Beginner Guitar Lesson Backstage Blog

I’ve just read a very encouraging post on another blog about what it actually takes for anyone to master anything they want. It has little to do with starting early or having the right genes - although these things certainly help they are not required.

It’s objections like “It’s too late/I’m too old” and “I’m not naturally talented enough” that keep people from pushing themselves to achieve their full potential, settle for mediocrity or worse still give up.

When learning a musical instrument it does certainly help to have some natural ability but not as much as some may think. Perfect pitch can be developed with enough practice and the same goes for virtuoso status. To put the whole natural talent argument into context consider this quote from Kathy Sierra’s post on “how to become an expert”

“Apparently God-given talent, natural “gifts”, and genetic predispositions just aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Or at least not in the way most of us always imagined. It turns out that rather than being naturally gifted at music or math or chess or whatever, a superior performer most likely has a gift for concentration, dedication, and a simple desire to keep getting better. In theory, again, anyone willing to do what’s required to keep getting better WILL get better.”

So can just anyone become a master guitarist by simply practicing more than the next person?

Not necessarily - you have to do the right kind of practice. Don’t just repeat the same stuff over and over and wait for your cat to bark. In business a definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result - this applies to everything.

More often than not what keeps people from achieving true greatness when it comes to mastering a musical instrument is the tendency to skim over the harder and mundane parts.

To progress to greatness you need to spend time on the not-fun-but-essential-to-get-better tasks. As with anything highly desirable and hard to achieve in life there are difficult, un-enjoyable aspects that need to be tackled. Look at it this way - if there is something you tend to skip over in your practice routine or in your learning package, chances are that’s what you need to be focusing on to get to the next level.

Here is a practical example you can use - unplug that electric and get on your acoustic until you can play those chord progressions, scales and bar chords flawlessly and with ease. Even replace the strings with a heavier gauge and raise the action (the distance between the strings and the fretboard).

Do this with the intention of mastering a very hard to play guitar and when you get back on your electric I promise you that you’ll experience guitar playing enjoyment you’ll want to repeat every time you sit down (or stand up) to practice, record and perform.

It’s when you put yourself through the mill like this and tackle those difficult tasks until they are easy that the real payoff comes in. As you develop higher levels of skill and become more advanced you start to experience heightened enjoyment and even a ‘flow state’ which Wikipedia describe as:

“The mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.”

If you apply yourself and resolve to go the extra mile with your practice then you will come across turning points and milestones with no limits to how far you can go.

Sounds simple doesn’t it?

And it is – the idea is anyway, carrying it out is what separates the greats from the mediocres. Which one are you?

And as for the “It’s too late/I’m too old” excuse – I’ll ????????????quote Kathy again here where she ends her post on using a topic close to my heart to illustrate that this is no excuse:

“And if the neuroscientists are right, you can create new brain cells–by learning (and not being stuck in a dull cubicle)–at virtually any age. Think about it… if you’re 30 today, if you take up the guitar tomorrow, you’ll have been playing for TWENTY years by the time you’re 50. You’ll be kicking some serious guitar butt. And if you’re 50 today, there’s no reason you can’t be kicking guitar butt at 70. What are you waiting for?”

You don’t have to be in your early 20s to be a rock star – just ask Mick Jagger

Now – are you ready to go all the way to the top?

If not what’s your excuse?  Post it here as a comment!

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