Hi Guitar Fam,
I know that none of us like making mistakes on the guitar, but I think that those mistakes can be little golden nuggets that help us to get better faster. These little mistakes can be thought of as good friends who have our best interests in mind. There is a proverb that says this in another way.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Proverbs 27:6
I don’t know about you, but my best friends will definitely let me know when I am doing something bad for me or something that needs to be changed. Mistakes on the guitar are the same way. They let us know that we are doing something wrong and need to slow down and correct it.
If we choose to listen to those mistakes, we will get better much faster. If we choose to ignore those mistakes, it will take us much longer to reach our goals.
This entire stream of thought came about as I was going through the latest fingerstyle tune I'm learning. I wanted to see how I could cut down on the time it took me to learn the entire song, and this is the main thing I came up with.
I find that if I listen to my friends (my mistakes) and correct them, I end up learning and getting better much faster. It's not easy to consistently listen to your mistakes, but it sure does help in the long run.
Weigh in via the comments below, and let me know what you think.
Nate