When it comes to the subject of musical tuition many of my students arrive with the statement ‘I am stuck in a rut and I can’t improve’. In my opinion there is no simple or straightforward answer to this question, however, I believe your playing can be improved not necessarily through pure physical dedication, but also through breaking down mental barriers. To break down these barriers and to further your playing you can follow simple steps that will lead you on the path to the next level.

Many of my teachers have stated that mastering the guitar is much like climbing a mountain e.g. prior to mastering a technique you are at the foot of a mountain and once the technique is mastered you reach the peak, however then you arrive at the foot of the next mountain. I believe this statement in some ways is flawed, in my playing there are no peaks or troughs. There is only one focus, much like a quest, however, this quest does not have challenges e.g. climbing mountains. This Quest is to discover your own art through working with needs of you and your instrument’s voice.

When I felt like I was falling behind in my playing my music teacher Rob Tribe told me to ‘put down your guitar and not to think about it. Then when you come back to the instrument you will work with a new found vigour’. This very statement both shocked me a scared me, even though in the past I have gone for days without playing or thinking about the instrument the very thought of not being able to play my guitar at all made want to work with it even further. It is much like when you go on holiday, I believe that sometimes it is better not to take your instrument because the thought of not being able to play makes the instrument far more desirable. So if you are stuck in a rut, put down your guitar and try to think is this really a rut? Or is it a lack of focus? Once you step back and leave your guitar for a couple of days you should build a new path, not with targets set by peer pressure, but with bricks lovingly placed with enthusiasm for your own art. This attitude will not only make the rut disappear it will make your journey far more enjoyable.

In the nest Installation I will talk about scales and theory and how to approach them.

Robin Dymond

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