Guitar Players...Learn About The Point Of Discipline

Have you ever started learning a lick or exercise and stopped practicing it before you had mastered it? Now I don't know you, but my guess the answer to the question is yes! Why is that? Why did you stop, when it was something that you REALLY wanted to learn?

There are quite a few reasons for it, but the one I would like to mention now is what I call the "point of discipline". This is the point when the initial enthusiasm of learning that new lick/exercise wears off. It is no longer so new and exciting. This is the time when you will have to use your self-discipline to complete the task at hand.

A lot of guitar players will tell you at this point?"Hey man, guitar's supposed to be all about fun! If I have to use my self-discipline, I'll no longer enjoy it." If anyone says that to you, have a look at their playing. Most of the time they are not very good :)They have not reached a virtuoso level of playing, so why listen to them!

The point of discipline is when most guitar players quit. Rather than using their self-discipline to TRULY master the lick/exercise, they stop practicing it and move onto something new. It's tempting isn't it? We've ALL done this at some point in our development as a guitarist. But what's the cost of doing this?

Some of the negative consequences of quitting at the point of discipline include:

1.You'll never reach the virtuoso levels of guitar playing. Can you imagine virtuosos like Yngwie Malmsteen, Rusty Cooley, Michael Angelo etc, quitting before they have mastered what they are working on? I don't think so! They didn't become so incredible by being quitters. They have learned to tap into their self-discipline.

2. You'll never have that feeling of pride that comes with truly mastering something.

3. You won't learn to confront your present technical limitations and overcome them. This will mean that you'll learn a lot of new things but your overall level of playing won't become elevated.

4. You'll know about 1007 bits of songs, but if someone asks you to play a song from start to finish, you can't.

Not a pretty picture is it? So what are some things that you can do about it? Here are a few ideas?

1.When learning a new lick or exercise, set a speed goal. Keep practicing the lick/exercise until the speed goal has been reached. Realise that this can sometimes take weeks, months (or even years!).

2. Learn to enjoy using your self-discipline. Feel proud about yourself every time you follow through and master something.

3. Use visualization. See yourself in your mind's eye becoming a guitar virtuoso. This will help keep you motivated and enthusiastic!

4. Make a commitment to completion. With everything you learn, refuse to quit. Keep working on it until it has been mastered.

I guarantee that if you learn to tap into your self-discipline your guitar playing will improve at an accelerated rate! Of course, if you want to sit on the couch watching TV and eating bags of potato chips,dreaming about one day becoming an awesome guitarist, that's cool also!

Copyright 2005 by Craig Bassett. All Rights Reserved.

Craig Bassett is a professional guitarist, guitar tutor and author living in Auckland, New Zealand.

Master the notes on the guitar fretboard...
Master the Guitar Fretboard.

Latest News


PC World

Wal-Mart Reverses Decision To Shutdown Digital Music DRM Servers
InformationWeek, NY - 8 hours ago
Wal-Mart's original plans would have made its DRM-protected tracks difficult to play on a PC, unless the music was first burned to a CD. ...
Wal-Mart's DRM Nightmare Just Won't End Wired News
Wal-Mart reversal teaches us you guys have might CNET News
Wal-Mart Backs Down on DRM Decision PC World
CRN - CrunchGear
all 30 news articles

Reuters

Dell expands music tie-ins on festival circuit
Reuters - 6 hours ago
By Michael D. Ayers NEW YORK (Billboard) - At the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival in Texas at the end of September, sandwiched between a stage and a ...

Techtree.com

YouTube to help sell music
College News, IL - 13 hours ago
YouTube will now join the forces in distributing music. In conjunction with Amazon, iTunes, EMI and Universal, YouTube will now allow consumers to purchase ...
YouTube introduces music downloads NME.com
YouTube flips switch on new sales channel The Associated Press
YouTube adds "click-to-buy" for music, video games Computerworld
Idolator - Seattle Post Intelligencer
all 471 news articles

Corporate Bands Emerge as Executives Turn to Music for Team ...
MarketWatch - 10 hours ago
Music has often been shown to encourage the development of interpersonal communications skills, enhanced problem-solving capabilities and a greater ability ...

Music exec Flom lines up Universal post
Reuters - 5 hours ago
UMG chairman/CEO Doug Morris was a mentor to Flom when the latter started Lava Records as an imprint of Atlantic and Morris was chairman of Warner Music ...
paidContent.org - UMG CEO: Piracy Will Be Solved By Technology ... Washington Post
all 6 news articles

Sydney Morning Herald

Will Guitar Hero save the music industry?
Phoenix New Times, AZ - Oct 9, 2008
From its vibrant visuals to the music selections themselves, however cheesy it sounds (and looks), Guitar Hero is a love letter to rock and roll, ...
Virtual battle of the bands rocks on Reuters UK
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Review GamingExcellence
REM Exclusive on the Xbox 360 in Guitar Hero World Tour Planet Xbox 360
Macon Telegraph - Earthtimes (press release)
all 59 news articles

New Oscar rules announced for songs and music scores
Los Angeles Times, CA - 11 hours ago
The Oscars have announced new regulations governing songs and music scores that will enable more voters to participate in the selection of nominees and ...
GREY SKIES FALLEN Unveils New Strategy - Oct. 10, 2008 Blabbermouth.net
all 3 news articles

AMPAS reverses music Oscar campaigning rule
Hollywood Reporter, United States - 11 hours ago
Last year, in its annual tweaking of campaign rules, the Academy banned campaigners from sending specially-produced CDs, as well as sheet music and music ...

Gigwise

Judge sentences rap music fan to Bach, Beethoven
The Associated Press - Oct 9, 2008
URBANA, Ohio (AP) — A defendant had a hard time facing the music. Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in ...
Rap music fan sentenced to Beethoven, pays fine instead Men's News Daily
all 255 news articles

PC World

Senuti Recovers Music from Your iPod
PC Magazine - 12 hours ago
by Alan Henry If you've ever been stuck with a non-functioning computer and a functioning iPod that has all your music on it, you are not alone. ...
Blackberry For Mac PC World
all 3 news articles

Resources