The first time I picked up a guitar and started learning guitar playing techniques my whole life changed. I think I slept with it the night I brought my first new guitar home. Its a bit embarrassing to admit, but it is true. I remember the feel of the guitar in my hands and the shape, which reminded me of a girl I once dated. But seriously it was love, pure love.
Then I plugged it in and hit those first magic notes, Wow did it sound awful, maybe the worst noise I ever heard in my life. So started my journey in the world of music some 25 years ago, I found my one and only mistress, the guitar.
Today I am happily married with 3 kids, a real job, and my guitars. The only thing my wife has ever been jealous over is my guitars. I told her once I could have girlfriends or guitars, she said shed settle for the guitars. Thus is the secret to a happy marriage. Oh more importantly, the guitars. No two are the same, even the same model, made in the same year, with sequential serial numbers, are going to play and sound different. They have their own personalities, their own feel and mood swings. I have Fenders, Gibsons, Washburns, Parkers, solid bodies, hollow bodies and semi-hollow body guitars.
Playing Guitars is a passion. Great guitar playing is more than playing riffs and licks; its about presenting your emotions and feelings in musical terms. When I first started playing I was concerned about hitting every note right. Id spend hours practicing scales and chord forms and making sure that each note sounded perfect. After about two years of practice I knew everything in the world about making chord shapes and playing scales, and nothing about making music. Id record myself and the listen to the playback and it sounded like a bored guitar student trying to play every note perfectly.
Time to crack a few eggs and make a new omelet. I started to listening to some great guitar players that I admired like David Gilmore, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix to figure out what they were doing different then me. I knew the same scales, and chord progressions, but I sounded nothing like these legends. I decided I wanted to sound more like David Gilmore so I spent the time to learn the solo from Comfortably Numb, but it still sounded flat and unexciting. I was try to play it exactly the way David Gilmore did, when what I should have been doing was playing it the way I FEEL.
Thats when it all started to come together for me. I figured out that I can learn from great guitarist, but the musical expression must come from inside me, to be of any interest. To channel what is in your soul to the guitar, I started simplify musical passages, and feel each note, and I learned not to worry about what my hands were doing. Magically my hands started singing because I had reached deep inside and cleared my head enough to allow for the musical expression I was unable to share in the past.
All the scales, chords and hours of practice just provide me with the tools I needed for self expression. My musical journey will never end, but my ability to explore is now at warp speed.
I had an Aunt named Connie. She was a very talented clothing designer. While she had no formal training and was just in High School her sketches were beautiful and designs extraordinary. Her dream was to be a designer when she grew up. This was her love, her passion. Unfortunately for her my Grandfather pulled her out of school and sent her to work in a factory. My Grandmother was ill and the family needed the money. My Aunt ended up being, a part time jewelry salesperson at JC Pennies. She never did reach her full potential
Many people do not even know what they want to do or be when they grow up. They have a passion (or maybe 2 or 3) but do not know how to make it into a career. Or they do and someone like their parents talk them out of it and into something safe. Be an accountant they say the money's good and there's always work. So we dutifully do what they say. Of course they're our parents...friends....teachers...whomever and they have our best interests at heart. Then we wind up in a job that's boring at best or one we hate so much that we want to put an end to our misery and maybe jump off the building.
STOP, this is your life. Trust me it hasn't yet been proven we have another. You must make a very conscious thought out decision about what you want to do. Look at what you do now that brings you pleasure. Do you love putting on makeup, listening to music, going to concerts, reading, television, cars? The list is endless. But there is something that you love in this world. And no matter what, there is a career to be had doing what you love. Won't your life be better doing something that brings you pleasure rather something you dread gong to everyday. There is another bonus to doing something you love. You are usually way more successful because you work harder even when you are not there and you bring your best self to it. You are fully engaged which helps the ideas to flow.`
At a very young age I decided that I wanted to be rich. My parents did not have much money so they had to watch every penny coming in. I still to this day am amazed at how my mother can make a penny into dollar. However, I didn't want to watch the pennies. I wanted enough money so that I could do and buy what I wanted. I figured that if I went into business (I didn't know what business) I could earn a lot. As I got older I realized having my own business would be better and I could get more money plus the freedom that having your own company entails. I had no idea what I should do in business and believe me there are more options than I can write about even if I tool a month to do it. My best friend was entering the fashion industry so that is what I did. Luckily it worked out. I have enjoyed my career and have been successful at it. It could have easily gone the other way.
Yet, if I had to do it all over I would pick my field with more conscious choice thought. Business is my passion. I love the creativity that goes into starting and developing one. But I would have researched all the options. I would have made lists of different business/products. Edited it down to what sounded the most interesting and than did my due diligence on each one after. I would have researched what path I would take in the business I liked. Today there are so many web sites you can go to find out the information. You can check out colleges and universities, associations, about.com is a good site to ask questions on just about anything. Find mentors, ask them how t go about it. Then try interning or working part time in the job to see if it's a fit.
Let's say you love animals and after searching the web you decide that you want to work in pet nutrition. Than you find the colleges who specialize in this field. You contact the Dean and find out what you need to do to get into the college. It could be that you volunteer at a local animal shelter. You like this job and you learn hands on what the animals like to eat, what makes their coats sleek and shiny. The is a recap of the process to finding your passion.
1. List all the things you love to do (Don't edit and talk yourself out of anything). Just write it even if you don't think it could be a job.
2. Than you edit to the top 2-3 things you like the best.
3. Research find out about the fields and what you can do in each field.
4. Experiment - try to get part time work in these fields try them on for size.
5. When you have it narrowed down choose a college or university and find out what they require to get into these schools.
6. Find mentors in the field of your choice to help guide you through the process from choosing, to educating, to finding a job.
Both William Mcrea & Maria Pesin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
William Mcrea has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Tattoo and Guide Guitar. Bill McRea is the publisher of Guitar Warehouse the best place to and learn. William Mcrea's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
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