Food For Thought

Justin Sandercoe of justinguitar.com lends GT his insight as one of the world’s most successful guitar teachers. This month: Confidence and reality.

- Justin Sandercoe

When I got a scholarship to study at The Guitar Institute back in 1996, I was honestly expecting to be the worst in the class. I showed up on the first day thinking that I was going to be the awkward kid from some distant island that wouldn’t be able to keep up. After chatting with a few of the guys, I discovered they all felt the same way. It worked out that I was one of the more experienced players and could indeed hold my own, but I never forget the fear I felt on that first day.

Today I see it in students at almost every workshop I run; that first-day fear - everyone feels they’re not good enough and going to be the runt of the litter, all the insecurities bubbling away while they meet the other participants, all of them nervous about playing.

Is there always going to be a best and worst player in a group of students, and does it matter? I think digging around this question reveals some interesting food for thought for both students and teachers. The question and the answers are of course subjective and depend on what is being done and why. Let’s explore this a bit more.