GUITARHABITS

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The Beauty and Benefits of Sharing Guitar Knowledge

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Photo by Alan Kotok
A lot of people are afraid to share their knowledge and know-how for reasons that aren’t really worthy.

Some people feel the urge to compete with others and therefor don’t want to reveal the tools and tricks that they have acquired (and mostly have learned from others).

They want to be bigger and better than their rivals to grow their social (guitar) status and boost the ego.

Others are afraid to share their expertise because they think it will hurt their business and everything they worked so hard for.

But in reality it works quite the opposite way.

The more you share, the more you receive. If you help out, it comes back to you tenfold. You or your business will benefit in ways you couldn’t even think of before.

Sometimes you’ll see it directly and right away and sometimes it happens without you even knowing or noticing it.

People will start mentioning your name in conversations (in real life and online) because you share valuable knowledge, know-how, content or just because you’re being sincerely helpful.Continue Reading

The 5 Minute Guitar Workout

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Photo by Akram
There are days when I can’t get myself fired up to start practicing.

Sometimes it’s because I think I’m entitled to a break for whatever ridiculous reason or because I’m feeling kind of tired and I’m also burdened with the thought that there is so much else to be done.

They’re all pathetic excuses so I don’t have to get off my lazy ass.

But I found a really easy way to take care of those excuses and to be honest with you it works brilliantly.

I call it “The 5 minute guitar workout”

Let’s take a closer look:

When you’re sitting in that comfy chair of yours or you’re looking at your busy schedule your mind is already going into defense mode and you’re like… “No no I have no energy left or time to play guitar for 20 or 30 minutes, let alone more than that.”

The thought of such a long guitar workout can sometimes be too much of a stumbling block.

Now replace that inner dialog and tell yourself you’re only going to practice for 5 minutes. No more. Just 5 minutes. That sounds easy doesn’t it.

That sounds even quite reasonable.

And you know what… It’s just that little push you need to get started. It’s the number one most important aspect of practicing: “Getting started.”

Once you’ve started the rest takes care of itself. And it’s okay to practice for only 5 minutes but you’ll probably end up playing longer than that, because once you’re playing you’ll get in a flow, a meditative state and you’ll be enjoying the ride.

I found that it works every time, because it’s only 5 minutes whatever the real outcome may be.

It’s so effective that I made 5 minute workouts for everything and I spread those workouts randomly throughout the day and week.

I’ve become in love with my 5 minute workouts.

Here’s my list:

– 5 minute scales workout

– 5 minute speed picking workout (working with a metronome)

– 5 minute soloing improvisation workout

– 5 minute playing, memorizing and enjoying songs workout

– 5 minute music theory workout

– 5 minute transcribing songs for my students workout

I also have other 5 minute workouts that have nothing to do with guitar playing whatsoever, but anyway here you are:

– 5 minute meditation workout

– 5 minute running workout

– 5 minute reading workout

Thanks for your 5 minutes. I appreciate it.
Klaus Crow

Back to Simplifying and Playing Guitar

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Photo by Jeremy Jenum
I’m a big fan of efficiency and for quite a while I’ve been caught up in the internet efficiency mode.

But as I get older and wiser :) I come to realize the internet is not always as efficient or effective as it seems.

A lot of the tools on the internet like socialmedia, apps and cloudbased stuff that is supposed to make your life easier, (easier for you to communicate, network, save and share) will eventually leave you with just more work and more things to do. It doesn’t make your life easier, it makes it busier.

So I decided to quit facebook, quit twitter, quit saving my stuff online. Back to simplifying. And you know what? It feels great! Back to playing guitar and spending quality time with the family. That’s all there is to it.

Okay I could dive a little deeper and talk about those nice late morning cappuccinos, how I spend my days with coolest guitar workouts and that kind of stuff, but I’ll save that for later posts. Patience… please!

And then I also decided to give up goals. Meaning: Learning a certain skill or working on a project (how small it may be) with a deadline in mind. No more of that. Nowadays I wake up and just do whatever comes my way and do it passionately and mindfully. With the emphasis on “mindfully”.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have a saying in how I spend my days, I certainly do, but my days flow more naturally and best of all…. I get more done without having the intention to do so. Try it and you’ll be pretty amazed. Just live in the moment and be open and openminded for whatever or whoever shows up on your path. You’ll come out as a better guitar player because of it.

I’ll leave you for now with a beautiful quote by Lao Tzu:
“The world is ruled by letting things take their course, it cannot be ruled by interfering.”

Finding Solid Confidence on Stage

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Photo by Niklas Hellerstedt
As is our confidence, so is our capacity. ~ William Hazlitt

When I first started out playing on stage I was quite a shy person.

Sometimes I could be totally the opposite but many times I was just a wreck because of a lack of confidence.

I usually wasn’t at ease.

Through the years I discovered with trial and error why I always felt this nerve racking. I eventually learned to be totally happy, at ease and enjoying the experience on stage. So can you.

Here are the keys to find solid confidence on stage:

Know your material
Make sure you know your songs by heart. Know your chords, progressions, keys, scales and solos thoroughly, from top to bottom, inside out, 110%. Practice as much as possible. Get it down! If you really know your stuff you are half way there. Continue Reading