As musicians we tend to be very critical of ourselves and equate our self-worth with how well we perform. Let's talk about how you are more than your last performance or practice session.

In a world where anyone can have a fully produced song -Including vocals- with just a few clicks online...is it even worth learning to sing or play anymore?

It’s normal at first to maybe be a bit disappointed with the way your voice sounds recorded. Or the way you perceive it to sound. We are used to hearing slick vocals on the songs we stream. But most new singers have that reaction where they just want to say “that’s what I sound like”? Let's talk about how to get past these feelings and why it's important.

We live in a ‘hustle’ culture. It can feel competitive. It can start to feel like a thankless job. Especially when you’re learning to sing or play while trying to do all of this. And take care of your bills and home ect. It adds stress. That feeling that you have to hurry and learn to get ahead. Stress adds tension. It won’t help, it will hurt.

We’ve all been there. You’re learning to sing or play and feeling great! You’re putting the time and work in. Making progress, this is going great! But then, in a moment, everything comes to a screeching halt.

Do you have a favorite singer or singers? What do you love about their voice and how they sing? Do they move you emotionally? Or are you mesmerized by their vocal riffs and runs? There could be a myriad of reasons for why you love their voice or the way they delivery of a song.

Are you learning to sing or play guitar? Or maybe even both? What does it really take? Maybe you’re 3 weeks in or even 3 years in. Inevitably you will face some frustration. That is just par for the course.  So what do you do? You decide to keep going. You keep showing up. When you’re frustrated. When you’re feeling like you’re the only one who doesn’t ‘get it’…You keep working towards your goal. It’s not easy, but it is simple. Is there a magic formula? Kind of. As the title of this blog states, it’s tenacity. It is the secret sauce. It’s what separates the ones who do learn to play and sing from the ones who wanted to but never do.

Let go of tension and finally make those barre chords feel effortless. I outline 5 tips to make the process easier and provide some general advice for learning. Oh, and I include 2 bonus tips!

If you get a good vibe from a teacher, that’s a great sign. If you don’t, well…walk away. You’ll find someone else to learn from who uplifts you. 

So, you’ve learned all your open chords on the guitar and can play a few songs. That’s great! You know C, A, G, E, D Major and em, dm, and A minor right?