Learn To Play Guitar DVD: Adjust Your Music Studies To Your Life

July 2nd, 2009 by Nate Kooistra, under Music. No Comments

It seems strange to me how many incorrect assumptions and teachings there are about becoming a better guitarist. Here is one thing that is NOT true.

You know what everyone says, “Teaching yourself is the best way to be original”. This is so obviously false its hard to believe that anyone could actually believe it – yet some people still do. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking this is the best way to learn.

This is the most close-minded philosophy I can think of. Musical skills are tools. One should want to obtain and master as many of these tools as will be needed to reach your goals.

There are lots of non musical things that have been inspiring to me. The greatest source of inspiration has been my own personal experiences in life and within myself. The desire to express that was (and still is) a constant burning desire and powerful force that thrusts my desire to improve forward. Know what truly inspires you, seek it out, surround yourself with it and soak and soak there.

Listen to more music. Find more of the same music you already like. There is a lot of music out there that you haven’t heard.

People ask, “should I stop playing everything I am used to playing, until I get rid of all my bad habits”? Well, if you have a lot more discipline than I have, go ahead and do that! If you can stand not making music for months, go ahead, but I don’t recommend it.

Take up one of your usual pieces of music where that habit has been showing itself by producing unwanted results, and we begin to practice it in the same careful way that you did the exercises you were using to change the essence of the bad habit.

Begin to do all the Foundation Exercises, because they will start to undo the foundation of all your bad habits. Do them every day for perhaps ten minutes. If you are not using my book, get all you can from my essays, and apply those approaches, experiment with them, and elaborate upon them, and adapt them to new situations.