Here are two more interesting emails/comments I got lately. I hope you find the emails and my thoughts useful…
#1
In response to an email I sent about other people not always being supportive of her playing, this is what Jonie said…
Ha! Yes! Though John is my greatest cheerleader — I am very self-conscious playing where he can hear me.
I feel like I need to do something impressive to please him.
He doesn’t need that from me and is always just so happy when he sees me practising.
Nevertheless, I have a horrible need to please (much improved).
So, I have been spending my time this weekend moving all guitar/music work down to a part of the house where I can have privacy.
John has even been helping!
No more anxiety about being heard or judged.
Just practise and having fun for me. Making practice all my own.
Also, the space where I will practise is designated practice space, so it eliminates a lot of other distractions (I am easily distracted).
This is great.
Even though Jonie has a really supportive fella, she realised it can be hard to fully engage with the music if he might hear her.
How can you fully let go and feel free to make the mistakes you need to make and push your playing to the limit if someone is about?
Even on a subconscious level, it will be hard if someone is nearby.
When I was learning, sometimes my sister would sit outside my bedroom while talking on the phone to boyfriends.
She would often tease me and let them listen down the phone.
I am sure it was all in jest, and although I wasn’t bothered consciously, it put me off for sure!
Being able to practise in true privacy and in a distraction-free environment is definitely a good idea and something I highly recommend to everyone.
Great work by Jonie on that.
Okay, onto #2…
I got my first good practice session in since downloading Fingerstyle 101.
I have to admit, at first I was thinking it might be a little too far back to basics for me.
Then I got to Track 15 and got smacked in the forehead with that switch from C to Fadd9 .
I am looking forward to moving through the rest of the book. Nice job, Dan.
Greg
This was a comment in the Fingerstyle 101 group from a new member and a chap who just purchased the book.
I love reading comments like this.
It shows the book has hit the mark.
Over the years, I have taught a lot of guitarists from scratch but also a lot who have played for years – sometimes even decades.
Some of these guys could play well but had never truly sorted the basics and therefore played with poor technique.
One lovely guy called John had even been squeezing the life out of the guitar for about 40 years!
Going back to basics really helped him.
First, we got him playing with Minimum Pressure Required, smoothed out his chord changes, co-ordinated his fingers and thumb so they were plucking the correct strings every time, and then we built from there.
Hopefully, the same sort of progress is happening for Greg now too.
Remember, it is always key to ensure those basics are sorted.
Without the basics being sorted, it can be like building a mansion on a mud swamp – not very stable!
I hope you enjoyed those two thoughts and have a fun day practising!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. If you want to check out the book, and find out how it can help with your basics, you can do so at the link below…
Fingerstyle 101 – a step-by-step guide to beautiful fingerpicking guitar playing
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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