Why do you play?

Many people become musicians for different reasons, even if they are slightly different. Some people play to express something inside of themselves they cannot express in any other way. In turn, stress is relieved and they feel emotionally free in ways they cannot otherwise. But, there are actually people who simply use playing an instrument as a way of impressing others. I once asked someone what their motivation was to play the guitar. The answer they gave me was “the girls!” The girls? The way I see it, girls should not be seen as a reason to play. Their attention is great as simply a result of good playing, but should never be the reason.

Your intentions as a musician play a huge role in your success (or lack thereof). If your motivation is genuine and valuable to you, then it will also be to all who listen.

What you write and play is a reflection of who you are, and how you feel. If you learn to play the guitar with only the fascination of impressing somebody else, then maybe someone might be impressed, but it will be short-lived since no emotional or intellectual value will emerge from it. However, if you progress as a musician through a passion rooted deep inside of you – created by love, hate, conflict, or a general artistic passion – it will resonate emotionally with your listener, and will also grant you an authentically admirable voice.

What is your voice?

Every genuine musician has their own voice. The voice I speak of does not only describe a vocalist and how they sound. Instead, this voice transcends all musical mediums. Guitarists even have voices or styles of writing – a certain sound to their melodies or their fluency of play. Some are more rough, while others are more elegant. Some sound basic, while others sound dynamic and complex with their  melody and rhythm. There are many aspects to a musician’s voice that grow as they evolve and it’s very important that you are conscious of yours.

When you play the guitar do you enjoy playing faster melodies or slower more basic melodies? What frets, scales, and chords are your favorite and most used? What kinds of cover songs do you play most? How does your original material reflect the cover songs that you’ve learned?

Allowing Improvement

Stop for a moment and ask yourself: Are you satisfied with your style? Where is there most room for improvement? Do some elements need more or less subtlety?

As a growing musician, these questions are very important to consider. Not only does considering and acting upon them raise your consciousness of your own playing, but they give you a huge opportunity to improve your ability and performance. In turn, they begin sounding better to the listener.

You might be be thinking, “I’m perfectly satisfied with my playing.” You might feel nothing needs improving. And that is fine. But one day you just might find yourself getting bored with the one style you’ve been using for years. Guitar riffs become stagnant and mediocre, or become more basic and less colorful than you realize you’d prefer.

To me, a style of play is like a reflection of your own mental consciousness. It’s possible, and actually common, to use information gained over the course of learning without attempting to expand on it. Eventually, the information you’ve known for years becomes over-utilized and now holds less value. But, when you accept the fact that there is always room for improvement, you’ll discover that allowing yourself to learn and expand non-stop actually reaps a surmountable abundance of skill, thereby opening up more access to your natural talent to play.

Letting yourself improve even after decades of playing is extremely detrimental to your progression in the world of music. It’s okay to continue learning things such as methods and added characteristics to your style. It’s a fundamental part of being a musician, no matter what it is you’re playing.

These are only a few of many things that I will be writing on in the future.

If you have any comments or questions, or want to add to any elaboration to these, feel free to post them.