How to avoid student dropouts when they say they have no time for guitar.

I just spoke to a parent who said her son will no longer be having lessons. She said he was too busy and had no time to practice. A lame excuse as we all know. I explained to her that having no time should never be the reason for giving up. The only reason to give up guitar is because you don't actually want to play or dislike the guitar for some reason (or you are physically incapable). She said he will come back to guitar later when he has time.

I went on to explain that the time never comes. Guitar is an ongoing continuous commitment. Guitar is about establishing a routine and sticking to it no matter what. Those who stop and start mostly stop. In fact statistically less then 5% of our students who stop will never come back to lessons with G4.

The biggest problem here is this mother rang me when it was too late. They had already made the decision. The trick is to seek prevention rather than cure. Make giving up a big deal. Even a tragedy. Treat giving up as giving up for life! I know I wanted to give up a few times as a teen not because of time but because it was difficult. DON'T LET THEM GIVE UP.

For more advice on how to avoid students dropping out please listen to the following podcast. HOW TO KEEP STUDENTS FOR YEARS.