Do You Need That Fancy Guitar?

Welcome to this edition of the Fingerstyle Monthly.

I've got a confession to make. Until just a few years ago, I was a total gearhead. I obsessed about guitars and guitar gear.

I read about it online, I bought several guitar magazines every month and I talked about it to anyone who would listen.

Then it all changed.

The change was immediate at an intellectual level. The emotional part took a lot longer.

One day I had a moment of "mental clarity". I realized that it didn't matter which guitar I owned. I could only play as well as my talent and practice would let me.

The talent I can't do anything about. The practice I can.

Now, the emotional part is different. My heart still beats a little faster when I see a guitar that appeals to me.

I think that this realization happens to a lot of players. A day finally comes where you say to yourself " this is as good as I can play. A different guitar won't change that."

Or, you think "a new guitar won't make nearly as much difference as a better practice method will".

This all come up because of some of the people that I run into at jam sessions. They seem to find the whole playing thing very mysterious. When in fact, all that they need is an organized approach to practice.

An organized approach to practice is on my mind because I've been working on a new series of lessons. The first half dozen or so can be found here.

They're organized in an order that seems to make sense to most people that I teach. There's a focus on physical skills and music basics. I have about another 6-8 lessons ready except for the video. Hopefully that will all be done in the next week or so.

The News

In case that you're not aware of it, there's a page at learn-fingerstyle-guitar.com that's dedicated to current events in the fingerstyle guitar world.

If you have News about things fingerstyle guitar related activities, this is the place to let us know about it.

Big Announcement

Sometimes lessons can be just the thing to get you over a sticking point in your development as a player.

As an introductory offer, since it's Veterans Day here in the U.S., I'll give a free 1 hour lesson to the first 6 active duty personel or veterans that contact me. This offer is open to members of non-U.S. militaries as well as American service members. Just remember that I only speak English.

I hope that you've enjoyed this issue of the Fingerstyle Monthly. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let me know.

See you next month!

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