Many questions, one answer

Many students' questions have one simple answer: Acceptance.

Many times a student will ask a question when he or she really already knows the real answer. I think most of the time this is in the hope that the teacher can show them an easier way.

Here's some examples:

"How do I work on playing faster?"
"How do I learn better sight reading skills?"
"How do I correct my left-hand technique so my fingers don't come off the board?"
"What do I do to learn to solo over chord changes?"
"How do I figure out the note combinations I can get with harmonics?"
"How do I improve my fretless intonation?"

The answer sought is along these lines:
"Just do X, Y and Z for a specific amount of time and your problem will be solved."

But an observant student who is honest with him/herself knows such answers really don't exist.

The answer to the above set of questions is _acceptance_.

Specifically, it is acceptance that it will take however much time it takes to learn whatever you want to learn. You cannot accelerate the process of your own learning. You cannot get there any faster than you can get there.

The better you internalize this philosphy, the less time you will waste in not learning the material at all.

Trying to speed through the material, whether it is a reading exercise, a scale study, a piece for performance, or anything else, is time wasted not learning. If you are making mistakes or wild guesses, you are outrunning your learning rate. Why else would you have to keep going back to "try it again"?

Let each attempt tell you more about your learning rate. If you hit the glitch and can't play it perfectly, or you start guessing, you need to slow it down to the point where you play the trouble spot perfectly. When you find that point, gradually perfect it and speed it up. You have fallen in line with your learning rate and now your practice time will be spent with maximum efficiency.

PATIENCE GETS YOU THERE THE QUICKEST!!