Q & A
Essentials - Questions And Answers
Question
I've really enjoyed going through your site and working with the lessons and tips you have for the aspiring guitarist. I was wondering what your thoughts were on someone like myself who has recently found himself in the situation where he can no longer go to guitar lessons. How do you keep learning and bettering yourself when you don't have someone to guide you anymore? I feel like I have been just kind of puttering around without challenging myself since I stopped taking lessons and I am concerned that one day I will realize I haven't learned how to play anything new in the last year. - Steve Y
Answer
This is one of the most difficult aspects of being a "self taught" player. It is very easy to play the same old thing over and over and never really progress. If you want to get better, you have to be disciplined to work on new things. Here are a few things that can help. First, if you can play with other musicians (they don't have to be guitar players) it will help a great deal. Try to set up or attend some jam sessions. Join a band. Play as often as you can with other musicians. Work on new songs. Learning new songs will help you stay motivated. Try to learn songs that are more difficult than you normally play. Try playing in styles you don't normally play. Get some instruction books and work through them. There are lots of good instruction books for guitar in many styles of playing. Like you said. You need to keep challenging yourself as a player. That's what a good teacher does and that is how you get better.
links
Send Me Your Questions
If you have a question about playing guitar, email me. I may not be able to answer every question, but I'll answer the ones I can.