I didn't grow up around any musicians or live music so when I started learning guitar I only had records to compare myself too. It honestly took years to realize that the recording is the best the pros could muster after a bunch of rehearsing and playing full time since they were kids in many cases. It also took time to stop thinking about learning a song as playing it note for note and singing. I think the Get Back documentary is a great example of how even super talented professionals can sound not so good until they have time to figure things out.
I haven't really thought about becoming a guitarist until I was 29 years old. And I'm undisciplined. So there was always this notion that no matter how hard I try, there'll always be some 12 y.o. Chinese girl on RUclips who would out-solo me with her eyes closed. So all I have left as a musician and a composer is being the best me I possibly can. And that's fine.
Brilliant lesson & philosophy once again. We should consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have people like Eric out there helping us on our guitar journey so thankyou
Hi Eric. Great lesson. I started playing in the '70s and, sadly, I've known a number of players who've given up over the years because they couldn't reconcile their progress against unrealistic expectations. I realised early on that I'd never set the world on fire with my playing, but equally I've always enjoyed trying to improve and finding new stuff. Your channel and Patreon material is a real encouragement to make fresh progress - even for an old git like me!
Great video Eric. I try to live by the advice I give often which is “treat yourself like you treat others.” This is hard and can seem counterintuitive, but if you think about it, we’re far more forgiving and motivational to others than we are to ourselves.
I live my life as an imposter, thinking about what i cant do, how others are better than me. This talk was pleasant as its genuine and it has some very tasteful guitar. It helped. Thank you!
3:35 sounds like the advice I consistently get from my therapist, a practicing Buddhist. So tough to do, but such a good practice! Thanks for spreading this entire message!
Seeing so many talented musicians on the internet can really bring me down, a video like this may seem like a small thing but it's a powerful reminder and thank you for that.
I've been playing for over 50 years. A couple of those, professionally, but mostly for my own recreation. My playing seems impressive to many players who've been at it for 5 to 10, but that's because I didn't show them what I can't do. From my end of the age telescope there's ALWAYS something and often a great deal that those 5 to 10 year players can do that impresses me and it's always something I can't do or something I might be able to but hadn't considered trying [the truly creative things]. I think anybody who has stuck with it for 5 years has the fire.
I’m currently trying to film my university audition video on piano and it’s hard not think I suck every two seconds so coming back to this video helps, thank you Eric
I needed this so much. I am a musician who suffers from everything you talked about, and you're right, its incredibly toxic to put that stuff on myself. Thanks for making this video.
Man I aspire to be as cool and chill as you are about things. There’s way too many external stressors in life, we don’t need to be piling on top of that with our internal voice. 🙌🏻🎸
more people need to hear this. i think the frustration with progress is what leads people to quit when they could be enjoying playing at the level they are at currently.
Its awesome that you talked about feel. I had a band leader back when i was in youth band at church in highschool that would always tell me "just feel it" over and over. Sometimes I pass that along to younger people that I'm working with at church these days as I'm 30. A lot of people kind of laugh at that statement, but its great advice.
I love the hippy dippy guitar therapy talk ❤️ It’s so easy to beat yourself down during the hard times, and then praise yourself during the good times. It’s important to find a healthy balance and turn both into a positive outcome.
Eric, you are a treasure. So happy to support you on Patreon -- and folks, please, do consider adding your support to this wonderful person and teacher, I promise you it's worth it -- and grateful for how you approach guitar, music, and life. Shine on, friend!
"Comparison is the thief of joy" is my thought for the day. Great line! Tomo Fujita has four expressions he stresses to students: Be kind to yourself; don't compare; don't worry; and (my favorite) don't expect too fast. You can get Pickboy picks with those sayings stamped on them. (No affiliation, btw.) I'm 64 now and my life's wisdom: guitar style not something we choose but that we accept.
I’ve been struggling with this while preparing for the first show my band has had in a long time due to the pandemic. My humbleness has started to turn into stage fright because I’m overthinking everything. My usual cure is to be over prepared so we can let go and enjoy the work during an effortless performance. Really we need to just get back into it. Thanks.
