3 Hacks for Beginner Musicians
A few need-to-know tricks for learning guitar — including how to optimize your brain with neuroscience.
Welcome back! My name is Alyse, and I'm conquering my fears by learning guitar — in just 8 weeks. If you missed my first blog, check it out here.
I have to admit I’m a little surprised... my mission to learn guitar is a lot of fun so far. I’m definitely not any good yet, but I’m not intimidated anymore. So that’s progress!
The bad part? The guitar has given me some wicked calluses and an odd numbing sensation in my fingers. But I Googled it and found that this should get better over time. So here’s to hoping the internet is right, at least for my fingers’ sake.
I’ve been practicing for a few weeks now, and I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks along the way. If you’re joining me on my journey and learning a new instrument with Halo Sport too, these tips are for you.
1. What did you say, I can’t hear you. Chocolate?
If you haven't seen this famous SpongeBob episode, you're definitely missing out. It was actually the very first thing I thought of when I started practicing with Halo Sport. Halo Sport is a brain stimulator and a high-end pair of headphones, which is awesome at the gym — you can get in the zone fast with your favorite workout jams.
But musicians don’t need to tune out the world — actually, quite the opposite. That’s why the Halo Neuroscience team created open ear pads — so you can hear almost as well as if you weren't wearing a headset at all. They were easy to install and made such a difference while practicing. If you plan on playing any type of instrument with Halo Sport, you need these ASAP.
2. The wetter, the better
When you start your first Neuropriming session, the Halo Sport app prompts you to wet your Primer Band. Okay perfect, easy enough.
But when they say wet, they mean wet. It takes almost a full minute under the faucet for the Primer Band to be ready. If I’m struggling, 9 times out of 10, this is what’s causing my Priming troubles, so pro tip — the wetter, the better.
Side note: I also put my Halo Sport on backwards once. Life is complicated, but Priming isn’t. Just make sure to check the orientation of the headset when you put it on — a quick and easy fix.
3. Consult YouTube
Youtube: the place you go if you want to laugh, cry, or you just have a few hours to kill. It can lead you down a deep hole of procrastination, and it’s no surprise considering there are millions of videos on the platform.
But if you're feeling productive, you can learn pretty much anything with Youtube's vast video library. So of course, it's the first place I looked when I started my journey. Right now, I’m following along with YouTubers JustinGuitar and JamPlay to learn guitar one video at a time. The best part? It's free!
Try my tips and tricks out for yourself. And if you’re still debating whether to join me on my adventure, it’s not too late. Pick up that instrument and get started with Halo Sport 2 today!
Keep following along — next, see how I'm mastering the art of confidence.