Find out what inspires you and soak yourself in that. For me, going to concerts to see great players or bands inspires me to practice more. Listening to great singers inspired me to refine my vibrato and phrasing. Listening and studying the music of great classical composers inspired me to study music composition.

I wanted to write great music. Watching the movie Star Wars when I was a kid, reading Lord of the Rings, etc. inspired me as well. There are lots of non musical things that have been inspiring to me.

These are questions you should ask yourself. The two biggest practicing mistakes I have seen in students (besides not practicing enough) are: 1. Practicing is not goal orientated. 2. Not understanding the difference between playing one’s guitar and practicing one’s guitar. If you are having any difficulties with practicing, talk to your teacher about it. He/she should be able to help you.

You should be able to play all the techniques of the guitar. Van Halen did tapping but not with all his fingers as others have done. He didn’t play finger style much either, but we still regard him as an important guitarist, the same thing can be said for Vai and many others. Classical guitar master John William’s probably doesn’t play well with a guitar pick (I am assuming this to be true, I have no proof of it), but he is considered one of the greatest classical guitarists alive today.

Skills like improvisation, songwriting and playing with a guitar pick or not going to be high on his list of skills to acquire. This is because classical guitarists generally don’t do those things – and don’t need to to be great at what they do. These players are great players in their own ways and they have spent many years developing their skills. Learning everything about guitar playing would have taken away precious practice time from the things they needed to focus on to reach their goals.

Absolutely spend a good amount of time in practicing reversing that habit. Practice in a new way, where you make sure you do what you weren’t doing before. Analyze the essence of that bad habit, extract it from it’s musical context, and perhaps make up “auxillary exercises” based on the essence of it. Use all the practice techniques that I teach to effectively begin this process of reversal.

To be GREAT means I have to be BETTER than everybody else. We already touched on this one above, but it is worth mentioning again here. What matters is reaching YOUR goals, not someone else’s goals. Who cares if you are or are not better than someone else? This is not the olympics. Music is the art of expression (or for some people, the science of entertainment).

Playing the guitar well is not reserved for just some special people. It is available and possible for everyone.

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