Welcome to a new Monday post with 3 random thoughts on all things guitar, music, and life, including ukuleles, tough journeys, and more
Here we go.
#1 – It’s a journey – are you going to enjoy it?
Lately, I have got a few more emails from new members of my email list writing in to introduce themselves and tell me about their guitar playing struggles.
I know how hard it can be when you are new or you have been struggling on the guitar for a long time.
I have never met or taught a guitarist who hasn’t found the journey tough – especially in the early days.
If you have struggled, just realise there are many people who have walked in your shoes.
It’s like when I’m on holiday in Devon or Cornwall in the summer.
I love doing long coastal walks down there.
They start out fun, then after about 3 hours of walking up and down coastal terrain in the sweltering sun, they get a bit tough.
I know I won’t turn back though, and the cold beer at the end will be worth it.
When on the walk, the way I see it is…
I ain’t quitting, so I might as well do my best to enjoy it.
It’s the same with guitar, you are on the journey anyway, so enjoy it as much as possible.
Do what you can to make each step as fun as you can.
#2 – Ukuleles are fun!
My mom wants to learn guitar, so I took one round a while back for her to learn on.
She tried it, but to be fair, the guitar is too big for her (although it is my smallest one).
I said I would buy her a guitar to treat her, but only if she is going to use it.
I’m not sure if it’s a whim or serious desire yet, and there is nothing that bugs me more than a guitar gathering dust!
So, this week I brought her round an old ukulele I have.
Me and Archie (my 5-year-old son) went round and between my mom, stepdad, Archie, and me, everyone had a go on the uke.
No one could resist the urge to pick it up and have a bit of fun with it.
Ukuleles are fun (they often need singing though unless you are a virtuoso like Jake Shimabukuro), and they can be a nice inexpensive instrument to have alongside your guitar.
Most of the skills learnt on a ukulele can transfer to the guitar easily too.
#3 – Do something fun every day and improve one small thing
To wrap up this week’s 3 thoughts, here is something important…
If I had to sum up in one sentence what your guitar practice should be like, it would be this:
“Do something fun every day and improve one small thing.”
It is pretty simple, but it should probably be a mantra for all.
Regular, tiny improvements all build up and then the breakthroughs start to happen.
Combine these small improvements with playing something you enjoy and makes you excited.
Do that and you will succeed faster and have more fun – that is pretty much a guarantee.
Enjoy your Monday!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. For help on your journey, a good place to start is with this:
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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