Subject: When Are You Too Old...?
You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com. If you don't want to receive these e-mails any longer, go to the bottom of this message and click on "unsubscribe." Hey there Friend, I got an email from my friend SM last week asking for a bit of advice. SM brought to light a sad bit of human nature that we all experience at one time or another - maybe too often, in some cases.A little background… SM has a pretty good grasp on her guitar chords. She knows the open and barre chords and can move about the fingerboard pretty freely with her chord progressions. She is comfortable with her abilities so far and is now looking to expand on her playing and start growing in areas that she hasn't focused on until now. SM reached out to me looking for some help with learning scales so she could start playing lead guitar. In situations like this, there's usually a couple ways I like to go with students. A great place to start is with the C major scale. We like C major because we don't have to worry about sharp and flat notes, it translates well to the piano keyboard and it's fairly easy to explain. I also threw in there the A minor Pentatonic scale, since this is a staple for all rock and blues players (it also fits nicely with the C major scale, as A minor is the relative minor key of C). Fast-forward a couple days. SM emailed back, needing a little more guidance. Turns out some people are telling her she's started learning guitar too late to play in her preferred style of music. Basically, she was being told to just be happy playing your chords and strumming your guitar - leave the lead playing to the kids that started playing as soon as they were out of diapers. What? Too late? Sorry, but that doesn't work with me. In fact, I get a little steamed when I hear that someone is trying to steal the little spark of a dream or inspiration from someone else. What is it with people that they feel a need to tell someone else they can't do something? It's bad enough we have self-doubts, but then we get to have our acquaintances tell us we shouldn't try for more or expand our horizons? Maybe I'm being a little harsh. Perhaps these people are trying to protect SM - you know, keep her from pursuing her dreams because it will take lots of work to become a good lead player. Mastering the fingerboard is certainly a skill that takes time - not only learning where the notes are, but also learning how to make them sound good. It's true, when you're young and you start playing, you have very little responsibility and lots of time to practice. As we get to that magic age of adulthood, our time gets sucked up into other things like supporting all those bad habits we've accumulated over our lifetimes - eating, living in-doors, wearing clothes, ya know. But the only person who truly knows what is best for SM is SM. Guitar could be that one thing that makes her jump out of bed in the morning. Sure beats the daily grind of a job for most adults! Maybe she's decided guitar is her passion and she's going to do whatever it takes to become the next Lita Ford, Jennifer Batten, Orianthi or Gretchen Menn. Here's another one to watch: Juliette Valdurie. Maybe join a band like The Iron Maidens? Let's look at a little history. There's a Blues player that didn't start his music career until he was in his 70s. T-Model Ford is self-taught and got his first break in 1995, so there's no excuses for us young-uns! Check T-Model here. Joe Satriani started when he was 14 - and has said in interviews he was not good at all. He accomplished his greatness by being determined to be a great guitar player like his main inspiration, Jimi Hendrix. If you don't know the story, Joe was like many other teens. He played football in high school and just did normal teenage things. Then one day before football practice, he found out Jimi Hendrix had just died. He immediately went to the coach and told him he was quitting football to become a guitar player. He quickly realized Jimi only made it look easy! It was only through a burning desire to be great that Joe pushed through the early years of work that most people won't do. One of Satriani's first students was Steve Vai, who has said in interviews he doesn't have a talent for guitar - he's just worked harder than most other people. And it shows... Look at me - sure I started when I was a kid - 12 years old, but I wasn't a great player, and not the most disciplined. I played in some bands , but after high school I did what most people do - wandered away from my dreams and took a job while going to school. I lost track of what was important to me while I chased other things, and it took over twenty years for me to realize something was missing. I'm knocking on 50 in a few short years, but I've never been more excited about or focused on music and rockin' out. In fact, I released my first song on CD just last year! My guitar tutor Tom Hess was married with one child and all the other responsibilities that come with having a family and job to support them. He has built a very impressive career both teaching guitar and performing in the progressive neo-classical musical style. His bands Holy Hell and Rhapsody of Fire (Tom is on the left of the video) have done international tours. All told, I'd argue that age is to your benefit! The teenage years can really wreak havoc on your brain. You get pulled in many different directions by school, friends and family. Everyone has expectations of you and it can be hard to stick to one thing when opportunities are flying at you from all directions. I don't think that's necessarily bad - you need to have exposure to many different experiences to find out what is important to you. Once you've had a chance to try out a few different things, you begin to have a better idea of what you want in life. And if you've figured out that guitar/music is a keeper in your mixed bag of experiences, it doesn't really matter when you start. Age isn't important at all. All you need is drive and perseverance, ambition and goals. Get the information you need and focus your efforts. Don't let anyone tell you you can't do something. If you want it, go out and get it. I'm here to help - Rock On! 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! Follow Learn To Play Rock Guitar:I welcome your feedback! Did you like today's message? What other topics would you like to see covered in my e-mails? Please let me know at: dave@learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com As always, please feel free to forward this email to a friend! I review products before recommending them. If you buy a product based on my recommendation, I will receive a commission. However, my emails also contain links that don’t require any investment on your part and are jam-packed with "juicy, guitar learnin' tastiness". We don't rent or share your name with anybody. Feel free to forward this issue to any friends you think would enjoy its contents. They will thank you. So will I.
|
