don´t put yourself in a BOX
sometimes when i feel frustrated with my guitar playing i think that happens because i am putting myself in a box. i can put myself in a box in a stylistic way. like “ i always have been playing jazz standards, that´s all i can do.” so i sort of forbid myself to go out of my box and discover new music. there is so much music out there. but i rather stick to my comfort zone. listening to the stuff i have been listening to forever.
or i am putting myself in a box in a technical way. “ i can´t play fast.” “ i can´t play odd meters”. and then i discourage myself from learning a new technique.
or another box could be.” i already know everything”. “there is nothing new to discover for me anymore”. but then i am boring myself to death with the same old exercises and tunes.
i think it´s like cycling the same route every day. we know the streets so very well. and somehow we convince ourselves that if we know 4 streets in our city we know all the other streets too! and it´s not worth exploring them because it´s just going to be the same experience.
so i try to step out of the box. open my eyes to the endless possibilities of making music. forgetting about what other people might think. is it jazz? is it pop? i don´t think about it. i think about having fun. exploring new territories, maybe on the piano.
and the next time i take my bike. i use a different route. thank you google maps. it´s really so easy to do that. ;)
do you put yourself into a box at times? and how do you get out of it? let me know in the comments section below.