Do you have to take the right train to have
success? It depends on what you want to accomplish. The same with your guitar
playing. Let's see if you can play guitar without goals!
I would like to
share some memories with you...
Way back in the late 80's I started to
become very interested in computers. Well, not really in the computers but in
the things I believed a computer could help me with.
I compose a lot of
music and had used ink and paper so far. Mozart used this equipment so it surely
is effective in the hands of the right person.
I used my pens and wrote
my music sheets with concentrated efforts trying not to make mistakes. The
problem was that it was difficult to change things in my compositions. I often
changed things then and still do today.
It was quite difficult to use the
notation programs back then. I used DOS on my computers and had to peruse the
notation program manuals.
However, I had a goal in the back of my head.
To tame the computer to help me in my endeavors to create sheet music!
Let's stop for a second and go to your guitar playing. What about your goals? Do
you have any? In many guitar articles you can read about the importance of
setting goals as you try to progress as a guitar player.
Well, there are
many advantages with setting goals. Let's take a look at some of them:
1.
As you write down a long term goal you give yourself a chance to meditate upon
why you are playing guitar. Is it to impress your friends? Is it because you
like to play? Is it because you want to find a profession as a guitar player? Is
your desire to play guitar so strong that you think it is worth to take the time
and effort required?
In the goal setting process you will have time to
think the whole thing over and maybe turn the whole thing off!
2. Writing
down a long term goal and splitting it up in smaller manageable chunks is a good
way to use your free agency instead of letting circumstances dictate what will
happen with your guitar playing.
3. When you have clear goals and also
smaller intermediate goals it is easier to measure your progress and feel the
satisfaction that you are on your way and to the right place.
But what if
you don't want to have goals? You just want to play!
Let's go back to the
previous story..
Somehow things have turned out quite nice as far as my
more or less subconscious goal is concerned. I do write my music with the help
of computers nowadays and can change my music as much as I want. I can change
keys, melodies, lyrics and feel good about it. I am where I wanted to be back in
the 80's.
Was this a goal of mine?
Some people define goals as
something you have written down on paper with clear deadlines and clearly
defined and measureable intermediate goals along the way.
Before we
discuss if we need goals or not we have to define what we mean. Is a wish a
goal? Is a strong desire a goal?
Let's continue with the story..
There are people using computers the opposite way from what I do. I have friends
who have been deeply interested in working with computers and have seemingly
aimlessly installed computer programs, messed around with the Windows directory,
changed OS, changed hardware, run into trouble, trying to solve the problems and
so on.
My friends have sometimes been of great help when I myself have
run into trouble with my computers because they have learned a lot about
computers by the previosly mentioned activities and accompanying mistakes.
Did the have goals?
In a broad sense we could say that their goals were
to have fun with computers. I guess they haven't expressed it that way but we
could say that they reached their goal.
Let us take a look at you!
If you don't wish to have written down goals is of course completely up to you.
You can have fun just sitting down strumming some chords on your guitar
sometimes.
The important thing to think about is this:
Whatever
you do with your guitar will lead you somewhere sooner or later. Whatever road
you take will take you to a place if you don't change direction. Do you want to
come to this place or not? If not, let me suggest that you change road!
Thirty years from now do you want to be a guitar player that is only able to
play a few chords and that is not able to play a song on your guitar? We can say
that this is the goal you will reach if you are an "occasional strummer".
If this is okay with you you can relax and continue playing this way. If you
want to be another type of guitar player I guess you have to think about goal
setting a little bit more consciously!
About the Author
Peter Edvinsson invites you to download your
free sheet music, guitar tabs, ebooks, music lessons and read his
music blog at Capotasto Music.
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