Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar Blog

I know, I know…

You’re excited about learning the guitar and this time “you’re going to do it right”. You’ve made a little vow to yourself that goes something like this… “I won’t move on until every note is perfect!”

BEWARE… PERFECTIONISM CAN BE A TRAP! Perfectionism can dampen your enthusiasm and hamper your learning. Frustrations and disillusionment are sure to come. Eventually, you say to yourself, “Well, what does it matter anyway. I’m never going to be perfect at it.” The final closing of your guitar dream occurs when the guitar gets put back under the bed.

Perfectionism can often work against you in your learning. Beware of putting unrealistic expectations on yourself.

When a toddler is learning to walk you don’t expect them to do a perfect Waltz step on Dancing with the Stars. For the same reason, to expect yourself to play everything flawlessly during these early stages is unhelpful.

Focus on competence, not on perfection. Focus on each exercise and song to be under your control, not that they are perfect.

You are going to make mistakes – tons of them. This should neither bother you nor surprise you. It comes with the territory.

A TALE OF TWO LEARNERS
Learner A: “Hey, learning guitar would be fun.” He starts learning and works at it a little bit each day. It fits comfortably into his daily routine of work, kids, life, and guitar learning. He works on his guitar lesson for 20-30 minutes each day. Some days great progress is made – other days are struggles. But at the end of each practice time he puts his guitar away and goes on to other things.

Learner B: “Hey, learning guitar would be fun. I’ve always wanted to learn.” Before he even starts learning he says to himself, “If I can just take this serious enough then, by my sheer will, I can make myself a guitar player.”

He dives in immediately becoming active on the discussion board every day while his course is on its way. He buys an expensive guitar thinking, “If I’m going to take this seriously then I’m going to need a serious instrument.”

Finally the course arrives and he thinks, “If I want to improve quickly then thirty minutes is not going to be enough. An hour or more a day should do the trick.” And so on…

Days turn into discouraging weeks as he thinks, “Why can’t I play this song perfectly? I should be better than this.” Then he says, “I know the answer – I’ll double my efforts. I’ll do 2 hours a day!” A few days later he is frustrated and ready to give up. Eventually, the guitar gets put away, right next to the relics of several other endeavors that were started with great hopes only to end up back in the closet.

I’ve seen these two types of learners a hundred times. Here’s what I’ve found. I can get more music in and out of Learner A than Learner B every time – even though learner A practices half the time of learner B.

At the beginning stages, demanding perfection of yourself can hinder you. Don’t fall into the trap and frustrate your dream of being a guitarist.

Strive for competence and control, not perfection.

Just a thought from your coach…

- Steve

Name: John Leonard

City: Cookstown, Ireland

Forum Username: jleo legacy

My Gear:
Godin SeaGull S6 Folk Cedar +Q1
Crafter GAE 648 CD acoustic
Squire (Fender) Stratocaster standard (Gun metal black)
Yamaha 112J electric. (Blue)
Stagg C542 (nylon string classical)
M-Audio Keystudio (39 key midi keyboard)
Hohner Countryman Hobo acoustic (Satin) (Retired)

I rarely play through amps. Instead I’ll use headphones or go unplugged. I use Reaper DAW software and get excellent latency with a Tascam US122L audio interface running on Win 7 x64 Os. I used my Zoom G2.1u foot pedal as a pre-amp and effects/ amp modeling unit and plugged through the Tascam regularly but have strayed from it in favor of Amplitube purely because of how easy it is to alter tone. For example, the ability to run two different mic’d cabs/amps with different mic setups to a stereo signal with whatever effect you want on either channel…now thats just awesome. My next want-to-have purchase is a configurable midi foot controller pedal board with multiple switches and dual expression pedals.

Favorite Artists/Bands: Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Dio, Pink Floyd, Queensryche, Dokken, Black Foot, Mama’s Boys, Bon Jovi, Motor Head , Metallica, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Hay Seed Dixie, Joe Satriani, Jean Michelle Jarre, Chris De Burgh, Steve Earl, Creedence Clear Water, Barclay James Harvest, etc. I could go on for a long time.

