In the book Flash foresight written by American futurist Daniel Burrus he advises that to succeed you should try looking in the opposite direction. When you look in the same direction as everyone else you see the same thing. Going in a different direction often leads to new discoveries and sometimes amazing breakthroughs. Google are…
Tag: music
3 and 4 chord songs
On guitar most songs can be arranged in easy to play keys using a handful of chords. This doesn’t mean the song will sound exactly like the original but in most cases it will do the job. In music there are 12 keys which are all identical except for the pitch. In other words any…
Why environment matters
If you want to play guitar or music or would like your child to play you need to consider your environment. Anyone can become a great musician given the right environment. Let us say you are an adult and you decide to take up guitar. You work 5 days a week, have an active social…
How do I become a professional guitarist?
I often get asked what it takes to become a professional guitarist. I would begin by asking what your goal is as there are many options. Do you want to be a recording artist, a studio guitarist, a touring guitarist, a teacher, a composer and so on? Guitar as a career can be very seductive….
Why learn guitar?
Recently I was asked by a friend why I play guitar. Why don’t I use that time to do something more constructive? After all playing guitar doesn’t save lives or make you rich (unless you are lucky of course) or make you physically fit. I said it might be better to rephrase the question by…
Don’t take guitar too seriously
Having played guitar for many years I occasionally have these moments where I realise I am taking it all too seriously. Although these moments are rare they seem to have a tendency of creeping up on me. It usually comes in the form of frustration with a new skill I am attempting to master or…
Your mindset may be determining your success on guitar
What is mindset? Here is the Google dictionary definition. ‘mentality: a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations’. Mindset is a hot topic among today’s psychologists, teachers and coaches because it plays such an important role in achieving a successful outcome in life. My aim in this blog…
Successful guitar students seem to be predictable
Its surprising how much we underestimate our own predictable behaviour. Numerous well known studies have been done which prove that we simply don’t know ourselves as well as we think. In fact perfect strangers know us better than we do. Consider the fact that in categories such as IQ, driving ability and even looks the…
Creative learning makes all the difference
When it comes to learning guitar your best option is to use a structured method because a method will contain a clear goal with specific steps. The idea of any guitar method is to essentially save you time and to avoid common mistakes. A method of course is a system and effective systems are designed…
Learning guitar is about attitude
I personally find the best students are those who like a challenge. Its not so much about being able to play guitar but being able to overcome the obstacles. Its an attitude. Learning guitar is like climbing a mountain. You have to be prepared for lots of hard work before you can enjoy standing on…
Guitar teacher, The Internet or both?
When I was a child learning guitar I was limited to either finding a local teacher or learning from a book. Today the Internet, the iPad, iPhone and all their apps are now providing a range of alternatives. While this new technology may appear to be an alternative to the traditional guitar teacher I believe…
Am I too old to learn guitar?
A common question with a simple answer. It’s never too late but age does make a difference. A fact all beginner adults need to consider is the speed at which young children learn is nothing short of miraculous. In a sense if you started after the day you were born you started late. Our brains…
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