Have you ever felt like you can't finish anything?
Every time you try to learn a song on your acoustic guitar you learn the first few riffs and then get bored and then move on. You want to stick with one song and learn it all the way through but somehow you find yourself moving on to another song before you have completed the previous one.
And you start to wonder: how can you become determined? How can you pick one song and then make sure you don't give up until you have mastered it?
Well I have assembled a list of 5 techniques that work. Take a look at them and read them slowly. Then apply them because you will definitely see changes.
1. Hold Back: One of the best things to do is to hold back. I am sure that you probably have a million songs that you want to learn to play and maybe that is the problem. You are allowing yourself to focus too much on the number of songs that you want to learn instead of taking it one step at a time.
You know what? Here is one thing you should do: don't let yourself do everything you want to do. In other words if your objective is to learn 20 songs in a week, don't learn everything. Instead come up with a plan where you slowly increase the number of songs you learn until you get to that 20-song mark.
You sole aim should not be on volume. It should be on playing each song you pick up perfectly.
2. See Good Reason: Here is a personal pop quiz for you: why did you decide to learn to play the acoustic guitar in the first place? Me? Yes. You. Why did you decide to do it?
And please try to answer the question faithfully. Look I am not in any way trying to play detective or something like that. The question is for you and I am asking because you need it. I am asking because it is going to be the bedrock of how far you are going to get.
So think deeply. It is there. It might not be obvious now but it is there and you will find it as long as you keep searching.
The point of all this is that as long as you have a good reason to pick up the guitar and play it, determination will always come around. Whenever you need it, it will rise up from nowhere and help you finish your task. Which in this case is a song.
3. Find a Support Network: There is one simple reality you should always have at the back of your mind. I know you know it but I will say it anyway.
You cannot do it alone. You cannot overcome you problem or even succeed at anything for that matter without the help of others. One way or another you will need people's help.
And that is why you need to call on family and mostly friends to help you through with this. They are the closest people to you and the best source of encouragement you can get any day any time. So make use of their help.
Also you can find complete strangers that are willing to help you. Where else could you find them than from the Internet? Just visit any acoustic guitar forum and you will find lots of people who are ready to partner with you to walk the road to success together. Yes they may be complete strangers today but they will become friends tomorrow when you start seeing positive results.
4. Change Your Approach: What kind of approach do you use to learn songs? One thing I have learned over the years is that approach matters a lot. It can make the difference between success and failure.
And you know what? It is very possible that the approach you use is the reason why everything is boring to you and don't want to complete each song.
My advice: change your approach. Don't try to be stubborn about trying something different from what you are used to or welcoming a few tweaks here and there. Believe me if you do this your usual experience when you play songs will change.
Let me give you a picture of one of the approaches that I use. Maybe it can help. If you find anything different from what you are used to, apply it. Okay here it goes:
Before starting to play any song I make sure I first know how to sing it well. I always get the lyrics handy so that as I listen to the songs I get to sing along. I don't stop listening until I can sing perfectly without the aid of the original song. Next it is time for a break. After the break I then come back to play the song all on my own until I get it.
Try to use this approach too and see if it works for you.
5. Watch a Video: This might look like something powerful but it is. You can get a lot of motivation hence determination from watching YouTube videos of people learning to play songs.
Now you don't necessarily have to find a video on the song you want to learn. As long as you find a video on any song, you can get inspiration from it. The other plus side of this is that you get to see a few new chords, skills and tricks that you can try and add to your arsenal.
But don't let it get to you. The primary objective of using this technique is to get inspired and not confused. Use it for its main purpose: to become determined to play a song from start to finish and even perfectly at that.
Chase Your Visions
Have you ever heard of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York USA? It was an idea born by one man: John Roebling.
What you might not know is that bridge building experts told him that it was impossible to build that kind of bridge. They told him to forget the idea and simply quit.