Favorite styles to play: Metal, Classic Rock, Pop, Bluegrass. (I’ve always had expansive taste in music and it has expanded even more since I started learning to play guitar properly with L&MG.)

I’m still blossoming in this regard though I like to play fingerstyle (I just started session 10). I also like making rhythmic noise like lots of the rock stars I’ve listened to. I like to improvise. I like being able to stick in a blues note or two and know how to bend, slide, and hammer notes. I like it all…it’s just amazing. When I get to country and Jazz, I’ll like that too.

What made you want to play music?  I first tried to learn to play when I was 10-12 years old. My uncle who was a banjo player in his own band and had a friend that was making great sounds with guitar. I was enthused and wanted to learn. At the time I had a borrowed guitar and didn’t make enough use of it, so it was eventually taken back by my uncle. So when I had enough money and the inclination I bought my old Hohnor Country Man, even though it was 16 years later I still wanted to learn. To date this is my 3rd or fourth time trying to learn and this is also the longest time I’ve managed to keep my nose to the grindstone. I’m now 45 years old and I’ve been learning/playing for 3 years come the 20th of August 2012.

Previous music experience:  Played accordion push button with dummy notation (much like tab I suppose for guitar). Play harmonica but only by ear…never learned to play properly. I had rudimentary music lessons at high school and also played recorder.

If the house was on fire, which instrument would you grab? My SeaGull Folk Cedar +Q1

Favorite place to be when playing guitar: I don’t have a music room, so the next best thing is my Man Cave (a corner of the family dining room where I have a comfy seat, footstool, and my dual screen win pc setup).

Most delightful musical moment so far: This I can answer but requires two events: 1) the missus saying, “I like that one you play” even when she doesn’t know what it was called; and 2) Knowing that my commitment to practice is starting to bear fruit. I also like playing pieces just for the sheer joy of listening to myself playing and creating music for me.

Hobbies: In the early 90′s I took a city and guilds exam to gain a license to operate vhf and hf radio equipment in the United States. They are known as Radio Hams here in Europe. We are Amateur Radio operators/experimenters (called for the fact that the pioneers of the hobby had to build there own gear). I always liked tinkering/experimenting with antennas and fixing electronic devices, so my hobby revolves around experimentation and discovery (software, hardware, etc… as long as it’s fun). I also like puzzles (don’t matter what kind).

Books: Currently reading Music Theory for Computer Musicians, Reaper Power

Current Job: Computer technician

Legacy Courses I am Taking: Learn & Master Guitar

Put your jazz hat on and let’s learn one of the signature guitar progressions in Jazz – the ii-V-I progression! In this video tip, Steve teaches the basic progression and several helpful variations from basic through advanced. Just follow along, get the new chord forms down and you’ll be able to immediately incorporate these ideas into your own playing. The lesson first walks through the musical concepts then moves on to real world examples given in standard music notation and TAB on the downloadable PDF. So grab your guitar and your jazz hat, download the PDF, and let’s play some Jazz!

Click here to download the .pdf!

View the Gibson’s Learn & Master Guitar May Newsletter here:
https://www.learnandmaster.com/email/guitar-may2012.html

Name: Dan Brown

City: Bradley Beach, NJ near Asbury Park (born and raised Brooklyn, NY)

Forum Username: Dan Brown

My Instruments/gear:
Epiphone Lt. Ed ES 355, Fender Squier Strat MIM (1991),  Charvel Custom 625C Acoustic Electric, Yamaha FG400A,
circa 1958 Harmony Meteor semi hollow body, Harmony LP knock off.  Fender Bullet Amp

Favorite Artists/Bands: First and foremost, the Beatles. The whole Classic Rock collection of artists, Stones, Doors, Clapton, Cream, Hendrix, Deep Purple, Procol Harum, and on and on…actually just became aware of Joe Bonamassa through the forum, I’m going to see him May 14th, the guy is unbelievable!  Oops, almost forgot Steve Winwood, going to see him May 27th… Also, Willie Nelson, I have Willie Nelson’s autograph tattooed on my right arm (from about 32 years ago!), Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard (same birthday as me, he is a few years older!).