Honestly, the best part of this for me was the end where you talked about producers. I've been a guitarist for years and always struggled with plateauing as a guitarist at different times, and struggling with things that are 'out of my reach' or just I can't find myself to appreciate the payoff. For example, I've never been able to motivate myself to be a shredder as I've never super enjoyed it. This pandemic has really helped me with perspective though as a songwriter and with recording music, and just looking at the moving pieces. Some of my favorite bands are just well put together and composed, and though I've come to think of them as miles ahead of myself as guitarists, I have to realize I'm just selling myself short, exaggerating, and ignoring the fact that in some cases that is literally all they have to do, it's been their profession for decades. I read something recently from David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) about his songwriting and how some people would look down on songs that were just a lot of small simple moving parts together and he said but that was what he loved about music and how that was the type of music he wanted to write. One of my favorite guitarists (and producers), Kevin Shields, is from a technical standpoint probably still a very subpar guitarist, yet he even said he knew he was never going to be a certain maestro type of guitarist, and he accepted it, owned it, and ended up being the primary driving force behind one of the most important guitar albums ever (Loveless). Now, I'm not super experimental with tunings like he is (or the guys from Sonic Youth, but that's another story), but watching some videos with him and how he basically got really good at one thing (after basically inventing a different style of guitar playing) in some of the recent Jazzmaster series videos he did reinspired me to play the guitar my way, how I want to play it, and not aggravate myself and lose joy my practicing parts I don't really want to learn or try to be a type of guitarist I don't want to be just because that negative voice tried to tell me I need to be. Hope that makes some sense.
The ego, or our over analytical mind is a poor master but useful servant. Something Ram Dass has said. It truly is about perspective and I find when I channel some gratitude and change my vocabulary from "I have to" to "I get to" the process becomes much more rewarding.
Love this video for the title alone, I really needed this! On a similar note, I was just listening to Cory Wong interview Joe Satriani and he said that when we're young we want to fit in and be cool, but when we grow older we want to be more unique. Great guitarists are great philosophers.
Thankful for the thoughts… I call myself a recovering acoustic player but love playing electric. I just love to play and the people I play with and that’s enough for me. I am very blessed to be surrounded by encouraging people 👍👍👍
Thumbs up to honest reflections! Not down on yourself, but not arrogant, just being honest with yourselves. I had a great guitar/music day yesterday, and it felt so good! Nothing ground breaking, but the feel was there, and that glow kept me going for hours afterwards.
You’ve gotta realise that the best guitarists nay musicians are those who hav stumbled across their own recognisable style. N often that idiosyncratic style has as much the do with what they can’t do as what they can do. The pinnacle of musicianship is originality, not technique, not virtuosity it’s people who’ve found a noise that is recognisably their own. That only comes from years of people plowing their own furrow inspite of what is correct, impressive and fashionable. Find your own niche, imperfection is the point, music isn’t a sport it isn’t competitive, what you can’t do sways your art equally as much as what u can do. The greatest musicians aren’t the best technically, the best musicians are the guys who can play a few notes n sound exactly like who they are. Virtuosic Shredding is masturbation, just find your own thing n run with it. Music is not a fuckin sport, technicality is a mirage promoted by dullards n fools who’ve missed the point. Party on
The title got a like. The content got a subscribe. Love the neighborhood bully that lives in your head. I got it in spades. Repeat till no pain is felt... My music is unique and nobody can feel what I am feeling. My solos come from the heart and feel good to me.
You aren't kidding when you say you won't operate from a place of scarcity. The insights you share here are of the deepest and most empowering variety. IMO it shows you have your heart in the right place. Getting your head in the right spot can save you YEARS of practice.
One of my favorite quotes, “the master has failed more times than the beginner has tried”. If you only play what your good at you won’t improve. The more you fail the better you get. Sort of a paradox
Man, I just watched a video on Music is Win where he makes fun of new guitarists who may not know how to behave in a guitar store, so he took them to school with a 10 minute video. I came away feeling dirty. Yeah, no one likes "those" guys, but they're not trying to make life bad, they just don't have the experience. Why does a guy with a million subscribers feels the need to make fun of them? Anyways, your video made the good feels come back. You're trying to help the mental state of guitarists with less experience, and I love that man, while others are knocking them down. Thank you for doing that.
This topic really hit home with me. I've been playing for nearly half a century and it's only been the last several years I've come to grips with the "inner critic" and comparing myself to others. Seeing Pat Metheny last night almost brought my old demons back, but for the most part I enjoyed myself and was inspired. Keep up the great videos, Eric. I hope you realize how much you are appreciated.
"The Inner Game of Tennis" has leveled up my playing and this video echoes many of the things that book teaches. Allowing myself to trust what I can do instead of having my inner critic judge every note AS I play them. What a prison of ego in an activity that at its heart lets us forget all our human shortcomings and just enjoy some musical expression. Be like monke, less think, more do.
Thanks for that🙏🏻 just now getting to the point where I’m learning that loosening up your hand and not forcing makes playing easier and more fun. Lots of doors opening 🙂
You're a good teacher, Eric - and just a good dude. Wise in many ways. I am super appreciative of this video, as I've been playing 23 years on and off and really struggle with the internal self talk and feeling like I suck. I've never jammed with anyone else really, due to that very thing. Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.
