Staying Motivated Options

[Chris S.]

Hello GMC,

I've been playing for about 6ish years now, however, I feel that I'm only about half as good as I should be from that time because of how I've been practicing.

I play every single day but when it comes to practicing I get in and out of routines because I find it hard to stay motivated at time. I was wondering if you guys ever had this problem and what you did to overcome it?

I think that one thing I'm going to try different is use the forum. It's something that I never really utilized and I feel like talking to you guys can help keep me focused.

Thanks a bunch guys!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Jim S.]

Hello GMC,

I've been playing for about 6ish years now, however, I feel that I'm only about half as good as I should be from that time because of how I've been practicing.

I play every single day but when it comes to practicing I get in and out of routines because I find it hard to stay motivated at time. I was wondering if you guys ever had this problem and what you did to overcome it?

I think that one thing I'm going to try different is use the forum. It's something that I never really utilized and I feel like talking to you guys can help keep me focused.

Thanks a bunch guys!

Howdy man! Seems you found a great place to start. From my experience the things that keep me on track and motivated is having something that you easily think about as a project or lesson. This one thing should be a thing that inspires you to push yourself a little harder, keep focused longer and think about during the day when your not practicing. The teachers here will guide you and keep tabs on your progress and they do a wonderful job at it. There are millions of things to practice with lessons, songs, licks, styles ect.... So my advise would be to try and find one thing that you want for yourself to play and find 1 lesson. Try to take 1/2 hr or as long as you can each day tackling it. It should find some motivation to finish. One thing that has and still will stop me from finishing a project is distractions and the ridiculous amount of top notch lessons. Really try just 1 while working on whatever else pleases you.

Hope this helps, see you around!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Ben Higgins]

I've always believed that one thing that needs to be present is the enjoyment factor. If we're not enjoying what we're doing then what's the point ? Guitar is for us, it should be fun... not punishment.

With that in mind, ask yourself the questions:

What music do I like ?
What songs do I enjoy playing / want to learn ?
What solos / solo techniques do I want to learn ?

If you don't know what your direction is then it's no wonder you can't get traction. I think the first rule of practise is to serve your needs. In order to do that you need to find out what they are.

Learn things not because you think you should know them but because you want to know them. So stick to stuff that satisfies you first then you can build from there.

If you enjoy what you're doing you're more likely to look forward to picking up the guitar the next day and getting back into it.

One last piece of advice is: Give yourself small goals. Really achievable goals that you are 99% guaranteed to smash easily. All it requires is a small bit of commitment on your part to see it through. Once you've done it, give yourself another small goal. That way you're putting yourself through successful result after successful result. That will also give a big kick to your motivation

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Chris S.]

Thanks Jim & Ben!!

I'll definitely have to focus on one thing at a time instead of overwhelming myself.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Gabriel Leopardi]

Hi Chris! Welcome to GMC forum! Let me say that you have answered your own question! I think that GMC and this forum are a great place to keep us motivated and practicing. The energy of everybody here makes us want to play guitar every day at every time we can. There are also some features like REC, collaborations, Vchats, and mentoring programs that keep you busy and motivated in a very entertained way.

I think that the best thing that you could do is to choose one of the available instructors as your mentor, in order to receive help designing routines and giving feedback about the progress of your practice. This will keep you busy and motivated and at the same time will keep you on the right track based on your guitar goals.

Check out this thread for more info about it: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=43604

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Chris S.]

Hi Chris! Welcome to GMC forum! Let me say that you have answered your own question! I think that GMC and this forum are a great place to keep us motivated and practicing. The energy of everybody here makes us want to play guitar every day at every time we can. There are also some features like REC, collaborations, Vchats, and mentoring programs that keep you busy and motivated in a very entertained way.

I think that the best thing that you could do is to choose one of the available instructors as your mentor, in order to receive help designing routines and giving feedback about the progress of your practice. This will keep you busy and motivated and at the same time will keep you on the right track based on your guitar goals.

Check out this thread for more info about it: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=43604

Thanks!!

