Here's an article that I put in my weekly newsletter awhile back. If you don't subscribe to my FREE newsletter, sent by email every Tuesday morning, why not sign up on the right hand column of this blog? The Flatpick Post Newsletter includes articles, product reviews, guitar playing tips and techniques, and guitar tablature for some great licks.As some of you know, I paint (sporadically) in acrylics and egg
tempera. (You can see some of my work by going to
http://GriffsArtGallery.com and scrolling down to the bottom 5
paintings.) While I was working on one of my acrylics, I felt the
need to record some of the combinations of the colors I was using
so that I could refer to them as I continued with the painting. I
decided to buy a small and somewhat fancy soft, leather bound
sketchbook. I wound up using this book not only to record my paint
formulas, but for sketches and studies--and to track my progress
each session I painted. I also used this book to write down my
thoughts at different times--and even to write down quotes from
artists who inspired me.
Recently, I realized that keeping a journal would also be great for
a guitar player. What kind of things would you write in a guitar
journal? Well, for starters, you could track your progress on a
given song or lick between specific points of time. If you practice
with a metronome (which you should!) you can record the speeds at
which you able to play cleanly from session to session.
A guitar journal is also a great place to put your goals on paper
and then track your progress toward those goals. A journal can be a
good place to generate ideas. Write down the titles of songs you
want to learn and techniques you want to master. When you get
things on paper, one thought will often be the spark that leads to
other important considerations.
Write down, in notation or tablature, licks from your favorite
musicians that you want to learn. Create your own licks and get
them on paper so you won't forget them.
Observe a particular aspect of your playing and critique it.
Determine how you might make improvements and write it down.
Explore the possibility of expanding your style and genre and
record your ambitions.
Here and there, in your guitar journal, include quotes from some of
your favorite musicians, and even your favorite philosophers or
spiritual commentators. All of these things are just suggestions, of
course. It's your journal--do it your way--and enjoy!