It took me a lot of introspection, meditation, and psychedelics to understand this, for music, painting (art in gemeral) and life in general. Music is bigger than guitar and the point of music, as with any art, is to learn to express oneself honestly. Which is a lifelong process that changes as we ourselves change through the years. Good stuff man!
You have some of the best and unique teaching topics that many other teachers miss. I’ve been playing for 15 years prior to finding your channel but the amount I’ve learned in a year watching your videos rivals those 15 years. Thanks for doing what you do!
@@EricHaugenGuitar the topics you cover are so useful, the philosophy aspect and the more abstract ideas you cover are top notch! Not to mention you have a great ear for tone! Hoping to be able to get some online lessons in the future! I’ll sign up on your site!
I’m 63 and a returning guitarist. Years ago, when I had potential, I stopped playing to spend time supporting my family. My joy in playing now is that I can afford the guitar I like and accepting the fact that being a sensational player is a ship that sailed long ago. But, who knows, my hands and ears still work and I am ecstatic with all the new equipment that is available. I might do something after all.
I love the way your videos look.. Effortless and don't seem to be edited at all, just like a Jim Jarmusch film; so simple yet far more engaging and true than most guitar channels
Be kind to yourself. A great piece of wisdom from a people coach at work, and it helps me. Playing a tiny bit better than last week -- congratulate yourself! Playing 5min on a busy tired day -- awesome! Struggling with something difficult? Take a break. Helps me.
Great thought, man. Getting better and listening to guitarist better than ourselves go hand in hand - but it can get out of control. There’s a few guitarists there I can’t even listen to these days because they are so good.
This video specifically, and your channel in general, is an absolute treasure! Music is a form of expression, and just like people have unique ways of talking, writing, or dancing, I think it's important we all find our own voice in the instruments. As someone who struggles with mental health, this video really resonates. I picked up guitar a few months ago as a way to overcome and try to silence that intrusive urge to compare myself to others. Every once in a while I'll try to play a song I enjoy, get frustrated that I'm not playing it well enough, and then have to remind myself that the whole point of it is to simply play something I enjoy! Funny enough, most of what I actually enjoy are really simple picking or strumming patterns to an interesting progression, or simple melodies. It's impressive to see others play crazy riffs or chords with fills, and even though I don't enjoy playing them myself, I still sometimes find myself trying to imitate it only to get frustrated, disappointed, and ashamed.
Thanks for the reminder...I've had the good fortune to spend a fair amount of time in studios and house parties with some players I would consider geniuses...(Nashville's the only town where I'm shy about playing in a guitar shop)...finally overcame my internal critic's voice, due to the generosity of spirit from those musicians. Playing simple, but with feel, made all the difference. Thanks again..
I really love your videos. Your eureka moments sit well with me. I suffered for years because of constantly comparing myself to virtuosos, so much that I quit playing for years.
This episode is exactly what it's about! At the moment I am in a difficult phase regarding practice and assessing my knowledge and skills. Indeed, I look too much at better guitarists than I am, and let's face it, there will always be better guitarists than I ever could be. This episode shows me again that enjoying making music is the most important thing, thanks Eric!!
Love this teaching, it's for so many things in life not just guitar... though guitar is a microcosm of life. What's driving me crazy is the music Eric's playing as the video starts, I know that song really really well and yet for some reason can't call it up. What the hell is it?! Really, what I've been trying to do with playing and practice is using the self-criticism as fuel to improve BUT ALSO taking a moment every day to ENJOY what I CAN PLAY NOW. To actually ENJOY it. To listen to myself playing something within my range and appreciate how good it is.
@@EricHaugenGuitar That's it!!! I was like, "Come on, man, whatever it is you're gonna kick yourself." I've loved that album for almost 35 years. Consider me kicked.
I've been using the title of this vid as a mantra. Not just in music, but in just about all walks of my life. It really does change the way I look at things. I also notice it's a common practice for a lot of folks around me: Something that appeared needs to be quantified or compared to something that happened to them/before/etc.
Hey man... thank you so much for this video. I’m watching it for the second time and I’m brought to tears. I’ve had a wall up in my life and your video helped to shatter it. I can’t thank you enough. You have brougjt me to tears, and I am now going to make music as a puzzle piece like you say. Life is going ti become better from now on. I can’t thank you emough in readable words... you’ve sparked a major change in me, and I am grateful to have been able to live in a day and age where this video can exits.
