Are there any players here with ADHD that might have some advice on how to get in a habit to practice and anything else that becomes harder than it has to be when you have ADHD? And maybe some good places/videos to follow along with?
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I find that hyperfixation helps me a lot with guitar. I’ve been playing for 20 years now. You might just strike gold with hyperfixation on guitar once you start to notice gains. If you really wanna be able to play, try to force yourself to pick it up once a day for at least 5-10 minutes. I find mindfully ‘forcing’ what I want to become a habit ends up creating that habit after a couple of weeks of actively pursuing it. Just commit and remind yourself of your commitment as often as you can. Fill your spare time with guitar instead of wasteful activities like scrolling, for example. Hell, just having a guitar in your hands while watching TV is beneficial.
Keeping it where I can see it would probably help too. I currently keep it in my closet. Out of sight, out of mind. But I don’t want it out of mind! lol
100%. Reduce the friction between you and sitting down with the guitar. That’s the golden ticket to actually doing something with it. If there is any friction at all between me and my hobbies I just end up not doing them so I have at least one of my guitars (in the case) within reach in my office/studio at all times and all that is required to jam is to open the case, plug it in and flip a switch.
Same goes for my sim racing hobby. It used to take me a solid 10 minutes to get everything set up and logged in before I’d be on track and I’d inevitably be fiddling with something annoying and distracting about my setup. It really prevented me from enjoying it as much as I wanted. I realized this and started saving money. Once I had enough, I bought a permanent cockpit (nothing fancy) for my racing peripherals and a second monitor so that all I need to do is sit in the drivers seat and boot up the game. As a result, I enjoy doing laps way more often now.
Guitar is amazing. It’s a hobby you can keep with you for your entire life. I strongly recommend creating a mini-habit about it. Don’t need to set any lofty goals or anything. Just commit to chillin’ with your guitar in your hands every day or so. You’ll find that some days you have a strong urge to dive in and learn stuff and others you’ll just wanna noodle around. Just enjoy the instrument in any way you can whenever you can and don’t put any pressure on it.
I 100% agree too. Reduce start up friction. You should allot physical space for the person you want to be. You want to sleep and practice hygiene so you allocate physical space for their paraphernalia, beds, bathroom and such. If you want to see yourself as a guitar player then you should allocate a designated area for it. It took my brain a while to shift from the mind set of my academic years where I would shy away from my interests because I needed to focus. If I could go back I might would go about it differently. There is something to be said for leaning into distractions. Being flippant and quick to change projects can be a boon if you cultivate your projects and space. Constantly let yourself be pulled between all these interests in your space. Don’t feel guilty about putting something down for awhile. This will lead you to actually not finishing things. Embrace it. Make your incomplete projects look aesthetic by organizing their spaces so that you can return to it easily and/or it looks somewhat presentable and leave it out. Let people ask about it. You can have unfinished projects out without being unclean. Rethink what a decoration is in your space. And if something does tend to fall to the wayside get rid of it.
Think of your guitar as being radio active. The more exposure you have to it the more you will fidget with it be effected by it. Don’t have your only guitar as an artifact that needs the upmost care. Get something you can bang around. Go look at the wear and tear Willie Nelsons, Stevie Ray Vaughans, Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s guitar has. Endeavor to have an instrument with the amount of wear and tear as theirs. Get a traveler brand guitar or something similar. Bring it with you everywhere. Use it to find the notes of the song on the PA system of what ever store you are in or near by radio. Fidget with it.
having one next me to all day has definitely lead to the most practice I’ve ever had. still don’t have any sort of official practice routine though.
Have you ever tried Rocksmith 2014? Can’t vouch for the new one as I haven’t tried it. It’s an absolute power learning tool. The arcade games and jam along modes are easy to overlook but are also really great. Also search for backing tracks on YouTube. Now you shred backing tracks probably has the best visuals
Yep! I played that for a number of years when it first came out and was in the beta program for the new version. New version is garbage.
Thanks for the backing track link, haven’t seen this channel before but it looks fun!
Use notation software like Guitar Pro to follow along with parts you’re learning at speeds you’re comfortable with.
Is hyperfocus a thing with you? It’s pretty community ADHD, and can be used to great effect. I’m no expert, but I would definitely suggest reading up on hyperfocus and see if it’s something you can take advantage of.
