My Blog
Practicing Hard....
Mon, October 1, 2007 - 6:42 PM
When the Guitar called to me, i vowed that it would be a pleasurable experience learning, and its feeling a bit hard and complicated. Its like multi tasking, and that takes me a while to get into my grove...
so i guess, stepping back from a lesson or two and focusing on all the good stuff he has given me to practice. Hes really an awesome teacher, and has really offered me a nice eclectic aray of material to work on, strumming, finger picking, open chords, bar chords. and now scales....
I wish there was a way to quiet to mind more, it seems so hard at times to do so... i guess i want to be good too fast, and getting there , is a labor of love...
thought i would share my thoughts....
Mon, October 1, 2007 - 6:42 PM -
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Tue, October 2, 2007 - 3:56 AM
Think of it this way: Allow the music to flow through you at its own speed. Don't compare your abilities to others because it's not about that is it? Music is pure, immediate satisfaction. Let it seduce you, Let it be what it is. Nothing more. Don't allow society's pressures about competition to enter into your experience. It's just YOU and MUSIC. No more. As sappy as it may sound now, I still love the words in the Carpenters song. Just substitute "Play" for "sing":
Sing (play), sing a song Make it simple to last Your whole life long Don't worry that it's not Good enough for anyone Else to hear Just sing, sing a song. |
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Tue, October 2, 2007 - 6:33 AM
The major arcana of the Tarrot represent a journey of stages though life and act as a snapshot of where we are at any point in time. Whenever we start something, we are akin to the fool, stepping out into the unknown. Here this photo reminds me of the magician, starting to pull things together and gaining command of his tools. Your tools are all about you here, the guitar being one but so many others as well; your music stand, your branches in the background, the books you have, and even the conteplative expresion you exhibit. The key, this is your journey and you should and wil progress it at your own pace. Thanks for sharring your thoughts and...might I add, well put Watchdog!
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Tue, October 2, 2007 - 11:29 AM
You haven't asked for advice, but if I were to give it it would be to maintain your calluses, if nothing else. Learning an instrument is a mysterious process, a good deal of which happens in the back of the mind. The main thing that taking lessons accomplishes, to my mind, is that it helps you to develop good patterns of body-memory. Eventually your fingers and your mind find their ways onto the same page, and then things fall into place, and the whole process goes more smoothly.
I often recall how I took swimming lessons in college, and did okay in the class, but then, six months after the class ended, during which time I didn't go in a pool at all, the next time I jumped into water, my brain had apparently integrated all my lessons while I wasn't looking, and my form was much smoother than it had been when my class ended... If your calluses are there, you can pick up the guitar and work on it whenever you want to without the distraction of fingertip-pain. Otherwise, the only thing you have in the way of a deadline is your own preferences, and you have total control over that. There's nothing wrong with slowing yourself down or speeding yourself up: it's all up to you. |
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Tue, October 2, 2007 - 5:15 PM
Thank you men for all your gentle words of wisdom and insite. Sometimes I forget about past learnings or experiences, and how they all intigrate themselves in the here and now of what we are doing or learning. You have each re-freshed this awareness in me here, be it the Tarot, the Carpenters Song, which i love, yet havent heard it in such a long while, so ill pull my CD out and have a listen again.. oh and the Calluses, yes, they are coming along nicely, and i love the way my fingers feel after playing, it does feel like their is accomplishment happening with this feeling in my fingertips.
I had a really great lesson this afternoon with my teacher, and we worked on some Blues scales and really walking and playing around on the entire neck or fretboard...spead is something that im going to have to just allow to happen on its own, because its just not there yet, which i guess is ok...Its so easy, esspecially for me to become consumed in others techniques and then long for or desire to be there too quickly, If this were to happen, then i would miss out on the specialness and mystery of learning this great instrument.... Thanks for helping to bring me home in my process, with your kind words...i guess its all part of the journey. |
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Sat, October 6, 2007 - 7:10 PM
My comment got deleted. Too bad, it was very erotic. Stupid vulgar narc christians!
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Wed, October 10, 2007 - 4:57 PM
Actually it didn't. It was on another page. To all the stupid vulgar narc christians, I apologize.
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