Damn, as a guitarist I needed to hear this. I love to play, but as soon as I start to watch other guitar players and do what some of them do I get stressed out and start telling myself there are a million players better than me. And what I should be doing is just enjoying the action of creating sounds and music
6:58 this is exactly the advice I needed. I’ve been struggling with the fact that I’m not a bluesy, soloing virtuoso like some of these RUclips people, even though I’d like to be. But this piece of advice is what I needed. It’s the exact reason that I love Todd Nichols, the guitarist from Toad the Wet Sprocket. He’s never scared to stay in the background adding endless amounts of color, almost scared to be in the forefront.
Videos like this one should have some kind of super-like button. When I'm happy with what I play my listeners will be as well. Thank you Eric for those bullet points, spot on!
Your videos always help me learn AND feel/think better about myself as a player. You rock, Eric! Thanks for what you do in the guitar and overall music community.
So many great life lessons here. I hope people appreciate that elevating your thought process affects everything in your life. It isn't the end all be all, you still have to work hard, but having the right mindset makes a world of difference
Really loved this video. Great advice. It’s so easy to get caught up in the comparison trap and lose the joy of playing. Some great stuff to think about here.
Excellent philosophy- the key unlock or LOCK the door to joy in most all things. It always seems to come down to feel as that mysterious component of "the signal chain". We should hope to preserve and allow for mystery; to be ok with unsolved questions. Experimentation leads to discovery, which can then lead to creativity...
Buddy I love your videos you are a breath of fresh air. Some many other convoluted videos on RUclips but you content is grade A! Loving the beefheart lessons too!! My man!!
Upon further reflection, Eric’s videos have always upped the ante for guitar players to be more nuanced and musical. If you’re gigging and ripping a guitar solo or even playing rhythm, your crowd is never going to hold you to a higher standard. Only that internal bully voice propels you to reapproach a lick that you can do in your sleep. We all owe it to the universe to offer up a slightly tastier version of whatever you’re doing. Hopefully, your band mates enhance and inspire you to go deeper and suck less.
Thanx man, great information. I agree I find myself with that voice. I can’t play that great technically, but this is why 02/23/22 is very exciting for me. 🤓Do ya feel it? Get ready Sensei.
I didn't grow up around any musicians or live music so when I started learning guitar I only had records to compare myself too. It honestly took years to realize that the recording is the best the pros could muster after a bunch of rehearsing and playing full time since they were kids in many cases. It also took time to stop thinking about learning a song as playing it note for note and singing. I think the Get Back documentary is a great example of how even super talented professionals can sound not so good until they have time to figure things out.
Exactly!
In this era of overly curated social media feeds it's important to see things like that!
I haven't really thought about becoming a guitarist until I was 29 years old. And I'm undisciplined. So there was always this notion that no matter how hard I try, there'll always be some 12 y.o. Chinese girl on RUclips who would out-solo me with her eyes closed. So all I have left as a musician and a composer is being the best me I possibly can. And that's fine.
Same here, and I just turned 30. Here I am, learning the stuff most of my friends learned in high school. But we're all at where we're at.
Small tube amps , mics , fairly inexpensive gear yet one of the best sounding gigs on RUclips. 🤘
This 10x!
Finger Toaaaaan for days
Brilliant lesson & philosophy once again. We should consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have people like Eric out there helping us on our guitar journey so thankyou
Hi Eric. Great lesson. I started playing in the '70s and, sadly, I've known a number of players who've given up over the years because they couldn't reconcile their progress against unrealistic expectations. I realised early on that I'd never set the world on fire with my playing, but equally I've always enjoyed trying to improve and finding new stuff. Your channel and Patreon material is a real encouragement to make fresh progress - even for an old git like me!
Ditto..!!
Great video Eric. I try to live by the advice I give often which is “treat yourself like you treat others.” This is hard and can seem counterintuitive, but if you think about it, we’re far more forgiving and motivational to others than we are to ourselves.
I live my life as an imposter, thinking about what i cant do, how others are better than me. This talk was pleasant as its genuine and it has some very tasteful guitar. It helped. Thank you!
3:35 sounds like the advice I consistently get from my therapist, a practicing Buddhist. So tough to do, but such a good practice! Thanks for spreading this entire message!
Seeing so many talented musicians on the internet can really bring me down, a video like this may seem like a small thing but it's a powerful reminder and thank you for that.
I've been playing for over 50 years. A couple of those, professionally, but mostly for my own recreation. My playing seems impressive to many players who've been at it for 5 to 10, but that's because I didn't show them what I can't do. From my end of the age telescope there's ALWAYS something and often a great deal that those 5 to 10 year players can do that impresses me and it's always something I can't do or something I might be able to but hadn't considered trying [the truly creative things]. I think anybody who has stuck with it for 5 years has the fire.