I'll definitely have to look into that

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey matey! I see that you have already sent me a PM and my answer is - yes of course we can work together We'll set things up and start your development! As Gabi said, the overall energy of GMC is one of the things that helps people stay on track - how? Collabs, recordings, the REC zone, mentoring threads, exchanging ideas. It's really a community based on growth and I think that, in no time, you will find yourself much more motivated, committed and what's more, you'll have me to be accountable towards That usually works when you want to get yourself on a surefooted path to progress

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[SirJamsalot]

I would recommend learning covers of your favorite artist. Personally, I love playing to my favorite song(s), trying to learn them note for note, phrase for phrase, articulation for articulation. Something fun about having your own back-up band - I can loop a song 50 times easily. This approach really helps eliminate metronome fatigue.

Also, learning your favorite artists helps you move in the direction of playing the style of music you enjoy.

And having Cosmin as a mentor is a pro-bono way to learn!

Motivation most often begins after action - important to remember this - it is rare to have a moment where both desire and opportunity meet simultaneously - for instance, I'm at work and highly motivated to play, but opportunity is about 8 hours away! You have to grit your teeth and pick up your guitar while you have opportunity - that action alone will put you on the train tracks so that when motivation comes, all you have to do is hop on that train (or get run over... :/ bad analogy I guess, but you get my point right?)

Cheers!
Chris!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

This post has been edited by SirJamsalot: Oct 6 2014, 11:19 PM

[klasaine]

If at all possible - jam with some other musicians at least twice a month. Once a week is better. Having a 'destination' is very motivating.

Are you in a band? Do you want to be in a band?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

This post has been edited by klasaine: Oct 7 2014, 12:16 AM

[enlo22]

I agree that the enjoyment factor is really important! motivation is weird, for me at least lol. I think it happens to all artist but sometimes you have to push yourself a bit to realize that it has been there you just needed that little spark. This forum does help a lot, there's a lot of styles here as well so if you ever get bored of one thing click another

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Rhida]

Short term goals and deadlines are the way to go for me

- every friday afternoon is free time so it's REC zone for me on a particular lesson or several I'm working on. It's sometimes tough but worthwhile!
- participate on collabs, I feel sometimes alone as the other guys are way better than me but I never compare myself to others I just try to be the best I can be
- have a mentor
- seeing concerts
- listening to new exciting music or old favourite of mine etc..

But enjoying others parts of life is important too. I love being with my wife, kids, family or friends. I love to read, travel, making sports or going to movies. I am just focused on what I do at the moment and when I'm back to guitar playing I'm more motivated than ever.
Of course I keep myself practicing everyday because I have high expectations but my short term goals keep me focused and it's less stressful than seeing only the destination and not the journey.
See what I mean?

Yeah I know, I am just getting wiser and wiser as I turned 40 last summer .
Beeing part of this community certainly helps also!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

I would recommend learning covers of your favorite artist. Personally, I love playing to my favorite song(s), trying to learn them note for note, phrase for phrase, articulation for articulation. Something fun about having your own back-up band - I can loop a song 50 times easily. This approach really helps eliminate metronome fatigue.

Also, learning your favorite artists helps you move in the direction of playing the style of music you enjoy.

And having Cosmin as a mentor is a pro-bono way to learn!

Motivation most often begins after action - important to remember this - it is rare to have a moment where both desire and opportunity meet simultaneously - for instance, I'm at work and highly motivated to play, but opportunity is about 8 hours away! You have to grit your teeth and pick up your guitar while you have opportunity - that action alone will put you on the train tracks so that when motivation comes, all you have to do is hop on that train (or get run over... :/ bad analogy I guess, but you get my point right?)

Cheers!
Chris!

Good point with the coverups here

I found a creative way to keep myself going - acoustic covers, based on the following aspects:

- singing and playing
- re-orchestrating the songs so that all the parts can be played on one instrument
- maybe adding some percussion

A very good example of this wonderfully creative endeavor would be this gentleman's work:



Of course it involves developing a certain set of senses and techniques - polyrythmic ones to be more precise as singing and playing involves them a lot. But you practically become a one man band What can be more motivating than being able to transmit your message with as little as an acoustic guitar and your own voice?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!