Subject: Ya Gotta Keep At It...
You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com. If you don't want to receive these e-mails any longer, go to the bottom of this message and click on "unsubscribe." Hey there Friend, I've said it before. Guitar is hard. It is not an easy instrument to learn.Between the pain and awkward finger positions and the issue of getting your hands to do two different things at the same time, it can seem like you'll never get out of the beginner stage. Add to that the time it takes to learn various techniques, and also how to turn those techniques into skills you can use on command. There's a lot going on for sure. In the early days, it can seem like a pretty daunting goal to play guitar with any level of skill, and you might be tempted to give up on it. You might even think "oh it's easy for you Dave, but not for me. I've got this (insert issue here) problem!" It's not true! You can do it. And there's a good chance you're really close to a breakthrough. But you won't know that if you quit. Everyone Has Challenges Listen, there are scores of people that have felt the same way you do. In fact, every single one of us that plays guitar has gone through the exact set of challenges you face right now. We've all had sore fingers and hands. We've all dealt with fingers that don't quite stretch to where we want them to go. We've all felt our forearms tighten up. Chord changes were sloppy and strings wouldn't ring out clearly. Yup, even Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Joe Satriani, Nancy Wilson, Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett, Eric Johnson, Eddie Van Halen and Slash have had the problems you are experiencing at one point in their early days. Or maybe life is too busy right now. With all the things vying for our attention, nearly unlimited access to information and ways to reach out to anyone at any time, we barely have time to think let alone focus our thoughts on one thing for more than a few seconds. It's real easy to look at these pro guys (and gals) and think, "Dang, playing guitar is easy! Look at them wail!" But we only get to see these people after they've invested years into focused learning and practicing. Sure, there are those handful of true talents that can pick up an instrument and just play, but these are rare. Even the folks I listed above will tell you they had discipline themselves to grind through the work in order to master the guitar. Here's what I know. Problems can't make or break you. How you deal with the problems can. In any area in your life, you're going to run into problems. You cannot avoid them. How you decide to handle them will determine whether you become the person you want to be... or you quit and allow yourself to be less than what your potential is. Fortunately with guitar, these problems don't usually have any life-threatening ramifications (unless you're the cocky type that likes to hit on someone's boy/girlfriend in between sets!) and it really comes down to simply working through the initial challenges we all face. How's Your Commitment? It's interesting to me to look at the amount of commitment required to achieve success at a professional level . In order to get fairly good at something, you can dabble at it like a hobby. Sure, it takes some time and practice to get "good," but its not a marriage-like commitment. However, to become truly great at a profession, it's a different ballgame. I was talking with a friend once about making it in music. We were discussing it in the context of growing a music career and what is necessary to reach that "rock star" level. He made a comment that has stuck with me - he said that in order to do anything great you have to be unbalanced in your life. What he meant was that if you want to make music a career, you have to put some other things on a shelf and focus your energies on the activities that will move your music forward. He's right, and not just about music. Think about it - look at the top performers in any field. Medicine, business, sports, the military, law, show business... any profession you look at will prove out this observation. The top doctors are the ones that live, eat and breathe curing disease (these are the ones doing miraculous work, not just treating symptoms). The top athletes are the ones who worked harder than their peers to become better. The A-list actors and actresses studied their craft more consistently and showed up for auditions more often. I feel pretty safe in saying that these people had to make a decision at some point in their lives that they wanted to master their chosen profession at the expense of many other things. They put a hold on some things in their lives to focus intently on achieving whatever their dream was. They were driven to reach their chosen goals, and they excluded most everything else that wasn't helping them progress towards those goals. The great thing is it's not a "forever" level of effort to get there. At some point after the fundamental work ethic is established and you get the basics down, the growth becomes exponential. Professionals still need to maintain a level of commitment to their work, but it becomes normal to them and it's not a struggle any longer. The work comes easier. The same goes for guitar. OK, so maybe you're not looking to be the next Eddie Van Halen. You're not going to put on the tunnel-vision goggles and put everything else in your life on hold. The point is you don't have to - to learn guitar or to at least learn how to play your favorite songs, you just have to make the commitment that you won't quit. Do a little something every day, and before long the tough things start becoming easier. The sore fingers toughen up. The chord changes come faster. Tiny little progressive improvements... I've made that easy with the Daily 5 Guitar Habit. You get a daily email from me reminding you to pick that guitar up and play for 5 minutes. I even give you some training and exercises to help you out with that. Guitar is a lot of fun, and a great way to relax. You owe it to yourself to have 5 minutes a day where you can just put everything else on mute and show your guitar - and yourself - a little love. Sign up for the Daily 5 Guitar Habit today. It's easy and free. Watch out, though - you might get hooked! Peace~ Dave Dave "Eddie" Vance is a rock guitar enthusiast and gear nut. He has been playing guitar for over 30 years and enjoys tormenting the neighbors every chance he gets. When he's not slaving for the man, you can find him rocking out with his B.C. Rich Bich guitar, a cold beer and some sweet tunes. He also runs Learn-To-Play-Rock-Guitar.com, but you knew that already! Follow Learn To Play Rock Guitar:I welcome your feedback! Did you like today's message? What other topics would you like to see covered in my e-mails? Please let me know at: dave@learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com As always, please feel free to forward this email to a friend! I review products before recommending them. If you buy a product based on my recommendation, I will receive a commission. However, my emails also contain links that don’t require any investment on your part and are jam-packed with "juicy, guitar learnin' tastiness". We don't rent or share your name with anybody. Feel free to forward this issue to any friends you think would enjoy its contents. They will thank you. So will I.
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