Do Great Musicians (De)Motivate You?
When you see a great guitarist performing, which of the following reactions do you have?
- “Wow, that is incredible! I’m going to practice more so I can play like them!”
- “Wow, that is incredible! I will never be able to achieve that...”
I also have those moments when I see such amazing musicians that I just think, “Why do I even play the guitar? Come on, I’m nothing next to them! I should just quit!” and I know I’m not alone in these kinds of thoughts.
On one hand, a great artist can remind you of the beauty of music and life – they make you dream and achieve things. In fact, all successful musicians were at one point inspired by another great musician. It is just an infinite cycle that never ends.
But time and time again, I see people get jealous and demotivated. For instance, I try to show videos of great musicians to my students hoping that it will inspire them. Then, to my surprise, I see that it gets the opposite reaction.
They hold themselves to such a high standard that it makes me question my ability as a teacher and educator. My intent to do a good thing completely backfired.
However, over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks that help both me and my students have a positive outcome when observing greatness.
How To Cultivate A Positive Mindset
First, we can try to listen a bit more analytically and without judgment. Ask the student, “What is the player is doing and how can you use that in your own playing?” Here’s an example:
Observation: A player has a beautiful and balanced vibrato.
Action: Try to find places in your own piece to add more vibrato.
Observation: The dynamic contrast in a phrase is very rich and interesting.
Action: Exaggerate the dynamic contrast of a particularly dramatic section.
And so on…
Listening to small details such as the ones above is a very important skill. People often think of “ear training” as recognizing chords, scales, or intervals, but the practical use of it is actually much more than that. You need to be able to hear the different articulations, dynamics, timbres that a guitarist is using.
In fact, encouraging students to imitate their favorite musician in a practice session can be a very useful exercise.
Before you say anything… Yes! It is necessary to develop a voice of your own, no doubt about that. But as the composer Igor Stravinsky once said..
“Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
Using this mindset, students can be motivated to learn more from their favorite guitarists. Encourage them to play like them. That’s usually the first step towards being a great musician. You see someone that inspires you and you try to be like them.
The important thing to remember is just because you saw something amazing it doesn’t mean you have to do it or that you should do it.
All of us have different goals in life. Some musicians focus more on their guitar tone, others on playing fast scales or writing new music and arranging pieces for guitar.
Nobody can be the best at everything. It’s a battle we are destined to lose. The best we can do is to just accept that fate and let art inspire us to become better.
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About The Writer
Francisco Chaves is a guitarist, composer, teacher, sound designer and producer based in Germany. He was born in Castro Verde, a tiny village in the south of Portugal and started there to study classical guitar. Later, he also found a second passion for composing with his first harmony lessons.
He completed simultaneously two bachelor degrees (Classical guitar and Composition) in the University of Évora (Portugal) under the guidance of Dejan Ivanovic (guitar), Pedro Amaral (composition) and Christopher Bochmann (composition), having received the “Scholar Prize”, for finishing both degrees with the highest grade. After that, he finished his master degree in Classical Guitar and graduated “cum laude” in the “Maastricht Conservatorium” (Netherlands) in the class of Carlo Marchione.
Currently, he teaches in several music schools in Germany. Besides that, he also teaches by Skype and works as a freelance musician, giving concerts around Europe and composing music for orchestras, ensembles and soloists. He also devotes his time composing music and making sound effects for video games and films.
