Scott Paul Johnson

Practice Thoughts | 06: Don't Say "I Suck at Guitar"

Added 2021-10-11 14:39:56 +0000 UTC

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Hi Everyone,

The text I wrote below is only tangentally related to the video, but I think they go hand in hand nicely. The video is a practice method and a way to encourage yourself and be specific about your practice goals. The text below is more about how important it is to approach learning music from a personal "want" driven mindset. I hope you enjoy.

For some reason, the music world is plagued by this idea that the good musicians have this magical thing called "talent." This idea is so solidified into music culture that people often feel like a failure or a fraud as soon as they pick up the instrument. Any resistance on their learning path is met with this feeling of "I knew I sucked at guitar and now it's becoming apparent."

Now, some of you might think I'm exaggerating but some of you might know what I'm talking about! Anyone on any level will probably get something out of this video, but I think this Practice Thought will really resonate with those of you who are struggling with perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and general frustration or dissatisfaction with your guitar playing.

If you struggle with feeling like you suck, this lesson will help you get a sense of how to focus those insecurities or frustrations toward progress.

There is also something really important about this lesson. Often when people start learning guitar, they focus on "what should I learn" instead of "what do I want to learn."

The distinction between "should" and "want" is INCREDIBLY important.

"Should" is an impersonal, how-do-I-fit-in kind of word. It's important to know a common music language with the people you play music and there definitely ARE some "should" things about learning guitar.

BUT

"Want" is the ENGINE that drives you to actually play guitar. Wanting to learn a specific thing is what makes all the "shoulds" worth it. "Want" is the difference between an artist and a robot.

There is obviously a balance to this, but in general life "shoulds" often get most of the attention. For example, I've had numerous people contact me saying "I want to learn guitar but should I learn piano first?" This person is essentially saying "Guitar is what I want, but there must be some things I SHOULD do first." No, you shouldn't try to learn piano first if you want to learn guitar.

In the same sense, people often start guitar with the intention of learning what they want, but they get bogged down with should. In the piano scenario above, the person is starting with should to get what they want. My learning model is to start with what you want in order to understand the "should."

In my personal experience, all the things I SHOULD do are very specific things that help me improve at my specific WANTS.

All art is driven by love of something. Love of color. Love of playing with shapes. Love of sounds. Love of contrast. If you're trying to be an artist but you're feeling like "there is a lot of stuff I should do first" that feeling is REALLY going to bog you down. When you're learning music, you should focus on what you want. Thats going to be the most exciting, the most fulfilling, and that is going to drive you to WANT to play better, which is the should people usually start with. Don't let should keep you from want. Let want clarify and define should.

The essential takeaways:

1. If you start with what you actually want, what you should do to get there will become more apparent. Let want lead you to should
2. Don't beat yourself up for not being good at something you haven't practiced and possibly aren't even interested in to begin with (a specific technique, style, genre, etc)
3. Remember that "I suck at guitar" isn't helpful, but "I suck at specific thing _______, for now" IS helpful

If you want to continue to enjoy guitar for your whole life,
If you want to continue to improve for your whole life,
If you want music to become a way to express yourself,
If you want to speak the language of music,
If you want to "sound like you" when you play,
...always focus on learning the things you love rather than the things you think you ought to love

If you have some thoughts of your own to share related to this post, come hang out on the community forum.