Guitar tricks? I’ve never really like the word “tricks” when it comes to mastering something. Or “tips and tricks” for that matter. To become a master you have to, well, master the subject matter. You can’t get there with tricks.
They’re not guitar tricks
So it is with playing music. You don’t become a great musician by learning a handful of “tricks”. You don’t become a great guitarist by learning a bunch of guitar tricks.
They’re not tricks. They’re techniques. Skills. Understandings.
The guitar: an endless journey of discovery
These understandings are exactly what fascinates me about music, and specifically, about the guitar.
I’ve had so many experiences during my years of playing when I suddenly develop an understanding that I didn’t have before. Some relationship that exists on the fret board that I never saw before. Some technique that suddenly makes playing certain passages easier. Something that further unlocks the mysteries of the instrument
I’m not on an endless quest to learn guitar tricks. I’m on an endless journey to learn and master technique and gain understanding!
How you gain understanding is not important
Sometimes I get caught up in believing that if a thing’s worth doing or learning, then I have to do it myself or teach it to myself. I have to figure it out on my own. This thinking can hold you back so much!
True, there’s a lot of pride in doing it for yourself. I’m mostly a “self-taught” musician in that I never had a guitar lesson or any other music lesson. I can take pride in what I’ve accomplished on my own.
But how much farther could I have gone if I’d allowed myself to be mentored by a teacher? Even if it wasn’t a great teacher. Even a simply decent teacher may could have accelerated my learning and ultimately gotten me further.
I’ve come to believe that how you gain the understanding is not important. It’s simply gaining it that really matters in the end.
So many resources
We live in wondrous times. That’s both good and bad, I suppose. Let’s focus on some of the good.
As a musician–as a guitar player–there has never been more information so readily available to you. And it’s never been easier to gain understanding from the skills and talents of others.
That teacher that I never had is now pumping out content by the tons over YouTube and other channels. And so much of it is free.
It can be a chaotic journey if you simply hop from teacher to teacher on YouTube learning this and then that. But it can be a hell of a lot of fun too. I don’t watch TV, but I do spend a lot of time watching musical instruction on YouTube. I’m finally learning from the teacher I never had.
Sharing discoveries, not guitar tricks
I’ve been thinking that with all of the discoveries I’ve made during my guitar journey, maybe I can be one of those teachers now. Maybe I can share some of the things that gave me “ah-ha!” moments along the way.
There are a lot of helpful articles across this site. Where to start? How about the trusty old Pentatonic Scale
Honestly, I’m sure I can’t teach anyone anything that isn’t already out there somewhere. In this very post I’ve introduced you to two guys who’ve been teaching for a very long time.
But I am pretty good at teaching. I’ve been teaching people how to use complicated software for something like 30 years. Surely I should be able to apply some of these teaching skills to the guitar and maybe show somebody a thing or two they didn’t know before.
There won’t be any guitar tricks. I don’t believe they exist anyway. But I can share some of the eye-opening discoveries that I’ve made along the way that have helped me gain better understanding and become a better guitarist and musician.
Hopefully they can help you too.