Archive for the ‘Lifestyle Design’ Category

photo by Marco Raaphorst
The room where you spent most of your time is of great importance to your playing.

I have noticed that when I put my electric guitar in the living room I tend to play more solos, riffs and licks.

When I put my acoustic guitar in the room I will play more fingerpicking style, blues licks or try to figure out nice chord changes.

Writing songs is something I am also more likely to do on an acoustic guitar.

Our busy “need to get things done” society has such a major impact on our lives, there might be times where your guitar doesn’t see the light of day. When your guitar is not right in front of you in those busy times, it is possible that it doesn’t occur to you to play at all.

A great way to change this awful situation is to design the room you play in. Your room must breath music, inspire you and make you want to pick up that guitar every time you are there.

Here are 5 keys to make this thing work: Read the rest of this entry »

photo by Karynsig
Isn’t it great when you can just focus on guitar playing without distractions.

Distractions are not only caused by Internet, TV and the people around you, but also from having too much stuff.

Too much gear (fx, pedals, etc.) or even thinking about gear will distract you from playing. Too much recording stuff, mixers and outboard effects will distract you from creating.

The last few weeks I got rid of a lot of stuff I haven’t used in over a year. I sold and gave away: Pickups, multi-effects, wires and pedals. I’m also busy scanning the tablature from my guitar magazines and books I will intend to use. The magazines and books will go away. It is great to know what you have and use what you need. I feel liberated.

I don’t say you need to lose every lovely piece of gear you have, Read the rest of this entry »

photo by Nicki Varkevisser
Most of us want to work less. We want a four day workweek, a three day workweek or a four hour workweek. We all want to have more time to play guitar and to enjoy life to the fullest, but when it comes down to it I often see that people resist and make excuses.

Why? Because they don’t want to compromise. They don’t want to give up their stuff, their luxurious lifestyle for freedom.

People have become addicts of a consumerist society and choose materialism over freedom, materialism over happiness, materialism over spending real time with their children, friends and family, materialism over doing what they love most, materialism over risking.

Risking? Risking what? A life where they can’t afford a second car, a bigger TV, a bigger house, more guitars, more expensive equipment, more stuff. That’s not a risk, that is salvation.

Release yourself from an addictive mind. Let’s choose freedom over materialism. Let’s choose to do real things. Not buy things, but do things.

So what are those real things? Read the rest of this entry »

photo by Ivan Zuber
A few days ago I saw a great singer songwriter on TV. He was playing his repertoire, talking about his life and all the songs he had written over the years.

I was all ears and loved every minute of it. While listening to his wisdom and beautiful melodies something struck me.

It was one of those wake up calls when suddenly you can see things very clearly. I had a strong urge to change some things in my life again. I needed to get my priorities straight and get back to what is most important in my life. I have done so.

Sometimes with everything that life has to offer, you get lost or off track. You are distracted or tempted by things that look interesting and sound amazing at first. Before you know it you are in over your head. You taste, but end up tasting too much of it. It does not fulfill you anymore.

It does no longer match your identity. Times are changing and so are you. You grow, experience, learn many different things that can change the course of your life. You might become confused about your current situation. You might doubt your job, your lifestyle, the way you play guitar, the band you play in, the music you play, your role as a musician, what you need to practice, how you spend and manage your time, what you want in your life and what you don’t want in your life.
Read the rest of this entry »

photo from Istockphoto
Web 2.0 and cloud computing are hot. It’s the future and it is rapidly evolving.

Whether you want to be a better guitar player, be more efficient or want to promote yourself as a musician, Internet is the place to be and it just keeps getting better.

These days you don’t need to spend a lot of money anymore to promote your band or to create a fan base. What you do need is hard work, dedication and persistence.

But what does “hard work” really mean when it is your passion, right? When you pursue your passion you don’t feel like you are working. You’re just having fun. So have as much fun as you can.

The more you connect and interact with your fans/potential customers on social media (see below), the bigger your fan base will become.

Social media works. Period! If you are willing to spend time and energy you can sell your music online or create a business using social media if you like. It’s all there!

If you want to be more efficient in learning, teaching, playing and communicating with your band members, students or colleague musicians there are a lot of productivity tools for you to benefit from. It can make life a whole lot easier.

Personally I strive to eliminate everything that causes work for work’s sake. Endless returning tasks, things that have to be done over and over again I try to automate or eliminate. This way I waste less time and can do more fun things like playing guitar, improving the quality and creativity of my business and spend more time with my wife and daughter. It’s all about being creative with the tools you’ve got. Read the rest of this entry »

photo from Istockphoto
Everybody needs to make a living and so do musicians.
For a lot of musicians the ultimate goal is to write and perform their own music and get paid for it.

This is an awesome goal, but success takes a while. In the meantime you need to pay the bills. Luckily as a musician there are a lot of creative ways to make good money.

We can’t live without music anymore. Music is needed everywhere and for everything. It’s a global language that we all understand and people all over the world come together to listen to it. We need music to feel good, get excited, be inspired, relieve stress, go crazy, to connect and to feel we belong to something or someone.

We are surrounded with music everywhere. Just to name a few: CDs, DVDs, Radio, TV programs, ads, movies, Internet, games, jingles, concerts, festivals, bars, coffee houses, restaurants, malls, weddings, ceremonies, etc. So there is a huge market for you as a musician to benefit from. You don’t need to be a professional. You become one while doing it. It’s possible for everyone. All you need is dedication, motivation and persistence to make it happen.

Here are 5 ways to make money while loving what you do:
Read the rest of this entry »