Here are two more interesting emails I have got lately.
I hope you find the emails and my thoughts useful…
Email #1
Below is a reply to the email I send out when someone new joins my email list…
“Super grateful to restart this journey again in this lifetime. I feel everything had its time and place, and here is mine with instruction from you. To answer those questions:
– What’s your single most important question about improving your guitar playing?
I think I’d have to say – how to get over being overly shy about people hearing me play/practice. Guitar feels more like a diary to me, but eventually I’d like to play well enough to share and enjoy with others
– Why do you want to learn/improve your guitar playing?
Because it’s something I come back to time and time again. There’s a hidden passion and joy with it. Music moves me. I enjoy the flow state playing creates. I want to be comfortable enough to play around others and songs I like as well as make some.
Thanks for taking the time to read this”
Christen
Those are good answers from Christen.
I quite like how she said the guitar is like a diary.
It really is in many ways.
Instead of words, we can document our day through music.
…And instead of writing down how we feel, we can simply play how we feel instead.
Then, we can get into a “flow” state and let the music wash over us.
That’s the awesome thing about being a musician.
…But unlike a diary, if you do want to share these moments with others, that’s a great goal to have too.
…And if you’ve never answered the above questions, it might be worth thinking about.
I find the above two questions can give us clarity about why we’re learning guitar and what we want to achieve.
Email #2
This is a reply to the email I sent out recently about how “modern radio music is so bad”. That email got loads of replies. Here was one of my favourites…
“Well, across the pond here in the USA, Top 40 radio has always been hard to listen to. They have a playlist that is maybe 10 or 15 songs with the occasional oldie thrown in. When I was a teenager back in the 70s, I started listening to the local college station as they played a lot of experimental music, jazz, and whole albums instead of just one track.
The simple songs though, I don’t think that’s a new thing. I would almost say it goes in cycles. I know I periodically get tired of hearing intricate chord changes and there’s just something gratifying about hearing a good song played with three simple chords. At least until it gets boring again. I suspect the public goes through those same cycles.
I can’t wait for the whiney singer fad to end. The same goes for the Adele-esque hold a very long, loud note with no vibrato fad. That’s why I don’t like Adele or any of the soundalikes. Then there’s American country music, where the current trend seems to be, find a melody that sells, then record it over and over and over but with different lyrics each time. I’m looking’ at you Morgan Wallen.
Thanks for all the tips, pointers, and inspirational words in your daily emails.”
Bob
That was a great email.
Listening to whole albums, like Bob said, is wonderful.
That’s why I bought my car – because it has a CD player in it, and when I’m driving, that’s the only time I really listen to whole albums.
There’s definitely truth in what Bob said too about music going in cycles.
I just think back in the day you had songs that were super catchy but were also interesting harmonically or structurally.
These would be on the radio (and still are), whereas the new songs I hear are just so bland.
An example of a few older songs I’ve heard like this on the radio lately are:
“Layla” – Derek and the Dominos
“You Got It” – Roy Orbison
“Hey Joe” – Jimi Hendrix (there was an insanely cool, and super eclectic live version of this I heard on BBC Radio 6 the other day).
They don’t make them like they used to.
Anyway, loved that email, and I have to agree about the whiney singer fad!
Thanks everyone for the emails and I hope you enjoyed this…
If you want to make progress on the guitar and start playing more songs you love while having more fun, you may want to check this out.
Guitar Domination Super eBook Bundle
Enjoy your Wednesday
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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