Hey Friend,
When Yessi joined our merry band of guitaristas, s/he let me know some goals: "I want to play like a rock star and, eventually perform my own covers on youtube. Oh, and hopefully join a band. All I know are some power chords in standard tuning, but I aspire to be better."
So I was thinking, what does it mean to "play like a rock star?"
Is it that they shred up and down the guitar neck at blinding speeds? Or that their chord progressions are unique and intricate?
Maybe it's that they "look" the part as they play, wearing clothes and hair styles that say "rock star."
I don't really know what Yessi's definition of "rock star" is, but I can tell you there are some things you can do right now that will give you the rock star edge.
Yes, it's true that image is part of the equation. You definitely need to find a look that works for you and then make it yours. You can think of this as part of creating your brand. It's part of the way your fans will identify you. Think Slash with his top hat, Steven Tyler with the scarves or John Lennon with the wire rim glasses.
But much more than the physical image, it's a confidence that comes out in how you do what you do.
It reminds me of an interview I saw with Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy. He was giving a rundown of his vintage guitar collection, and I guess he was feeling a bit defensive from negative comments he'd seen about his playing ability. You know the kind I'm talking about, usually in the Youtube comments made by people who have nothing better to do than criticize the work of musicians that are actually making their dreams come true.
Basically, his message to the haters was, "Hey, I'm going to go do whatever I want because I'm a pro guitar player (rock star). You have to go back to your job, so whatever!" In other words, if I suck so bad, why am I a rock star and you're still working your crappy job?
Success is the best revenge...
Maybe a little juvenile, but he's got a valid point. He did what it took to become a rock star. He focused on these five things to grow and improve his skill: - learn
- practice
- apply
- fine tune
- stretch
He learned how things work. He got the technical knowledge around playing guitar. He learned how to play chords (open, power and barre). He learned how to use scales and chord progressions to create interesting riffs and melodies. He studied how to get good sound out of the equipment.
When he learned things, he practiced them until they became second nature. When Fall Out Boy started out, they were a Post-Hardcore band, which calls for fast tempos and very aggressive guitar. You need to be a very solid rhythm guitar player with impeccable timing and accuracy to do Post-Hardcore music well.
Probably the most important thing Joe did to boost his rock star chances was to put himself out there into the pressure cooker of live performance. This allowed him to test and fine-tune his playing - he figured out what worked and what didn't, solidifying the good stuff and dumping the bad.
He could have been happy sitting in his bedroom playing for himself, but there's a dynamic to playing with other people that you can't duplicate on your own. The band took a risk and got out in front of an audience. It's called stretching past the old comfort zone.
Yeah, there's backing tracks you can use to practice with, but when you jam with others, there's an energy that pushes everyone to work harder. Improvement comes much faster out of necessity - you don't want to hear an audience booing you!
Any time you do something new, you run the risk of ridicule and rejection. You have to rise above fearing these outcomes and step into the spotlight. Rock stars have the same insecurities we do - they just push past it and get the fear over with. My experience is, after the first ten seconds of taking the stage, all that built-up fear and anxiety melts away. As long as I didn't suck!
When you stretch yourself past what you believe you can do, you'll find out you can do a lot more than you thought.
Joe did something else though, and you need to follow the same course, regardless of the type of success you're looking for. It goes hand-in hand with stepping up. You have to...
Own what you know.
We'll talk about that tomorrow...
Peace~
Dave
As I've said before, there are tools you need to improve your chance of success. The right tools not only help you learn, but build your practice skills and move you up the mountain a lot faster. Song Surgeon is such a tool. Not only can you use Song Surgeon to isolate sections of songs so you can learn each part, you can slow those sections down and create custom practice sessions.
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