The Acoustic Asylum

Episode 113 – The Rules of the Asylum: Rule #22 – The Secret to Building Chemistry with Your Guitar

In today’s episode, I talk about chemistry, specifically your chemistry with music, your guitar, and your love of learning. Chemistry is key to good playing, iconic bands, relationships, and it’s all about passion.
 
The buzz, the enjoyment, is what you want to have when you pick up the guitar. To make sure you have this, play the songs you love, the songs that mean the world to you. You have a relationship with the guitar, it’s important to keep the chemistry alive.
 
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can get my free “guitar secrets” video course which will help all beginners or those who are “stuck”. Get the course for free, exclusively at - https://fingerstyle101.com/secrets/
 
Like this episode? Your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!

Ep112 – The Arthritis Comment That Caused a Stir

In today’s podcast episode, I want to talk about an aggressive comment I got recently. If I didn’t have thick skin, I would have been hurt by it, but as it is, I’m not really fussed about it. The comment was about arthritis, and I know arthritis is brutal, I have had family members suffer from it.
 
I know there is no cure for arthritis, but guitar playing, when done mindfully, can help maintain mobility and reduce stiffness and pain. When I shared this, a lot of people responded with their lived experience and how guitar playing has helped them. It’s important to always use good core fundamental technique and never play through pain.
 
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can get my free “guitar secrets” video course which will help all beginners or those who are “stuck”. Get the course for free, exclusively at - https://fingerstyle101.com/secrets/
 
Like this episode? Your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!

Ep111 – The Fun Daily Jam Every Fingerpicking Guitarist Can (and Should) Do

Today we have a short episode that is all about exercises on the guitar – what to avoid and how to see progress. Often, guitar exercises are far too complicated. Simple, technical exercises that you can do every day will help you to see a lot more progress.
 
I talk about how you can create your own exercises that cover the basics, allowing you to work on your technique. These exercises don’t have to be boring, so I show you how to make exercises useful and enjoyable to play! Take a listen and discover how to create your own!
 
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can get my free “guitar secrets” video course which will help all beginners or those who are “stuck”. Get the course for free, exclusively at - https://fingerstyle101.com/secrets/
 
Like this episode? Your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!

Ep110 – The Rules of the Asylum: Rule #21 – Being a Daydream Believer

Today’s episode is all about a new rule of the Asylum – being a daydream believer. Yes, this is inspired by The Monkees’ song, and it’s all about believing in yourself. Visualising is an excellent way of improving your self-belief, so today, I talk about two forms of visualisation.
One is visualising yourself as an excellent guitarist, and the other form is visualising the mechanics of playing, which helps your memory. The second form helps because visualising the movements will help you solidify the movements. I also discuss some of the pitfalls of the first form of visualisation, how to avoid them, and how to find balance! Take a listen to learn all about it.
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can get my free “guitar secrets” video course which will help all beginners or those who are “stuck”. Get the course for free, exclusively at - https://fingerstyle101.com/secrets/
Like this episode? Your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!

Ep109 – When Guitar Gods Get Nervous: Clapton’s Story

Today’s episode is all about one of Eric Clapton’s proudest moments. It all happened when he was asked to play on an album with one of the greatest musicians of all time. The thing that makes the story stand out is that it shows even the greats of guitar get nervous.
In the episode, I share Clapton’s story and what he had to say about his incredible and unique experience. But all of us have been there on a smaller scale – feeling nervous about playing in front of others. Everybody gets nervous, and everybody thinks there’s someone better out there, even the greats. The key is just to stay relaxed.
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can get my free “guitar secrets” video course which will help all beginners or those who are “stuck”. Get the course for free, exclusively at - https://fingerstyle101.com/secrets/
Like this episode? Your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!
 

Ep108 – The Rules of the Asylum: Rule #20 – Face Up to Your Michael Myers

Today we’re going to talk about a new rule of the Acoustic Asylum. There are many rules to escape the Asylum and beat The Gatekeeper. Today’s rule is face up to your Michael Myers. On the guitar, we all have our Michael Myers, things that we fear. He’s very much like the fear of failure.
So how do you overcome that? In today’s episode, I discuss the steps you can take to face your fears and overcome them. You have to face up to these things, otherwise they will get you and you won’t be able to enjoy your playing or your guitar journey.
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can get my free “guitar secrets” video course which will help all beginners or those who are “stuck”. Get the course for free, exclusively at - https://fingerstyle101.com/secrets/
Like this episode? Your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!

Ep107 – The Rules of the Asylum: Rule #19 – Enjoy The Game of Tones

Today’s episode is about a new rule of the Acoustic Asylum that’s all about embracing the Game of Tones (yes, that’s a pun on the TV show Game of Thrones). This rule is about tone. Make a game of improving your tone.
The best players out there spend a lot of time working on their technique because it helps their tone improve so much more. Tone comes from the fingers. I’m going to play you some examples of different tones in the episode and give you advice on how to improve your tone. Take a listen and enjoy!
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can get my free “guitar secrets” video course which will help all beginners or those who are “stuck”. Get the course for free, exclusively at - https://fingerstyle101.com/secrets/
Like this episode? Your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!

Ep106 – Double Trouble Blues

In today’s episode, we’ll talk about music, cinema, and blues. Movies were probably one of my main introductions to music. I fell in love with movie soundtracks and, as a result, with music. Inspired by movies and doubleheaders in cinema, for the March lessons in the Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy, I have a doubleheader of blues coming up.
I’ve created two blues lessons, both very different. In the episode, I also play a little preview of what will be in the lessons. The idea behind the lessons is about filling out the sound when you’re playing. It’s fun stuff that will make your playing sound great. Take a listen and find out how to get the lessons!
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can get my free “guitar secrets” video course which will help all beginners or those who are “stuck”. Get the course for free, exclusively at - https://fingerstyle101.com/secrets/
Like this episode? Your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!

Ep105 – How The Exorcist Reminded Me I Wasn’t the Only Struggling Guitarist

In today’s episode, I talk about the horrors of guitar playing, kind of. I was reminded by the movie The Exorcist that often people put on bravado about how scary something is, whether it’s a movie or their struggles with the guitar. People often downplay how much they practise, how hard they find it.
 
It’s important to be honest if you’re struggling and it’s hard. That honesty goes a long way. If you open up to people that you find it difficult, they’re more likely to do the same, or they can share some advice with you. It’s important to lose the bravado and stop downplaying everything. It doesn’t help anybody.
  
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can get my free “guitar secrets” video course which will help all beginners or those who are “stuck”. Get the course for free, exclusively at - https://fingerstyle101.com/secrets/
 
Like this episode? Your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!

Ep104 – The Rules of the Asylum: Rule #18 – Top Up Your Inspiration Jar

In the latest episode, I discuss a new rule of the asylum, which is to top up your inspiration jar. It’s an imaginary jar filled with your inspiration, dreams, and reasons why you want to play. Often when you first start out playing the guitar, this jar will be full, which makes you motivated to pick up and learn the guitar.
 
But with time, and the challenges most guitarists face when starting out playing, the jar starts getting emptier and emptier. It’s important to never let that jar empty, this will help you keep your motivation strong and your practising consistent. In the episode, I offer some tips and advice on how to keep your inspiration jar full, so take a listen, and keep at it!
 
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can get my free “guitar secrets” video course which will help all beginners or those who are “stuck”. Get the course for free, exclusively at - https://fingerstyle101.com/secrets/
 
Like this episode? Your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!