Whenever I see comments such as this:
“I still can’t play any music, even though I’ve been at it for years.”
…My response is usually two-fold.
#1 – Start working on songs and styles of music that are simple yet sound great.
#2 – Focus hard on destroying all the tension in your playing.
The first part is obvious (and that’s what I was talking about yesterday).
…But unfortunately for many students out there, they get taught songs way above their skill level.
This causes problems right away.
Because when you play songs that are too tough, yes, it’s a challenge, and challenges can often be good…
…But overly difficult songs usually mean you are battling, straining, and fighting to play the notes and chords that make up the song.
And what does that do?
It can cause massive amounts of tension throughout the body – most of which is unseen.
It’s like an iceberg – we only see the tip sticking out, but most of it is hidden out of sight underwater.
Well, tension is like that on the guitar.
Yet, this icy cold feeling of tense guitar playing should not be that way.
I’ve said it before.
It’s my mission to help as many adult students get rid of all tension in their playing AND have way more fun playing guitar as possible.
Over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at helping to fix these issues quickly…
But some students had years of bad habits to fix, so they would need regular reminders.
I urge all students to begin their practice sessions with some sort of routine to end tension.
Then use it at various points throughout your practice session too.
You can even end your session with it (as a kind of “cool down” and a way to relax the body).
Imagine there’s all the tension in your body and with just a few movements, you’ll be able to erase it all and let it float off into the distance.
A good tension-destroying routine can be like that.
Interestingly, when I’m with private students…
I’ve realised there are specific pointers I give them a lot whenever the topic of tension rears its ugly head.
These are the things that are crippling players everywhere.
Well, I’ve had a close look at what it is I usually have to remind students the most.
…And I’ve put it all together into a little routine which I have aptly named the “Tension Destroyer”.
This routine is like a supercharged summary of the main things all guitarists should know when it comes to ending tension for good.
I’ve put it together into a short new lesson for Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy members.
If you want my specific lesson on this, then it will be out tomorrow.
It’s so simple and takes less than 30 seconds to do…
…But it’s very powerful and if you follow this routine, you’ll reduce the chances of strains, injuries, niggles, and pain in your playing.
This routine is not about meditation or anything like that.
In fact, it’s super specific to the guitar.
And you may even be surprised at what a difference just one or two of the tips will make (one tip is a bit weird, but very powerful).
The deadline to join is tomorrow at midnight Pacific time.
Find out more about it below…
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
Let’s end guitar-playing tension as much as humanly possible!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. Join before tomorrow night and you’ll also get the other new monthly lessons.
One of which is the “8 years, 8 tricks” lesson where I’ll show you how to quickly play, fingerstyle blues, Travis picking, flamenco, country, and more, in quick time. Find out more about the DTAA here
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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