Inspiration

Being inspired and staying motivated are at the heart of your personal development into becoming a great guitarist.

In our digital age, we are lucky to have instant access to recorded music as well as videos of professional performers not only in concert, but also interviews, lessons and close-ups of their fantastic technique and choice of repertoire. And it’s not only current performers that we get to see, but there is a wealth of archived and older footage available of the guitar greats of the past (up to a century ago!)
 

We also have instant access to online teachers who can offer their material either as free downloads, or to purchase on a subscription base. This is all wonderful news for the contemporary classical guitarist, but it can get a bit overwhelming, and you run the risk of becoming over-saturated. I remember the days when I was first beginning to learn the guitar, that a concert by a well-known guitarist or even an advanced student was an exciting event, and there was much anticipation in the household in the weeks and days leading up to the concert. Those concerts were really special!

I believe we need to rekindle that inspiration. Go out and watch live music, listen to recordings carefully, try not to surf through too many videos before they even finish. Spend time selecting your repertoire and gather as much information about the pieces as you can, and this will go a long way in inspiring you to keep practicing and keep improving!

Here is a video featuring David Russell, one of my favourite guitarists, where he speaks about maintaining enthusiasm. He gives excellent advice on the importance of warming up, doing a bit of technique practice everyday to improve, and then always having a few easier pieces that you can play really well in your repertoire, instead of always been in “learning mode” with big, difficult pieces.