I’m currently trying to film my university audition video on piano and it’s hard not think I suck every two seconds so coming back to this video helps, thank you Eric
_'reflect on that while I play some Phil Collins'_
gotta love him, glad I found this channel today
I needed this so much. I am a musician who suffers from everything you talked about, and you're right, its incredibly toxic to put that stuff on myself. Thanks for making this video.
I thought this was my comment and I got confused
@@twoinabush100 AYYYY! WE'RE TWINS HAHA! Hell yeah dude, you have great taste in music obviously haha! Praise the boognish!
Keep that Brown Sound goin' down town boys!
Man I aspire to be as cool and chill as you are about things. There’s way too many external stressors in life, we don’t need to be piling on top of that with our internal voice. 🙌🏻🎸
Yeah! Guitar is our friend!
more people need to hear this. i think the frustration with progress is what leads people to quit when they could be enjoying playing at the level they are at currently.
Yes!
Like all things - it's about the journey not the destination!
Caught you late this week but the world needs more hippie dippy stuff.I enjoy your random acts of kindness every week.
Its awesome that you talked about feel. I had a band leader back when i was in youth band at church in highschool that would always tell me "just feel it" over and over. Sometimes I pass that along to younger people that I'm working with at church these days as I'm 30. A lot of people kind of laugh at that statement, but its great advice.
I love the hippy dippy guitar therapy talk ❤️ It’s so easy to beat yourself down during the hard times, and then praise yourself during the good times. It’s important to find a healthy balance and turn both into a positive outcome.
Man thank you for this. My internal critic can be overtly harsh on my playing, I’m glad I’m not the only one.
I really agree with the simplicity point. In tune, in time, good tone, good feel - you’ll be ok
This needs to be the first lesson for any aspiring musician. Thank you for this.
Thank you for this video! Been struggling with overly-comparing myself to others a lot lately and needed to hear this
Yeah!
You're the only one that plays like you - I'm the only one that plays like me :-)
Eric, you are a treasure. So happy to support you on Patreon -- and folks, please, do consider adding your support to this wonderful person and teacher, I promise you it's worth it -- and grateful for how you approach guitar, music, and life. Shine on, friend!
Yea man...great advice and insight. Let the soul dance on the fret board like nobody is watching or caring. Do the hippy dippy!!
"Comparison is the thief of joy" is my thought for the day. Great line! Tomo Fujita has four expressions he stresses to students: Be kind to yourself; don't compare; don't worry; and (my favorite) don't expect too fast. You can get Pickboy picks with those sayings stamped on them. (No affiliation, btw.) I'm 64 now and my life's wisdom: guitar style not something we choose but that we accept.
I’ve been struggling with this while preparing for the first show my band has had in a long time due to the pandemic. My humbleness has started to turn into stage fright because I’m overthinking everything. My usual cure is to be over prepared so we can let go and enjoy the work during an effortless performance. Really we need to just get back into it. Thanks.
Honestly, the best part of this for me was the end where you talked about producers. I've been a guitarist for years and always struggled with plateauing as a guitarist at different times, and struggling with things that are 'out of my reach' or just I can't find myself to appreciate the payoff. For example, I've never been able to motivate myself to be a shredder as I've never super enjoyed it. This pandemic has really helped me with perspective though as a songwriter and with recording music, and just looking at the moving pieces. Some of my favorite bands are just well put together and composed, and though I've come to think of them as miles ahead of myself as guitarists, I have to realize I'm just selling myself short, exaggerating, and ignoring the fact that in some cases that is literally all they have to do, it's been their profession for decades.
I read something recently from David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) about his songwriting and how some people would look down on songs that were just a lot of small simple moving parts together and he said but that was what he loved about music and how that was the type of music he wanted to write. One of my favorite guitarists (and producers), Kevin Shields, is from a technical standpoint probably still a very subpar guitarist, yet he even said he knew he was never going to be a certain maestro type of guitarist, and he accepted it, owned it, and ended up being the primary driving force behind one of the most important guitar albums ever (Loveless). Now, I'm not super experimental with tunings like he is (or the guys from Sonic Youth, but that's another story), but watching some videos with him and how he basically got really good at one thing (after basically inventing a different style of guitar playing) in some of the recent Jazzmaster series videos he did reinspired me to play the guitar my way, how I want to play it, and not aggravate myself and lose joy my practicing parts I don't really want to learn or try to be a type of guitarist I don't want to be just because that negative voice tried to tell me I need to be. Hope that makes some sense.
Exactly! Guitar is just a tool!
A paintbrush - and there's an infinite number of ways to make art :-)
I like how the guitar jumps from one ear to the other (I was wearing headphones)
Also this really helped me! Thank you
The ego, or our over analytical mind is a poor master but useful servant. Something Ram Dass has said.
