An aspiring professional guitarist, you undoubtedly have watched auditions for “The Voice” and “American Idol,” and you have realized both how seriously some people can mistake noise for music and how amazingly some undiscovered talents can perform. You undoubtedly gained new understanding of just how many people share your aspirations to stardom, and you should have developed healthy respect for how much talent your competitors bring to the race for the top of the musical pyramid. If these discoveries strengthened your determination to take your skills to the next level, you have some assurance that you have the tough temperament that absolutely must complement your talent as you turn pro.
Popular smooth jazz saxophonist and syndicated radio host Dave Koz once commented that he spends at least 1,000 hours practicing for every one minute of music that ultimately goes on a CD. Over the years, Koz and the guests on his weekly radio program repeatedly have advised aspiring your instrumentalist and vocalists:
• Find a good guitar coach. A famous poet once confessed, “I never could earn more than a B-minus as a critic of my own work.” The same insight applies to most guitar talents who often are their own worst enemies in the process of refining and sophisticating their talents. Professionals insist you must have an experienced, well-trained and trustworthy guitar coach not only to guide your development but also to enforce the rules for regular, productive practice.
• Match your instrumental skills with vocal. Musicians who came of age in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s often say wistfully, “Wow, I can remember the good old days when band musicians actually played their own instruments while singing.” Command of an instrument helps you understand the subtleties and intricacies of musical math and complex harmonies while singing helps you to tie it all together. If you aspire to composing your own original songs, your ability to sing will help you find tuneful melodies and seductive descants.
• Develop power. With your coach’s sage instruction and guidance, you should extend your playing power as far as you can, but you also must develop your ability to perfect each chord and play them all masterfully. Your playing must become as precise and powerful as possible.
• Get a degree in music. A caller once asked Dave Koz, “Is there any way I somehow can get paid to learn all about music and performance?” Listeners could hear the smile in Koz’s voice as he responded, “Sure. They call it college.” Frugal college students can live comfortably on the combination of their grants, scholarships and student loans as they devote all their time and attention to gaining command of music theory and perfecting their performance skills.
• Make each performance better than the one before. One astute music major recently observed the analogy between serious attention to music and swimming in the Olympics. “The competition inspires you to perform your best, but just as swimmers actually compete against the clock more than they race one another, so musicians take motivation from competition but they actually try to reach the ideal of perfect performance.” Just as athletes elevate their games as they move from preliminaries through quarter- and semi-finals to the championship, so guitar players steadily improve with each performance. Determine to emerge as absolutely the best in the business drives their initiatives.
