Welcome to a new Monday post with 3 random thoughts on all things guitar, music, and life, including thoughts on music books, an audit of your practising, and more.
#1 – Music books
On my Facebook page the other day, I asked a question:
“What is the last book you read about music or a famous musician?”
It got a really good discussion going.
There were some really interesting replies and comments and some very varied books mentioned.
…Most of which I haven’t read myself.
People mentioned books such as Prine on Prine, A Woody Guthrie biography, Alice Cooper, Golf Monster, and more.
I do think it’s a good idea for guitarists to read regularly, even if you prefer to watch videos rather than read.
I say that because most of the best students I have taught all do this.
Dave, who is one of my all-time greatest students, was an avid reader.
He’d read biographies of all his favourite bands and guitarists.
…And he’d do this for pure entertainment.
Reading these books filled him with more motivation than a day at a Tony Robbins convention.
The books inspired him.
They showed him just how hard many musicians have had to work over the years.
…Not just to be successful musicians, but when learning their craft too.
There’s a whole lot of inspiration to be found in books and biographies for sure.
#2 – Practice “audit”
One thing I think many guitarists could do (me included) is to be more effective in our practice time.
I found in the past, especially when I started learning guitar, that…
I was very inefficient with how I’d practise.
Often, I’d want to practise one thing, but I’d get distracted.
Before I knew it, half an hour had passed, and I hadn’t gotten much done.
Well, as I often say, it’s a good idea to know exactly what you want to practise.
So, on that note, here’s a simple way to keep check on yourself.
Do a practice “audit”.
Basically, what you do is this…
Get a pen and paper and keep track of everything you do when you practise.
Make notes on exactly what you practise and how much time you spend on each thing.
The idea is you track each minute of your practice time.
That way, you will know precisely where you are spending your valuable time.
A lot of people waste time “floating” around with stuff, but doing this will highlight the good and bad in your practice time.
When I’ve done this with my work time or my guitar practice, it has been a very eye-opening experience.
Time is valuable after all.
#3 – Music from the Highlands
On Saturday night, me and Emma were relaxing at mine after playing “arcade golf”.
On the TV, there was a music show called Top of the Pops 2.
It was a re-run of a St Andrews Day special.
There were live performances from a wide variety of Scottish artists.
These included artists such as Annie Lennox, Deacon Blue, and Sheena Easton singing the bond theme “For Your Eyes Only”.
…And Dougie Maclean singing “Caledonia”.
This is a beautiful, fingerpicked song.
I’ll be honest, even though I listen to quite a lot of music in this style, this is a song I was not familiar with.
What a wonderful song it is.
Watching that, I had the urge to pick up my guitar at midnight and have a good jam.
Instead, I waited until Sunday morning.
I love finding hidden gems in music.
There is so much great music out there and discovering or rediscovering it is a real joy.
Anyway, those are my three random thoughts this Monday.
For more inspiration and practical tips on improving your playing, you might like to check this out…
Guitar Domination Super eBook Bundle
Have a great week ahead
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. To Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy members, stay tuned for my email tomorrow. I have a very exciting announcement then!
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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