It's Your Turn

“You’re never completely ready... It just becomes your turn.”

Ty Murray

In my 25+ years of teaching the guitar, I have heard many students try to tell me about what they are NOT ready to do. ‘I am not ready to play in a recital.’ ‘I am not ready to play in front of people.’ ‘I am not ready to play in church.’ Etc., etc...

I have even had people call me about lessons, only to tell me that they are not sure that they are ready to take lessons.

Okay.

Let me begin by saying that this feeling is perfectly natural.

We would all like to feel as though we are completely ready whenever we are confronted with a challenge. Unfortunately, this is not how life works. Indeed, many people who confront challenges with complete confidence in their abilities learn too late that they were not as prepared as they supposed.

The best that we can do is to work each day in order to prepare ourselves for whatever lies ahead.

For guitarists, this means setting aside time for daily practice, and ensuring that we are training in the most correct, efficient way possible. With consistent daily practice, your skills will absolutely improve.

There is, however, another necessary step, and it will require some courage.

You need experience.

This means that you must put your skills to the test. You must be willing to take the chance, get out there and share your gift with others.

Don’t wait until you feel that you are completely ready. You probably never will feel completely ready, but you should be willing to perform and do your very best at your current skill level.

The experience which you gain in such moments is a vital part of your training.

Now it’s your turn, so get out there and start playing.

Nothing too fancy at first. Work your way up. Learn from your mistakes. Above all, have fun.

You will be glad that you did