Hey Friend,
Here it is, the last Friday of 2018!
How are you going to spend the last weekend of the year?
Hopefully you’ll get a little guitar time in. I know I’ll be exercising my fingers some…
Whether you’re a pro guitarist or you just picked up your first guitar today, that one thing is a constant.
You must exercise your fingers.
That means picking up your guitar every day and playing something… even if it’s something as simple as an open C major scale.
Doing something every day ensures that your fingers, hands, ears and memory maintain a musical connection in your body.
We don’t talk about that very often - in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever read anything, anywhere, about the musical connections our bodies make when we’re in the act of playing guitar.
Think about it for a second.
You walk into the room and see your guitar. Vision triggers thoughts about that cool song you want to learn or have been practicing. So you pick up your axe and get the tactile sensation.
As your hands run over the smooth finish, warm feelings of love (or frustration!) flood your thoughts with images of you rocking it out (or smashing it on-stage!)…
Fingers find their way to the neck and fingerboard, and you begin to play.
The combination of tactile sensations - the strings on your fingertips, the solid stature and weight of the guitar - combine with the auditory sense as the sound waves from your guitar hit your ears and wash over you.
All the while, your brain is recording the experience and strengthening your mind/body connection between you and your guitar.
Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s a lot like relationship with someone you love… (and no, I’m not talking about Mannequin here, LOL).
Every day you work at it, the connection gets stronger. Don’t pay it any attention, and it gets weaker. There’s still the connection, but it’ll take some extra work to build it up again.
So as you go into the weekend, think about your guitar connection. Are you taking some time every day to make sure you’re at least maintaining your progress?
Doesn’t take long - 5 minutes a day can work wonders if you’re wrapped up in other stuff. And EVERYONE can find 5 minutes a day!
Alright, gonna go “practice what I preach.” Happy Friday!
Peace~
Dave
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