Playing the guitar (and music in general) means learning to think in new ways and sometimes working against human nature. I’d like to give you some great brain tricks to help you learn guitar concepts and become a better guitarist.
This is not a music theory article. Instead, I’ll show you how to overcome some of the overly human blocks that keep you from playing better. And some of this may sound like New-Age, but don’t let that scare you off. There is nothing you hear that I have not used myself and taught private students to great effect. I give you these ideas as someone who has taught hundreds of students and played thousands of shows.
1. A bad grade never killed anyone. Have you ever seen an audience member drop dead because the musician on stage made a mistake? Me neither. Most likely, no one has heard the error. Music is one of the safest activities in the world. Much safer than, say, amateur brain surgery.
And yet we have a very human fear of mistakes. We don’t want them to happen and when they do we want to go back and fix them. But when you play with and for other people, you can’t do that. Most likely, no one has heard the mistake and the band does not know what you are doing and will move on without you.
This is how I want you to practice this. Grab your guitar and play a song that you don’t have perfect yet. Play the whole song and don’t stop to make mistakes. Stay on the beat, get back on the horse and finish the song. It will be an uphill battle with your brain if you are not used to doing it. It is much more important to keep the beat than to play every note perfectly.
If the best guitarists in the world seem to like to play their instrument without fear, it is because they do. And you can too.
Now, I don’t want to seem irresponsible here. It is also important to learn to play correctly. Once you’ve played the song, you’ll want to work through the details that you missed, one at a time. That’s a different process and one that should be taken just as seriously.
But when you are playing an entire song, ignore the errors. Or hug them. That is fun too. One of my tricks is to misinterpret the part the same way the next time it appears in the song. So they think you said it that way!
2. You must focus, Grasshopper. Being able to focus and focus on playing a piece of music for 3-6 minutes is not an easy task. If you find your focus straying (and mistakes are made) in the short 2- or 3-line pieces your teacher gives you, this is something you can work on.
You’re obviously focused on playing the guitar, but it’s easy to let other thoughts creep in and ruin your performance. A friend of mine had just told me about a show she did recently. Her ex-boyfriend was in the audience and throughout her performance she kept going over their relationship in her head. As a result, she made mistakes and was unhappy with the performance.
You need to clear your mind (let’s bring all the Jedi here!) And focus solely on the song. Meditation can help with this. Pick a simple, harmless word like “chair.” Now, set a subtle alarm of some kind for 3 minutes. Maybe a vibrating cell phone so it doesn’t shake you too much. Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Repeat your word over and over in your head or out loud. Whenever some other thought starts to appear, take it out and go back to your word. It will take practice, but your concentration will improve dramatically if you do it frequently. When you can focus well for 3 minutes, try 4 and then 5.
3. The breasts are distracting. Imagine the rock star you want to be. You are on stage in a huge arena in front of 50,000 people. It’s very hot under the lights. People are screaming like crazy every time you hit a chord. Cacophony everywhere. And yes, the girls are showing you and throwing panties on stage.
Do you think any of this could distract you while you play? Not only do you need to be able to focus on your quiet practice time, you also need to be able to play through any distractions that come your way. Even if you’re playing in a small cafeteria, some idiot will order an espresso while you play, and that hiss of steamed milk can get your pace up.
I encourage you to practice playing with distractions. Try playing a song while the TV is on. Or for an even bigger challenge, try playing while a different song is playing on the radio. Do some finger exercises while talking to someone on the phone. Working with these ideas will help your fingers do their job even if your brain is lost for a second.
If you work on these three ideas, you will become a better guitarist, enjoy the experience more, and arrive at the fearless musical Nirvana you are looking for.