Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.

-Confucius

Stressing the importance of benevolence, respect for others, and looking pragmatically at individual situations rather than blindly following traditional rules, Confucius was also known for his wicked Guqin chops. Scholars have even linked Eddie Van Halen’s family tree back to Confucius.

(Ok not really.)

So how does one see beauty in everything? Can you really even say that an Ashlee Simpson song has beauty?

Now maybe Confucius would re-phrase his words after hearing some of today’s music, but yes, even an Ashlee Simpson song has beauty to it. You just might have to look a little bit harder to find it.

So how can you expand your horizons and learn to appreciate styles of music that you presently dislike? And why is this even important for guitar players?

If you have goals of making guitar your life’s work, chances are you will be doing studio work for other artists, ranging in styles from pop, country, rock, funk, and even jazz. If you don’t have a natural appreciation for all styles of music, you are going to have a hard time in the professional guitar field.

This week I would like to give you a challenge. While you are driving in your car throughout the days, tune to a station where your initial reaction to the music is close to wanting to vomit, or something similar.

Keep it on this station the whole time you are in the car, and find at least 3 things about each song that you appreciate and respect.

If you are having trouble finding beauty, here are some techniques to help you learn how to appreciate and find beauty in all music:

1. Patience. It may take a while to find something that you appreciate. Be patient. There is something there. Don’t criticize the first time you listen. Just sit back and listen.
2. Try to Understand the music. Most songs are written for a reason. There is usually a message being sent. If you don’t understand it upon first listening to a song, look up the lyrics. For something without lyrics, ask yourself, what emotions does the song elicit inside of you?
3. Musical Tools. After understanding what it does to you, listen closely to the song for the specific techniques, riffs, motifs, tones, etc. that cause the effect. Does that simple guitar melody make you feel all warm inside? What about the repeating piano pattern that makes you feel like you have been hypnotized to party?

Learning to find beauty in all things is definitely a skill that must be learned and practiced. But it is quite a valuable one for a guitarist to have. The guitar player that can find beauty in each song is going to be more passionate each time he/she plays, and this passion is infectious to the fans and other musicians present.

Oh yeah, and you will definitely find yourself being able to play more gigs and making some extra cash too.

To read an amusing article about the different types of music listeners (BPT’s and IMT’s) and why they can have such complete disagreements on what is good music, check out the article Tgirsch’s Theory of Music Appreciation .

Want to learn what it takes to be a Successful Studio Guitarist? Check out our free report here. It’s only available to the first 1500 guitarists that request it so hurry and get yours now!

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