Guitar Lessons Tulsa | Confidence
This content was created for Curtis Music Academy
And this edition of the Curtis music Academy podcast, we are discussing how you can have confidence when playing the guitar. So without further ado, my name is Steven. I’ve been a music instructor at the Curtis music Academy for one year now this December. And I have had an absolute blast getting to meet new students of all ages in guitar lessons Tulsa. I’ve had such a joy, such an awesome time getting to meet new students but not only meeting new students, but understanding how they learn and how I can help them reach their goals better based on how they learn. I’ve learned many things along the way. Which, which that are, you know, everyone learns different.
There’s, you know, teaching strategies and tips and tricks and methods and techniques to teaching, ways to increase the, the more, more fun. And your guitar lessons Tulsa. How does stay in engaging with your students? I’ve learned a time management things to run Curtis and thrive 15 and how to kind of prioritize time because it’s impossible to manage time or to control your time in guitar lessons Tulsa. Cause it’s not yours to begin with, but you are given 24 hours a day. Hopefully, or you’re at least given the moment that you’re in. And so we want to make sure that we are the best stewards of our time and are growing constantly as an instructor or a musician ourselves. You know, we don’t only want to be teachers, we also want to be learners in guitar lessons Tulsa. Leaders are learners.
Learners are not always leaders, but leaders are readers. And so not all readers are leaders though. So it doesn’t always go both ways, but we can definitely, remind ourselves to always be growing and try to grow in every area weekly. I at least try to pick up one or two things every week that I haven’t learned the week before and I tried to kind of stay one step ahead of my students guitar lessons Tulsa. I’ve been playing music for 12 years coming this March and I’ve enjoyed every single minute of it. I’ve enjoyed, you know, making all of the mistakes that kind of had to be made. I’ve enjoyed the pressures that have been put under that have made me a diamond in the rough. I’ve enjoyed all of the people that have gotten to meet.
I’ve enjoyed the experiences of being on TV, playing for American idol, playing on gigs with other individuals, co-writing, co performing, singing, dancing, creating, playing music, King, whatever musicians thing is, whatever you want to call it. And so it’s been a pretty awesome time. Pretty awesome. 12 years. And so with many more to come. Hopefully I definitely have more than 12 years left on this earth as I am only 24 but have been playing guitar Hoffman half of my life by the time I’m 60, I will have been playing a fracture. I’ve been living without music for a fraction of my life. So anyways, without further ado, we are discussing confidence when playing the guitar in guitar lessons Tulsa.
I have been playing guitar, like I said for about 12 years coming this March. And so that’s over a decade of playing the guitar, just the guitar. I’ve played other instruments as well, but the guitar itself has been for 11 and like 0.7, five years now. And there’s a few things that I want to get across to you. My first point is you want to own what you know. This is how you can have confidence when you’re playing the guitar in guitar lessons Tulsa. You know, say you’re up on the stage and it’s time for you to play your song. I want you to remember to own what you know now. If you set aside 20 songs to play now, I bet you don’t.
You haven’t memorized the 20 songs. So whatever device you’re using an iPad as I do when I’m at a gig at a bar or a coffee shop or a restaurant, I use an iPad with the chords of the song so that I don’t forget the songs. But I do want to own what I know and I do know that I’m a good finger style guitar player in guitar lessons Tulsa. I’m a good Strummer. I’m good with a rhythm. I’m good with, memorizing beautiful tricks and ornamentation when it comes to music and the guitar. and so I can own that and say, yes, I do know this. I’m going to be confident and trust that I know what I know and that I am capable and competent in that knowledge and by applying it. And so, you want to own what you know.
The second point is keeping it simple. The, it’s an important thing for you to keep it simple. Whenever you are playing the guitar, it’s important to your confidence when playing guitar that you keep it simple. You don’t want to diminish your confidence by complicating the song or complicating the, the guitar elements or the guitar piece or the finger styling that you’re doing. You don’t want to do something you haven’t done before as you may mess up and embarrass yourself. So keep it simple in guitar lessons Tulsa. Stick to what you know. If you don’t know what to do, do what you know and you’ll know what to do. That’s one son, something that Steven Furtick, the pastor of elevation church in, North Carolina says, if you don’t know what to do, do what you know and you’ll know what to do.
That is something I am sticking to my entire life because it makes us own what we know and act upon what we know. And so first point on what you know, second point, keep it simple in guitar lessons Tulsa. I love how my father-in-law, Chuck says, keep it simple, stupid. It’s the kiss method, K. I S. S that is the kiss method. Keep it simple stupid. And so sometimes we feel stupid for keeping it simple, but I think we’re stupid if we don’t keep it simple, so don’t complicate things. I love how Steve jobs, Steve jobs said simplification is the ultimate sophistication. So you know whether people won’t necessarily cheer or think that you’re better just because you can do something more complicated.
However, I’d say on the contrary, if you keep it simple, more people can join in on what you’re doing and we’ll increase the enjoyment of the crowd by what you’re performing for. All right, so that was my second point, keeping it simple. My third and final point is going to be how I’m having fun is going to be important if you’re going to have confidence when playing guitar. In my own experience that I’ve had my share of timidity and vulnerability and also lack of confidence when playing the guitar on a platform at church or at a coffee shop or bar in Tulsa or in a performance elsewhere. It has been very di or, distinct, discouraging when I don’t keep it simple, when I don’t own what I know and when I’m not having fun.
And usually it becomes to that point that I’m not having fun when I realized I don’t know what I’m doing or when I realize I don’t know this song very well. It no longer becomes fun, but it becomes fun when you know what you’re playing and you know it well and you trust that you’re, that you know it well. Trust and ability, trust in one’s ability or someone else’s ability, that is what confidence is. And so it’s crucial to have fun and to know how to have fun. How do you have fun? Well, you enjoy the process of what you’re doing, you know, enjoy playing, that’s having fun. When you, when you don’t have to think about playing, I think that’s when the fun starts. I like to think of kids.
When I say play, I always think about myself as an elementary student or thinking about kids on the playground and how much fun they’re having playing with each other or playing house or playing. Yeah, having a race, they’re always having fun and it’s because you don’t have to think about it. You can enjoy the outdoors, you can enjoy the process, you can enjoy what you’re doing. When you enjoy the work, when you enjoy the doing, then you have fun. And so that is how you can have confidence when playing the guitar. So take that and run with it.