Stop for a minute and think about some of the coolest concerts you’ve ever seen…<\/p>\n
The roar of the crowd… even in a small venue (even more so really) the energy is totally off the charts.<\/p>\n
Now think about the guy up on that stage giving it all he’s got… do you think he’s got much on his mind? How about…<\/p>\n
“I can’t hear the monitors quite right, is the singer singing in key?”
\n“oh shoot… on that last bend my G string just went flat….”
\n“I hope I don’t step on the wrong pedal for the solo…”
\n“My amp sounds a little bright tonight, I wonder what’s going on…”
\n“I heard some clicking sound when I kicked that cable, if it goes out now I’m in big trouble…”
\n“If I pull out that dorian scale over this solo, will it sound like I think it will?”
\n“I hope I can pull off that triplet run coming up after this section…”<\/p><\/blockquote>\nTruly, the possibilities are endless… and I know them all intimately after a few thousand shows of my own.<\/p>\n
And on top of that, I’ve read studies that show the human brain can keep track of about 7 things at once (give or take 1 or 2.) And those things are actually pretty simple things. Things like the feeling of your feet on the floor, the guitar on your shoulder, how you are holding the pick, the fact that there is a lot of sound going on… pretty benign stuff really.<\/p>\n
So if you add all that regular stuff with all the stuff that might be going wrong right now, how is it that anyone gets through a performance at all (and if you’ve ever done one you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about!)<\/p>\n
The answer is actually really simple… it’s our own skill and technique on the guitar. The more you have, the more things you can do without having to concentrate and focus on actually playing the guitar.<\/p>\n
Can’t sing and play? That’s because you can’t do either on autopilot and you don’t have enough brain power for both.<\/p>\n
Can’t count out loud when you play? Same reason.<\/p>\n
Can’t queue the drummer and bass player in the middle of a solo? Again… too much going on.<\/p>\n
And yet, your heroes do these things… and more… every day at every show.<\/p>\n
So today, think about something you can do to improve your technique and your skill on your guitar. You probably have a couple, and I’ll see what I can come up with tomorrow to help you out.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, in tribute to one of my personal guitar heroes who has moved on from us, a little Gary Moore doing an incredible rendition of “Red House.” This is what incredible technique and skill can achieve… we’ll miss you, Gary.<\/p>\n