Archive for the ‘Motivation’ Category
11 Tips for Motivation and Inspiration
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.
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Learning New Things
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. Read the rest of this entry »
10 Reasons Why You Are Never Too Late to Learn
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: Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t Try to Perform, Live the Music.
photo from Istockphoto
Yesterday I played a gig with my band. We played our own songs and some covers as well.
It was a great night and we had a blast. The crowd was really enthoustiastic and particularly about our own songs that they’ve never heard before.
When we play covers, we only play the ones we really like and hope the audience feels the same way. The great thing about playing your own music and covers you really really like is that it doesn’t feel like you’re standing on a stage performing.
You can totally lose yourself.
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50 Reasons Why You Should Play Guitar ( or Why You Shouldn’t Play Any Other Instrument )
photo from Istockphoto
So why should you play guitar?
Well, I know about a million reasons why it will improve your life in every aspect,
but I think 50 will do.
But first…..let’s start of with a few reasons why you shouldn’t play any other instrument:
01 Have you ever hung around on the beach with your friends around a nice little campfire while you were playing your bass guitar to entertain everyone?
Huh?………Nope, that’s what I thought.
02 Did you ever take a piano with you, carrying it on your bike on the way to your girlfriend to give her a serenade? Or did you ever take it to a friend to show him how cool you really are? ……..
03 Did you ever play a drum kit so everyone could sing along?……..
Do I need to say more?
My fellow musicians I’m just messing around :-)
Now let me give you some really cool reasons why the guitar can and should be your holy grail:
Guitar playing is a great way to……..
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How do I get Motivated to Practice?
photo from Istockphoto
So, you’re not always in for a good half an hour of sweat and tears?
Well today I have some key-motivators for you in this post.
But first this…
You are now playing’ guitar for a while and sometimes you feel like you’re in a rut.
You’re stuck with the same obstacles and you’re wondering if you’ll ever get better.
You already get tired when you think about those hard chord changes or that terrifying lick.
Now ask yourself why you wanted to play guitar in the first place. What were you thinking at that point? What was your goal?
Or were you just thinking…Well I’ll pick up this guitar, take some lessons, maybe practice the first 3 weeks while I’m still enthusiastic about that
“not that big of an issue” part of guitar playing and then after a year or so everything will work out for itself.
Well I have to admit that is a nice thought, but you know better than that. You still have to keep practicing to get going.
And of course we all have our ups and downs, but once in a while we have to give ourselves a nice kick in the but.
It’s all about prioritizing, reserving that half an hour, and not feeling guilty about spending that short amount of time for yourself to grow.
Seek the pleasure and satisfaction in the wonderful world of practicing.
Here are some key-motivators :