But what did John do? He decided to explore the impossible. He went ahead and started building the bridge but something happened along the way: there was an accident and he died. To make the whole situation worse, his son (Washington) who was also part of the team sustained so much injury that he couldn't speak or talk.
Damn! How sad. That must be the end of the story right? No. Not at all. It is where it actually gets interesting.
After the incident many people made a lot of comments. The usual condolences and best wishes. But some people said something that was shocking. "We told them so. Crazy men and their crazy dreams. It's foolish to chase wild visions."
But despite all of that, despite that fact that he couldn't speak or talk Washington found a way to communicate with the engineers through his wife and the bridge was under construction again. 13 years later it was completed and today that bridge stands as a tribute to one man's decision to go against all odds.
He was labeled mad by half the world. He was told that he was crazy. He was told to stop chasing wild visions. But he didn't listen. He pursued it and now it has become a reality.
So what is the moral of the story? Very simple: chase your visions no matter what people say.
If your vision is to learn how to play the acoustic guitar and become pretty good at playing it, then go ahead and do just that. It is your vision and you have every right to chase it.
And don't worry: people will talk. When you are a beginning guitarist, people will hear you play sometimes and they will tell you to forget the idea and simply quit. They will tell you that you are crazy. They will laugh at you and tell you to your face that you are foolishly chasing wild visions.
But don't let them get to you. Don’t give in. Don't let then shout you down. Pursue your dreams and one day they will become a reality.
If John Roebling and his son could it then so can you.
I believe in you. So get started right now.
About the Author: Samuel Lab is the founder of One Hour Acoustic Players. If you would like to learn more about what it really takes to learn to play the acoustic guitar and become a stunning player, subscribe to his blog by sending an email to onehouracousticplayers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
5 Fascinating Facts about Becoming a Super Crazy Guitar Maniac
There comes a time in every guitar player's life when the thought of becoming a super crazy guitar maniac is all you want to accomplish.
You have a couple of guitar players and bands that you admire so much. Whenever you hear them play your mood suddenly changes and you are left with nothing short of an amazing experience.
Sometimes you stand in front of the mirror. Other times you are lost in thought and all you think about is seeing yourself play like them. You imagine yourself strumming chords exactly the way they do it. You imagine yourself playing solos as fluently and confidently as they do. You imagine yourself playing wicked riffs and licks exactly how they do it.
But all of that are just imaginations, right? They are just things you dream about and hope that someday you get to achieve them.
So, the question is how? How do you make your dreams and imaginations a reality?
Well I have a few tricks up my sleeve. It is not going to be easy but it is possible. Here are 5 fascinating facts that you should know about becoming a super crazy guitar maniac.
1. You must play it for 360 days a year
The road to becoming a maniac at anything has never been smooth and the guitar is not an exception. If you want to become extremely good and well respected you have to play your guitar for nothing less than 360 days in a year and you have to do it every year.
We have 365 days in a year. You can use the remaining 5 days to rest your fingers and muscles. And who says it is going to be easy? It is not going to be easy at all but it is what you have to do to be who you want to be. So I say suck it up. No excuses.
2. You must be extremely curious
You know what? I want you to think back to when you were a kid.
What happened then? Weren't you always curious to know the reason behind everything even though you didn't always have the guts to speak out? Weren't you always curious to know how something came about?
You see, if you want to get to that prestigious guitar player status you need to act like a kid. You need to act as if you don't know anything. You need to always be curious to want to know the reason behind everything. You need to always be curious to want to know how something is being done.
For instance if you hear anything that sounds off the hook and you don't know how to play it, you need to find out how it is being done and make sure that you know how to do it.
Because here is the thing: curiosity is very important. It is what will help you develop into a unique player and most definitely help you to better your skills.
I want you to always remember one thing: no one is an island. You will always need the help of others to get to your goal. All you just have to do is ask and humble yourself and you will get what you want.
