If a friend did foward this to you and you like what you read, check out the free lessons and subscribe at

www.learn-guitar-online.com.

1) Tales from the gig. Monthly feature with a lesson we can all learn from.

2) Readers questions. Answers to your questions concerning guitar related issues.

Tales From The Gig

If you are going to be involved in the music business in any capacity, you have to be able to market yourself. If you are a performing musician you have to market yourself to club owners, booking agents, etc. If you are a music teacher you have to market yourself to prospective students, parents, other music teachers, etc. No matter what your business is, you have to sell your services at some point. Developing good people skills is very important.

You also have to have items essential to marketing your business like business cards, brochures, press kits, a web site, etc. That brings me to the point of this weeks lesson. On three separate occasions this week I had people ask me for business cards at one of my gigs. I’m embarrassed to say that I did not have any with me at the time. All I could muster was a weak excuse like, “I'm sorry, I'm’ all out.” This cost me potential students and gigs, which ultimately hits home in the hip pocket.

If any of you are making a living off of music, you know how important it is to not let potential students and gigs slip away like this. Being self employed and being a musician can be the best thing in the world, but there can be times when things can be tight financially. Be prepared, learn about marketing and have the things you need to promote yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

I hope you find this advice useful. Gotta go now. I’m off to get my new business cards.

Good Playin,

Bob

Reader Questions

I would like to share with you the concept of the well formed outcome. The well formed outcome enables you create effective goals that motivate you and pull you into the future.The well formed outcome enables us to identify what we want and organize our actions into definite and positive steps to make our desires and hopes real. The well formed outcome can be applied in all areas of your life, not just guitar playing.

All set? Here we go, step by step through the well formed outcome.

Step 1. What do you want?

Sounds kind of obvious, does it not? Yet most people don’t have clearly defined goals when it comes to playing the guitar. When the mind has a defined target, it can focus until it reaches its intended target. If you aim at nothing, you’re sure to hit it.

Step 1a. Make sure your outcome is stated in positive terms. Specifically describe what you do want. For example, “ I want to play solid rhythm guitar to accompany myself when I sing”. A different outcome might be, “I want to learn how to play and improvise on a 12 bar blues.”

Step 1b. State what you can do (what lies within your area of control) to help you reach your goal. If your goal involves having Eric Clapton show you how to play, that is not under your control. What is the one thing you could do today to help you reach your outcome. You could decide to buy a book and learn one new lick, or transcribe a lick off of a cd by one of your favorite guitarists. State things that you can initiate and maintain.

Step 1c. State in sensory based words. Don't just say I want to play blues like Eric Clapton. What will you and or others see, hear and feel when you have your outcome.

For example, I see myself playing in a 4 piece band. I am moving and playing with confidence. I see myself executing a classic blues lick ending with a bend into the perfect note. See what your body would look like and how your fingers would be moving. Be as specific as possible.This gives your brain info about what to do.

Imagine that future you. Experience what it feels like to be playing like you want to play. Imagine the feel of the strings against your fingers. The sensations in your muscles and body as you play. The joy that comes from creating the sounds you want to hear.

Now become aware of what you will be hearing. The sound of your guitar coming from your amp. Will it be a clean tone or a dirty tone, or are you playing acoustic guitar with no amp at all? Really get into how you will sound.

The more specific you can be, the more real your goal becomes and will draw you into creating that future.

Step 1d. State in appropriate chunk size. If your outcome seems large and overwhelming, chunk the outcomes down to bits and pieces that are doable. This ties in with what I said in step 1b. Pick specific small steps that you can achieve on a regular basis. These small successes will keep you moving forward to the big goal.

That’s it for this issue. Next time we will continue with our look at the well formed outcome. I hope you give it a try.

I would also like to tell you all about these great videos that a friend of mine has been creating. They feature guitarists and musicians from different cities. There is some really great guitar work on these videos and they are absolutely free. You can see them at www.thesaturdaynightguitarpull.com. This will work best if you have a high speed connection. Some of the files are quite large. Enjoy.

Turn that knowledge and passion into an income stream on the internet. Even if you know nothining about programming, html, meta tags, etc, its possible to be successful at making money on the net. Go here to learn how.

I really appreciate any comments both good and bad that you might have. If you have any comments at all let me have it right between the eyes.

To your guitar playing success.

Best wishes,

Bob