“Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.”  ~James M Barrie, Playwright

With this quotation in mind, I’d like to say a few words about how we spend our time.  In particular, I want to write a little about opportunity costs.  This is a term used mostly in economic circles, but it can also be applied towards your philosophical outlook.  Opportunity costs are defined as the never-fully-realized consequences of choices we almost, but didn’t, make.  For example, from a musician’s perspective, let’s look at the opportunity costs of deciding what to with one hour of free time in which you could either watch TV or you could practice your guitar.  If you choose to watch TV, the opportunity cost is that you won’t play your guitar.  Your choice to watch TV for your hour of free time obligated you to sacrifice your practice time.

Imagine now that each day for a month you have one hour of free time and that each day you choose to watch TV instead of practicing the guitar.  At the end of the month, your opportunity cost is thirty hours of guitar practice.  As you can see, opportunity costs increase correspondingly as time progresses.  Thirty hours of practice could represent the mastery of a number of techniques, the ability to play new songs, and surely a more intimate knowledge of the fret board.

Now let’s look at it from the other side of the spectrum.  Let’s say that for that one hour of free time, you could either go for a walk or you could practice the guitar, and you elect to practice your guitar.  At the end of the month, you’re able to play two new songs flawlessly from beginning to end.  The opportunity cost is that you didn’t get as much exercise as you could have if you had chosen to go for the walk.

Every action in your life, great or small, bears the trappings of opportunity costs.  Whatever you choose to do with your time, you have sacrificed an alternative course of action.  This is the tragedy of human existence.  When it comes to being a great guitarist, the principles are no different.  You’re simply going to have to give some things up along the way.  That’s not to say that there comes a time when you choose between your family and your guitar, but it does mean that in order to become an expert in anything—the guitar included—you have to pencil out some other things in life that you enjoy.  But don’t lose heart—the rewards of playing the guitar are huge.  Hang in there, stay focused, and if you start to lose interest, consider the guitarists who make your jaw drop.  Just think about what kind of guitarist your idol would be if he/she chose ESPN, HBO, or MTV instead of Martin, Taylor, or Fender.

Keep practicing.

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If you’re wondering about the pros and cons of learning how to play guitar using online lessons versus having a live teacher, let me just say this first: there’s no substitute for a living, breathing, personal instructor. Taking lessons in person will prevent you from developing bad techniques and will enable you to get instant answers to any questions you might have. Live lessons allow you to get immediate feedback on your playing, and a good instructor will identify areas that need improvement. Also, taking lessons from a trained instructor allows you to share your progress with the expert ears of someone who wants to see you reach your musical goals.

However, the benefit to online lessons–and you knew this was coming– is that they’re convenient and they’re cheap. Okay, they’re better than cheap–they’re free. Either way, how many guitar instructors do you know who can be accessed at 3 a.m. if you’re in the mood to learn a new strumming pattern? How many instructors will play the same riff for you a thousand times if you’re struggling to get the timing right? And of course, how many guitar lessons cost nothing? In addition, learning how to play online is ideal for anyone who wants to get better faster than what a weekly lesson allows. A typical, weekly guitar lesson is thirty minutes to an hour, and it focuses on only a few songs and techniques. Online guitar lessons, though, can last for hours, and they can be as focused as you want them to be. If you’re interested in working on one single technique, riff, or song, then you can focus all your attention on that goal. But maybe you would benefit from renewing your attention on something totally different yet equally beneficial. Go for it–start practicing something new. Start practicing ten new things. There’s no limit. If you find yourself attempting something that’s too difficult, move onto something easier. If you’re bored or frustrated, just do something different.

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Congratulations! You’ve completed the first step in becoming an expert guitarist! What is that first step, you might ask? Answer: you’re interested. Okay, okay, it may seem trite, but your interest is pushing you forward into unknown territory. Interest sparks passion, and passion galvanizes pursuit. And this site is dedicated to those of you who are interested in all things guitar: theory, technique, and everything in between.

There are numerous reasons as to why the pickers put off playing, why the strummers stop strumming, and why Alvarez gets abandoned. A lot of people who lose interest don’t even know why they lose interest. Some will say “I just couldn’t get into it,” or “I didn’t have the motivation.” If you’re bored with what you’re doing, there’s no way you’re going to be motivated to sit down and practice for any amount of time. A lot of people ask how to stay motivated. Answer: stay interested. Again, this seems like a no-brainer, but you just have to want it. And you have to want it badly. There’s nothing you cannot play if you want it badly enough. Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” You’ve got to re-invent the wheel, in a sense, because you might get tired of practicing the same way. So practice something else. I think you get the point.  Find a reason to want it.

Obviously, life has enough distractions, so it should be said that there’s no panacea for a guitar that collects dust. But there are certain hurdles you can overcome when you hit a wall. It will be my goal to keep you interested, motivated, and passionate–and to keep you playing. I want you to learn new things and to stay excited about the greatest hobby in the world. It is my hope that this site serves you in a way that will enhance your guitar-playing ability and your life. Congratulations again on making the first step towards the most rewarding past-time known to man.

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