guitarhabits » Motivation

Solid Tips to Prioritize Your Guitar Playing (Waterproof!)

Klaus Tol — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:10:45 +0000

Photo by Al-Janabi
A lot of people have difficulties with prioritizing their guitar practice. I did too. When I became a dad (best thing ever) I realized life was going to be busy.

I wanted to improve as often as I could, but often other things tended to come first.

I knew I had to become more efficient with my time would I be able to play guitar like old times and do other great stuff like writing a blog and working out.

Since then I have re-learned how to prioritize. I wouldn’t know how to live without playing guitar on a regularly basis.

Playing guitar gives me so much in return, while other things don’t have lasting value. The more I practice, the more I gain control over the instrument and the more and more and more I am loving it.

It’s funny how you can prioritize other things, that don’t really mean much to you, over the things you love most. We all do it sometimes. Some more than others, but once in a while you need a reminder to set things straight and reset.

Here are some solid tips to prioritize your favorite instrument and start enjoying it as much as you would like to:

Do Less
The most important thing in prioritizing is to find yourself time to practice. Two obvious solutions, but still controversial to some, are: Waking up early or staying up late. Waking up early can work very effective, efficient and satisfying, but needs some persistence to make it a habit. Check out the post to make it work.

Another simple way to create time is to do less: Waste less time on watching TV, surfing the internet, twitter, facebook, buying new things you don’t need, reading newspapers, texting and chatting on the phone, working, etc.

Concentrate on the two most important things on your to-do list: Playing guitar and physical exercise (running, yoga, working out, etc.) These are things that will contribute to your overall happiness and future goals.

Schedule
Schedule your practice sessions. At what time and how long are you going to practice? What is your goal for today, tomorrow and next week? A great tool to prioritze your guitar goals is the online to-do list Rememberthemilk.com or Tasks if you have a Gmail account. Everyday put one or two small goals on your to-do list. Don’t overestimate yourself. Keep it fun!

The Master List
This looks a little like the to-do list, but a master list gives you a variety of things to practice with.

Sometimes there are moments when you run out of ideas and don’t know what to practice. You’ll usually end up playing the things you already know and that is a waste of your precious time. This is where a list comes in handy.

Write down which songs, scales, modes, triads, CD / DVD master classes, guitar magazines, books and guitar blog posts you still want to dive into. The master list contains all the things you want to learn in the near future.

Avoid Delays And Procrastination
Create your own private space within the house where you can practice in solitude. Don’t allow anyone to bother you while you practice. Put a “do not disturb” sign on the door.

Make sure you have your practice material at hand and within reach. The moment you want to practice avoid delays and distractions. Have your tablature books, guitar music (Tip: Spotify.com or Grooveshark.com) capo, picks, tuner, metronome, pen and paper in place. You don’t want to look for it when you want to start playing.

Don’t let anything discourage you from practicing. Set up your day to achieve small guitar goals. Don’t allow the risk of procrastination.

Visibility
Put your guitar or guitars in sight. Don’t leave it in the guitar case or bag. Out of sight is out of mind. Not a good thing.

Put your guitar on a stand in your living room or work room. If you have more than one guitar, put them in different rooms.

The more you bump into it, the more likely you are to pick up your guitar and play. It sounds obvious but with busy lives it often isn’t.

Efficiency Tips
Save time by doing things more efficiently. Do things that are important to you, things you love, improve your (cap)abilities. Stop doing things that don’t matter (learn to say no). Make less commitments and obligations in the future, create more flexibility, spontaneity and freedom to do what you want whenever you want.

Bulk your errands. Make short or no phone calls at all. Use email but stick to a three sentence response. Check email only once or twice a day. Focus on one thing only, stop multitasking. Multitasking leads to divided attention, interruptions, delay and procrastination.

Reminders
Write down reminders on your toilet calender, kitchen calender or put them in your mobile phone. Put a post-it note on your computer screen or wherever you happen to spend most of your time. Remind yourself you need to play the guitar today, if only for a few minutes.

Clear Distractions
Think about what distracts you most on a daily basis. Be radical and remove those distractions. I don’t mean to get rid of your partner :) I.e.: Turn of electronic devices like Internet, mobile phones, TV, etc.

Short Sessions
If you have a really tight schedule then play short sessions 10, 15 or 20 minutes each day. Whatever you can afford. Make the most of this time possible. Make sure you learn one new thing each practice session.

By practicing a short amount of time you will more likely stick to the habit and make it really last. Short sessions every day!

Guitar Lessons
Take lessons. A teacher teach you faster than you can figure things out yourself. Save time. Lessons are fun, keep you motivated, on track and add great value to your improvement.

Spend your money on learning things rather than owning things.

Fun
Make practicing fun. If you need to discipline yourself, you are going to have a hard time. It won’t last. Make things enjoyable. Have a blast!

Play along with tracks, incorperate difficulties in your favorite guitar songs, involve your family by letting them sing along, play and practice with other musicians in real life or online, (check out www.ejamming.com and their cool youtube demo). Be creative.

Fun is the secret to long lasting guitar habits.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Rohn

Your comments are greatly appreciated.
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Thanks,
Klaus Tol

Click here to download your free copy of "The 150 Esstential Chords" Ebook

12 Tips on What Guitar You Should Buy

Klaus Tol — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:05:54 +0000

photo by Orin Zebest
It took years for me to find out what guitar really suited my taste. It’s a process that you go through. Your taste changes as you grow.

