Showing posts with label Reasons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reasons. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Top 10 Reasons Why You Suck At Playing Guitar


Image : http://www.flickr.com


You don't 'need' to play guitar enough.

If you desire to become a great guitarist, you have to want it badly enough to sacrifice other parts of your life to devote to practice.

This doesn't mean you have to give up your social life and never take the guitar out of your hands until your Jimi Hendrix...

But it does mean you need to set aside time to practice and commit to actually it.

If you really want to learn guitar then you shouldn't feel the need to put it off till later to make time for some television!

You have limiting beliefs about your ability.

Believe it or not, many people have hidden limiting beliefs which stop them from progressing into the guitarists they want to be.

Do your friends/spouse/parents knock you and think you're wasting your time?
Don't let anyone put you off from doing something that's important to you.

Even the greatest players had to start somewhere! There is no such thing as 'natural ability'. Nobody was born playing guitar, they had to learn too. So don't be hard on yourself if you can't play as well as you'd like just yet - and don't let anyone stop you from trying.

Don't listen to anyone's negativity!

You don't know how to practice.

Practice just isn't as simple as you have been led to believe. Many people just get their guitar and run through some exercises, a song, or a guitar tab the same way they have done it hundreds of times before, and they just aren't getting any benefit or improvement from doing that. So you need to know how to practice effectively.

You don't put enough time aside for practice.

If you want to get really good on guitar, then you need to be setting a side a set period of time each day or each week for practice.

It's okay to vary it from week to week if you like, but you have to commit to actually practicing regularly otherwise it's going to take you much more time to improve.

You don't set goals.

It's important to have some kind of goal in your practice. How can you get anywhere without first knowing where you're going? By setting yourself targets to aim for in your practice, you will get their much faster.

You Don't focus on one thing at a Time.

You need to have some focus when you practice. You need to be aware of what you're trying to do, and not trying to learn too many things at once.

Many people try to learn too many songs, too many tabs, or too many guitar method books all at the same time and suffer from information overload.

How many songs can you play a part of, but not the whole thing? You need to focus on one thing at a time!

You Don't Play Slowly Enough At First

It's important not to just play something as fast as possible, or as fast as you have heard some other guy play it on the radio. You need to take things slow - and play slowly enough so you don't keep making mistakes.

You Try To Learn Things You Aren't Ready For

It's important that you know you're capabilities. This isn't to say you shouldn't strive to improve, but you must remember to start at the beginning.

You can't take any short-cuts without having to pay for it in the long-run.

You're Taking Lessons From Someone Who Can't Teach

You may have a friend who can play guitar, or some guy down the road used to give lessons 25 years ago - but just because someone can play guitar, doesn't actually mean they have the skills to teach guitar.

The two things are actually very different. And if you're not learning from someone who knows how to teach, you could be causing yourself more problems than your solving by having lessons from this person.

You Don't Have A Good Guitar

You don't need to break the bank by getting that $1000 guitar just yet, but you at least need a fairly decent guitar that will inspire you to pick it up and play it!

Many of the cheap starter packs for beginners just aren't up to scratch, and cause many budding guitar players to give up in frustration without giving it a fair chance.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Reasons To Learn To Play The Drums


Image : http://www.flickr.com


Learning to play a musical instrument has many benefits. Although the research is inconclusive, many researchers believe that exposure to music and learning to play an instrument may increase your IQ and sharpen your memory. In short, learning a musical instrument can make you a bit smarter.

In addition, learning a new skill requires work and endurance, and learning to play a musical instrument is no exception to that rule. Endurance requires discipline, and when these qualities are acquired, no doubt you will have every reason to have a healthy sense of pride knowing that you have indeed achieved a great thing and had some fun in the process.

Now, that we have enough reasons as to why taking up a musical instrument is a great idea, we are presented with another dilemma. What musical instrument do you want to learn to play? With so many instruments to choose from, it is not an easy decision to make. Yes, this is the part of the article where I try to persuade you into thinking that the drum set is the greatest invention ever, next to sliced bread of course.

Being One With the Beat

While every musical instrument requires that you have a sense of rhythm and beat, the beat takes on a different meaning if you are a drummer. If you are in a band, you know that the drummer sets the tone for the whole band while they are playing.

Although in the background, the drummer takes the lead and controls the beat and timing for the rest of the members. Drumming teaches you when to take the lead, how to be in union and harmony with a team, and essentially how to be one with the beat of any song.

Workout and Physical Exertion

Drumming requires a lot of movement, and even though you are seated on a stool, you still get a great workout. Your hands gently clench the drumsticks as you thrust your wrists back and forth while methodically hitting the hi-hats and snare, and occasionally (or very frequently depending on your style) you heave and stretch your arms forward and back reaching to hit tom toms, crashes, splashes, and rides making for awesome fills and rolls. Your feet control the bass drum and the hi-hat, and these also require much movement. In addition, the rest of your body cannot help but to live in the moment and sway and groove to the melodies that are being created.

Yes, drumming requires constant movement which gives you a major workout benefit. So, it is safe to say that you may very possibly be able to lose weight and get in better physical shape if you do choose to take up drumming.

Coordination

Can you rub your stomach with one hand while patting your head with the other? Well, drumming can require two-way, three-way, and even four-way coordination. If you want to increase your coordination and dexterity, learning to drum can help you.

Learning to play an instrument can be fun, while at the same time you are able to acquire skills and develop good qualities. If I have not got you pumped on taking up drumming, I will settle with being able to persuade you with learning to play a musical instrument. We would all be able to survive without music. However, things will be fairly dull. Music adds flavor and color to life, so enjoy it in any way that you are able to.