It truly is about perspective and I find when I channel some gratitude and change my vocabulary from "I have to" to "I get to" the process becomes much more rewarding.
This is a chronic issue for me, and what you preach is a golden tonic. Thank you.
In all aspects of life!
I try to let it all go - fuck it man nothing means anything anyway! 🏖🏄♂️
This should have a million views by now. this is great and spoken from a deep and personal place.
Love this video for the title alone, I really needed this! On a similar note, I was just listening to Cory Wong interview Joe Satriani and he said that when we're young we want to fit in and be cool, but when we grow older we want to be more unique. Great guitarists are great philosophers.
Thankful for the thoughts… I call myself a recovering acoustic player but love playing electric. I just love to play and the people I play with and that’s enough for me. I am very blessed to be surrounded by encouraging people 👍👍👍
Thumbs up to honest reflections! Not down on yourself, but not arrogant, just being honest with yourselves. I had a great guitar/music day yesterday, and it felt so good! Nothing ground breaking, but the feel was there, and that glow kept me going for hours afterwards.
Yay! That's what I love to hear!
You’ve gotta realise that the best guitarists nay musicians are those who hav stumbled across their own recognisable style. N often that idiosyncratic style has as much the do with what they can’t do as what they can do. The pinnacle of musicianship is originality, not technique, not virtuosity it’s people who’ve found a noise that is recognisably their own. That only comes from years of people plowing their own furrow inspite of what is correct, impressive and fashionable. Find your own niche, imperfection is the point, music isn’t a sport it isn’t competitive, what you can’t do sways your art equally as much as what u can do. The greatest musicians aren’t the best technically, the best musicians are the guys who can play a few notes n sound exactly like who they are. Virtuosic Shredding is masturbation, just find your own thing n run with it. Music is not a fuckin sport, technicality is a mirage promoted by dullards n fools who’ve missed the point. Party on
The title got a like. The content got a subscribe. Love the neighborhood bully that lives in your head. I got it in spades.
Repeat till no pain is felt...
My music is unique and nobody can feel what I am feeling. My solos come from the heart and feel good to me.
You aren't kidding when you say you won't operate from a place of scarcity. The insights you share here are of the deepest and most empowering variety. IMO it shows you have your heart in the right place. Getting your head in the right spot can save you YEARS of practice.
Thanks man! People often ask me what I’m working on and my answer is always “..being a better teacher!”
I have to thank you Eric, because of your videos I rediscovered the magic and beauty of triads.
One of my favorite quotes, “the master has failed more times than the beginner has tried”.
If you only play what your good at you won’t improve. The more you fail the better you get. Sort of a paradox
Yes!
Fail often!
We only truly fail when we stop trying!
Thanks for the quote. That is beautiful
Your tone is insanely warm. I love it.
Need more Eric Haugen philosophy every day!
Man, I just watched a video on Music is Win where he makes fun of new guitarists who may not know how to behave in a guitar store, so he took them to school with a 10 minute video. I came away feeling dirty. Yeah, no one likes "those" guys, but they're not trying to make life bad, they just don't have the experience. Why does a guy with a million subscribers feels the need to make fun of them? Anyways, your video made the good feels come back. You're trying to help the mental state of guitarists with less experience, and I love that man, while others are knocking them down. Thank you for doing that.
This topic really hit home with me. I've been playing for nearly half a century and it's only been the last several years I've come to grips with the "inner critic" and comparing myself to others. Seeing Pat Metheny last night almost brought my old demons back, but for the most part I enjoyed myself and was inspired. Keep up the great videos, Eric. I hope you realize how much you are appreciated.
"The Inner Game of Tennis" has leveled up my playing and this video echoes many of the things that book teaches. Allowing myself to trust what I can do instead of having my inner critic judge every note AS I play them. What a prison of ego in an activity that at its heart lets us forget all our human shortcomings and just enjoy some musical expression. Be like monke, less think, more do.
Very few guitarists talk about this...very insightful. Well done and thanks for the friendly reminder!
How refreshing is this! Great advice that will enhance any player's enjoyment...!
Thanks for that🙏🏻 just now getting to the point where I’m learning that loosening up your hand and not forcing makes playing easier and more fun. Lots of doors opening 🙂
You're a good teacher, Eric - and just a good dude. Wise in many ways. I am super appreciative of this video, as I've been playing 23 years on and off and really struggle with the internal self talk and feeling like I suck. I've never jammed with anyone else really, due to that very thing. Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.
Thanks for reminding us what the truth is and the reality is and thanks for your channel.
So true Eric especially in this day in age I watch more people play than I play myself :):)
Thank you for making this video as this is something to keep coming back to.
