cain
Hi guys
My company sent me on a course about cognitive dissonance and unlocking ones true potential last week. If your wondering why I am writing this, is because its been a revelation to me. I've been wondering for some time now, why can't I progress in my guitar playing, why can't I be as good as such and such, and obviously ... why does people with less talent than me play so much better than me.
According to the course I did, its all because I didn't understand how my mind works. The first step in being great at anything is to believe it. For a long time I've been very modest about my playing and when people give out compliments I would disagree with them, saying that I have a long time to grow. People and schools teach us these bad habits from a young age and we go with it, thinking that believing that the mindset of I'm not the best and i have to work harder" will drive us in some way to become better. Well IT DOES NOT!!!
The first step in becoming the guitarist you want to be, or being anything to your true potential, is to believe that you are great! There is no such thing as "I Can't" or "I'm not good enough". The way cognitive dissonance works is to believe you are as good as you want to be, and you will drive yourself to get there. This does not tie into The Secret, even if it sounds similar. A part in your brain, controls you to do as you believe. If you don't believe you can, you will never do.
So guys, go out. Believe you are a great guitarist, and see how quickly you progress!
Dirk
Good post.. I find that whenever I play with a very good band, I tend to play better than I would in my regular band. That's where I realized that it's all in the mind. You're only as good as you think you are.
aubs1
Excellent post, Francis....
Reminds me of when my wife got her National colours, we got books, and tapes called The Mental Game, and Mental Management .... and one of the things we learnt from there was.....
"you have to see yourself as a champion on your way to becoming a champion".....and I think this applies to anything in life! ( I think JH understood this, consciously or unconsciously).
Blues..... when you mix with people who are better than you are, it does lift your game....you'll be amazed at what you can learn from Bruce Lee's books, not just karate!
Squonk
Good Stuff Francis ?
I am as good as, if not better than Joe Bonamassa! 8)
Keira-WitherKay
yes this is such a good tip to musicians......
and easily proved... look at any of the great musicians in any instrument they all have ego's the size of a house..... and as the initial post pointed out we get schooled that an ego is a "bad" thing.... but in show biz if you don't 100% believe in your own abilities and know you can entertain you may as well give up ....... cos the audience will never believe it ....
every star knows he/she is good at what they do.... and this attitude of i am top of my game drives you harder to stay top of your game.... so you work harderjust to stay the one being given the compliments....
and on the other side of the coin a healthy ego is also linked to a 'humbleness" that will allow you to recognise when you meet players that ARE better than you... that you do everything in your power to learn from them.... without your ego getting in way....
so a ying and yang of ego and humbleness can excist in one artist..........it's like reaching a point of enlightenment in your music and is quite spiritual....*(not religeous tho)
i felt i became a better musician when i took the spiritual approach to playing, i only play music i love i play each show as if it's my last with my whole soul (even if it is an open mic) and play everysong with the same enthusiasm as if it's the first time i am playing it....... i do know i'm able to pick up my instrument anywhere anytime and do a show and entertain....
hehheheh someone once said all they need do is give me a guitar ,a box to stand on and an audience and you will have a show..........yet despite this knowledge of i know i can impress....i also know i need to be learning and developing my art all the time too...and spend hours a day working on it .....
and a last closing point is a great musician i forget who now.... said ........ the best musicians are not neccessarily the ones that know more musical information or have more technical skill than the others..... but the ones who know their limitations and avoid doing publicly what they know they can't sound incredible at......
and remember this is showbiz .... you not just playing music you need to entertain... be visual make people sit up and listen....
solid advice i think
peace and light
Keira
AlanRatcliffe
Keira WitherKay wrote
and easily proved... look at any of the great musicians in any instrument they all have ego's the size of a house.....
So Allan Holdsworth is the exception that proves the rule? He's the dour Yorkshireman of legend:
"I can't really play guitar. I never even wanted to play guitar."
Keira-WitherKay
who's alan holdworth?????????????? is he famous ????????? just kidding hehehheh
[deleted]
Great post ? My pops always told me, "Whether you think you can or you can't.... You're probably right."
Makes sense in ALL aspects of life.
cain
Brentcgp wrote
Great post ? My pops always told me, "Whether you think you can or you can't.... You're probably right."
Makes sense in ALL aspects of life.
Brend that quote of your dad was used in the seminar. And its dead on, your dad is wise man!
Renesongs
Great post Francis - positive reinforcement is what it is all about look at what you do well and practice that which you don't, don't knit pick at yourself over your weaknesses. That's something I am often guilty of
Often as musicians we are treated by society as someone that is only 2 notches up from a pedophile. Some of the most brilliant minds over the millennia have either been musicians or aspired to music by describing the universe through it - Bach, Mozart, Pythagoras, Euclid come to mind.
Lethe
bLuEs wrote
Good post.. I find that whenever I play with a very good band, I tend to play better than I would in my regular band. That's where I realized that it's all in the mind. You're only as good as you think you are.
same. when I'm jamming with better musos, i suddenly can play so much better... maybe i'm inspired or pushed by them or something. but it is in the mind. gotta believe.
Carmen
Good advice. I find that I have to pick my days to play guitar...otherwise I literally land up on the floor when I make a mistake and think: 'am I ever going to get this right?'
So maybe I need a change in attitude... ?
Frans-B--Cocq
Nice to read stuff like this in my state of musical frustration... I have been feeling that I have hit a wall and can't get any better. So it's just in my head after all? :-\
Bob-Dubery
Frans B. Cocq wrote
Nice to read stuff like this in my state of musical frustration... I have been feeling that I have hit a wall and can't get any better. So it's just in my head after all? :-\
Quite possibly, though I do think that if any of us drew a graph of our progress it would not be a smooth line but would have lots of steps in it. I do think it is the case that sometimes you run into what seems to be a wall whilst you are working on something new or challenging, and that if you keep at it the penny will drop and suddenly you will feel like you made a big jump forwards.
So a positive attitude should include not giving up too easily but continuing to work away at new techniques.
majestikc
Here's another similar saying: "It's not what you think you are, but what you think, you are"
Wizard
If you're playing to impress others, it doesn't work so good.
If you're playing to make good music, as if no-one's watching - it works better.
My drum teacher used to say "when you think you're good; you're not"
This might contradict the them of this thread though
cain
Wizard, its not about being arrogant or playing for others, its about believing in yourself, if you think your a bad drummer, guitarist, person etc. you keep yourself in that same state, you are who you want to be. The only thing that can or will stop one from being is yourself. We as human beings believe to little in our ability, of coarse some of us has a natural ability or talent towards something i.e. alan holdsworth and some just worked their asses of to get there i,e. steve vai. You must accept that there is always someone better than yourself, but its about you and not others.
Keira-WitherKay
yeah i agree with what Francis is saying....
but Wizard .... ego in a musician is a good thing .... and performing that you impress is too....
i do believe you need to play the music you love and allow the performance to come from your soul
but impressing the pants off the audience is what showbiz is all about .... not just playing guitar well...
peace and light
Keira
Wizard
I have to agree with what Keira and Francis say.
If you don't believe in yourself, you can't expect the audience to believe in you.
And you're only going to achieve as high as you aim.
mmm ... I hate it when I end up agreeing with both sides of the argument.
I will ponder ...
Heath
you have to believe in yourself and in the same breathe be critical of yourself . but if you go on stage and you are not having fun , nobody will .
