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Hey there Friend,
Before I get started on the topic today, I want to post a correction to the last email. I talked about guitar strings not vibrating on their own. Here's the paragraph:
"With guitar, for a sound to be created you must manually disrupt the state of stationary objects. A string has to be struck to produce the sound, so it is an abrupt action causing the sound waves to be produced."
This is not entirely true. As subscriber Jeff P. points out, there is a natural occurrence called "sympathetic resonance" where an external device creating a sound wave can cause other devices to begin vibrating in concert with the first device. Watch this video to explain the physics behind sympathetic resonance. Here's a nice demonstration of this effect with piano. As he explains, it is important that the strings are properly tuned.
Applied to guitar, sound coming from your amplifier could cause your guitar strings to begin vibrating, depending on a number of factors like tuning, angle and distance between the amp and guitar. If you form a chord on guitar and stand near the amplifier, the strings could begin to vibrate in sympathy to the sound waves coming from the amplifier speakers.
I do want to point out though that we are still dealing with an external force affecting the physical state of the string - we're just not striking it with our pick or finger.
Thanks, Jeff!
Now on to today's topic.
Let's talk about a challenge every guitar player faces from time to time - falling into a rut. You find yourself playing the same old songs, are a bit bored with the things you are playing and nothing is really inspiring you. Or you find yourself playing the same comfortable riffs or chord progressions and don't do anything to change it up.
Believe me when I say this happens to almost everyone, at least people that don't play music professionally. I can't imagine someone like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani or Andy Timmons getting bored, as they can create their own fun any time they want. But even they might get into ruts from time to time.
We need to shake things up a bit and get some variety.
I believe the primary reason we get bored is we don't challenge ourselves to try out different styles of music. I know I've alluded to this in the past, but it's worth bringing up again. Let's break this down.
We have a tendency as humans to stay within our own perceived comfort zones. Change does not come easily for most of us. Only through change are we able to grow, because growing requires stretching and expanding past boundaries, whether those boundaries are real or made up.
We're also impatient animals. Keeping focused on an ability we have yet to master is very hard for most people. There are a million and one potential distractions around us all the time, and focus and attention require discipline, another trait that is often short in supply. We end up sticking with the tried and true techniques instead of introducing something new.
Another possibility is we're just being lazy. It will require some work and diligent effort to add a new technique or improve on an existing technique, so we just continue down our path of least resistance. We might even think our existing ability is good enough, so we decide not to put too much effort into improving. Why add the major pentatonic scale into your repertoire when you're used to (or only familiar with) using only the minor pentatonic? That will take some effort and could cause me to make some mistakes, so maybe I shouldn't...
A quick example from my own experience. There are arguments about the proper way to hold a pick and whether one way is more correct than another. By some accounts I do not hold the pick correctly. My method is to pinch the pick between my thumb and index finger. The common method of holding the pick calls for the pick to be placed between the side of the index finger and the pad of the thumb.
Now I've made a point of watching professional guitarist's picking hand technique, and I can say I've seen both methods used in just about every guitar style. I would argue that in my case, it could be beneficial to practice the other method because it could potentially open up other tonal qualities in my playing. For instance, the pick could be angled differently, so the tone of the pick strike would be slightly different. It could also help improve speed when using different techniques.
We're not necessarily conditioned in our upbringing to be disciplined or to delay gratification. If we want something, we don't usually have to work too hard to obtain it. We live in a society where incredible technology and access to information is literally at our fingertips. We have apps designed to simplify access to information, handle many of the manual tasks we used to have to perform.
I agree that as we progress, having the ability to delegate mundane activities to a program or app frees up our time to do other things, but we aren't usually taught how to prioritize what is important to focus on. We address the urgent, but allow the important to go undone, whether that is in our work or personal lives. Usually when we're freed up from some mundane task, we end up focusing our time on some other unworthy time suck.
So what do we need to do to break out of the boredom? Here are some suggestions to get you moving down the road quickly.
Expand your horizons by learning a song from a different genre than what you usually play. Are you a metal head? Learn a classical piece - there's tons of possibilities out there to translate music played on some other instrument to guitar. Play mainly punk? Try some chicken picken' or jazz.
Guitar Tricks has songs from many styles tabbed out with video lessons. Try out a subscription to Guitar Tricks for a huge and diverse set of songs you can learn. Their sale is still on for a few more days - you save nearly 50%! And you get a money-back guarantee.
Do something other than your normal playing routine. If you only play with a pick, set it down and learn a finger picking pattern. Try learning sweep picking in lieu of strict alternate or economy picking. Anything to take you out of your normal routine will put boredom on smack down!
Use an alternate tuning for your guitar like Drop D, or an open tuning (open D is really cool!). This is guaranteed to knock boredom out of the park. You can gain a lot of inspiration from the different tonal palate, and it forces your brain into new mental patterns. Chords as you know them don't work any longer, and any scales you know are now out the window - you have to adjust your fingering according to the new tuning.
Take a song you know and change the tempo, or transpose it to a different key. Or really mix it up and format it to fit the style you enjoy playing. Check this out - Frank Sinatra made the song "My Way" famous, but look what the Sex Pistols did! Or maybe you're familiar with this classical favorite by Pachelbel - "Canon in D". Now look what can be done with it - "Canon Rock".
These are just a few ideas. There are unlimited opportunities in music not only redefine a genre or style, but to also redefine yourself. Get creative - after all music is a creative endeavor. Don't think that just because a song or technique is done a certain way that you can't add something unique to it. Open up to the possibilities and you'll never be bored again.
Keep rockin'!
PS - Don't forget to at least check out what Guitar Tricks is offering. You can't beat the price for the quality and quantity of instruction you get.
Peace~
Dave
Dave "Eddie" Vance is a rock guitar enthusiast and gear nut. He has been playing guitar for over 30 years and enjoys tormenting the neighbors every chance he gets. When he's not slaving for the man, you can find him rocking out with his B.C. Rich Bich guitar, a cold beer and some sweet tunes.
He also runs Learn-To-Play-Rock-Guitar.com, but you knew that already!
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