Hi Justin - after a near-death head impact injury that SERIOUSLY ground my thinking and memory to a halt for the last 1.5 years, I started doing research about learning and memory (and aging!) that led me to a lot of the facts you shared in this video. Thanks for putting it all together and into the perspective of music! SO helpful, and you always do a fantastic job in your lesson moments. And - MUSIC gives an emotional hook that helps accelerate learning and hence brain health and memory growth along - a win-win!
One other thing I wanted to add that I had learned was helpful - it was found in studies by labs similar to Huberman’s (at Harvard and I think Oxford as well) that short moments of exercise (~10-12 minutes minimum) where you get a little winded, not pushing too hard - like a brisk walk - cause increased neurogenesis in the hippocampus in adults. That’s huge! New neurons pump out - which adds to the learning factor later after a study moment, during that down time.
It was mentioned that it’s important not to push too hard though; the stress response of extreme exertion actually does the opposite! Cortisol and stress hormones inhibit healing, neurogenesis and similar growth factors, for a time. Moderate exertion, especially during that “little break” after some focused study (like with Justinguitar.com class videos!) - ~10-12 min. or so - is the way to go.
Thanks again! Your classes are helping me heal, and music creates a happy brain!
This is great news. I’m nearly 50 and have been diagnosed with an inner ear, balance problem and am doing physio to help. After my balance physio I’m practicing guitar. So it helps motivate me to do my physio and then I get the treat of playing my guitar. I’ll be a virtuoso in no time.
Very interesting application for neuroplasticity. I’m a herbalist and wilderness psychotherapist…so when it comes to supporting individuals changing their habits, healing, and catalysing growth and transformation neuroplasticity is key. I love the suggestions you make as they are so practical. Both fish oil and meditation are also linked to improved neuroplasticity (as well as a million other benefits) so might well be worth adding to the your recommendations.
This was an interesting lesson. I haven’t tried balancing before playing the guitar yet.
I have found that there’s a lot of advice out there about playing something perfectly, and then speeding it up. Even Justin says this at times. I think playing something correctly to the point of knowing what’s right is important (like @Eristdoof mentioned). Something I’ve been doing in my own practice though, is trying to force speed, to force changes or riffs on time even if they’re wrong. But if I get it wrong, I know it’s wrong. And eventually I play it better and get it right. Sounds related to this learning concept.
OK so now the family vacation is over and the house is quiet, its time to get back into practice and maybe take the opportunity to Turbo Boost my learning and motor skills. So a few weeks ago I decided to give this concept a go and bought one of these. Tried it for the first time yesterday evening.
I think I may have to revisit the lesson, as things are not going quite as I imagined. There is more to the Neuroplasticity malarkey than meets the eye !
@TheMadman_tobyjenner you made me nearly choke on my cornflakes watching that clip… good on you given it ago… are you going to be performing on it during the next OM?
@TheMadman_tobyjenner I think you’re looking for an excuse to buy another new guitar. Just be careful no need to test the skill of your Luthier we already know he can put a headstock back on but I don’t think he can set a broken arm.
There’ll be no more silly shenanigans with a guitar in hand, about 2 minutes was enough before the video edit. Also gave me a chance to delve into Alice Cooper’s back catalogue.
On a serious side and as that thing is darned good for the core, I do intend to use it as Justin or the study suggests and spend 5 minutes or so having a wobble, before getting stuck into something that has been technically challenging. Maybe slowing down a solo and mapping it out for accuracy and see if there is actually something in all this voodoo !
My daughter had a wobble board when she was young. I had go and must confess it was one of those skills I failed to master.
It is much more difficult to do than than you would think.
Michael
Facinating really. Makes sense on a lot of levels… Not sure I can change the chemicals in my brain more than I did in the 60’s ( too many purple pills). I’m goin to try this. It is amazing to me that after a 30 year absence from playing guitar after being a performing musician, the bad habits that held me back from advancing back then are still here today . Maybe this can help with that.
