Welcome to a new Monday post with 3 random thoughts on all things guitar, music, and life, including thoughts on record breakers, time, and more.
Here we go…
1 – Record breakers
Def Leppard are not my thing really, but I did come across an interesting story about the band the other day.
Back in 1995, they played three shows on three different continents… all on the same day.
The band went 6,000 miles to play the first gig in Morocco.
Then they rushed off stage and headed straight to the airport for their flight back to the UK, where they played their second show of the day.
After the second show, they headed to Vancouver for their third show of the day.
The band exhausted themselves doing this… just to break a world record.
In some ways, it’s a bit pointless, but record breaking looks fun.
In fact, I’ve sent in some information to the Guinness World Records as at some point I’m hoping to break a world record on the guitar.
I’ll see what they say about this, but I think it’s going to be huge fun if I get the go-ahead from them.
…And unlike the Def Leppard gig, where none of us have the luxury (or desire, I’m guessing) to travel 10,000+ miles on planes in one day…
This is a record which is practical for students of the guitar.
In other words, you will be able to do it with me if you like and it will certainly be a practical thing that will help us all improve.
I’ll let you know about this as soon as I know more about it myself.
2 – When time runs away
Yesterday, I got up at a decent time for a Sunday morning.
Archie was at his mum’s from the night before, and I’d had an early night.
So, I got the ‘cafetiere’ and made a nice fresh brew of coffee.
Most people I know in the UK are tea drinkers or have instant coffee.
Well, the cafetiere is not me trying to sound fancy, but that is the only way I like to make coffee now.
Anyway, the autumn sun was shining through the windows and I was jamming away on the guitar while enjoying the coffee (not at the same time, of course).
After a while, I did some business admin and then got cracking on doing some writing for a new book.
(Yep, I have a new book in the works!)
I hadn’t even realised until a while later, but the clocks had gone back an hour.
I forgot all about it!
It just goes to show how we can all get totally “lost” in time when playing music.
I love that fact about music.
It’s so absorbing when you’re in the ‘flow’.
It’s great to make the most of those times and really enjoy them.
3 – This trumps ability
I’m a big fan of being consistent in life.
Not just on the guitar, but in everything.
For example, in terms of my life…
Every week I make sure I train with weights X 3, eat healthily, use the sauna multiple times, do a fun activity with Archie, and do something a little adventurous for me.
In terms of my teaching and playing…
I commit to practising every day, I learn or refine a song that excites me, write regular emails for this list, work on a new teaching resource, and more…
The key is not trying to do too much.
But choosing the most important areas and sticking to them consistently.
That’s important in life.
…But I often think of the journey of learning guitar as the journey of life (which can come with ups and downs and lots of joy).
So this consistency is key on the guitar too.
Practising for 3 hours one day but nothing for the two days after is not ideal.
It’s far better to do 30 minutes every day (or multiple shorter sessions throughout the day).
The key is you do what works for you, but you keep doing it every day if possible.
It’s not earth-shattering advice, but stick to that and you’ll see more progress than most.
Now if you want more help with what to practise, how to practise, and what to play to have more fun, then you might want to check out my membership.
You can find out more about it below.
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
Have a great week ahead!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. For a little while longer, while the publisher still has copies left, if you join you will get a free copy of my Guitarists Get Theory book delivered to your door.
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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