The School of Feedback Guitar Blog

Palmyra (Tadmor). Pillars of colonnade, showing brackets for statues, photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Hugh MacLeod has an interesting way to describe how really successful people get stuff done. He feels that they refuse to hide behind what he calls pillars, and can therefore execute ideas with ease.

Pillars are things that we think can help us be successful in our creative endeavors, but really just get in the way. The danger is that when more pillars than needed are allowed on the playing field, lots of energy is wasted on them.

Consider a wall, filled to the brim of beautiful vintage guitars. Pre-CBS Fenders, Gibsons that are at least 30 years old, and Martins from the 1800's. Would you feel okay having a wall like that to yourself? Are you salivating at the thought?

Remember this: all you need is one guitar to write thousands of songs, not a wall of them. Less is more. Or in the wise words of Hugh MacLeod...

Successful people, artists and non-artists alike, are very good at spotting pillars. They're very good at doing without them. Even more important, once they've spotted a pillar, they're very good at quickly getting rid of it.

Ignore Everybody, page 45,

What pillars could you do away with? What extras are getting in your way? Eliminating them might be terrifying, but the liberation that comes from giving them up can be breathtaking.

This is tip #1 of my new book, How to Learn Guitar and Have Insane Amounts of Fun: 

When a person decides they want to learn guitar, they usually resolve to buy whatever they need to be successful at it. In this process, less is more. The only accessories a person needs are a satisfying acoustic guitar, a tuner, and some picks. That's it. If a person wants to learn electric guitar, they will need an amp and a guitar cable in addition. All of these products are available for the complete newbie to purchase (if not rent) for very little money. Although it's fun to go crazy and buy stuff we think we'd need, less stuff is more when it comes to learning guitar from scratch. The reason why is because buying all of these extra things tend to get in the way of how to have fun, playing guitar.

It's tempting, too. I know.

Guitar stores, catalogs, and online guitar shops are full of potentially useful things to buy. There will be tons of instructional manuals to buy on how to play guitar. There will be a piece of equipment that is advertised to be the latest, greatest slice of heaven. There will be some toy that is so fantastic that we need to have it right now. So, if the initial burst of enthusiasm for learning guitar inflames the need for accessories, that's okay. It's fun to buy guitar stuff! Keep in mind however that the obligation to use all of these toys and trinkets might get in the way of how fast you will actually learn. Fortunately, there is a simple way to control the accessorizing need when you are first starting guitar: the Amazon.com wish list.

If you find an extra piece of equipment that really strikes you and you want to buy it, why not add it to you Amazon wish-list and wait one month? Amazon.com probably has the piece of equipment you are looking to purchase listed on their site, and there is no obligation to buy an item on your wish list if you don't want it. If you still feel like you want that item after a month, buy it! Enjoy it! If not? Take it off your wish-list. Or, you could send your wish-list to all of your friends and family, and they could buy it for you! Either way, you have saved yourself time and money.

At first, my “less is more” advice probably seems a little crazy, but the aim is to have fun playing guitar and not becoming overwhelmed with things for guitar. It's fun to buy guitar thingys, but it's ten times more fun to play guitar in a way that you've dreamed of. The fewer the guitar thingys at first, the more focus on learning to play. This is why, in my opinion, less will always be more.

If you had the entire book, you could learn how to buy an amazing guitar for very little money, simply by understanding the price breaks of quality and craftsmanship in guitars. Want to check it out?

As Twyla Tharp lovingly puts it in her wonderful book, The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life:

I want to place myself in a bubble of monomaniacal absorbtion where I'm fully invested in the task at hand.  ...I list the biggest distractions in my life and make a pact with myself to do without them for a week.

Great advice.  For me?  Say goodbye to email on the weekends.   Want to get a hold of me to hang out?  You better call me. No more books for awhile too.  Also, no more blogging twice a day...