Such a great vid! Highly recommend it!
I watched it a couple of weeks back and have since been digesting the Huberman Lab podcasts non-stop on my walk to & from work. Have learned soooo much!
With regards to generating neuroplasticity for learning guitar, I haven’t adopted the gymnastics (although I do surf so Huberman mentioned this may limit any benefit I would get from trying that anyway given the lack of novelty in movement, especially when I fall off! ) however I have really picked up on the benefit of frustration.
I would admit that in the past I would often get frustrated with learning something and either put down the guitar or just go back to playing what I was already comfortable with. Listening to Huberman, this may have become a reinforcing cycle which was preventing me from progressing. i.e. I’d try something new, get frustrated and thereby engage plasticity but, at that point, would switch to something I already knew or put the guitar down altogether, causing those actions to then be “written” so to speak, rather than the thing I was wanting to learn, making that behaviour more likely in the future.
So now I am embracing frustration and in fact seeking it out to use as a pathway to plasticity. I am also concentrating on my focus (to catch when I drift and understand when it is time to move on), and trying to place greater importance on learning guitar as a whole, so my nervous system gets the message that this is something critical!
Finally, the concept that making mistakes being so pivotal in the process of learning, is something that makes a lot of sense to me. Making mistakes and thereby causing frustration, indicates to the body something is wrong and needs fixing! Also those small moments where it goes right and there’s that hit of dopamine, the nervous system then “knows” to take special notice of that and forget the rest. Now, my biggest challenge is to recognise when I am doing something wrong and especially when I happen to get it right!
I have to do an exercise balancing on one leg at a time on a pillow with eyes closed. To develop balance and strengthen ankle. I’m going to make a point of doing this before guitar practice.
I wonder if practice playing standing, rather than sitting, might be better for neuroplasticity? I know I find the mechanics of playing standing easier to play. Other factors generally mean most of my practice is unfortunately sitting.
This was a very interesting video lesson. As an older guitarist I can use all the suggestions and help I can find. I had been reducing my Tai Chi practice to focus on guitar, but it sounds like I should add some 5 minutes of balance focused Qi Gong or Tai Chi moves before my guitar practice. It is a win/win scenario. I have been using the Arthritis Foundation approved Tai Chi for Arthritis - 12 Lessons with Dr. Paul Lam DVD so that will provide some balance exercises. Of course, since you will probably only have time for part of the warmup, you can use the balance part of the warmup that is in the free lesson on YouTube Tai Chi for Arthritis free lesson with warmup from 24:10 to 29:49 in the video lesson. If you have 11 minutes to spare, you can do the entire warmup starting at 18:00, which includes stretching exercises for the neck, shoulder and back at the beginning, something that would probably also help guitarists. There is also a participant demonstrating the warmup while seated for those who can’t stand up.
Seriously, I wouldn’t recommend hand stands for older dogs such as myself. I was advised against exercises with my head below my waist because of glaucoma related surgery. There are a lot of other medical reasons for caution, so be careful out there and as the Tai Chi video says use a chair or table when balancing if you need help.
@JGAdmin so if I understand correctly Justin’s advice is:
DO employ a balance-based exercise before attempting theory or knowledge-based activities and then go slowly and avoid errors
DON’T employ a balance-based exercise before physical skills like chord changes, strumming, string bending, etc. and then do lots of repetitions without worrying about the number of errors made
Once again, Justin distinguishes himself from other guitar teachers. How many guitar teachers know how to spell neuroplasticity (I hope I spelled it correctly!), let alone know what it is, let alone apply it to learning guitar? While not a typical guitar lesson, this is the type of information that provides you with nontraditional tools and insights to make your guitar journey more productive, interesting, and fun. Thank you Justin!
Just be careful no need to test the skill of your Luthier we already know he can put a headstock back on but I don’t think he can set a broken arm.
) however I have really picked up on the benefit of frustration.