When I was young I mainly wanted to shred. My world was all about Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Dime Bag Darrel and all the other Shred Gods.

Obviously I bought myself a Joe Satriani Ibanez signature guitar and a Frank Gambale Ibanez signature. I also bought an Ovation semi acoustic guitar. Why? I don’t have a clue.

Now I’m older I am more into singer songwriters like Damien Rice, Ray La Montagne, John Mayer, Jack Johnson to name just a few. My acoustic guitar is a Santa Cruz OMPW Model and when I play electric guitar I prefer a stratocaster.

It’s difficult to choose the right guitar, because there are so many. I must say nowadays there is a lot of great value for money, but then again a lot of crap as well.

Before you go out and buy a guitar talk to friends, your teacher and people who are experienced. Take your time to listen and observe before you open your wallet.

To help you out on some key issues here are 12 tips on what guitar you should buy:

1 – Style
First ask yourself the question what style of music you want to play?
(A) Do you want to play rock, blues rock or metal? (U2, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc)
(B) Do you want to play singer songwriters music? (Eagles, John Mayer, Jack Johnson, etc)
(C) Do you want to play classical music? (Andrés Segovia, John Williams, Julian Bream, etc)

If you choose (A) buy yourself an electric guitar.
If you choose (B) buy a steel string acoustic guitar.
If you choose (C) buy a classical guitar.

2 – Age
If your child wants to play guitar (age 6 to 10) I suggest you buy him or her a nylon string guitar. That would be a classical guitar. Nylon strings are easier on the fingers than steel strings, so it is much nicer for younger kids. Depending on the size of the child you can also buy a 3/4 size guitar or a 1/2 size guitar.

3 – Starting out
A lot of people have an old classical guitar somewhere up in the attic. When you are just starting out I suggest you first ask your friends, family or neighbors if they might own anything that looks like a guitar. Maybe they don’t do anything with it.

You can always go to the guitar shop later and ask if they can put some new strings on it. Take some guitar lessons for a couple of weeks or months until you are sure you want to continue. Now you can buy yourself a more expensive guitar and switch to a steel string acoustic guitar or an electric guitar if that prefers your taste.

4 – Electric guitar
Do you want to create really loud noise? Buy an electric guitar. But also for clean sounds, creamy blues and filthy crunch the electric guitar is the best choice to pick. If you want to create a lot of different sounds the possibilities with an electric guitar are endless.

If you are a beginner and want a cheap electric guitar I suggest you buy a Squier (Fender), an Epiphone (Gibson) or an Ibanez. Those are nice beginner guitars. If you are an intermediate or advanced guitar player check out the list below at #12 for quality brands.

Take into account when you are going to buy an electric guitar that you need an amp as well. Electric guitars are also expandable with a lot of different distortion and effect pedals to create more sounds. This is a hobby in itself.

5 – Steel string acoustic guitar
A steel string acoustic guitar has a rich, full bodied and clear natural sound. A cheap steel string acoustic guitar usually doesn’t sound that great, but if you are just starting out it is probably good enough.

If you are an intermediate or advanced guitar player check out the list below. If you want a real good sounding steel string acoustic guitar you are going to have to spend somewhere about 800 dollars. If you want better quality you can spend up to thousands of dollars, depending on your budget.

6 – Classical guitar
A classical guitar has a full bodied, warm and mellow sound. This is partly due to the nylon strings. A good sounding classical guitar is often cheaper than a steel string acoustic guitar. Prices range from 200 dollars up to thousands of dollars.

7 – Choose what you like
When you go out and buy a guitar listen with your own ears. What guitar sound do you like best. Which guitar feels the nicest and looks the most awesome. You can listen to what a salesman has to say, but you are the one who has to judge. Don’t rely too much on the salesman. Listen to your own heart. The sound and feeling of a guitar is about personal preference.

8 – Lower the action
Look for a guitar with a low action or ask the salesperson to lower the action if possible. The action is distance between the strings and the fret. A lower action improves the feel of your guitar so it’s easier for you the press the strings down on the fret and get a good sound out of it. It makes a huge difference.

9 – Try out
Go to different guitar shops, take your time and try as many guitars as you can. Learn to hear and feel the difference. Don’t buy immediately. Come back the next day with a fresh pair of ears and play some more. This way you’ll have a more objective view of what sounds good or bad.

10 – Advantages
The electric guitar is expandable with amps and hundreds of different pedals for creating great sounds. It is fairly easy to play because of the small neck and light gauge strings. You can also play really quiet if you unplug the guitar. This way you don’t bother anyone, but you can still play.

A steel string acoustic guitar or a classical guitar doesn’t need amplification. The body of the guitar serves as an amplifier so you are all set with just the guitar. The Steel string guitar sounds great without hassle. Don’t you just love simplicity :)

A classical guitar has got nylon strings which are easier on the fingers.
A classical guitar has also got a thicker neck than a steel string acoustic or an electric guitar which is great for big hands.

11 – Disadvantages
An electric guitar needs extras to get you all fired up. You need an amplifier, you need cables and probably some pedals to go with it.

A steel string acoustic guitar is more difficult to play than an electric guitar, but it is worth the effort.

A classical guitar has got a thicker neck than a steel string acoustic or an electric guitar which is not so great for really small hands.

12 – Famous brands

Electric guitars:

- Fender (Rock, Blues, Pop)
- Gibson (Rock, Blues, Pop)
- Ibanez (Shredding)
- Music man (Rock, Pop)
- ESP (Metal)
- Jackson (Metal)
- Gretsch (Rockabilly, Jazz, Blues)
- Washburn (Rock)
- Rickenbacker (Rock, Blues, Pop)
- Paul Reed Smith (Rock, Blues)

Steel string acoustic guitars:

- Martin
- Taylor
- Larrivee
- Santa Cruz
- Blue Ridge
- Lowden
- Takamine
- Guild

Classical guitars:

- Takamine
- Alvarez Yairi
- Rodriguez
- Ortega
- Jose Ramirez
- Alhambra

Leave a comment or a question anytime. I always read them and respond.
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Thanks my fellow musicians,
Klaus Tol

Click here to download your free copy of "The 150 Esstential Chords" Ebook

16 Right Reasons Why You Should Practice

Klaus Tol — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:02:56 +0000

photo by cesarastudillo
For me practicing is something that I just love doing. It has become a passion. I have learned that the better I get, the more fun I have.

Guitar practice is really the building block of developing, maintaining and expanding your talent. This is something many musicians tend to forget.

A lot of guitar players practice with a lot of enthusiasm the first few years when they start out. Then they find themselves playing in a band, touring, getting loose, dating, getting married, having children, just to name a few. It’s all a part of life but it’s also a time where musicians can get stuck in a guitar playing rut.

They tend to play the same few chords, licks and riffs they have known for years. They have stopped challenging themselves. That is a pity, because it’s the continues growing process that will fuel you, inspire you and keep you fresh and original as a guitar player and songwriter.

I have also been stuck at times as well, that is why I want to tell you this beforehand. Keep yourself motivated, practicing and learning whenever and wherever you can. Look for guitar lessons online and offline, find yourself a real guitar teacher that can take you to the next level and surround yourself with fellow musicians.

The feeling of growing, expanding your guitar vocabulary and improving every part of your playing feels awesome.

I know there is a part of practicing that can also be discouraging and frustrating, but this is a sign you are on the way to overcome an obstacle that will improve your playing in great measure and lead you to a lot of new and exciting ways that will increase your passion.

I wrote down these 16 right reasons as a mantra for you to learn and read through when times are a bit tough and when you need that extra push. Once in a while remind yourself why you want, why you need and why should practice.

Here they are:

Practice to…

1 – build confidence
The more you practice the more confident you get. When you are confident your nerves are less likely to get in the way when you need to play in front of an audience. Confidence makes you feel good.

2 – perform better
Practicing will ensure you sound and look good on stage. When you know your stuff you can enjoy your performance instead of worrying over your lack of preparation.

3 – make good recordings
Playing guitar and making a good recording are two different things. Recording requires focus. You need control over your playing. Control means practice. If you haven’t made a recording before, try it. Recording your guitar playing is a great way of practicing. What you hear is what you get.

4 – increase your knowledge
Increasing your knowledge creates more possibilities for you to express yourself. You will find more ways to play melodies, different ways to apply techniques. licks, scales, arpeggios, etc. Knowledge is addictive. It makes guitar playing more fun and more understandable.

5 – build a future for yourself
There are many ways you can build a future for yourself playing guitar. You can become a teacher, a street musician, an artist, a session player, a guitar player in a band, a songwriter, etc. Guitar playing equals possibilities.

6 – relax, enjoy and feel good
Whether you are ambitious or not, the best and most important thing about guitar playing is enjoying it. That is what it is all about. Your moment where you can relax, shake of all your troubles and just play. Take it away!

7 – be able to create
Creating your own style, your own tunes and songs is something amazing. Creating your own song is your legacy to your friends, family and the world. Practice makes it happen.

8 – increase motivation
I can not say this enough, but the more you practice, the better you get, the more you get motivated. It’s a vicious circle.

9 – express your emotions
When you become better at what you do you will be able to express your emotions. Playing a song with soul and true intention will make the song sound so much better. It makes all the difference.

10 – entertain
The guitar is the perfect instrument to entertain people. People are always curious and eager to hear you play a song. People want to be impressed and entertained. Everybody wants to have fun.

11 – create opportunities
When you can play, opportunities arise. People will ask you to play at their wedding. Musicians will ask you to play in their band. You can start your own band or perform solo and more opportunities will come. People need people, musicians need people, people need musicians, musicians need musicians. That is the way the world works. If you practice and put yourself out there opportunities will definitely come.

12 – create future income
Check out this post 5 ways to make money playing guitar

13 – increase speed and technique
Playing scales, warmup exercises, arpeggios using alternate picking and other picking techniques will improve your speed and technique. Increasing your speed and technique improves every part of your playing. Don’t underestimate this.

14 – improve your songwriting skills
Songwriting is often the next stage in becoming a skilled musician. Practice makes that next step a reality. When you play or practice something your brain starts working. You’ll be tempted to change what you are playing. Maybe you want to create something else out of it or you’ll come up with a great little lick or tune. This is where inspirations sets in. It’s the beginning of songwriting.

15 – expand your flexibility
When you create a vocabulary of chords, scales, licks, riffs, arpeggios, triads and styles and know how and when to use them you will expand your flexibility. This means you can play a lot of different kinds of music and will be able to play in every situation, whether you are asked to play a gig at a rock event, a wedding, a funeral, a coffeehouse, a bar, on a beach, you name it. Flexibility creates freedom.

16 – reach your dream goal
Your dream goal is the result of the amount of guitar practice, persistence and determination. Find a good teacher or coach to help you take the right path to realizing your dream goal.
Enjoy above all!

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Leave a comment or question anytime. I always read them and respond.
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Thank you my fellow musicians,
Klaus Tol

Click here to download your free copy of "The 150 Esstential Chords" Ebook

The Extraordinariness of Acoustic Guitar Playing

Klaus Tol — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:17:32 +0000

photo by Naotakem

Don’t get me wrong. I love playing the electric guitar. Rocking and grooving with a band is awesome. No doubt about it!

But the acoustic guitar possesses certain qualities that an electric guitar just can’t beat and it makes me fall in love with it over and over again.

Whenever I am sitting in my backyard wearing a T-shirt, jeans, flip flops and I am playing my acoustic guitar I feel free and relaxed.

This is where I usually end up writing a song. When I am strumming chords or songs that I love, I fall from one idea into another and then inspiration starts to set in.

The rich sound of my acoustic guitar will enhance the quality of the melodies and chord progressions I create.

Other times I’ll play some nice and easy acoustic blues tunes and enjoy the moment of whatever comes out of my fingers.

The acoustic guitar is the perfect vehicle to express your soul, inspire you and make you happy.

Enjoy the benefits of acoustic playing:

Mobility and Convenience
The acoustic guitar is an instrument with no strings attached, figuratively speaking :) You can take it easily with you wherever you are, unlike an electric guitar (amp, wires and a pedals), a heavy piano or a drum kit (a lot of hassle).

It feels great when you can just carry a guitar bag on your shoulder and you are good to go. Acoustic equals freedom.

Personality
If you know how to play the most beautiful open chord shapes and have a decent acoustic guitar you can make your instrument sound beyond amazing.

The rich sound and beautiful character you get from strumming chords and fingerpicking is something an electric guitar can’t compete with. I know you can’t compare apples and oranges but it’s a quality you can only get from an acoustic guitar.

Develop your own sound. How you pluck, slap, pick or strum the guitar is all up to you.
It’s your personality and the touch of your fingers that determines the sound of the guitar. This is why every guitar player sounds different and unique.

Solitude
Go to the beach, the park, your backyard, somewhere where it’s quiet and peaceful and behold the simplicity and beauty of the acoustic guitar in solitude. Just you and your guitar. Finally :)

A moment free from the everyday roller coaster and stress situations. Figure out a nice tune, play some cool licks or a neat chord progression. Feel the exhilaration of improvement.

Sharing
Relax and share your music. Play for friends, family and strangers. Don’t see your self as a performer, but as someone who enjoys playing music and who is having fun with it. Feel and focus on the music.

Don’t take yourself so serious. Be lighthearted. This way you will really enjoy what you are doing and you will automatically play better. Sharing makes you feel good!

Simplicity
When you play the acoustic guitar you are less likely to be distracted by defaults, errors and troubleshooting from amps, wires, pedals, cabinets or other electronic devices. No frustrations of that kind. How nice is that.

You will less likely have the urge to want a better amp, better effect pedals, a better this or that.
You can just focus and playing and creating.

That is all there is to it!

The reality is when you write a song, you should be able to strip away all the instruments and just have a song right there with an acoustic guitar and a voice, and the song should be good. – Dweezil Zappa

Feel free to leave a comment. I’d appreciate it. I always read and respond.
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Thanx, Klaus Tol

Click here to download your free copy of "The 150 Esstential Chords" Ebook

8 Basic Principles to Become a Better Guitar Player

Klaus Tol — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:34:38 +0000

photo by Yuri Samoilov
I had the pleasure of learning to play guitar at a young age. The good old days when I had all the time in the world to practice and play. Lack of time was not an issue back then.

As I became an adult, I fell into the booby trap of our time consuming society. I went along with this rollercoaster ride for quite some time, getting things done and following the mass.

It was getting more and more difficult to find time to practice, write songs or work on any other aspect of guitar playing.

When I started to read books and blogs about efficiency, life strategies and zen buddhism I became aware of the fact that I could choose how I wanted to live, how I wanted to perceive, feel or act.

I realized I had to change my lifestyle if I wanted to fulfill my goals and pursue my passion.

A couple of years ago I found a way again to practice, play, write and do a lot of other great things on a daily basis. It feels great to improve.

I know my way around the guitar but it still feels great to practice and learn new things. It’s something I will never stop doing, just because I love doing it.

In order to become a better guitar player you need some basic principles to keep you motivated, inspired and playing at all times.

Here are the 8 basic principles that will make you a better guitar player:

1 – Practice
The most important principle to become an better guitar player and the most obvious one is to practice. Practice will improve your playing and improvement will motivate you to practice and play more. It’s a vicious circle. Find time to practice.

2 – Habit
In order to maintain a practice habit you need to be consistent. Practice daily or once every two days. Don’t skip two days in a row. If you are on a busy schedule I’d say practice 5 or 10 minutes, but practice thoroughly without distractions. Official recommendation: 30 minutes of practice every day or every two days.

3 – Prepare
Know what to practice. Value your practice time. Ask your guitar teacher what to practice and how to practice effectively. Depending on your level of playing here is a good example of how you can spend your 30 minutes:

5 min. warm up exercises.
10 min. chord progressions.
10 min. scale and improvisation.
5 min. music theory.

You can also spend 30 minutes on a particular exercise, chord progression or song. Change your practicing habit every now and then. Experiment. Do what feels right. Figure out how to make the most progress.

Prepare what you need to practice the day before. Get your stuff (sheet music, capo, picks, guitar) together. Be ready.

Schedule your practice time. Make your passion a priority or else you get caught up in the every cycle of getting things done that will never end.

4 – Be accountable
Tell your family and friends when you will be practicing. Let them remind you of it.
Tell your followers on twitter and facebook when you are practicing or when you are going to practice.
This will keep you accountable.

5 – Fun
Practice what you enjoy. Make sure you are having a blast. Be creative. Try to make things that are hard and difficult to be pleasurable. Incorporate it into your favorite song or licks.

6 – Kaizen
Don’t be overwhelmed by all the things you can learn. Don’t be overwhelmed by all these amazing guitar players. Don’t think about it at all. All you need to do is apply the Japanese Kaizen philosophy. It’s all about taking smalls steps. One small step everyday will improve you and lead you towards your goal. Let it be your mantra: “Small steps”

7 – Focus
Practice with concentration. Practice with precision and passion. Practice without distractions. Find a quiet place to practice and turn off all your electronic devices. Yes, all of them. Make people clear you cannot be distracted during these 10, 20 or 30 minutes.

8 – Listen, learn and study
Find a good teacher that will motivate you and inspire you. A teacher can improve your technique, knowledge and will teach you the shortcuts. It will make life a lot easier and keep you from struggling or getting stuck in a rut. A teacher will show you the right direction through a vast landscape of musical possibilities, techniques and genres.

Listen to music, musicians, fellow guitar players and students. Read about musicians. Read blogs, books and magazines. Be interested. Listen to people who can learn you a thing or two. Communicate with musicians online and in real life. Ask questions. Learn whenever and wherever you can.

Be passionate.

Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you’ll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you’re gonna be rewarded. – Jimi Hendrix

Click here to download your free copy of "The 150 Esstential Chords" Ebook

The Fabulous 5 – New Year’s Guitar Resolutions

Klaus Tol — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:32:24 +0000

photo from flickr
We have a new year ahead of us so this is a perfect time to set new goals. Goals will give you something great to look forward to. They give you a positive feeling, improve your skills and can change your life as long as you stick to ‘m.

There are a lot of people that fail to continue their new year’s resolutions whenever life gets in the way. And there are people who get obsessed by their goals. Neither ways are a good solution. You need to strike a balance to hold on to your dreams (see below in a minute).

My 4 resolutions for this year relating to the guitar lifestyle are:

1. Practicing on a regular basis every week. (Improving my improvisation skills)

2. Improving my guitar business offline and online.

3. Finishing our EP or CD with the band.

4. Working out and running 3 to 4 times a week. (to fuel my physical and mental energy)

Well what about you? What are your musical aspirations for this year?
What are you going to change to make a difference in your life?
What is it that you will be amazingly proud of a year from now?
What is the next step to get you to your ultimate dream goal?

Well let me inspire you with some examples. This year you can:

- Learn how to play and sing your favorite tunes.

- Write your own song.

- Learn how to play guitar solos.

- Start your own band.

- Learn how to play a new style (jazz, blues, flamenco, etc).

- Become a pro guitar player (making a living out of it).

- Compose and record your own songs.

- Perform on stage.

- Learn how to improvise over chord changes.

- Make your own EP or CD.

- Become a solo performer or start an awesome guitar duo.

To make sure you will succeed in all your wonderful dream goals, stick to the fabulous 5 to get you through the tough times. So here we go! The FAB-5:

1. Priorities

Make choices. Set priorities. Make 2 or 3 things the most important. If you want to make big changes, make a short list.

If you got some smaller goals you can make your resolutions list a little longer, but not too much. As the old saying goes: if everything is important, then nothing is important.

If you got to many goals, you won’t keep up with them. The shorter the list the more likely you are going to achieve your goals.

2. Small habits

Create small daily habits towards your goal. Write down small specific steps to get you to the next level. Remember small habits are important, because you won’t always have the time to keep up with big habits. The moment you feel you can’t keep up you’re gonna be disappointed and you are gonna be burned out real fast. Small habits last!

3. Focus on results
Stay focused! Clear away all distractions. Turn off your TV, Internet, mobile phones, computer games and focus on your life changing goal. Your habit is your friend.

To make a change you got to focus on results. If there are no results you got to change what you’ve been doing. Experiment. Fix the puzzle. Try new ways to achieve results.

4. Strike a balance
Balance is important. Good health and a good relationship with your friends and family is essential to maintain a good balance and to succeed in a fulfilling way.

Don’t get obsessed by your goals. Don’t get disappointed when things don’t work out immediately as you planned. Whenever you let yourself down, just pick it up where you left off. Your goals are important to change and to create a new habit, but they are not worth it to get all worked up about it. Goals are supposed to be fun and exhilarating.

Don’t let it take over your life. Let it breath for a minute, an hour or a day. Walk away and do something else. Go for a run or spend time with friends. The next day you will have new inspiration.

5. Fun
Are your goals fun? Can’t you wait to start with your habit? If not, make it so! It’s obvious, if something is fun to do you will keep on doing it. So this is the major key in succeeding. How do you make your goals more fun? How do you come to the point you get so passionate about it, you don’t want to stop. Write down fun ways to make your habit become a blast! Come up with new ones as you go to keep motivated. Fun will definitely make your resolution last!

I wish you all the best and may all your ultimate guitar dreams come true!

So what are your guitar resolutions for this year? I’d love to hear them.

Click here to download your free copy of "The 150 Esstential Chords" Ebook

Daily Habits Create Your Future

Klaus Tol — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:53:26 +0000

photo from Istockphoto
“The best way to predict the future is to create it” – Peter Drucker

A lot of people are not aware of their daily habits. They just go through life without a plan or compass and don’t have a clue how to achieve their dream goal. If you want to make a change in your situation you need to interweave it into your daily habits. Your daily guitar habits determine your ultimate future.

If you want to play in a band you need to create a daily habit that is going to lead you to this path. If you want to become a songwriter we have to get you a writing habit plan to get you to from a to b to z.
It doesn’t matter what your dream is. Maybe you want to build a guitar repertoire so you can play in front of an audience. Wouldn’t it be great if you could play some tunes without the need of sheet music? Do you want to add a new style to your playing? Anything is possible. You have multiple dreams? Great! You need to customize your daily habits to your wishes.

What you do today is what you want for your future. You can’t change the past, but you can change the future. Add a new habit to your day so you know you are going forward. Be careful though, don’t take too much on your plate. If you are too fanatic right away you might lose the persistence to keep going. Set time restrictions for each habit so you don’t overdo it. This way you can manage all your habits and make the most of your time without losing focus. Just a small habit now is enough to make a big difference later.

If you don’t have much time on your hands, but you do have multiple dream goals, here are some steps to get you going:

Write it down.

Writing down your dream goal or goals on paper is one of the most important things you can do. You can not trust on your memory. By writing it down you have made the first step to creating a new habit. You need to look at your dream goals first thing in the morning and before you go to sleep so it becomes a part of you.

For example let’s assume these are your goals:

1 – Building a repertoire
2 – Becoming a better guitar player
3 – Becoming a songwriter

The next thing you need to do is make it more specific.

Create small steps for every goal so you have a nice plan to work on.

1- Building a repertoire:
*Write down all the songs you would like to perform. Enjoy this process.
*Find sheet music for all the songs or transcribe them.
*Start with the first song and memorize the chord progression and lyrics.
*Take your time to learn every song thoroughly and don’t think about the time
it takes to learn your vast repertoire. Think about today. Think about the few small steps you can take today to make a difference. You’ll build your repertoire as you go.

2 – Becoming a better player:
*Define becoming a better player. Write down what you want to learn.
*Do you want to learn cool songs? Do you want to learn to improvise? Do you wanna play neat chord progressions? Do you wanna become a faster player? Do you want to know more about music theory or a combination of all those things?
*Start with the things that matters most to you.
*What steps do you need to take to make this happen? Look for the right sheet music or guitar exercises online. Ask your guitar teacher. Buy a guitar book or instructional DVD that meets your wishes.
* Prepare your practice session. Know what to do when you do it. Sit down and take a half an hour to learn something new. Learn to improvise, learn to play faster, learn new chord progressions. Combine all the things you want to learn. Don’t let your mind wander. Focus! Be as productive as you can and use the small amount of time you have wisely. Don’t be overwhelmed by everything that there is to learn. You’ll get there. Just think about today. Think small steps.

3 – Becoming a songwriter
*Check out “So you wanna write a song huh?”
*Create a nice chord progression for the intro, verse, chorus, bridge, etc
*Everyday create a small piece of music. If it’s just an Intro… Great!
*Create all you can do with the time and inspiration you have.
*Do whatever you can. If you’re not really inspired today it’s okay.
*Just create something small, really small. That is enough for now.
*Enjoy what you created and record it on an Mp3 player or on your laptop.
*Listen back later with objective ears.
*If you finished a song put it on Myspace, Youtube, Last.fm, etc. Let people know who you are.
*Perform your songs in public. Put yourself out there. Take a chance.

The final step:

Chunk up your goals into smaller goals to make it even more specific. What is it that you are going to do today exactly?

For example:

1 – Write down a few songs I want on my repertoire.
2 – Learn some new chords or a chord progression.
3 – Create an intro.

Do this everyday. Write down specific small steps. Read these steps before you’re off to sleep so you feel more accountable the next day you wake up.

