I recently came across a post on social media that I had to share with you - my subscribers. I would actually prefer to call them the "Seven commandments" of guitar. There are a lot of things to learn when you take up an instrument. In my humble opinion, "Discipline" and "Commitment" are arguably, the two primary goals of learning how to practice and play music on any instrument. But, let’s just start off with the following list.
Truth #1. "Your gear doesn't make you better. A $300.00 guitar in the hands of a great player sounds much better than a $3000.00 guitar in the hands of a bad one."
Me: I have known many students over the years who have large collections of several guitars, amplifiers, foot pedals, etc. - and the only thing that all these items really do is take up space on a wall, as bragging decorations. If you can't play even one of those guitars well, how in the world are several guitars going to make you magically better?
I want to add a point to this truth: You do not need a dozen different guitars hanging on a wall to impress your friends. All you need are a few. Have one guitar close to you when you are home. Have it out, on a stand, out of its case and ready to play at any given moment.
Have another guitar that you use for gigs on the road or as a workhorse for teaching. Have a second guitar as a backup in case a string breaks on one of your guitars and you don't have any replacement strings. If you play electric and acoustic, have three acoustics and two electrics. You do not need any more than that unless you are going on tour or recording in a studio.
Truth #2. "Speed isn't everything. If you're playing has no feel, no one cares how fast you are. Phrasing is greater than speed."
Me: As a guitar instructor, I do not teach shredding. I teach melody playing and improvisation. Hyper-speed guitar playing has a very limited pocket of interest. Shredding is fun to listen to - for about three minutes.
If you can't play a simple melody that your listener can walk away and whistle after you're done, then all of the shredding in the world will mean nothing to the average listener. It's “flash-in-the-pan” showboating that has very little staying power, and belongs in only a few genres of music.
Shredding has its place, but a memorable, meaningful melody line that can put a much more profound feel into your head and your heart, just by using a handful of easy-to-remember notes. Sometimes less truly is more.
Truth #3. "Learning songs won't make you a great guitarist - Understanding them will. Anyone can memorize a tablature to a song, but if you don't know why the chords and scales work together, you'll always feel lost on the fretboard."
Me: You can build your repertoire into the hundreds or maybe even thousands of songs, but if you become nothing more than a jukebox, and you have no idea what it is you are actually playing, then you are really nothing more than a copying machine.
When you become a seasoned musician/teacher; and you have practiced and played tens of thousands of songs over tens of thousands of hours, you will eventually begin to hear, learn and understand music as theoretical common numbers, patterns and formulas that are universally understood.
There are mathematical reasons why the simplest songs work the best. Knowing even a little bit of music theory will greatly improve your interpretation of music - which will ultimately expand your capacity to create your own.
Truth #4. "No one is coming to save your playing. If you don't practice consistently, you'll never improve - there are no shortcuts or magic pedals."
Me: I see instrumentalists as two different entities:
1) You are a working, practicing, committed, dedicated, artist-musician who has unconditionally invested an entire lifetime into your craft, or…
2) You are a "wanna-be".
There really is no middle ground. Making excuses as to why you don't practice, ultimately only comes back to haunt you.
Always, always, always find a reason to practice every single day of your life. There is no "try", only "do".
Truth #5. "You suck at timing, (and you don't even know it). Most guitarists don't practice with a metronome. Tight rhythm is greater than sloppy shredding."
Me: It used to be, long ago - that you needed to go to a music store to purchase one of those bulky piano metronomes that took manual effort to use. I didn't have the money as a kid to go out and buy a metronome, so I practiced songs off the radio and my home stereo, to build my inner meter (clock).
One day, I discovered that my BOSS delay pedal could be used as a metronome to practice my scales. This ultimately helped me to become a much better rhythm guitarist and bass player.
Since the advent of the internet and smartphones, downloading a free application is all the metronome you will ever need. Go download it onto your phone, now.
Truth #6. "Theory doesn't limit you - it frees you! The best players know how music works. If you avoid theory, you're holding yourself back."
Me: I teach music theory exclusively. I don't give my students a choice on this. It is part of their lessons. Every guitarist must learn basic music theory applied to the guitar. Knowledge is power, and power allows for an open mind, and an open mind allows for unlimited creativity.
Truth #7. "Covers don't make you stand out - your style does. Learn from the greats, but don't just copy them - add your own feel, phrasing, and personality. That's how legends are made."
Me: Get as close to the music as possible, get as close to the song as possible, get as close to the artist as possible - but never try to become what you practice. You must learn to take on and accept ownership and responsibility for what comes off of your guitar when you play it. It is all about interpretation. Yes, you must learn songs. Yes, you must learn guitar solos and chord progressions, but the ultimate goal is to combine all of those things into something that will make sense to you and your style. Remember: You are unique - just like everyone else.
You must record yourself!
I would like to add one additional point to this list. It is about recording. When I was a teenager in the 1970's, I practiced everyday, and I used a portable cassette tape recorder when I practiced. Why? Well, I wanted to hear what I sounded like when I wasn't actually playing. I wanted to hear all of my mistakes, and I wanted to hear all of the good parts that I nailed. I wanted to be able to play along with what I had already recorded so I could learn what it was like to play along with other people. I recorded everything I did. I wanted proof of my work. Part of me wanted the validation of hearing whether or not I was actually improving with my practice.
When I started playing in bands, I recorded all of our rehearsals. Why? First, for posterity's sake, and secondly, I wanted to have something I could listen to when I was rehearsing at home. Would you believe that I still have most of those cassettes? 45 years later, and I can play you a tape of what I was doing in a band in 1979.
It is vitally important that you record yourself when you practice your instruments. You must show prove of your work. We all have smartphones that have built-in voice recorders. In many ways, these smartphones are infinitely better than the old analog cassette tapes of yesteryear. Record yourself. Trust me, you wont regret it.