As a teenager, I’d love to watch quiz shows.
I’d practically jog home from school to watch a great quiz show called Fifteen to One while playing some guitar in the ad breaks.
Yes, I was a dork.
I’d tune in on an evening to watch Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
…And even these days, whenever Archie and I visit my mom and stepdad’s house, we all love to watch a quiz show called The Chase.
Quiz shows have always been fun.
They are a challenge.
…And an entertaining way of seeing how smart we are.
They’re a nice way of seeing if we can put all our random bits of knowledge together.
For instance, here’s the very first million-dollar question on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
On February 22, 1989, what group won the first Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance?
A – Metallica
B – AC/DC
C – Living Colour
D – Jethro Tull
The answer is at the end.
When I was learning guitar, I always wished there was an equivalent of this sort of thing – specifically for us guitarists.
If there was, I could actually measure my progress in an objective way.
A lot of the time, I literally had no idea how well I was doing.
“Am I improving OR am I stagnating?”
Those were the questions I’d ponder.
So, I kept ploughing on and eventually, I’d improve and get to the “next level”.
…But I’d still have a nagging feeling of not knowing where I’m at or where I need to improve.
Guess what?
Most people I’ve spoken to over the years feel the same way.
Yet for me, no one really helped.
I mean you can buy all the courses and books in the world and pay for private lessons, but how often do you get clarity about where your playing is at?
That’s why when I started teaching, I’d create all sorts of checklists, tests, and mini-quizzes for students.
Over the years, I have refined these.
…And recently I announced something I call the “5-Star” Award.
The aim is to check off each star and become a “5-Star” guitarist.
To achieve each star, you need to be able to meet certain criteria (there are 7 things in total you need to do for each star).
Complete each task and you’ll get a star.
Of course, we start with star #1 and build from there.
To test you on this, I’ve taken inspiration from my favourite quiz shows…
…And given you a quiz.
A few weeks ago in the Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy, I released the very first quiz (more coming soon for each “star”).
The quiz contains a series of short questions for you to answer.
There’s a mix of testing your knowledge on things such as the fretboard, chords, theory, etc. (Plus, I should say that not only are you tested on these things but you’re given the exact tools to practise them too.)
I’ve not seen this sort of thing in the guitar world.
The first quiz has been getting great feedback.
The quiz only takes a few minutes to do and you can take the quiz as many times as you like.
It’s fun, practical, and will help you know exactly where your playing is at and where you need to make some tweaks so you can get guidance and a big shot of guitar-playing confidence when you start achieving each star.
Plus, they’re fun!
If this sounds appealing, then do check out the Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy.
I’m excited for the new stuff, and coming very soon is possibly the most exciting thing I’ve done yet in my teaching. For now, you can check it out below…
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
Enjoy your day!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. The answer to the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire question was…
D – Jethro Tull.
An underrated band full of top musicians, in my opinion. I mean, who doesn’t love a lead singer who plays the flute in a rock band?!
P.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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