Tag: practice

  • The “not good enough” feeling never fully goes away

    The “not good enough” feeling never fully goes away

    Right now, I’m busy in the recording studio.

    After years of my band going full DIY and doing everything ourselves, we scraped together the money and booked an awesome studio with a talented producer to record our next EP.

    We have already finished recording the drums and the bass, so until now I’ve mostly been listening, making suggestions, cheerleading, and giving moral support. But now it’s time for the guitars. And to be honest, I’m pretty nervous. I’ve been playing for more than 30 years, I’ve played countless gigs, I’ve been recording in studios again and again, I’ve been teaching guitar for more than 15 years… And still I’m nervous.

    So I’ve been practicing a LOT lately, trying to REALLY nail down the parts both in accuracy and expression. To not waste our time (and money), to not embarrass myself, and to help make this the best recording we can create. (And I’ve got the feeling it’s going to be awesome!)

    Nothing as motivating as a high-stakes deadline 😀

    So what’s the moral of the story? Maybe it’s that no matter how far you are on your journey or how “good” you get, there’s always a bit of doubt or the fear of not being good enough.

    On the bright side, this is an endless journey of playing, learning, having fun, and getting better and better, and you’re providing your own awesome soundtrack.

    ​

    Here’s another great little piece from my book Fernando Carulli’s “École de Guitare.“, No. 32 Waltz
    Download the PDF with the score in standard notation and tablature, along with the MIDI-generated audio files, here:
    ​https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mHj-9DONogI2niku5iPQ9y_8jRbWhHOP/view?usp=sharing​

    ​

    If you’re interested, check out Ferdinando Carulli’s Guitar School: Ècole de Guitare, Op.241 – In Standard Notation and Tablature on amazon!​
    Get it here: https://link.amazon/B00zSrA6z​

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • I haven’t practiced for a week 🙂

    When I’m not playing guitar or writing guitar books, I really enjoy playing computer games, especially flight simulators. I’ve been “flying” online with this one group for years now, and lots of us have become real friends. So much that we started meeting in real life a few years ago. We’ve met in Munich, in Amsterdam, and this year, we met in Vienna.

    So over the last extended weekend I had the pleasure of welcoming friends from all over Europe and the US to my home town. We visited all the must-see sights, ate and drank and talked and laughed a lot, and really had a great time. For me it was a bit weird, a typical city trip, but I slept at home. 😀 I really enjoyed it, and I’m already looking forward to meeting them again in a few months, in some other place.

    And all that time, I didn’t touch my guitar even once. I didn’t even think about it. And that’s fine. A few days off don’t matter at all. Especially if you’re spending them with friends. What matters are all the other days. So don’t be angry at yourself if you miss a day of practice. Or even a month. What really matters is starting again, and continuing.

    Here’s another great little piece from my new book Fernando Carulli’s famous guitar method, his Op.241, “École de Guitare.”​
    Download the PDF with the score in standard notation and tablature, along with the MIDI-generated audio files, here:
    ​    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RcjSPQ5oFzR1GYt9-hjHVuKMZIkwZgM-/view?usp=sharing​

    If you’re interested, check out Ferdinando Carulli’s Guitar School: Ècole de Guitare, Op.241 – In Standard Notation and Tablature on amazon!​
    Get it here: https://amzn.to/4gEQrUX​

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Happy New Year, are you up for a challenge?

    Happy New Year, are you up for a challenge?

    Happy New Year!

    I hope you have enjoyed the holiday season and that you have had a good start to the new year.

    My holidays were full of family gatherings, presents, and LOTS of food. And as much as I enjoyed all of it, I’m quite happy that it’s over now, and we’re fresh into the new year.

    The start of a new year is the time for new plans, goals, and, of course, New Year’s resolutions. And the things that always come up are:

    • Lose weight
    • Exercise more
    • Practice guitar!

    I have quite some “experience” with all of these, but for the third one, I actually KNOW what to do about it.

    Practicing… Yes, that’s always the big question. Everybody is struggling with practicing:

    1. How to find time to practice and create a sustainable practice routine?
    2. How to use this precious time effectively and practice what really matters to oneself?

    But it‘s a learnable skill. I‘ve learned it, my students have learned it, and you will too. Over the years of teaching hundreds of students, I’ve developed a general structure that can be easily adapted to individual needs.

    ​

    That’s why I have created the ​​Free 30-Day Guitar Practice Challenge​​.

    The goal of the 30-Day Guitar Practice Challenge is quite simple: Practice 5 minutes every day for the next 30 days!

    In the 30 days of the challenge, you will learn how to practice, why you practice, how to plan your practice, and how to practice exactly what YOU need to improve. You will see real progress in your guitar playing. And you will make practicing a daily habit that fits into your life.

    I will send you daily emails to help you, to guide you, and to motivate and remind you.

    ​

    And the best about it: it’s completely FREE!

    ​CLICK HERE TO JOIN the Free 30-Day Guitar Practice Challenge​

    ​

    Happy practicing!

  • Consistency > Motivation

    Consistency > Motivation

    I’ve heard so many times, “It’s so hard to practice, often I just don’t feel like it. How can I keep motivated?”

    And they’re right. Especially now that the days are getting shorter and grey, it’s sometimes hard to find motivation. But IMHO we don’t need any motivation. All we need is consistency.

    Motivation comes and goes. And some days I don’t feel motivated at all. That’s why I’m trying not to rely on it.

    I just stick to the plan. I just “show up”, sit down, and practice what’s on my list. If I feel motivated, that’s awesome. But if I’m not motivated, it doesn’t matter. I just stick to the plan. I know that I will benefit. I know that i will enjoy it somehow. I know it will enable me to play the things I love.

    If you can make it a habit (through consistency), you don’t need any motivation at all!

    It’s ok if you don’t feel motivated to practice guitar, just do it anyway! Preferably at the same time every day.

    But that’s enough ranting for today *ggg*

    ​

    Here’s another gem from my upcoming book, The Anthology of Baroque Violin for Guitar. This is the 1st movement Allegro of Vivaldi’s Concerto for Strings in D minor, RV 127.

    You can download the transcription in standard notation and tablature, along with the audio files, here:
    ​https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zw6USQdUAr9QnFJfuTTI-aKXgt_mnfx2/view?usp=sharing

    Happy practicing!

    PS – Have you checked my latest book, “TCHA-KA TCHA – Understand and Master Rhythm on Guitar through Vocalizing”? It’s a proven method that has helped hundreds of my students finally make rhythm easy. ​Click here to check it out​!

  • How to practice effectively

    How to practice effectively

    Through practice, we can improve and perfect any movement, whether it’s walking, cycling, crocheting, tennis, or playing an instrument.

    But how does it actually work?

    In the wonderful TED-Ed video “How to practice effectively… for just about anyting” Annie Bosler and Don Greene illustrate the principles of effective practicing. We learn about the plasticity of the brain* and how myelin builds our neural pathways into super-efficient data highways.

    *) Neuronal plasticity is the ability of synapses, nerve cells or even entire brain areas to change their anatomy and function in order to optimize ongoing processes. Depending on the system in question, this is called synaptic plasticity or cortical plasticity, for example.

    They describe how to practice effectively and how to “master” a movement through thousands of conscious, slow, and controlled repetitions.

    Mastering any physical skill takes practice. Practice is the repetition of an action with the goal of improvement, and it helps us perform with more ease, speed, and confidence.

    Have fun upgrading your brain!