Claude Thomas Freestyle Music Blog

By Bob Molton

Every musician has his or her ups and downs from time to time. There are a few easy steps to help get you back on track and keep you moving forward towards your musical goals.

Like in the fitness world, it’s a mental game. There are times you’ll just get flat out get bored with your playing. The cause is mental starvation, and lack of learning new information to move forward. The truth is, it’s work! For some people learning new things means that they have to apply themselves and that takes effort. You have to want it. But the rewards are well worth it.

All the knowledge in the world is useless if you can’t get yourself to apply it. What’s the difference between someone who knows what to do and some who does what they know? When you notice yourself getting bogged down from the dreaded guitar players rut, it becomes difficult to practice and enjoy it.

Why is it that some days you just don’t have the motivation to pick up a guitar? Why do you practice guitar for weeks and then all of the sudden quit? These things happen due to the lack of effective goal setting, and information starvation! You need to feed your starving mind.

This applies not only to music, but also with everything in life. I have used it for years to achieve my goals, especially within my musical career. Your mindset can be related similarly to a guided missile or torpedo heading for a target. You need to be laser focused on that target or goal.

Lets talk about these musical goals. Many people have never considered setting their musical goals. Usually because they didn’t know they should.

* What are your musical goals?
* How will you organize them?
* How far do you want to go with your guitar playing?
* Are you trying to sound and play like one of your favorite guitarists?
* Are you attempting to play really difficult songs?
* Do you want to learn proper theory?

Always start with the end goal in mind, and work backwards to bridge the gap. This helps you clearly see how to bridge the gap, rather than blindly cutting a path forward without a pre-determined destination.

Maybe it would be easier for you if you tell yourself yes; I am in a musical rut. Now what do I need to do to get beyond this. You’ll need to be doing several different things. Most of the time when you are in a rut it is good to go back to some of the basics. Left hand Dexterity, Right hand picking techniques, practicing scales, etc… These are all small goals you can set!

The most common reason people fail, is they don’t set solid Goals and make themselves accountable for it. Achieving the smallest goals, can give you the drive you need to set bigger ones and see them through. A journey of a thousand miles starts with one footstep.

REMEMBER: There is a difference between knowing what to do, and doing what you know. You must take action to get a reaction.

Musical theory can be a confusing subject. Getting started is the most important task. It’s always good to find an instructor or instructional video to help explain some things to you. You’ll find some very useful instructional videos at Top Fuel Guitar.

However, learning the theory is only half the battle. The far greater challenge for most musicians is applying the knowledge and taking action. There is a big difference between knowing what to do, and doing what you know. By setting these goals, you’re developing the building blocks needed to build your career upon.

You may think you’re in control of your daily behaviors, but it’s your subconscious mind that tells you weather you should or shouldn’t do these important things.

If you know what you need to do and just can’t seem to get yourself to do it, you’ve probably been sending negative or conflicting messages to your subconscious mind. This means you may need to re-program your subconscious. If not, you become the victim of negative habits. It all starts with written goals and following through with them!

Your subconscious mind is much like your computer. The subconscious mind does not think for itself. Whatever information you send to your subconscious it is assumed to be true. It doesn’t matter if the data is really true or not the subconscious accepts it and carries out the programming you have entered into it. This is really powerful stuff.