I’ve been missing for a while, very busy practicing I guess and not much creating. I’ve learned a few things in all this time. A few helpful points:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, even though it sounds like something you find in a fortune cookie: if you can improve 1% each day, in 100 days you will be 100% better than when you started. So make a big goal, and then make another one to chip away at it daily…like increase by 1bpm each day.
Guitar, and music in general, is not a competition, so that thing I just said about getting faster each day is only relevant if you have an ego problem relating to speed. But in general, support other guitar players, no matter what their skill is, go to each other’s shows, jam together, teach each other things, and learn.
Find something else to do than just play guitar. like get a hobby. I think we underestimate the value of entertaining our brains with stimuli other than music. You’ll seriously be one dimensional if it’s all about careers and personal improvement. some of my favorites include Juggling (little known fact I spent a good portion of my years in college juggling fire), Magic Cards, learning foreign languages, movies, reading, running and biking.
Get out and perform. As someone who consumes and creates a lot of content that aims at helping people “improve” their lives, work, etc. I think there is no greater payoff for our efforts than showcasing all the work we’ve done. No one practices more than me these days and I think my interest in a lot of things begins to wane more quickly if I don’t have a gig or a recording date coming up, so maybe instead of spending yet another hour trying to nail that sweep picking exercise, set aside some time to book a show.
At that, create. If you’re into music, or the art and practice of anything, you’ll quickly understand that your abilities are like a reservoir held behind a concrete dam, waiting to flow out, and it only takes a small crack to start a trickle that becomes a flood.