Drew Pinchotti

My first guitar was a Christmas gift from my dad, I must've been around 8 years old. It was a green Yamaha electric guitar. I couldn't tell you the exact model. I'll have to find a picture of it to post. (Haha it actually may have been a backpacker acoustic guitar, either way they were both one of my first guitars.)

Music has saved my life in many ways. It kept me out of trouble when I was a kid when things were not looking so good. As an adult, it has helped me center myself when I am feeling anxious or disturbed by the negativity of the world.  It keeps me focused in the present and even after 25+ years of being involved in music, I still feel like I have endless room for musical and personal growth. 

Music has been the source of income for many purchases, like pretty much all of my bills, food, cars, and gifts for loved ones. 

I'm really grateful that my dad got me guitars when he did. What a gift, it changed my life!

Music is a gift: getting someone you love a musical instrument can change lives for the better. It is an unwrapping of their greatest memories, melodies, and magic to come! 

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Not only can music be a fun activity, it is also therapeutic, promoting deeper self connection and wellness. It can get us through hard times, and inspire greater futures. It can teach us how to learn, grow, and thrive in any area of our life. 

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Slow….down…..

…Let that sink in a moment…

….You're welcome :)

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If you have a goal for achievement in music and it’s overwhelming, here are some strategies that will help.

Simplify it: by Giving Yourself Time

One of the most powerful ways to reverse overwhelm is to simplify your goal by giving yourself more time.

Turn that goal you have of learning a song in it's entirety, all in one day, into giving yourself permission to take a week or two. If it's too hard after many smart daily efforts, reconsider moving to a less advanced song and work up to the harder one. More on that in Roll with the Unexpected.

It’s okay to take long amounts of time to grow at something. This is very much a natural part of life. In such situations we will feel more stressed and frustrated the more we work against this process.

Acknowledge the Small Wins

Celebrate the victories that seem small along the way, by noting what was successful. This will help you remember that you are capable, growing, and going in the right direction.

For instance, noticing “I feel a little stronger on the chorus of this song now, my efforts are paying off” or “I am able to play it a few beats per minute faster than I could yesterday.”

Bringing awareness to your progress, however minor (no pun intended), will help you to start to enjoy the growth process and feel accomplished more often.

Roll with the Unexpected 

Sometimes, something unexpected happens along the way to achieving our goals, such as choosing a piece that proves to be more difficult than we had anticipated.

Here's an example: A pianist is trying to perform a song that has always inspired him. However, after long hours and days of trying, he realizes he doesn't quite have the finger stamina to perform such a technically advanced piece. Thus, he must roll with the unexpected by seeking to add chop-building exercises to his practice routine, which will enable him to finally perform this advanced piece of music he has always loved. 

So it can feel really frustrating when this happens because it feels like we are moving backwards, but in actuality, we are moving forward; the more we can expect the unexpected and know that it's a good indicator of where our work-focus needs to be.

P.S.

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What I’ve seen in many students when working on chord progressions for a song, some parts of the progression tend to come quicker than others. They then try to play the whole progression at the quicker tempo where some of the chord movements are well-practiced, before they’ve been able to bring the remainder of the progression up to speed. This results in tempo fluctuations and finger fumbles as they move between chords. They get frustrated, having practiced for weeks without understanding why they haven’t made progress. It’s understandably frustrating.

My tip is to practice the entire progression at an even tempo, at a pace where you can cleanly and effectively perform the chords that are lagging. Let the parts of you that are more advanced be a helpful friend to the parts that are still developing.

It’s as if a professional runner were going for a jog with a middle school runner. If the professional were running at their fullest ability, they’d be way ahead of the middle schooler, who would get tired, frustrated, and likely feel like quitting, being out of sync with the other.

So, it’s the same when we practice parts of songs on our own. If we only focus on the parts we are great at, we will always be out of sync with the parts that need development. They won’t improve unless we change our practice routine. By slowing down our inner professional runner until our inner middle schooler can catch up.

Be a good friend to yourself. :)

P.S. practice it with a metronome so you can gauge your progress and instill a strong sense of timing and tempo along the way.

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