3. You must not be full of yourself
Even The Bible says it. "Pride goeth before a fall." You cannot be proud and then expect to be the guitarist that you want to be. It is just not possible.
Let me make something very clear: the day you think you have arrived just because you have mastered a set of skills on the guitar is the day you have started failing.
Even after you must have reached a very advanced stage in your guitar playing, there are still a lot of things for you to learn. To prove that I am right go and ask any guitar god or goddess. They will tell you that when it comes to playing the guitar you are always improving. There is no such thing as “I have arrived.” And the day you think you have is the day you fall into the pit of people who are close to their dreams but somehow can’t achieve it.
So don’t be full of yourself. You can show off your skills but always be ready to learn from someone who knows something that you don’t. Even if you are 100 times better than that person.
4. You must mask your mistakes not
Have you ever noticed something? When guitar masters play they hardly make any mistake. They play so easily and fluently that your head starts to swell and then you begin to think that playing the guitar is not so hard after all.
But do you know how they did it? Here’s how. They don’t mask their mistakes when they are practicing. They make mistakes quite all right but they don’t hide them in any way. That is how they have been able to get to that point where they hardly make mistakes.
So here’s my advice to you: if you want to play flawlessly just like the way guitar masters do, don’t hide your mistakes. Don’t use any amplifier, distortion, reverb or special effect.
Just play your guitar the way it is but most importantly correct your mistakes as you go. There is no sense in making a mistake without correcting it and expecting to get a different result. It just can never happen.
5. Learning to play drums will help you a lot
In an interview with guitar goddess and pop songstress, Kaki King gave out a tip that could help all guitar players to move to the next level. The tip is to learn how to play drums.
Are you surprised? Don't be. Because that was exactly how I felt until I came to really think about it.
The whole idea is that when you learn how to play drums, you get to do something with one hand and at the same time do something completely different with another hand and still make sense out of what you are doing.
Doesn't that kind of sound like what you are aiming to do with the guitar?
Yes it does. On the guitar your aim is to use one hand to hold down the strings on the fretboard while you use the other hand to strike or pick on the strings at the same time and still make sense to the world.
So what is the point? The point is that by learning how to play drums you are learning how to discipline and control your hands. You are learning how to achieve absolute hand independence. And that is a very important skill that you need to have if you want to be a master of the guitar.
Try it. Start learning how to play drums and then use what you learn when playing the guitar. You will achieve amazing results I can promise you that.
About the Author: Samuel Lab is the founder of One Hour Acoustic Players. If you would like to learn more about what it really takes to become an outstanding acoustic guitar player, subscribe to his blog by sending an email to onehouracousticplayers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
You have a couple of guitar players and bands that you admire so much. Whenever you hear them play your mood suddenly changes and you are left with nothing short of an amazing experience.
Sometimes you stand in front of the mirror. Other times you are lost in thought and all you think about is seeing yourself play like them. You imagine yourself strumming chords exactly the way they do it. You imagine yourself playing solos as fluently and confidently as they do. You imagine yourself playing wicked riffs and licks exactly how they do it.
But all of that are just imaginations, right? They are just things you dream about and hope that someday you get to achieve them.
So, the question is how? How do you make your dreams and imaginations a reality?
Well I have a few tricks up my sleeve. It is not going to be easy but it is possible. Here are 5 fascinating facts that you should know about becoming a super crazy guitar maniac.
1. You must play it for 360 days a year
The road to becoming a maniac at anything has never been smooth and the guitar is not an exception. If you want to become extremely good and well respected you have to play your guitar for nothing less than 360 days in a year and you have to do it every year.
We have 365 days in a year. You can use the remaining 5 days to rest your fingers and muscles. And who says it is going to be easy? It is not going to be easy at all but it is what you have to do to be who you want to be. So I say suck it up. No excuses.
2. You must be extremely curious
You know what? I want you to think back to when you were a kid.
