Learn & Play Guitar in Philadelphia
The 80/20 rule applied to guitar playing
If you have never heard of the 80/20 rule of thumb, it goes something like this. This rule states that 80% of outcomes can be attributed to 20% of all causes for a given event. This rule can be applied to just about anything in life. It was designed as a rule in business but it can apply to music too. When you learn guitar, you play 20% of what you learned 80% of the time and you inevitably apply 80% of your knowledge 20% of the time. Taking guitar lessons in Philadelphia will help you learn and understand music and the guitar but what we do with it after the fact is the most important part. Confusing? Read on.
You can look at it this way: We wear 20% of the clothing we own 80% of the time. We spend 80% of our time listening to 20% of the music we own. Making sense now? When it comes to guitar playing we have to apply this rule to technique and performance. For example, most of us probably play 20% of the licks we have ever learned around 80% of the time. We should aim high with our guitar learning and playing but more than anything, the 80/20 rule highlights the potential we may have but don’t use.
Understanding and applying the 80/20 rule in daily life can actually help your guitar practicing. Things like how you fold your clothes. Think about how perfectly they should be folded given that they are just going to go into a drawer anyway. Getting efficiency into our lives is always very important to us and the 80/20 rule is part of that. Getting efficient in our guitar playing is also important. So we need to understand the rule so that we can apply it to our guitar playing.
Keep in mind when you are practicing guitar or even other time-consuming tasks, the 80/20 rule has big consequences. The world of music is so vast that you would need several lifetimes to fully master it. Major legend guitarists will tell you they don’t know everything. They will also tell you they don’t play everything they know either.
The idea is to work on material that really matters to you. This way you are playing and learning what makes sense to you and what makes you feel good. You should be applying this to everything in life. Find a balance in your life that makes sense to you and everything will work out. Learn to limit yourself because you simply cannot do it all but you can do 20% of it 80% of the time.
At David Joel Guitar Studio, we understand that everything you learn here will not be fully retained. It will take you years to understand many things. We want you to focus on what you are good at and stick to it. That will allow you to master one thing and do it well. Focus on the things in life you can control and then do those things well. If you are interested in guitar lessons in Philadelphia, let David Joel help you find your niche in the guitar sector. He will take you to new heights.