2010 is just around the corner guys! And if you’ve been meaning to step up your guitar playing, the new year is a great opportunity to spur yourself to do something about it. Here are a few ideas you can include in your New Year’s Resolutions:
Practice More
It might seem obvious, but it’s still a great resolution to be making. If you’ve always been meaning to practice more, then the new year is a great time to start. Write yourself out a practice schedule, including what you’re going to practice and when you’re going to do it. Don’t forget warm-ups and stretches!
Learn to play guitar
This one is for those of you who have been wanting to start learning electric guitar but have never quite gotten around to doing anything about it. If this is you, make a decision right now that the first thing you’ll do in the new year is get your first guitar and book in lessons with a guitar teacher, or download some guitar instruction software.
Start a band
This one is for those of you who have been playing for a while, but have been wondering if there’s more to guitar than just playing in your bedroom. Make an effort to get out there and jam with other musicians! Playing along with drummers, bass players, keyboardists, sax players and singers is completely different to practicing at home alone, and will stretch your playing like nothing else.
Pick some songs to learn
This one is easy. Just list some songs you wanna learn in 2010, and then do it. The trick here is to pick songs you really love, and are difficult enough to stretch your playing, but not so difficult that you might give up in frustration before you have learnt it.
Train your ear
Guitar is not just about the hands. The ear and the brain are equally crucial to the task. If you’ve been working a lot on technique, the new year might be a great time to try something else and give your ear a workout. Consider some ear training software or just pick up your guitar and try to play along to songs you don’t know, working it out as you go.
Discover some new techniques
2010 could be a great year to try some alternate picking, sweep picking, tapping licks, hybrid picking, legato arpeggios or anything else you’ve been meaning to turn your mind to.
Expand your influences
Sometimes it just takes a few new CDs to really shake your electric guitar playing up. 2010 might be time for you to finally start checking out some 70s funk, 80s hair metal, 60s UK blues or 90s desert rock.. anything really, so long as you’re not listening to it already! If you’re stuck in a rut, listening to something from completely out of left field can spur you to do something radically different with your playing.
These are just some ideas – the main thing is to make a very specific, ambitious and realistic course of action, and then to follow through with it. Have a great 2010 everyone, and those of you celebrating New Year’s Eve tomorrow night I hope you have an awesome evening!