When it comes to luck, you make your own. – Bruce Springsteen

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11 Tips for Motivation and Inspiration

Klaus Tol — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:00:21 +0000

photo from Istockphoto
We are all emotional beings. The emotions we feel will either get us motivated or not. I can’t always put my finger on it why it’s there or why it’s not. Often I wake up euphoric and everything just seems so easy (and it’s not always because the sun is shining or because I had a good night’s rest) and some days I feel tired, lazy and unfocused. (and not because I had to much wine). It’s just the way the we are and we have to deal with it. So we have to learn how to trigger motivation and inspiration. Ultimately it is up to us to change that emotion, to get back on our feet and start playing and creating beautiful music.

So here are 11 tips to get you motivated and inspired:

1. Experience life. Do things you normally wouldn’t do, things that make your heartbeat go faster. Meet new people, go places, challenge yourself, go out with friends, talk to strangers and listen to their stories. Experiences are great for inspiration.

2. Solitude outside. Go somewhere to a quiet place, a beautiful beach and behold the sunrise or sunset. Go to the park and bring your guitar, paper & pen with you. Sit down on a bench and let the words and music come to you.

3. Play with fellow musicians. Their musical skills and creativity can push your boundaries and expand your musical horizon.

4. Go to a concert once in a while. Enjoy and learn how your favorite artists live their music. Observe how they play, sing and perform. This can give you an enormous productivity boost to work on your own music or to work harder on your chops.

5. Listen to new music. Keep exploring new bands and artists for inspiration. I know how attached we are to our oldies, but also give new music a chance. Don’t get stuck. Old is great but keep growing. Music is never ending.

6. Play in a band or start your own. This is the best way to learn what music is all about. In a band you’ll start listening with different ears. Your playing will benefit from this. This is the real thing!

7. Read about your favorite guitar heros or songwriters. Read guitar magazines or (auto)biographies. Learn how they got to where they are now. What drives them and where do they find their inspiration. How much do they practice? What do they practice? What are their songwriting secrets? How do they record and produce their music? Learn and take it all in.

8. Watch DVD’s. There are a lot of great tutorial DVD’s. DVD’s with lessons from the masters themselves or search for documentaries, concerts, live studio recordings, behind the scenes, etc. Watch them several times. Study the material and put it into practice. Be influenced, be inspired.

9. Take lessons, workshops and master classes. Do whatever you need to expand your horizon. Guitar lessons and workshops are the fastest way to learn which tools you need to become a better musician. Workshops and master classes can give you fresh ideas and other perspectives to take it to another level.

10. Leave it alone. When you are stuck and your guitar playing or writing leads to nowhere let it go. Take a break. Leave the room. Go outside. Put on some music or do one of the things I mentioned earlier. Don’t try to force it. If you try to write a song and feel its getting worse with every minute, go back to what you had in the first place. Usually the first thing you came up with is probably the best. Keep that basic idea you began with and leave it alone for a moment. Come back later with a fresh mind. It works!

11. Play guitar. Just sit down and play guitar. Play a song, play a lick and slowly extend the lick. Try to play the notes as beautiful or as bluesy as you can. Create a chord progression. Try something your normally wouldn’t do, think outside the box, have fun. Music has rules and logic to make things easier, but once you know the rules they are there to be broken. That’s where originality comes in!

Let me give you some good advice young man, you better learn to play guitar – John Mellencamp

Click here to download your free copy of "The 150 Esstential Chords" Ebook

Learning New Things

Klaus Tol — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:21:42 +0000

photo from Istockphoto
Whenever I become lazy I ignore that voice in my head saying: “I don’t want to, I don’t feel like it, why should I, tomorrow is another day”. I stop listening to myself and start doing something. Something small. I know when I learn something new I get a great feeling out of it. So I say to myself: “Just learn one new thing, even if it is just a little one.”

To become productive I always first stretch my legs and drink a glass of water. If I have done these two things my motor is up and running. Now I just pick up my guitar, put a guitar book or magazine in front of me and tell myself I will learn one or two new licks or chord progressions. Before I realize it, time is flying by and I’m enjoying myself immensely. I write down in a little notebook next to me that I want to learn one or two new things tomorrow without expecting major results, without expecting the same level of productivity I accomplished today. It is not about that. It’s about learning something new and and enjoy that new lick, chord progression or whatever you learned to the fullest.

There is nothing more satisfying than learning and growing. Even if it’s just one little thing. Little things can become huge. Little things can become life changing.

One new guitar lick or piece of music theory can change the way you play guitar or the way you think about chord changes and soloing. One new guitar lesson from your teacher, youtube video or guitar book can add a whole new dimension to your playing style.

Learning new things will:

change your perspective
extend your skills
make you happier
get you closer to achieving your goal
leave you wanting more
make you smarter and maybe even wiser
create chances and opportunities
make you feel energetic
make you curious and eager
give you satisfaction
lead to a more interesting life
make you a more creative, inspired and better musician.

And this is just one area of guitar playing. What about songwriting, recording and performing. There are so many lessons you can learn, so many wonderful things to discover that will increase the fun and urge to play more. For example you can start songwriting and recording today. You don’t have to be a fully skilled musician to do so. In fact it can even work to your advantage. Less skilled musicians (and there are a lot of them, even famous ones) don’t think so complex about songwriting, recording, producing, how things need or have to sound. That can result in something really touching and authentic. That is what songwriting is about.