Favorite styles to play: Classic Rock, Blues, some Country

What made you want to play music?  I’ve always loved music, and have always been intrigued by the guitar, not only the playing of it, but the craftsmanship, there are so many beautiful guitars out there!

Previous music experience:  In grammar school, I was in the choir, you didn’t even have to be a good singer, they needed bodies in the chairs.

I was born in 1954, so I was fortunate to witness the whole Beatlemania phenomenon first hand, I remember watching them on Ed Sullivan on February 9, 1964.  So, as you can imagine, being almost 10 at the time, my friends and I got cheap plastic guitars right away and formed bands!

In my teen years, I picked up the guitar here and there, and that cycle continued into my adult years. Learning a little of this, a little of that and never really putting it together. I see this as a familiar pattern with many, many other forum members.  Anyway, after another long sabbatical, I came across Gibson’s Learn and Master Guitar and am so glad I did.

I am in Session 9 right now and it is coming along. I’m having a little difficulty with some of the more complex strumming patterns, but, they are coming along slowly but, surely. I believe I need to relax more on some of those patterns and not think about the downs and the ups as Steve says on the DVD. I’m still working on a couple of them. And, I plan to study more of the theory before moving on.

I realize I’ll never be the next Clapton or Bonamassa, I just want to be a well rounded guitarist, and I believe L&MG gives me the tools to do that with the best instructor in this type of format you could ask for, Steve Krenz. Steve explains concepts in such an easy to understand fashion, it makes the course very enjoyable. Even though you know there are thousands of other students, you feel he is talking and practicing just with you.  And, you can play the lesson over and over again, the L&MG course is great!

If the house was on fire, which instrument would you grab? I’d have to cheat and grab two, the (cherry red) Epiphone Lt. Ed ES 355 and the Charvel Custom 625C acoustic/electric.  I’d just have to replace the MIM Fender Squier Strat with an American Standard Strat!

Favorite place to be when playing guitar: I play guitar in my living room for the most part.

Most delightful musical moment so far: As I just recently posted on the forum, I’ve been a “student” since mid-October 2011. I’ve been practicing consistently an average of 6 nights a week, anywhere from an hour to two hours a night.  My daughter Sarah had been walking by most nights and never had made any remarks until last week when she blurted out, “Hey, I know that song!” I was playing the melody to the Beatles “Yesterday” on the Charvel 625C acoustic. I replied, I guess my practicing is paying off, she answered Yep!  The next night I was playing, “Michelle” and she said, I know that one too!

My wife, Diane, loves to hear me play, she always asks me for a “concert”, the first song I learned for her was the Beatles “If I Fell” which is now one of her favorite Beatles tunes. She enjoys my “concerts” even when I screw up on a tune and have to start all over again! My “concerts” right now only consist of a few songs that I need to play while reading the sheet music in front of me. But, the “set list” will grow….

It is good to have “fans” at home!

Hobbies: I am an avid Scuba Diver, I dive New Jersey waters for the most part, although I have dove Florida, Massachusetts,  Jamaica and Grand Cayman.  I am also an avid NFL football fan, I’ve been a NY Jets fan since Joe Namath, and have an extensive memorabilia collection.

Current Job: I am a Lieutenant (aka Lieutenant Dan) with the U.S. Postal Police in the New Jersey, Newark Division.  We are the uniformed branch of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and serve to protect the mails, postal property, postal employees and postal customers in our area of responsibility.

Develop unbelievable picking control with these simple exercises developed by Shayne Hill (guitarist for Sawyer Brown, Lee Ann Rimes). Several picking and pull-off exercises are shown that are sure to give you the muscle control needed to take your picking to the next level.

Download a .pdf here: http://www.learnandmaster.com/email/Picking-and-Pull-Off-Exercises.pdf

View the Gibson’s Learn & April March Newsletter here:
https://www.learnandmaster.com/email/guitar-april2012.html