I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent practicing the guitar over the years. After you get to a certain point, you can pick most things up pretty quickly. However, every so often you’ll run into something that really challenges you and is unlike anything you’ve ever played before.

In recent years, I’ve been writing most of my guitar parts without the guitar in my hands. I mostly compose by ear and notate the parts and then turn around to figure out how it would be played on the guitar. I started doing that in order to get away from being bogged down by playing habits in the writing process as well as to channel a more pure inspiration. This has opened up the opportunities for much more interesting guitar parts, but it also can pose an interesting challenge.

Without having the guitar in hand while writing for the guitar, you will come up with some very interesting parts – but, every so often, you’ll run into something that is incredibly difficult to play. This is what happened when I wrote the 8th Micro Caprice out of my series of 10 Micro Caprices I just released.

There are two parts of Micro Caprice no. 8 that are unusually difficult, but one was so strange that I worried at first that it would be impossible to play at tempo on the guitar.

I always spend a great deal of time working on the most optimal way to play a part on the guitar and, in the case of one small section of Micro Caprice no. 8, the most optimal way was still ridiculous to play.

The funny thing is, you’ve probably seen the video and didn’t even notice it. It happens so fast. Take a look at the video and pay close attention to what happens at about 32 seconds in. Take a moment to look at it and then come back and I’ll explain what’s going on there.

What you are looking at there is one arpeggio segment ending with a tap with the picking hand. From there, the 4th finger of the fretting hand is tapping on the 6th string to start off the next arpeggio. The 4th finger is then barring down to the 5th string which is where the picking hand begins sweeping again.

That tiny transition gave me more trouble than anything else I’ve written or played on the guitar in years. But, with all that trouble, the difficulty of it is nearly invisible it goes by so quickly. So why even bother?

Now this whole section here seems to be everyone’s favorite part of the composition, and it is also my own. So I had a lot of motivation to practice it really hard and get it down – and that’s precisely what I did. When I finally was able to play it at full speed, it was incredibly satisfying. I’m very glad I put the time in.

While there are a lot of interesting challenges in my 10 Micro Caprices, this part was the most difficult for me by quite a wide margin. But, I’ll tell you what, it’s a fantastic feeling when you start working on something that seems impossible but you push through and prove to yourself that you can do it. That is something I can’t recommend enough.

Grab a copy of my Extreme Neo-Classical Micro Caprices 1-10 and give yourself an epic and inexpensive challenge!

Dan

Most people who ever pursue a worthy goal, such as the guitar, do so with only a vague idea of where they are going. It may seem like enough to simply try to be like your favorite guitarists, or become determined to be “good enough” to play your favorite technique, but these things will never get you there on their own.

It’s difficult to avoid clichés when talking about something like this. But one way to think of this is to compare it to going on a long journey to some destination. If you set out with only the goal of getting there, and the road is difficult and filled with distractions, it’s unlikely that you will arrive. It’s not enough to simply know where you’re going. Knowing how to get there is obviously important, but some of that you can learn on the way. The most critical factor to ensure that you actually reach your final destination is to know why you are going there.

Think about this. You set out on that journey and find it to be extremely difficult at times. Along the way, there are things you can enjoy that are easy by comparison. You could stop at this or that destination along the way and not have to push forward anymore. In fact, you’ll be tempted to stop rather frequently. Maybe it’s just meant as giving yourself a “well deserved” rest for a few days. But if you stop and lose your momentum, what is going to spur you forward again? How can you be sure that you’ll continue on?

The truth is, the vast majority of people who set out on that journey never actually arrive at their original destination. And the reason for this is simple. Their reason for getting there was not strong enough to justify the challenges along the way. That’s it. There really isn’t anything else to it.

The guitarists who reach their goals, become masters, become professionals, become successful and famous, do so by having reasons that are more important to them than being comfortable or having fun. They have reasons that give them such intense excitement and motivation that they can’t help but give their all. If they begin to falter, all they have to do is think about those reasons and their motivation reappears in full force.

For some, this might sound impossible. Maybe you’ll think to yourself that you couldn’t possibly find a reason strong enough. If you do think that, I’m happy to tell you that you’re wrong. It might take you some work and a good deal of introspection, but if you take the time to figure it out, you absolutely can find a reason that will push you forward harder than you could imagine is possible. And working towards something that you feel that strongly about is more rewarding than any entertainment or distraction can ever be.

Dan Mumm

Looking for that next challenge?  Check out my massive catalog of guitar related products, covering everything from Metal versions of Classical pieces, Neo-Classical Shred technique, Sweep Picking, and more!  See what’s on sale today at the link below:

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