| | | Hey Friend,
Whatcha gonna do?
Do you plan to attend a St. Paddy's Day Parade? Hit a pub? Drink a green beer?
Maybe that's only something we do here in America.
I'll be hitting the sack early. No green beer for me. We're road-tripping tomorrow, and 3AM is the wake-up call.
So I gotta get my beauty sleep (more than you know)!
When it comes to making music, there's some good news for anyone who gets intimidated by technique and theory. Here it is:
Music goes fundamentally deeper than mechanics and technique
There are countless examples of self-taught musicians that, despite not having any formal music training or being taught how guitar is "supposed to work," manage to create music that not only sounds good, but makes them famous in the process.
Ever wonder why that is?
Without getting too much into physics and human anthropology, we are wired to know when notes sound good together and when they don't. Our brains can discern which pitches belong together and our ears tell us when things don't sound right.
Try it for yourself. Try playing an A chord, then E and then an A# major chord.
Doesn't sound quite right, does it? And yet there are times when you can make it work perfectly to get your message across. Using a very dissonant chord or note in a strategic way can turn a boring sound into something very memorable.
The experts could give you some explanation as to why this works, but we don't really need that, do we? We just intuitively know when something's right and when it's not.
Feel It
Music is a lot more than just academic. It's about feeling. When you learn how to use chords and notes in a way to provoke a feeling out of your listener, you'll be well on your way to success.
It's almost like putting a spell on someone. You can directly affect their mood with a song. You do it to yourself all the time.
Feeling down?
You're also probably listening to music that keeps you in that state of mind. You can turn it around by putting on some upbeat, fast-energy songs.
Think about the last show you went to. The band usually starts off with something high-energy and maintains that for a few songs. Then they might do a ballad to slow things down (especially if the crowd is getting too rowdy). And they always end on a high note that keeps the energy going after the show.
Their set lists are designed to keep the audience engaged and excited about what's coming next.
We don't typically spend much time thinking about this kind of stuff, so I thought I'd put it out there to ponder a bit.
The point is, don't get too hung up on what you don't know. There's time to learn what you need to learn.
DO get hung up on making sure you take time for your guitar. Give it some sugar every day. Practice what you do know. Listen to yourself and pay attention to what sounds good. If you focus on that, you will make progress. Rock ON!
Peace~
Dave
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Easy Power Chords - With power chords you can literally start playing songs today.
Song Surgeon - Slow your audio files down or create custom looped practice sessions so you can target your problem areas and speed up your improvement.
Video Surgeon - Capture online videos (Youtube and others), slow them down or create custom practice sessions and loops to boost your daily improvement.
Just so's you knows, if you decide to invest in some of these products, I may get paid a commission.
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