{"id":132917,"date":"2020-08-21T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/?p=132917"},"modified":"2024-11-18T03:24:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T11:24:21","slug":"progress-vs-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/progress-vs-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Progress vs. Success in Classical Guitar Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>What is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/beginner-progress-guitar\/\">progress<\/a> on guitar? And how do we make more of it? From one day to the next, we may feel like we\u2019ve plateaued. We may feel like we\u2019re spinning our wheels.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So how can we feel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/beginner-classical-guitar\/\">more successful in our guitar practice<\/a>? How can we stay motivated and feel a sense of accomplishment?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"centerc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gL7OxMFeB70?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;autohide=1\" width=\"700\" height=\"393\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"h-the-problem-not-seeing-enough-improvement-leading-to-less-motivation-and-more-frustration\" class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">The Problem: Not Seeing Enough Improvement, Leading to Less Motivation and More Frustration<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>When we don\u2019t feel like we\u2019re improving, guitar practice may become less fun. We may suspect we\u2019re not we\u2019re heading in the right direction. Or we may wonder if we\u2019re wasting our valuable time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>We all want to progress &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/classical-guitar-lessons-beginners\/\">to get better<\/a>. This personal growth is motivating and fulfilling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And when we don\u2019t sense progress, we tend to instead feel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/frustrated-with-guitar\/\">frustration<\/a>. Practice becomes more difficult. We may ultimately quit, or make a drastic change of course.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>But this is all based on feelings, not necessarily reality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The question is: How can we tell we\u2019re progressing? How do we judge what\u2019s working and what isn\u2019t.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-progress-on-guitar\">What is \u201cProgress\u201d on Guitar?<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Progress on guitar is forward movement toward our goals. We build skills over time. We reach benchmarks. We play better than we used to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"h-why-progress-is-difficult-to-gauge\" class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Why Progress is Difficult to Gauge<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The problem is that progress can be difficult to gauge from the ground level. In our practices, watching for progress is like watching grass grow. <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/guitar-projects\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">From one day to the next, there may be little change<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If we ask the question each day, \u201cDo I see progress?\u201d, the answer will likely be \u201cno\u201d. This is because we\u2019re comparing today against yesterday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And often this comparison is not based on objective standards. It is based on personal perception (mainly feelings).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>On a day to day basis, there\u2019s a better way. And that is to instead aim for success\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"h-what-is-success-in-guitar-practice\" class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">What is \u201cSuccess\u201d in Guitar Practice?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Looking for success in a single practice is easier to spot than progress. If we know what constitutes success, we can make a more realistic evalution.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>So what is success?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Calm, focused awareness<\/li>\r\n<li>Work with specific and immediate objectives<\/li>\r\n<li>Challenging, but not overly so<\/li>\r\n<li>A well-rounded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/guitar-practice-schedule\/\">agenda<\/a>, serving many practice areas<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>And for any given practice area on guitar, we can further define success. For example, in a piece of music, success could mean taking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/slow-practice-classical-guitar\/\">slow repetitions<\/a> of the tricky parts. Or it could mean keeping the speed (tempo) steady. Or any of a thousand other objectives we set for the moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>For <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/classical-guitar-scales\/\">classical guitar scale practice<\/a>, success may mean even volume and good form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The criteria we use is clear and defined. So we can look back at a single practice and guage the quality of our work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 id=\"h-daily-success-leads-to-overall-improvement\" class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Daily Success Leads to Overall Improvement<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Fortunately, when we aim for success in practice, we also see more progress. We improve faster because our work is more strategic and productive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Success is something we can affect today. Progress is not. Progress is something at which we stand back and marvel. But success is something we can make happen in the moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The search for success is empowering. The search for progress usually isn\u2019t.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>From one minute to the next, we get to direct our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/time-and-energy-practice-guitar\/\">energy<\/a> and attention. We choose what and how to play. And when do the good work, we enjoy faster improvement and more deeply engaged practices.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is progress on guitar? And how do we make more of it? From one day to the next, we may feel like we\u2019ve plateaued. We may feel like we\u2019re spinning our wheels. So how can we feel more successful in our guitar practice? How can we stay motivated and feel a sense of accomplishment? The Problem: Not Seeing Enough &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/progress-vs-success\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,434],"tags":[54,52],"class_list":["post-132917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-main-content-parent","tag-mindset","tag-practice-skills"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Progress vs. Success: Have Better Classical Guitar Practice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you ever feel like you&#039;re not improving as much as you&#039;d like, this tip can help you see more progress and success in less time. 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