Acoustic Guitar Lessons DVD: Become a Pro Learning With The Pros
Imagine yourself having the skills that you desire. Focus on that and concentrate. Convince yourself that you can do it. Convince yourself that you are already on your way to reaching your first goal – because you are. Its easier to manifest your desires when you can imagine yourself already in possession of it. Keep your positive mental attitude always.
If you are like most players, you are desiring to become a better guitar player. Through my own learning experience and through teaching well over 1,000 students, I have learned a lot on this subject. Students often ask why they are not not at the level that they desire to be and what can be done about it. I have asked myself this same question many times in the past. A long time passed before I began to understand the answers.
After coming to an awareness of the existence of a “bad habit”, develop an understanding of how it got there. What weren’t you doing that allowed that situation to develop. Of course, it always reduces down to something you weren’t aware of that you should have been paying attention to, been more intense about during your practice.
As weeks and months go by, your old “bad habit” will begin to weaken, it will change. It will be replaced by the new finger action you are training into the fingers. The important point to realize is that the new habit will take over, if you are doing the proper proportion of correct practice on the bad habit.
Merely playing the music where the bad habit displays itself will not disturb the changes you are building into the fingers by your powerful, correct practice. As time goes by, the new habit will begin to show itself in your playing, and become stronger and stronger.
Segovia (the classical guitar master) wasn’t well rounded – he didn’t waste his time to master jazz or bluegrass for example. Yngwie Malmsteen didn’t study intense jazz guitar. Most great jazz guitarists don’t study classical guitar or heavy metal guitar.
Now, the challenge will be to be able to use the practice approaches that can actually change something like that. Users of “The Principles” know that this means Posing, and No Tempo practice, and the use of The Basic Practice Approach. Again, unfortunately, too often I meet readers of my book who are not really using these practice approaches. They bought the tool, but they don’t use it! Those that do, see the results.
Keep a record of all the technical things you are currently working on. You will clearly see if you are progressing and at what rate. For other items that are not so easily recorded with a metronome, paper and pencil, record on yourself tape or your computer each week. Keep the tapes for a long time. Listen back in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, etc. Listen to how much you have grown.