Musicians who are better than you hold a valuable key. They are a magnificent resource of technical and intellectual learning power. Of course, this is common sense in any field you are trying to grow skilled in. And this is why I bring this up. It is especially important in the field of being a musician. So why is exposure around the experts so necessary?

They advance your level of skill.
No matter what level of skill you are at any instrument, you can always learn something new. Even just when you think you are as good as you are ever going to be, someone who is still of a higher level can make all the difference. Even if they play a different style than you, simply observing their own techniques can reveal a whole new area of skill for you to take on. Read more »

The truth is, patience isn’t a simple thing to conceive when practicing something difficult. You’ve probably discovered this while trying to learn a certain guitar riff or a measure on the piano. So how can we turn an “obstacle” into a beneficial skill or discipline of learning?

Transform the idea of it in your head.

Instead of imagining patience as a barrier to overcome, think of patience as a learning skill to master. Instead of thinking “Damn, I don’t have the patience for this”, think “Before I move forward anymore here, I’m going to use this time to exercise my patience.” Read more »

May I count the times you and I have heard “Practice makes perfect”? It’s stressed so often how practice is vital in learning and improving your musical skills on any instrument you play. But how many days out of the week do you actually feel like practicing? Maybe a couple. Maybe every day. Maybe only once a month.

So how do you make yourself more prone to practice more often?

Simple. You use self-discipline. Allow me to elaborate.

Self-discipline is the willing mechanism to make yourself improve on whatever it is you are doing. It is the process of making the habit and second nature actions to get you where you want to go. It plays a vital part in your musicianship. Read more »

I’ve been surfing guitar networks. I’ve gotta say, there is some really good stuff out there. Many of them are very impressive resources. So I wanted to share some of these places with you. You probably already have knowledge about some of these. However, I feel the Dojo should recognize them for their value anyway. They range from casual blogs to lessons, tips, instrument reviews, news and more. Check it out. Read more »

Over the past 3 years, I’ve met with one person after another who state, “I used to play the guitar, but I’m not into it anymore”. I’ve also met people who confess, “I’ve tried to learn, but I just don’t have the patience for it.”

I’m sure there’s lots of reasons why you guys hang up your chances of being musically great. I don’t want to talk about why, though. I want to talk about what you can do about it. Read more »