Such good advice here. It's really heartwarming. Thanks four doing this and for being a real human (VS some kind of pretend guitar superhero)
Thank you Eric! Rewatch! This was a rewatch, so good! ✌️😌🎸
It took me a lot of introspection, meditation, and psychedelics to understand this, for music, painting (art in gemeral) and life in general.
Music is bigger than guitar and the point of music, as with any art, is to learn to express oneself honestly. Which is a lifelong process that changes as we ourselves change through the years.
Good stuff man!
Dude you are so sound in pocket and mind. Totally dig it. Thank you!
this is the best guitar lesson i've ever seen
This was incredibly profound. Thank you for posting this. The critic in my head gets me down much of the time. Really appreciate this video.
✊ !!!
Great pep talk, Mr. Haugen. Love your take on several of those riffs, too.
You have some of the best and unique teaching topics that many other teachers miss. I’ve been playing for 15 years prior to finding your channel but the amount I’ve learned in a year watching your videos rivals those 15 years. Thanks for doing what you do!
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear!
I really believe that if we just take it slow and easy we can make so much more progress!
@@EricHaugenGuitar the topics you cover are so useful, the philosophy aspect and the more abstract ideas you cover are top notch! Not to mention you have a great ear for tone!
Hoping to be able to get some online lessons in the future! I’ll sign up on your site!
Thanks for that, Eric. We're always our own worst critics. What you say always makes such sense. And such beautiful guitar playing.
I’m 63 and a returning guitarist. Years ago, when I had potential, I stopped playing to spend time supporting my family. My joy in playing
now is that I can afford the guitar I like and accepting the fact that being a sensational player is a ship that sailed long ago. But, who knows, my hands and ears still work and I am ecstatic with all the new equipment that is available. I might do something after all.
Although I'm not into guitar-heavy music, your vibe and philosophy are excellent and I'm an avid subscriber.
I love the way your videos look.. Effortless and don't seem to be edited at all, just like a Jim Jarmusch film; so simple yet far more engaging and true than most guitar channels
You KNOW I love Jim Jarmusch :-)
Great lesson Eric!! Very important points. Change that inner radio station!!! Keep on rockin' Bruddah, and stay Groovy!!
Be kind to yourself. A great piece of wisdom from a people coach at work, and it helps me. Playing a tiny bit better than last week -- congratulate yourself! Playing 5min on a busy tired day -- awesome! Struggling with something difficult? Take a break. Helps me.
In tune, in time, with good tone and good feel seems like the chorus of a hit soul song!!! Thanks a lot for this life lesson, you rock.
Thanks Eric. I probably need to pick up my guitar after nearly 6 months.
What a lovely chap you are Eric! x
Great thought, man. Getting better and listening to guitarist better than ourselves go hand in hand - but it can get out of control. There’s a few guitarists there I can’t even listen to these days because they are so good.
This video specifically, and your channel in general, is an absolute treasure! Music is a form of expression, and just like people have unique ways of talking, writing, or dancing, I think it's important we all find our own voice in the instruments.
As someone who struggles with mental health, this video really resonates. I picked up guitar a few months ago as a way to overcome and try to silence that intrusive urge to compare myself to others. Every once in a while I'll try to play a song I enjoy, get frustrated that I'm not playing it well enough, and then have to remind myself that the whole point of it is to simply play something I enjoy! Funny enough, most of what I actually enjoy are really simple picking or strumming patterns to an interesting progression, or simple melodies. It's impressive to see others play crazy riffs or chords with fills, and even though I don't enjoy playing them myself, I still sometimes find myself trying to imitate it only to get frustrated, disappointed, and ashamed.
Yeah!
It's fun to WATCH virtuosos do all sorts of crazy stuff, but we don't need to play like that to have fun!
This is extremely important . As an intermediate guitar player this is really great advice. Thank you!
Thanks for the reminder...I've had the good fortune to spend a fair amount of time in studios and house parties with some players I would consider geniuses...(Nashville's the only town where I'm shy about playing in a guitar shop)...finally overcame my internal critic's voice, due to the generosity of spirit from those musicians. Playing simple, but with feel, made all the difference. Thanks again..
I bought your Truefire lesson...I'm very happy with it. It's gonna be a game changer for me! Thanks!! Great teacher!
Yay! Thanks so much!
Thank you for this video, I'm a Saxophonist but everything you said applies and it is hard to dig yourself out of the hole.
I really love your videos. Your eureka moments sit well with me. I suffered for years because of constantly comparing myself to virtuosos, so much that I quit playing for years.
Congrats on the true fire lesson! I can't wait.
This episode is exactly what it's about! At the moment I am in a difficult phase regarding practice and assessing my knowledge and skills. Indeed, I look too much at better guitarists than I am, and let's face it, there will always be better guitarists than I ever could be. This episode shows me again that enjoying making music is the most important thing, thanks Eric!!
