Funky Fingerstyle Guitar
Greets from the road!
I’d like to address an issue many guitarists and other musicians face, and that’s the issue of stage fright and nervousness.
This came up with friends last night as we were hanging out after my gig. So, even though I am a touring pro, I still get nervous sometimes.
Here’s some advice based on my real-life experience playing solo concerts.
[Read more…] about 7 Tips for Dealing With Stage Fright and Nerves
I’m often asked the question “do you use a set list when you play concerts?” This brings up the question of how to put a set together for a good show. I use a loose set idea with a game plan which I will describe.
But first…has the following ever happened to you…?
[Read more…] about How To Create a Great “Set List” For Musical PerformanceOne of the joys of my musical journey is to discover something musically and see that it also applies to all of life.
(Really guitar and “life” are no different – since it’s our brains looking outward and seeing the contents of our own thought!)
I have been doing a lot of slow, deliberate practice on fingerstyle guitar pieces like “Thriller” and “Aqualeros do Brasil” and “Fly Me To The Moon” simply because I want the groove to be deeper and want the perfect sparkling and coordinated “mix” of melody, bass and accompaniment.
It never fails; once I put my mind on the role and job of my right hand thumb, I see that it has been pulled by the influence of the other right hand fingers, and is not as solid as I thought it was! [Read more…] about As Above, So Below…on the Guitar
A lot of people seem to think that since I am a touring “pro” guitarist with recordings and DVDs that I am “the expert” and that’s the end. Not the case! The truth is that I love studying, learning and practicing.
For example – over the last 2 weeks I’ve read 5 books on marketing, ad copyrighting and web technology – and I plan to re-read them because the info was so good.
Oh Goodness, Heavens Gracious! Did Adam the guitar player just admit this?
Yes! All this stuff other than playing guitar is also important for me to keep up on. They all serve my music, touring and career!
Discovering and realizing new things – musical and otherwise – is the fun part of the journey. See what I am saying?
Here’s some great advice that I’d like to pass on from Brian Tracy – and this helps me keep my mind fresh in the way I have described…
Read 30 minutes in your field each morning. This is called “The Golden Hour” when the mind is clear, receptive and the day’s “tone” is set. After a year – that’s a lot of reading. Just think how much you’d learn.
The more you read and learn, the more you want to read and learn. Like a muscle, the mind gets stronger when it’s used and weaker when it’s not.
Adam’s Advice:
Don’t check your email first thing in the morning. That’s right! – wait. That’s a “reactive” activity as opposed to an active one.
If you are spending senseless time on video games, news sites, entertainment, and sites like Facebook, fiddling with your “smart” phone – just say NO and set that time aside and read 30 minutes every morning.
Watch what happens to your life in a month.
Rock on!
Often we hit “plateaus” when we play guitar. We feel that we haven’t been improving.
That’s good! 🙂
To my delight I just started book called “Mastery – The Keys to Success and Long Term Fulfillment” by George Leonard. Mr. Leonard points out the American “war on mastery” – an epidemic of wanting things “quickly and easily”. He then accurately describes the delicious, sweet, long term path to mastery through his story of Aikido.
The path to mastery is not a steady incline; there are growth spurts, and then long plateaus where on the surface “nothing” seems to be happening. At first, the student feels that these plateaus are disheartening and frustrating and wants only the peaks. [Read more…] about Hitting “Plateaus” in Guitar Practice