Welcome to a new Monday post with 3 random thoughts on all things guitar, music, and life, including a podcast update, frogs on a log, and finding “the one”.
Here we go…
#1 – “When you find the one, you’ll know”
Getting the ideal guitar for you is essential.
This is something I talk about a fair bit.
The difference it can make if you’re currently playing a guitar that is not quite suitable is huge.
In fact, on one of my Facebook posts recently, two people were having a great discussion about this.
Ray said…
“This is an important, but often ignored issue. It took me a long time to find the guitar I fell in love with, but it has made such a difference to just being able to hold the guitar and reach the chords the way I need to and has greatly increased my enthusiasm for practicing.
Linda replied…
“Suppose it should also be said that you don’t need to be able to play anything on them, just hold them and pluck each open string and listen to it. When you find the one, you’ll know.”
Both of them share wise words here.
From a practical point of view, it will really help if you can play a few things to truly test a guitar, but I do like the last part about “when you find the one, you’ll know”.
It’s like finding the right romantic partner, I guess.
Much like finding the right person to share our lives with, I do think finding the right guitar takes time and effort too…
…but this advice is crucial for guitarists.
#2 – Podcast update
The other day we had some snow.
Here in the UK, it causes chaos when there is snow.
So, Archie had the day off school.
We built a cool snowman and a snow rabbit (why not!).
Then we went inside and did some drawings.
We were drawing some ideas for my new podcast.
I love art but it’s not my forte.
So, I’m taking the ideas Archie and I created and getting a really cool artist to get them drawn up in a much cooler style.
The ideas are in my head, but I’ll let the pro make them look cool.
That’s because I don’t really want this podcast to be anything ordinary.
In fact, it might be a little “off the wall”.
I’ll talk about it more soon and I’m hoping to get it set up and started by the end of the month.
These things always take longer than you’d like, of course.
…but let’s just say there will be some interesting concepts, ideas, artwork and maybe even characters coming.
In the podcast, we will talk about all the interesting things that come with guitar playing and I may do some interviews, special features, and other things I don’t do anywhere else.
It’s going to be loads of fun.
#3 – Frogs on a log
There have been many things in my life that I’ve tried doing.
Some I’ve dabbled a bit with, some I’ve really committed to.
Dabbling with certain things has been okay, but the things I’ve really committed to are the ones where I’ve made the most progress in life.
That goes for guitar, my career, losing around 40 pounds years ago, and plenty more.
It was only when I took big action that I saw big results.
Here’s a good parable from Dr Rob Gilbert on this sort of thing.
There were three frogs sitting on a log in a pond.
One frog said, “I’ve decided I’m going to jump into the pond.”
So how many frogs are left on the log?
Most people would say two.
They would be wrong.
Is it a trick question? Kind of…
That depends on how you look at it but…
There are still three frogs on the log.
The reason why?
…Because deciding you’re going to do something is different than actually doing it.
A lot of people decide to learn guitar, but don’t actually do it.
Some will try for a bit and give up.
Others underestimate how hard it is to learn guitar in the early days.
Yet, this is not the fault of the student, I just don’t think enough teachers are honest about how tough learning this instrument is.
Sometimes, we just need to “reset”, start again, and commit to it more.
Commitment doesn’t take massive amounts of time.
Just focus and dedication for a small chunk of your day.
If you want more help in this area and the specifics on what to do to achieve your goals, then this might well be for you…
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
Have a great Monday and keep up the practice!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
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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