Just start learning one new thing today. If you want to learn about songwriting, read one new thing about it and take that into practice. Take small steps. Maybe start with a lyric. Just write one or two lines of lyrics per day. You’ll have your lyrics finished within two weeks. That’s great! Then give yourself two weeks to write a melody to the lyrics. Remember… one small step everyday. Maybe your song won’t turn out as good as you hoped it to be or maybe it does. Either way give yourself the time to develop, time to learn and become a better songwriter. If your not inspired today try to read one new post or article in a magazine or book that will improve your song writing.

Being a guitar player means being a musician. Being a musician means you can play, write, read, listen, record, sing, perform, live and breath music.

Take the challenge, try to learn one new thing on a regular basis and most important enjoy the experience.

Here some examples and find out where it will lead you to:

1. Create a nice chord progression.

2. Write a lyric.

3. Write a melody.

4. Transcribe your favorite song.

5. Create a little solo.

6. Learn a new lick or riff.

7. Record your guitar playing on a record device (mp3 player or recording software on your pc or mac)

8. Record and play the song of your favorite artist or something you really like.

9. Record your own song.

10. Let people hear what you’ve recorded. Learn from their constructive criticism.

11. Learn your favorite song by heart and play it in front an audience.

12. Learn different ways to play a song. Play a different rhythm, add chord extensions, etcetera.

13. Perform your song to friends and family.

14. Perform at a wedding, church, local bar, talent contest, support act, anywhere.

15. Teach somebody else to play guitar. Teach what you know. You learn from teaching.

16. Play guitar and sing at the same time.

17. Learn one new thing about singing.

18. Learn from other guitar players in your area.

19. Learn from other musicians. All instruments are related to each other.

20. Listen to your favorite guitar songs and guitar players. Study their work.

21. Read one new thing about music theory

22. Read (auto) biographies of musicians

23. Learn by doing and throwing yourself out there. We got nothing to lose but our egos. That’s a relief.

“I find that the best way to do things is to constantly move forward and to never doubt anything and keep moving forward, if you make a mistake say you made a mistake” – John Frusciante

Click here to download your free copy of "The 150 Esstential Chords" Ebook

10 Reasons Why You Are Never Too Late to Learn

Klaus Tol — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:35:49 +0000

photo from Istockphoto
While I started playing guitar at an early age, I know many guitar players who started out in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s or even in their 70’s. And yet these players do an amazing job.

Maybe when they were young it just wasn’t the right time. They probably couldn’t find the right teacher or were busy learning other life lessons.

You might think yourself while you read this : “I am probably too old to learn.” Well I think you’re never too old to learn, you grow old when you stop learning. Guitar playing is not about how old you are when you start out. Guitar playing is about passion, creating and having fun with it.

I am always inspired by the passion and motivation of guitar players. While you can achieve a lot with discipline, you achieve the most with passion and motivation. You need to find out why your passionate about guitar playing and how to motivate yourself in the progress. These are the two key elements in achieving your goal.

So let me convince you why you should still learn to play the guitar today and fulfill that long lasting dream of yours:

1. Easy start.
Guitar playing starts out quite easy. Within a couple of weeks you can already play a few songs. As you get better things get more challenging and more exciting.

2. The right motivation
While some children might pick up a guitar to impress others or want to learn just because a friend is playing too, adults tend to be more sincere in their motivation. A sincere motivation will last longer.

3. Reality check
Guitar playing is the best fun there is, but you do need to practice. The more you practice, the better you’ll get at it, the more fun you will have.

4. Advantage of adulthood
As an adult you will have more life experience. You have become smarter, wiser and probably had some emotional baggage along the way. All these things will have impact on your playing and songwriting. You also realize that you can change your life by taking the next step, moving forward, (Making a path by walking) and so create new life opportunities. Children are not always aware of this.

5. Socializing
Guitar playing is a great way to interact and get to know different kinds of people. You can play with other musicians, meet fascinating personalities at workshops or guitar lessons. You can entertain your friends and family or a whole crowd and talk to people about music and guitar playing. A lot of people like music you know :-)

6. Music is emotion
A lot of famous guitar players are not that technical but are brilliant creators. So you don’t have to be an amazing guitar player to play beautiful music. While there is nothing wrong with being a good technical guitar player, in fact it is in your advantage to develop a good technique… in the end you have to move people with your music. You move people by playing the right notes, the right chords and the right melody

7. It’s not about competition
You play guitar because you love it. period. You can learn or be inspired by someone who is amazing but there is no reason you should compete or need to be as good as. Guitar playing and music is not about competition. Don’t let pride get in your way. Play what you love. Create your own style. That is what makes a real musician.

8. Consistency
Children tend to be fickle, because they like to explore and everything is still new to them. While exploring is a good quality, it’s also necessary to stick with something and explore that in order to improve. Adults have the advantage to be more consistent.

9. More reasons
Guitar playing will uplift your spirit. It relieves stress and tension. It’s an amazing feeling to play any song you like or create your own. Guitar playing is absolutely rewarding. You need more reasons? check out: www.guitarhabits.com/?p=199

10. Why shouldn’t you learn to play guitar at any age?
There is no reason why you shouldn’t. This is your time. Set your own pace. Don’t compare yourself with others who started out earlier. What’s the rush. You have all the time you need. You’re never too late to learn.

“We have time, there’s no big rush” - Jimi Hendrix