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The question of how good you are as a guitar player is one of those ying and yang issues.  On the ying side is forgetting about what you know and just listening to the music you're making.  If you are happy with your sounds, you're good!  In the ying world, everybody's got their own goals, ears, styles, likes and "good" is completely arbitrary.  And I don't mean this to be a hypothetical concept - some of the most enjoyable music listening experiences I've had have been with street corner music makers who clearly had very limited skills, but who were just out there making their music, and putting everything they had into it.  Ultimately the technical skills we develop are about creating channels for creativity and artistic expression.  If you can achieve those same artistic goals with few skills, then "ying" is your thing.  However, there is a definite yang to this story. 

The yang of how good your are has to do with measuring guitar knowledge and skills against an objective, measurable benchmark.  This provides an opportunity to measure progress and chart the needed learnings ahead.  You may be happy with the sounds you're getting, and people may compliment you on your playing, but you wonder what else you need to learn or what you should work on next.  That's the yang of the "how good" question, and in this post we take a look at the guitar grading system offered by the Registry of Guitar Tutors.  See the rest on my blog <a href="http&#58;&#47;&#47;www.notesandlines.com" target="_blank">Notes and Lines</a>.

Jeff

There were two monks in a monastery doing their daily rituals.  They were about to bow to their deity.  One got on his knees and said "Oh master, I am nothing, I don't exist, all there is is You."  The next monk bowed down even lower and said, "Oh great one, I am less than nothing!  I don't exist and I never did.  You are all there is!  In the corner, a janitor was sweeping the temple and watching the monks.  He thought to himself, "Hmmmm, that looks pretty good!  I think I'll try that."  He walked over to the deity and bowed while the monks watched him.  He said, "Oh, mighty one, I too am nothing, you are everything."  As the two monks looked on with disdain, one said to the other, "Humph!  How dare he!  Look who thinks he's nothing!"

This joke is from a book I've been re-reading lately titled "Effortless Mastery - Liberating the Master Musician Within" by Kenny Werner.  I like to go back to this book every so often because it's such a  classic on opening up the creative pathways, and musicianship in general.  Werner's primary message is that opening up the creative pathways is mostly about not closing them - not delivering those internal messages to ourselves that say we're no good, or somebody's better, or we sound bad. 

If you'd like to read the rest of this, please visit my blog, <a href="http&#58;&#47;&#47;www.notesandlines.com" target="_blank">Notes and Lines</a>.

Jeff

I see a lot of posts in this and other forums from newer guitar players who feel like they're stuck in a rut or unsure of what to work on next.  When I've reached one of these dead-ends, I've sometimes found it helpful to focus on something completely new, such as learning a new guitar style.  This has often been just the right change of pace to refresh my learning and get me energized for my longer term goals.  If you'd like some ideas on how to do this, I put some thoughts together on styles to consider and how to learn more in my blog, <a href="http&#58;&#47;&#47;www.notesandlines.com" target="_blank">Notes and Lines</a>. 

Jeff