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Section 1.1, in which we will finally put this nagging doubt to rest
Nobody’s born knowing how to blow a trumpet or pluck a guitar. Those are acquired skills.
I’ve taught some guitar students over the years who would nervously ask me–after one or two lessons, mind you–whether I thought they had any talent. That question always troubled me. I told them this: “I think that if you practice, you’re going to get better.” And then they would look relieved, like a weight had been taken off their shoulders.
After one or two lessons, they were already trying to judge whether or not they’d ever get good at the instrument.
The idea that some people have talent and others lack talent is a potentially dangerous one. Rather than fret over this and put yourself through all that self-doubt, might I suggest simply not trying to judge your future in advance? Because there’s no way to do it.
Practice is the Secret Weapon
Research on high achievers doesn’t actually support the idea that talent plays much of a role (if any) in their accomplishments. The real deciding factor is how much time high achievers spend on what has recently been dubbed “deliberate practice.” In other words, getting great at an instrument, songwriting, singing, or anything else worth doing–any of these pursuits is going to take a certain amount of hard work.
Nobody is exempt from that hard work. The people you think of as “talented”? They weren’t born knowing how to do that. Like you and I, they couldn’t even speak when born. And when they first picked up that guitar or sat down at that piano, their practice sounded like any beginner’s practice, clunker notes and all. They got good at what they do by racking up practice hours, stretched out over a long span of time.
Do you realize what a weight that takes off your shoulders? Practice is the secret weapon, and that means you control your own destiny. If you practice deeply and practice often, you will get better.
Instead of worrying about whether you have what it takes, let’s worry about doing the work… because doing the work is what it takes.
Back to Basics
This–today–marks a new beginning.
Forget how many years you’ve been at this, forget about all those impressive tunes and riffs you’ve memorized. None of us are exempt from revisiting the basics–so please be prepared to start fresh.
Fundamentals are the keystones of our continued improvement. When you go on to learn advanced things and start playing at a high level, you’re going to be relying on certain fundamental skills to be completely ingrained and automatic so that they don’t require a lot of conscious thought while you’re playing. Later on, when you’re inventing a brilliant solo from scratch in the middle of a live gig, you won’t want to worry about incorrect posture holding you back, right? You’ll have enough to worry about in that moment. You want the foundation to be all taken care of.
Because they’re so basic and because they’re such humble things, it’s tempting to just hurry through the fundamentals, to say “Good enough” and then move on to what we think of as the real stuff: the flashier riffs and the things that sound more impressive.
Hurrying through the fundamentals, though, results in false progress that sooner or later will come back to bite you.
Don’t underestimate the importance of pouring a solid foundation for yourself. It’s never too late to master the basics–I’ve been spending the past week ingraining some new habits into my guitar-playing posture and learning better finger picking form.
At first, this might feel like going backwards, but trust me: getting back to basics brings with it a certain soothing, meditative mental clarity. It’s so satisfying to take some small, simple aspect of your craft and truly master it so that you know it’s solid and you know you can safely build on it. Mastering that one little thing now means you’ll be truly ready for challenges that rely on that prerequisite skill later.
You’ll also want to continue to review these fundamentals from time to time going forward. Pour a strong foundation, and be aware that later on you’ll have to patch whatever cracks appear. Luckily, this is a pleasure, not a chore.
What it Takes
Before we move on, I want to take one last look at what it takes to get good at songwriting, singing, or your instrument of choice. There may not be an inborn superpower that lets you bypass practice, but there are definitely some qualities of character that’ll help you along your way.
I think the most crucial quality is this: compassion for yourself.
Serious practice is humbling because no matter how good you are, you’ll be spending time staring your own weaknesses in the face. When you get good at practicing, you’re going to be very aware of your own mistakes. At some point–probably many points along the way–you’re going to be tempted to judge and condemn yourself. And at those moments of frustration, I hope you’ll remember this: everyone struggles. Mastery isn’t easy and it isn’t quick. If it was easy and quick, we’d all be masters already and this course would have no reason to exist.
Here’s a conversation I’ve had often with guitar students:
Me: Okay, let’s try that F chord again.
Student: I can’t do it!
Me: I know you can’t. That’s why we’re going to work on it today. Go ahead and try. Remember to arch your fingers.
Student: (wriggles hand into the correct position; presses the strings down; strums, hears lots of gross buzzing and clunking) See?! I can’t do it! It’s impossible.
Me: You can’t do it yet. They were hard for me when I learned them too. Keep trying.
Student: (after about five minutes of struggle, manages a pretty good F chord) Hey, I did it!
When we encounter something we can’t do, it’s tempting to give up. That student wanted to give up before she’d spent even five minutes struggling with that F chord. And those five minutes of struggle probably felt like an hour to her. But at the end of it, she’d gotten a pretty good start on that “impossible” task.
Practice is all about taking on those challenges. Be patient. Don’t expect yourself to instantly master everything. You’ll have a much more relaxed and easy time if you just stay calm and be kind to yourself.
In section 1.2 we’ll get you started with a simple practice journal.