If you’ve ever heard the following words, you’ll know how scary it can be.
“Go on then, play us a tune.”
Those can be the most daunting words a guitarist can hear.
That’s because for many guitarists, especially beginners…
One of the most high-pressure things is when you get “put on the spot”.
I don’t know if this has ever happened to you yet.
…But it seems like pretty much all guitarists have to go through this at some point.
It might be when you are happily practising at home and a family member comes ‘round.
It might be at a party or gathering and someone spots a guitar in the corner and their eyes light up as they remember you play.
It might be when you go to a guitar shop to test out a guitar and your mind goes blank.
…Or an impromptu jam with a buddy and you freeze.
I’ve been there myself and there are dozens and dozens of situations like this, of course.
Let’s face it, although you should play for yourself first and foremost…
Not one of us wants to look silly and embarrass ourselves.
…And we definitely don’t want it to look like we don’t know what we’re doing.
Especially after putting in many hours of practice.
…But playing guitar can be a big challenge at the best of times.
Well, if your heart races just thinking about these situations, my advice is this…
Get yourself a mini repertoire of party pieces together.
That is…
A small bunch of different things you can play that are impressive, easy to learn, and that you can “call on” at will.
Think of them like Batman and his utility belt.
It’s like you’ve got all these cool tools at your fingertips to beat the bad guys of the guitar world.
(The bad guy being “stage fright” in this instance).
Of course, you can (and should) learn songs, but in these situations, I love to play a variety of different styles in a short space of time.
I mean, if you can play blues, folk, rock, pop, classical, and country styles, and all in a few minutes…
It certainly looks, feels, and sounds impressive.
Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time searching for pieces like these that are easy to learn.
Every now and then, I come across or create something that really fits the bill.
…And for this month’s Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy tutorials, I’m sharing the best of them.
Inside, I’m teaching you eight very fun “party pieces”.
Each piece is simple to learn.
A couple just use one or two chords.
…And some don’t actually use chords at all, but they sound rich, fun, and elegant.
Some of the styles included are Chet Atkins style Travis picking, Johnny-Cash-esque country, Eric Clapton/Robert Johnson inspired fingerstyle blues, and more.
It’s all either brand-new stuff I’ve never taught before or stuff that I’ve gone into more detail with elsewhere.
Here, though, I’m simplifying it all as much as possible, so you get all the fun stuff right away.
It’s a bumper edition to celebrate the 8th birthday of the Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy.
These new lessons are so much fun and they’ll be out on Friday, the 1st of March.
If you want to get started with the Academy before then, the place to do so is below:
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
Keep on having fun with the guitar
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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