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The Great Guitar Playing Secret

Author: robert | Posted: 04.08.2008 | Views: 25

So, you want to be a guitar player huh? You want to strut likeChuck Berry, be as cool as Keith Richards, rock like JimiHendrix and astound like Steve Vai. You want to wake up in themorning a beginner and go to bed at night an expert. You want tobe hero-worshipped and have people chant your name. Idolised,admired, remembered and revered. You want your money for nothingand your chicks for free. You want all that and more!

Good for you! You have ambition; fire in your belly and a lionin your heart. It takes a lot of gusto to want to be a greatguitarist. I wish you well and hope you achieve your dreams manytimes over.

Now that we've established that you want to be a great guitarpicker, how would you feel if I said I know the secret of beinga great guitar picker? Furthermore, how would you feel if I toldyou I was going to share that secret with you right now, free ofcharge? I suppose you would think there's a catch and thatreally I just want to sell you something. Well, it's true that Ido have an on-line store that sells great guitar tutorials. It'salso true that I would love you to visit and buy everything inthe shop. However, that's not why I'm going to share this secretwith you. No way, I have another reason for giving you thisinformation.

When I was starting out playing the guitar, I always wished thatI could have known somebody who could already play and couldteach me a few things. Unfortunately, in those early days Ididn't know anybody that played. I had to struggle along tryingto learn chords, scales and arpeggios from the printed page. Iused to worry about whether I was holding the guitar correctly,or if I was putting my fingers on the correct fret or string. Alot of it was pretty much hit and miss. More often thannot.....it was miss!!

For that reason, I would like to offer some advice to guitarplayers that are just starting out. If you promise to listen andtake notice of my advice, I promise I will share with you thesecret of becoming a great guitar player. Deal? Ok, settle downwith cold can of fizzy pop, and read on......

I'm going to list these pieces of advice one by one in abulleted list. Remember, the deal is you read and digest theinformation and then I will tell you the great guitar playingsecret. Press your focus and concentration buttons.........Now!!

1. BUY A GUITAR TUNER AND TUNE UP! If you don't know anybody whocan tune the guitar for you, and you can't yet tune it yourself,then you need to invest in a tuner. Do this today! Don'tstruggle along on a guitar that sounds like elastic bands on ashoebox. You will not get any enjoyment whatsoever from an outof tune guitar. So, piece of advice number 1 - Tune it and keepit tuned!!

2. CONSIDER LESSONS! When beginning anything in life, it is goodto get off on the right foot. A teacher, a mentor, an advisor,call it what you will. To teach is one of the most fantasticthings we can do. Find a teacher that takes great pride in whathe does. Usually the best ones are found by word of mouth. Askpeople, make enquiries, e-mail, telephone, write a letter,anything it takes to find the right person. Remember, no matterhow good you get there is always somebody who can teach yousomething new. Hiring a teacher is not just for when you arestarting out, it is something you should consider throughoutyour guitar playing life. A good teacher will advise you ontechnique, theory, performance, attitude and practicing. He orshe will set you goals and reward you when you accomplish them.He or she will also explain the small things such as theimportance of using a metronome in your studies, keeping yourinstrument clean and changing strings. Advice number 2 - Find amentor!

3. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE............BUT NOT TOO MUCH!!What does that mean "Practice, but not too much?" Well, if wewant to get good at anything then obviously we do need topractice. With regards to learning the guitar, we need to getour hands to play the right notes in the right way. Althoughgreat technique takes a lot of time, effort, commitment andPRACTICE, we need to be aware of when to draw the line.Sometimes we can get that wrapped up in something that we areinterested in; we can forget that there are other things inlife. Our family, our friends, sports, the theatre, cinema,books, etc... Advice number 3 - Practice to get good, but chillout and relax to get even better! 4. KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO LEARNAND ITS IMPORTANCE TO YOU NOW!! There are so many things tolearn on the guitar that it is inevitable that you will getdistracted. Chords, scales, arpeggios, licks, tunes, exercisesetc... They all have to be learnt as they are all important. Ifyou realise the importance of learning these things before youstart to practice them, you will stand a better chance ofkeeping your focus and completing your studies. If you arelearning a new chord for example, think about why it isimportant that you learn the chord. How will it benefit you? Howwill it help you to advance? How will it help you to evolve intoa better musician? Everything you learn is important, understandits importance. Advice number 4 - Make sure you know therelevance of everything you need to learn.

5. LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!! Ok, this piece of advice has twoparts. The first part means listen to a lot of music. Try andhave many influences. Remember, there is no bad music, only badmusicians. Be open to jazz, blues, rock, funk, pop, country,classical, anything! We can learn such a lot by listening. Itplays a major part in our musical development. The second partof this piece of advice involves you training your ears. Try tolearn to recognise chords just by the sound they make. Be awareof the subtle differences between a 7th chord and a 9th chord.It takes a long time to be able to do this properly. Stick withit and don't worry when you get them wrong. Each time you try,you improve a little bit more. Advice number 5 - Use those ears!!

6. PLAY WITH OTHER PEOPLE!! Join a band or form a band as soonas you can. You will learn so much from playing with otherpeople. Put an advertisement in a music shop advertising yourservices as a guitar player. Don't worry if you don't feelready, do it anyway. The experience will be priceless!Everything improves when you play regularly with othermusicians. Your time, your feel, your technique, yourconfidence, EVERYTHING! Make sure you do this at the earliestopportunity! Advice number 6 - Take the licks out of your roomand into a band!!

7. LEARN YOUR THEORY!! Ok, your guitar teacher will probablystress the importance of this to you. The more theory you learn,the more your guitar playing will improve. Learn chordconstruction, diatonic harmony, learn about triads, intervals,major scales, relative minors, modes, etc... A lot of guitarplayers don't like studying theory. Make sure you are not one ofthem. Advice number 7 - Read lots of music theory books!!

8. VISUALISE!! A lot of people do not realise how powerful atool this is. There is nothing you can't do in your mind!Visualisation will not improve your technique. The only way toimprove technique is to sit down and play for long hours.Visualisation helps in other ways. It helps you commit things toyour long term memory. Use it when learning chords, scales,arpeggios, songs, in fact, anything. There is however, a timeand a place for visualisation. You can use it while travellingon a bus, waiting for your date to turn up, while falling asleepat night, sunbathing or relaxing. You must NOT use it whiledoing anything that requires your full attention. For example;driving, using tools, cooking and riding you bicycle. You getthe idea, right? Also, do not ever think that visualisation is asubstitute for hands on practice - it isn't! You have to do thatas well. Advice number 8 - Practice in your mind!!

9. BE INQUISITIVE!! The more you play the more chance you haveof meeting other guitar players. Never, ever be afraid to askthem questions even if they haven't been playing as long as youhave. We learn off everybody. Ask probing questions to see howthey developed their technique. Check out the chord shapes theyuse. If you see one that you don't recognise, ask them what itis. Remember your job is to improve your playing at everyopportunity - do your job! Advice number 9 - Ask lots ofquestions and you'll get lots of answers!!!

10. SMILE!! Sometimes the stress of being a practicing guitarplayer can get us down. Maybe a lick you are working on justisn't happening, or no matter how hard you try you just cannotexecute a new scale properly. This is normal. Sometimes it'sbetter to put the instrument down and come back to it later on.Never, ever let it get you mad and never, ever get frustrated.Fight back at these challenging situations with a big smile. Tryit now, right this minute. Think of something that is botheringyou although deep down you know it isn't important. Visualiseit. Ok, hold it there and.......SMILE! Laugh even. Not just achuckle but a big laugh right from your belly. Go on, feelsgood, doesn't it? Treat your guitar playing challenges inexactly the same way. Deep down you know they aren't really thatimportant. Tomorrow is another day. I'm not saying don't takeyour guitar playing seriously; just stop and smell the flowersnow and again. Be optimistic, be bold, be the best you can beand........smile!! Advice number 10 - Playing the guitar is fun- Enjoy it!!

There you go, that's my advice to you.

Right, all that's left for me to do is tell you the great guitarplaying secret. Are you ready? Well, don't tell anybody but thesecret of being a great guitar playeris...............................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ .......in everything you've just read!! Sorry guys, but thereain't no shortcut to greatness. If you follow the 10 pieces ofadvice I've just given you then you won't go far wrong. I stillhaven't achieved it and I may never will. One thing is for sure,I'm gonna keep on plugging away, and, who knows, maybe one dayI'll get pretty close. The fun is in the trying.

So, you want to be a guitar player huh? You bet your life Ido......

www.jack-sky.com

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