possible. I do also think that some teachers tell their students this, hoping that the ten minutes will stretch out to a half hour or more. But its still a good hook…just give me ten minutes, even celebrate that you ‘just showed up’ at all. And you can call your self a guitar player.

For me it comes back to what do you want out of this, what are you hoping to get from learning guitar. What are you trying to achieve. In other words, how good do you want to get.

Some folks might be completely content and satisfied strumming some chords or playing a few licks. And thats great (although i wonder if deep down they wish they could do more). But theyv done the cost-benefit and mde their decision. For them, half an hour a week ie ten minutes a day, three days a week, is just about right. And if they skip a day / week or two, its no big deal and doesnt affect too much.

But I think the “all you need is 10 minutes a day!” line insinuates more…that this is all you need to do to become a good guitar player. And sadly, in this day and age, thats a good sell. We want it fast and we want it easy. So if I can be entertaining my friends or (fill in the blank) soon with only having to play ten minutes a day sign me up.

But of course this isnt true…and like Coach says, it never was. If it was true, everyone would be doing it, there would be many many more people playing, and playing well. Instead its really the opposite, Most people quit playing before the first year is out , and of those who keep going, many of them give it up within a few more years. There are a lot of guitar owners out there… who dabble a bit, but not really too many good players. Why? Because its hard. Its very difficult on so many levels. And it takes significant committment, work and discipline. Also a very particular mindset….ie embracing the suck and struggle. Its not for everyone.

hey @petelanger my most productive sessions are about two hours (with a few 5-10 minutes breaks). After that I start getting a bit tired, but thats often becuase its late and time for bed.

I play a lot of tennis, several times a week. When Im playing a match that has a time constraint eg a tournament match, I hate that we only get to warm up for ten minutes before starting the match. When in a friendly match, we’ll often take half an hour to warm up before playing for points. Same for me with guitar, I need at least half an hour to warm up, go through warm up excercises, get my hands loose. Only after that does the real groove come along. Theres been many times where I kind of lose track of time and before I know it the whole afternoon has gone by. Of course I have days where I dont get to play but theyre few and far between. There are other days when all i can squeeze in is 10-15 minutes. Its always better than nothing but i dont really think of it as a successful guitar day.

People will talk about how many years theyv been playing, when what they should really be talking about it how many hours they put in. Using the 10 minutes a day model, a person can be playing for several years and quite likely will still be in the beginner stage.

The reality is simple…the more you play the better you will get and the quicker you’ll get there. And while we all strive to enjoy the getting there, the closer we get, the more fun it gets.

I really hope that Im not coming across as too critical or judgemental. Sorry if i sound preachy. People should do whats right for them. You do you, live and let live etc. Its just that i get a little tired of hearing people complain that theyre not a rock star and theyve only been playing a very short time and for only maybe ten minutes a day, a few days a week. Its a bit insulting to those of us who put in the work.

Ok thats my rant. Now I’ll shut up. Rock on my friends.

• This reply was modified 3 weeks, 5 days ago by  Braden.