Hi triggerasynapse!!!

You did it! You started the Women's Thread! Yay! Let's hope it catches the eye of some other guitar-sisters out there.

Interesting question about 'rest-days'. Behind the scenes, your body and brain continue to process the new information and skills you've been working on, even after you have put the instrument down. It's happening during your downtime, it's happening when you are asleep. New neural pathways are gluing up even when you don't have the instrument in your hands. Isn't that a nice bonus?

Another hands-off thing you can do is to use the power of imagery. In other words, close your eyes, and imagine the exact look and feel of your hands doing the things you've been practicing. Imagine exactly what strings your fingers are touching, and how. Imagine your hand getting ready to navigate a chord-change. What strategies will you use to navigate that chord-change? Go through it in your mind in as much detail as you can possibly conjure up.

Another hands-off thing you can do is to watch lessons. Really WATCH them, not just for entertainment, but for insights and information. Things you may not have yet done PHYSICALLY on the guitar, yet you can learn a lot just by watching and listenting to all those little details I explain while I am teaching.

One more idea: find good clear videos of guitar-players whose playing you love. Watch them - again, not just for entertainment. As you watch, notice the artist's left hand. Notice the artist's right hand. Notice how they hold the instrument. Notice their body positions. Notice if anything looks familiar at all - like, are they playing a chord you recognize?

Why do this? One way the human mind learns is by observation and imitation. Think of what little kids do all the time, pretending to be a super-hero or pretending to be a doctor: they behave in ways they have observed others behave. They have learned by witnessing, and now they are trying their wings at making similar moves to their role model.

Anyway - that all oughtta keep you busy on your days off!

-Lisa