What happened then? Weren't you always curious to know the reason behind everything even though you didn't always have the guts to speak out? Weren't you always curious to know how something came about?
You see, if you want to get to that prestigious guitar player status you need to act like a kid. You need to act as if you don't know anything. You need to always be curious to want to know the reason behind everything. You need to always be curious to want to know how something is being done.
For instance if you hear anything that sounds off the hook and you don't know how to play it, you need to find out how it is being done and make sure that you know how to do it.
Because here is the thing: curiosity is very important. It is what will help you develop into a unique player and most definitely help you to better your skills.
I want you to always remember one thing: no one is an island. You will always need the help of others to get to your goal. All you just have to do is ask and humble yourself and you will get what you want.
3. You must not be full of yourself
Even The Bible says it. "Pride goeth before a fall." You cannot be proud and then expect to be the guitarist that you want to be. It is just not possible.
Let me make something very clear: the day you think you have arrived just because you have mastered a set of skills on the guitar is the day you have started failing.
Even after you must have reached a very advanced stage in your guitar playing, there are still a lot of things for you to learn. To prove that I am right go and ask any guitar god or goddess. They will tell you that when it comes to playing the guitar you are always improving. There is no such thing as “I have arrived.” And the day you think you have is the day you fall into the pit of people who are close to their dreams but somehow can’t achieve it.
So don’t be full of yourself. You can show off your skills but always be ready to learn from someone who knows something that you don’t. Even if you are 100 times better than that person.
4. You must mask your mistakes not
Have you ever noticed something? When guitar masters play they hardly make any mistake. They play so easily and fluently that your head starts to swell and then you begin to think that playing the guitar is not so hard after all.
But do you know how they did it? Here’s how. They don’t mask their mistakes when they are practicing. They make mistakes quite all right but they don’t hide them in any way. That is how they have been able to get to that point where they hardly make mistakes.
So here’s my advice to you: if you want to play flawlessly just like the way guitar masters do, don’t hide your mistakes. Don’t use any amplifier, distortion, reverb or special effect.
Just play your guitar the way it is but most importantly correct your mistakes as you go. There is no sense in making a mistake without correcting it and expecting to get a different result. It just can never happen.
5. Learning to play drums will help you a lot
In an interview with guitar goddess and pop songstress, Kaki King gave out a tip that could help all guitar players to move to the next level. The tip is to learn how to play drums.
Are you surprised? Don't be. Because that was exactly how I felt until I came to really think about it.
The whole idea is that when you learn how to play drums, you get to do something with one hand and at the same time do something completely different with another hand and still make sense out of what you are doing.
Doesn't that kind of sound like what you are aiming to do with the guitar?
Yes it does. On the guitar your aim is to use one hand to hold down the strings on the fretboard while you use the other hand to strike or pick on the strings at the same time and still make sense to the world.
So what is the point? The point is that by learning how to play drums you are learning how to discipline and control your hands. You are learning how to achieve absolute hand independence. And that is a very important skill that you need to have if you want to be a master of the guitar.
Try it. Start learning how to play drums and then use what you learn when playing the guitar. You will achieve amazing results I can promise you that.
About the Author: Samuel Lab is the founder of One Hour Acoustic Players. If you would like to learn more about what it really takes to become an outstanding acoustic guitar player, subscribe to his blog by sending an email to onehouracousticplayers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Get ready for some serious action
I mean it. I want you to get ready for some serious action. I want you to get ready to become the best guitarist that you can be. I want you to get ready to become a guitarist that people want to play for them. Not because someone somewhere said that you are good but because they saw you play and they really loved how you played.
I will be sending out my first set of blog posts very soon, and I want you to watch out for them. They will be really good, I promise. So stay tuned.
Signing off,
Samuel Lab
I will be sending out my first set of blog posts very soon, and I want you to watch out for them. They will be really good, I promise. So stay tuned.
Signing off,
Samuel Lab
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
