Like you probably have done, I have read a ton of interviews with great players and articles written by many of these same players. I often found it frustrating whenever the subject of learning to play guitar came up or when advice was offered on improving one’s playing. With a small number of exceptions, very little time and space was offered on this.
Surround yourself with better players (or at least with those on your same level.) When you started out playing guitar, everyone was better than you, but now you have grown and there are less people better than you than before. The better you get, the harder it will be to find others who are superior to you to hang around or jam with.
Remember that its ok to daydream and fantasize about where you are planning to go, but it can’t stop there. Don’t wish without planning! Don’t dream without doing! And always, always, have a strategy.
You may need to revise certain aspects of your strategy as time goes on and that’s ok, but don’t try to go forward without one if you want the maximum results in the shortest amount of time. In my early days learning to play guitar, I wasted a lot of time aimlessly desiring to get better without having a clue as to how to plan for it. Sure I practiced a lot, but without direction and without an efficient path to follow. Most of my substantial progress as a musician came only after I developed a strategy and worked with it.
The way you view yourself (as an artist and not merely someone who owns a guitar and plays it sometimes) is very important to the way you will think about what you are doing musically. The way you see yourself will also effect the results you will get as you are expressing yourself.
I notice the finger responsible for playing that note is the third finger. It is not getting to the note because it is going up in the air in reaction to the second finger being used right before it in that particular scale passage. In other words, it is tensing in reaction to the movement of it’s neighboring finger, and I have not been paying attention to it. I realize this is a bad habit that pervades my playing, a third finger that tenses up in reaction to the use of the second finger.
I believe “Self Expression” is the pinnacle of all art. Anything less, “is less” in my opinion. I’m not going to debate that view or try to persuade any of you to also believe it. Instead I am going to assume you already hold that view and discuss ways in which I may be able to offer you both philosophical and practical advice.
For instance, practice chord changes. Perhaps switching from an F barre chord to a D open is driving you crazy. Spend ten minutes going over and over the change.
Learn the best way to promote your music on Twitter using Denise to shorten the list of information that you need to learn. There are too many appllications out there and not enough time to analyse them all. Denise has made the list shorter for you.
My People Here’s Jim Iyke AKA J.I Another Nollywood Artist Trying To Break Into The Naija Music Industry Well I Will Say This Song Is Ok Could Have Been Better But It’s Ok.
***DOWNLOAD IT***
As promised, here is the much anticipated full Owl City set in HD! Our exclusive hand-written interview with Austin of Swimming With Dolphins is transcribed below. We would’ve filmed it but he didn’t feel comfortable doing a video interview. And apologies if the live footage is a bit shaky at times! It was 110° in the venue so it was extremely hard to keep our hands still and up in the air for 30 minutes. lol
http://www.truecountry.tv/