Love this teaching, it's for so many things in life not just guitar... though guitar is a microcosm of life.
What's driving me crazy is the music Eric's playing as the video starts, I know that song really really well and yet for some reason can't call it up. What the hell is it?!
Really, what I've been trying to do with playing and practice is using the self-criticism as fuel to improve BUT ALSO taking a moment every day to ENJOY what I CAN PLAY NOW. To actually ENJOY it. To listen to myself playing something within my range and appreciate how good it is.
It's lifted from the chorus of Blind Faith's "Had to Cry Today" - such a classic track!
@@EricHaugenGuitar That's it!!! I was like, "Come on, man, whatever it is you're gonna kick yourself." I've loved that album for almost 35 years. Consider me kicked.
I'm happy with how you play, Eric.
Just: thank you, Eric.
I've been using the title of this vid as a mantra. Not just in music, but in just about all walks of my life. It really does change the way I look at things. I also notice it's a common practice for a lot of folks around me: Something that appeared needs to be quantified or compared to something that happened to them/before/etc.
Hey man... thank you so much for this video. I’m watching it for the second time and I’m brought to tears. I’ve had a wall up in my life and your video helped to shatter it. I can’t thank you enough. You have brougjt me to tears, and I am now going to make music as a puzzle piece like you say. Life is going ti become better from now on. I can’t thank you emough in readable words... you’ve sparked a major change in me, and I am grateful to have been able to live in a day and age where this video can exits.
Duders I just got goosebumps!
It makes me so happy to know my ramblings/opinions/observations genuinely help people get more out of music and life!
Damn, as a guitarist I needed to hear this. I love to play, but as soon as I start to watch other guitar players and do what some of them do I get stressed out and start telling myself there are a million players better than me. And what I should be doing is just enjoying the action of creating sounds and music
Fridays are the best day. Thanks Eric!!!!
6:58 this is exactly the advice I needed. I’ve been struggling with the fact that I’m not a bluesy, soloing virtuoso like some of these RUclips people, even though I’d like to be. But this piece of advice is what I needed. It’s the exact reason that I love Todd Nichols, the guitarist from Toad the Wet Sprocket. He’s never scared to stay in the background adding endless amounts of color, almost scared to be in the forefront.
Eric, I enjoy all of the videos you put out, my friend. You seem like a genuine dude.
Thanks Austin!
I am!
The dude you see here is the same muppet my friends and family know :-)
Earned my sub instantly. Love this vid and thanks for talking it out with fellow musicians!
Videos like this one should have some kind of super-like button. When I'm happy with what I play my listeners will be as well. Thank you Eric for those bullet points, spot on!
Your videos always help me learn AND feel/think better about myself as a player. You rock, Eric! Thanks for what you do in the guitar and overall music community.
Wisdom! Just what I needed. Thanks, buddy!
Thanks for the pep talk Eric!
So many great life lessons here. I hope people appreciate that elevating your thought process affects everything in your life. It isn't the end all be all, you still have to work hard, but having the right mindset makes a world of difference
Yeah! The growth mindset!
Really loved this video. Great advice. It’s so easy to get caught up in the comparison trap and lose the joy of playing. Some great stuff to think about here.
This was very refreshing and insightful. Thank you.
Excellent philosophy- the key unlock or LOCK the door to joy in most all things. It always seems to come down to feel as that mysterious component of "the signal chain". We should hope to preserve and allow for mystery; to be ok with unsolved questions. Experimentation leads to discovery, which can then lead to creativity...
Buddy I love your videos you are a breath of fresh air. Some many other convoluted videos on RUclips but you content is grade A! Loving the beefheart lessons too!! My man!!
This is such a huge issue and a great approach to deal with the bully.
Upon further reflection, Eric’s videos have always upped the ante for guitar players to be more nuanced and musical. If you’re gigging and ripping a guitar solo or even playing rhythm, your crowd is never going to hold you to a higher standard. Only that internal bully voice propels you to reapproach a lick that you can do in your sleep. We all owe it to the universe to offer up a slightly tastier version of whatever you’re doing. Hopefully, your band mates enhance and inspire you to go deeper and suck less.
Eric, thanks for the collective guitarist therapy! You always manage to reset my focus on the instrument and bring it back to the basics. Much love
Thanx man, great information. I agree I find myself with that voice. I can’t play that great technically, but this is why 02/23/22 is very exciting for me. 🤓Do ya feel it? Get ready Sensei.
S O O N !
What an amazing sound in the opening
I thought the subject was going to be completely different, so I watched to argure...Thank you for this.