Guitar Lessons Tulsa | Why You Should Caffeinate Before a Lesson
This content was created for Curtis Music Academy
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Curtis Music Academy podcast. I hope you’re all having a fantastic day. Today, I wanted to talk about the potential benefits of caffeine as another tool to help your guitar lessons Tulsa at Curtis Music Academy be more productive. Now, just as a disclaimer before I begin to delve deeper into this idea, this is not a recommendation to the parents of our younger students. We know that our littlest students already have energy in droves, in fact, our instructors actually have unique lesson plans for those students who find it night impossible to sit still and focus attentively to music for the entire thirty-minute block of their lesson.
However, our older students do not have that same hyperactive energy level, and in addition, they also have far more commitments and responsibilities in their lives. So, they are often at least somewhat tired and worn out when they arrive for their guitar lessons Tulsa. I spoke in an earlier podcast about the measures we take to meet our goal of making our students feel relaxed, comfortable, and generally at home in our studio. While that is absolutely true, we also want them as awake as possible, and feeling ready to play their instrument and learn, as we feel that is one of the aspects that makes our lessons so effective and successful.
And caffeinating for their guitar lessons Tulsa has the potential to put students in a better mood, be more effective physically with their playing of the instrument and be in a better mental space to take in and retain more of the information that is presented to them. So, whether you prefer an iced coffee, a tea, or some other caffeine-containing product, feel free to indulge in it before arriving at your lesson. Or, here at Curtis Music Academy we always have multiple varieties of tea and coffee available for all students, parents, guests, really anyone and everyone that comes through our front (or side) door.
So firstly, let’s discuss caffeine improving a student’s mood. All aspects of learning and teaching aside, we want our students to always be in a great mood during their lessons. If they are feeling tired and sluggish, they just aren’t going to enjoy their lessons as much as they would if they were feeling more awake and happier. And that’s really important to us, that our students genuinely enjoy the time they spend in our studio, and that their lessons with us are something they look forward to and are excited for, not just one more chore or activity they have to check off their daily to-do list.
Next, let’s discuss the advantages of caffeinating on physical aspects of musical performance. Caffeine also has the potential to increase a student’s effectiveness in regard to their physical performance of the instrument. Especially with more advanced students, they will eventually be encountering or are already working with very fast sequences of notes, where their ability to change their physical position on the instrument must change equally quickly. Even when the student is not at a super advanced level, being more awake physically can help with improving muscle memory of how to change notes and move their hands more rapidly and with fewer errors.
In combination with the more rapid improvement of the student we strive for here at Curtis Music Academy, the student will also be able to see themselves progressing quickly physically. This can serve as an encouragement to them, increasing their enjoyment of their guitar lessons Tulsa. It can also create a positive feedback loop where because the student sees themselves improving so quickly, they are more motivated to practice and work at their instrument, and then they see themselves improve even more, and the cycle continues, and the student gets to see their ability just skyrocket.
Finally, we can cover the impact caffeine has on the mental preparation our students have for their lessons and how it changes their experience during their lesson. If a student is feeling tired at their lesson and overwhelmed by all of the other things they have had or still have to accomplish that day, it can be very difficult for them to focus on their instructor and their guitar lessons Tulsa. This means that the lesson will be less effective, as the student will be able to intake less information, and will be less able to comprehend, process, and apply the guidance of their instructor in real time. By contrast, if the student caffeinated before their lesson, they will be more mentally awake and fresh, ready to learn and enjoy their instrument.
They will be able to understand and apply the concepts and ideas their instructor is presenting to them more quickly, and they will be able to apply these teachings more effectively because their cognitive function is improved. They will also have a greater capacity for retention and will be able to carry the information and experiences from their guitar lessons Tulsa into the future better. This will improve the students’ practicing in the following week, as they will be able to better perform what they were taught, keeping in mind all of the corrections their instructor had provided.
It will also enable their guitar lessons Tulsa to progress through material more quickly, as there will be less of a need to spend time on review, and more time on covering new and exciting material. Just as with the improved physical ability a student may exhibit when they are less sluggish and worn out from the rest of their life, the improved mental retention of material can help the student enjoy their study of the instrument more, as they will be more able to see themselves advancing at such a rapid pace, and satisfied, improving students is very important to us at Curtis Music Academy.
Plus, students who feel they are rapidly improving will think it more worth their while to study on their own, which can be one of the hardest, least exciting parts of learning an instrument, finding the motivation to practice when there is no one there to hear you play or give feedback on your performance. So, while it’s not for everyone, there are a few of the reasons consuming caffeine before lessons can be beneficial to many students. Thank you for joining me.