Hi There,

Welcome to the August edition of Vision Music News, and thanks as always for supporting our website! This month's article focus is all about...

I can't get started. Sound familiar? I thought so. As a matter of fact, those exact four words are so common that there's even a classic standard that goes by the same title. Well, we're going to spend some time this month talking more about your goals, especially those that you know need addressing, but somehow manage to remain in the procrastination slush pile, for days, months, years, or even decades of time spent in needless frustration.

I consider myself to be an excellent authority on this subject, and therefore in a perfect position to share my thoughts with you. Why? Simple. Despite what you may think, relative to my visible artistic accomplishments, I'm as guilty as anyone of "putting off today what can be done tomorrow" (and tomorrow rarely comes, if you haven't noticed). I also work with players every day who are so close to making major breakthroughs, yet continually stop themselves by coming up with all sorts of excuses for not getting started. And getting yourself started, the theme of this article, is really what it's all about.

"Once You Get Started" is another tune, but one that you probably don't recognize. It's a composition from my early writing period, and that title was reflective of the fact that I had wanted to compose for years, yet for some reason I had resisted. Once I got myself started, however, I literally couldn't keep up with the flow of inspiration and energy, at one point writing a new composition every single day, and developing the confidence that I could do so for as long as I wanted. Powerful stuff indeed, but it all came from taking that first step, which is much easier than we ever think it will be.

Before I go on, I want to point out that there are definitely occasions when we've deluded ourselves into the belief that we should be doing something, when in actuality the motivation is not authentic, or coming from the heart, but superimposed due to other reasons. The result is also frustration from procrastination, but the truth of the matter is that the goal was an illusion to begin with. So how do we differentiate between the two?

You get started, that's how. Believe me, you'll know very soon whether this was something meant to be, or not. For me it's usually the former, but regardless of which, the result is an immediate sense of achievement and the dissipation of the frustration factor, because in reality the fact that I wasn't getting started was the source of the frustration. In other words, my "gut" instinct was that I should be doing something that would probably bring me happiness and fulfillment, yet I just wasn't pulling the trigger. I see this constantly in coaching my students, and at times I have to get on the soapbox and repeatedly preach in order to get them started, whether it's a specific area of study or just picking up the instrument to practice. And I'll tell you, the answer's almost always the same. "Once I get started, I lose all track of time and the hours just seem to go by!" I've seen enough faces, both sad and smiling, to understand the root cause.

So let me leave you with a piece of advice that's working great for me nowadays. Consider your day a major success if you make any effort to get a project that you've been delaying underway. When I say "any effort" I am talking "bare bones" minimum. If you feel that you should be arranging, then get started: One measure of music. If you feel that you should be transcribing, then get started: Two notes. If you feel that you should be performing, then get started: Play one song for someone. No matter what you want to do, just get yourself started!

This Month's "Mini" Lesson

Above is an excerpt from one of many slow blues solos I've recorded. The focus is on using upper-string chords to harmonize a cool blues lick over the G7 and F7 chords in a C blues (e.g. Red House). To hear this month's lick and lesson narrative, click here. Enjoy!

Btw, our mini lesson series has been so popular that we are now in the process of creating dozens of exciting editions, many of which will soon be available to our site members for no additional charge. If you're not yet a member, there's never been a better time to join our vision. Learn more...

Site Member Bonus

Join our site and receive a FREE double-eBook bonus: "Benson-Ford" guitar transcriptions (a $20 value) from our "Plug 'n Play Hot Licks series. This in addition to over 1100 pages of hot jam tracks, lessons, songs, articles, etc, all for less than a dime a day! For details, click here.

Hot Forum Topics

Have you checked out our forum? Do yourself a huge favor and drop on by. Enjoy and please don't forget to register for our upcoming FREE lesson & song downloads. See you there!

In Other News

First of all, we hope that all of you are enjoying our new home page and website changes after the massive effort that recently went into improving Vision Music. Among many things, there are now direct links to our community forum and a site map link on every one of over a thousand pages.

Great news! Swedish jazz guitar virtuoso Andreas Oberg, the subject of my 8th cover story interview in Just Jazz Guitar magazine, will be joining our Teacher Feature guest faculty soon, along with my good friends Wolf Marshall, Henry Johnson, George Benson, Jimmy Bruno, and all of the rest. Watch for it.

What They're Saying...

Love blues in your jazz? Serious about your music? See and hear for yourself: