Welcome to a new Monday post with 3 random thoughts on all things guitar, music, and life, including CDs, life getting in the way, and more. Here we go…
#1 – “Life got in the way” and being adaptable is key
This month, I had some big plans.
The problem is, life often gets in the way.
That is a phrase I hear a lot too in terms of students.
Many of you tell me you started playing guitar years or decades ago, but “life got in the way”.
For me, I got covid (I was not too bad with it though, just rested up for the week).
It shows things don’t always go quite according to plan and sometimes we need to be adaptable.
I had to tweak things around a little.
Still, it is not the end of the world, and I am okay now thankfully (still can’t smell a thing though!).
On the plus side, taking a short break has given me some more ideas for things to release next year – a couple of which I am super excited about.
Anyway, it’s always good to remember, being adaptable is key.
On the guitar and in life too!
#2 – CDs beat MP3s any day
I own a lot of CDs, so when I bought my car a few months ago, I made sure I got one with a CD player in it.
When driving, I love nothing more than putting one of my CDs on and listening to it from start to finish.
Sometimes I reach my destination before the album is finished, but the next time I start up the car, the album picks up from the exact point where I left off.
I love this.
It means I actually listen to a whole record from start to finish, like they are meant to be listened to.
When asking my Alexa to play music at home, I never get this experience.
There really is something special about listening to an amazing album and going on a journey like this with the artist.
#3 – Limiting what you want to achieve
I had a good email the other day from a student of the Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy.
She was telling me about her goals.
One of them was that she wanted to learn a specific song by the end of the month.
It was not the whole song though.
It was the first two lines of the song.
I was pleased to hear this as many students have big lofty goals where they want to play a song perfectly after a few weeks, even if they are a beginner.
Instead, though, mastering 3-4 bars, or a few lines of a song, in a few weeks is a much better goal.
It is realistic, achievable, and it will allow you to go “deep” on the details so you can play the song well.
In short, it is far better to play a few bars and play them really well, with accuracy, fluency, and a high level of musicality…
…Than it is trying to master it all and not really getting anywhere.
Anyway, that’s my 3 random thoughts for you this week.
I hope you have a great week.
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. For more help with learning songs and building up your all-around skills on the guitar, check this out…
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
It will help you at every step of the way and you get support and guidance from me as and when needed.
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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