Just recently, I found a guy in my local newspaper selling quite a few quality, vintage guitars for a ridiculously cheap amount of money. In my interest, I called him and arranged a time to go over to see the guitars he was selling. He had a lot of guitars listed in the paper, but WOW, when I walked into the house, there were high quality guitars everywhere! Hung on the walls, stored in cases behind the couch–everywhere!
His reason for selling his guitars was simply, “I’m just getting too old.” Bill was 81 years old. In talking to him, I found out that he actually played professionally all throughout his life. He ended up showing me some of his recordings, and man, they were impressive! Bill played guitar at lightning speeds with flawlessness.
So I said to him, “What advice do you have for me to increase my guitar speed?”
He just kind of stared at me with deep, pensive eyes. I half wondered if he heard or understood my question because of the amount of time that passed before he said anything. He thought for awhile, smiled slightly, and then said confidently, “Practice. Practice. And, practice. Then,” he went on with an increased smile, “you must develop a slight nervous twitch in your picking hand.”
We both laughed, but inside I was kind of disappointed that all he told me was to “practice.” It seemed so elementary. But then, as I was leaving, I realized that his words contained deep wisdom. Time that is diligently spent in practice is the only way we’ll ever grow as musicians.
On a similar note, if you are wanting to hone in on different skills and techniques on guitar, then check out my reviews on some splendid online guitar courses.
Now, with that being said, go practice!
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73 comments
yesiree! i can say that when i haven’t played and practiced for a while, it sure is frustrating when i do pick my guitar up again…at least for a little while…until i get back into the “groove” of things. bill’s sage wisdom should be a solace and encouragement for us all! the only thing i might add is that it is important to practice with some type of goal in mind, i.e. learning a new song or group of chords, because practice without having a goal can sometimes be counterproductive. like, i just find myself playing the same old stuff i learned 20 years ago ’cause it’s comfortable and familiar. i have to remind myself that the point of practice is to get better. the only question remains is…am i getting any better and at what?
I’m really glad you brought that up. So true!
I think it is good to have those times where we just play what is comfortable. This is the fruit of our labor from previous practicing. This is good I’d say.
But like you said, if we aren’t being intentional about putting more challenging material in front of us to practice, then our practice can be not as productive.
It’s good to be able to distinguish between just jamming and then practicing. Both are good, but too easily do we mix the two.
So, did you buy any of his amazing vintage guitars at an unreal low price?
Ned, I actually did. You won’t believe it though. Got a 1983 Martin D-28. However, when we tried getting it set up the luthier said, “Hey you know this is a knock off Martin right?” I was furious. Unfortunately, the guitar was sold as-is, and this “wise old guitarist” didn’t have the decency to refund the money.
*shakes head*
Lesson learned there… always do your homework with vintage instruments.
Brett,
I’m having a lot of trouble learning to play guitar. I have really short arms and fingers. I feel like there’s no way I will ever comfortably play chords. I’ve been trying to play a G all night and it hurts my fingers horribly and something always sounds flat. I’ve had the guitar tuned by my father-in-law, who lent me a small guitar and I’m pretty sure I’m using proper technique… Will this pass with practice or is there no hope for me?
Yes of course you must practice practice and keep on practicing. But it’s also important to practice smart. It really helps to have a good teacher to guide you.
I can’t afford a good hands-on teacher. I am looking, but for now I am relying on the internet.