The Acoustic Asylum

Ep54 – Sneaky Ways to Make Progress on the Guitar in Less Time

Do you practise with absolute focus? Or do you practise guitar in a “wishy-washy” way?
 
Well, today, I’m sharing some interesting little insights into how to practise your guitar in a more optimal way…
 
This includes exactly what I did back when I was learning guitar and I only had 10 minutes per day… How I would “practise” on the bus (even though I didn’t have my guitar with me)…
 
...And one thing you can put in your practice room that will make you a more creative musician and guitarist today.
 
Enjoy!
 
You can now get my two exclusive and free eBooks today... Includes The Guitar Doctor (which will help you fix 35 terrible habits) and The Super Mini Songbook (teaching you stunning songs in unique ways). Get them both for free at - https://fingerstyle101.com/free/
 
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!

Ep53 – Why You Should Read the Autobiographies of Your Guitar Heroes

Let’s talk about autobiographies.
 
In today’s podcast, I’m sharing some little gems of inspiration I have read from a variety of guitarists in their autobiographies. You’ll hear stories from Neil Young, Eric Clapton, and bizarrely, even Andrew Ridgeley (from Wham!).
 
I find that when guitarists and musicians talk in interviews about their experiences on the guitar, they rarely go into much detail… BUT when it’s in their autobiographies, we hear so much more. It’s super interesting to read about their struggles, successes, and highs and lows.
Not only are these interesting for us guitarists, but these stories can be massively inspiring too!
 
You can now get my two exclusive and free eBooks today... Includes The Guitar Doctor (which will help you fix 35 terrible habits) and The Super Mini Songbook (teaching you stunning songs in unique ways). Get them both for free at - https://fingerstyle101.com/free/
 
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!

Ep52 – A Simple Way to Get Rock-Solid Clarity on Your Guitar Journey!

Distractions are everywhere – especially in the guitar world!
Today’s episode is dedicated to avoiding all these crazy distractions when improving our guitar playing!
There’s one really big tip I want to share today.
…And it’s been working like a charm for my students – especially for Ryan, who is a super busy father, coach of the kids’ soccer team, and is very busy with his career.
Listen to Ryan’s experience and how he is now on the path to achieving his guitar goals simply because we have been doing one simple and specific thing each week.
Use the simple tips in the podcast and you too will get some clarity in your playing!
 
You can get more tips, advice, and a powerful new free eBook on the 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum from me, Dan Thorpe, by joining the email list here – https://acousticasylum.com/
 
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!

Ep51 – Two Epic Chord Progressions (And How to Use Them!)

Let’s talk about chord progressions.
 
…And specifically, two super popular chord progressions that I love and that get used in a tonne of songs!
 
When I started off learning guitar, I never used to think about chord progressions.
That was a huge mistake because learning just a few chord progressions could have saved me a tonne of time… It would have given me a better understanding of how music works, improved my aural skills, and given me more confidence.
 
Listen today and discover how to put this simple knowledge into practice and have lots of fun with these two chord progressions!
 
The funny thing is both of these chord progressions use the exact same four chords… yet when you change up the order of the chords, the whole tone of the song changes. It’s simple, but it’s powerful stuff!
 
You can get more tips, advice, and a powerful new free eBook on the 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum from me, Dan Thorpe, by joining the email list here – https://acousticasylum.com/
 
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!

Ep50 – Improving Your Aural Skills

Today, I want to talk a little bit about connecting the dots in music.
 
One of the key things about music and being a musician is being able to know where the notes are that you hear in your head. This ability is what separates a beginner guitarist from an intermediate guitarist.
 
In today’s episode, I give you a little way of testing your aural skills. I play a little riff and set you the challenge of trying to work it out by ear. It’s as simple as starting out by finding the first note. I’ll also give you some advice on how to work stuff out without just randomly trying to guess the notes.
 
This episode will help you learn how to work stuff out by ear and improve your aural skills, which will help you enjoy your playing more!
 
You can get more tips, advice, and a powerful new free eBook on the 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum from me, Dan Thorpe, by joining the email list here – https://acousticasylum.com/
 
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!

Ep49 – How to Never Forget Anything You Love to Play on Guitar

Have you ever learnt something on the guitar, enjoyed it, but then later on… forgotten all about it?
 
…You’ve spent all that time learning it, only to not play it again, and then, of course, you have to spend time re-learning it. That’s the sort of madness that would make the malevolent Gatekeeper of the Acoustic Asylum proud.
 
Well, today I want to show you a simple plan to help you so you never forget to practise the things you love. As well as that, I’m sharing a story about Led Zeppelin getting lost in Iceland, why some folk should not try to be too organised, and how I started learning guitar with a dusty old book in pre-internet times (and how that was a good thing in some ways).
 
It’s a fun episode with my tips as well as me talking about various guitar styles such as acoustic, blues, rock, classical, Travis picking, fingerpicking, and even flamenco guitar!
 
You can get more tips, advice, and a powerful new free eBook on the 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum from me, Dan Thorpe, by joining the email list here – https://acousticasylum.com/
 
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!
 

Ep48 – My Guitar Hero

This week’s episode is all about a guitar hero of mine, Kurt Cobain, who passed away thirty years ago, on April 5th.
 
I have many guitar heroes, people like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Chet Atkins, and so many more, but Kurt Cobain was one of my favourites. He was in the band Nirvana and he was only 27 years old when he died. In this episode, I talk about my own discovery of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, and I also talk about the album Nevermind. Nirvana did some really cool stuff, including some amazing covers, and you could see the direction they were heading in before Kurt died.
 
Kurt Cobain was a really underrated guitar player. A lot of people have tried to teach or recreate his solos, but unsuccessfully. He was a student of classic music, which showed in his playing. Whether or not you’re a Nirvana fan, I think there is a lot to appreciate listening to Kurt’s music. Sometimes it’s good to look back at your early guitar heroes who made you passionate about music.
 
This episode is all about guitar heroes and the journey of discovering music.
 
You can get more tips, advice, and a powerful new free eBook on the 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum from me, Dan Thorpe, by joining the email list here – https://acousticasylum.com/
 
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!

Ep47 – The “3D Method” of Fingerstyle Arrangements

Let’s talk fingerstyle arrangements.
 
There’s a secret to playing fingerstyle arrangements… Especially ones that sound great, but aren’t painstaking to learn.
In this episode, I’m sharing with you these secrets all broken down into three simple steps.
 
You’ll discover some key advice the great guitarist, George Benson, once shared on a TV show called Guitar Star.
Plus, I talk about what you can do today to start making more progress on the guitar, why listening to very experienced guitarists may not be such a good thing…
…And you’ll get to hear my brand new and exciting Travis picking arrangement of “You’ve Got to Walk That Lonesome Valley”, which I hope will bring a smile to your face today.
 
This episode will help you learn how to play fingerstyle arrangements and have more fun on the guitar.
 
You can get more tips, advice, and a powerful free eBook called 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum from me, Dan Thorpe, by joining the email list here – https://acousticasylum.com/
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!
 
 

Ep46 – One Lick, Endless Fun!

Today, I want to talk about licks and the importance of having just ONE powerful lick in your tool belt.
 
So many people want to teach you dozens of licks, sometimes more... but the problem is, many licks don't work... at least not in a practical setting. That's why having one lick you can use, jam, and mould into different forms is super powerful. In this episode, I take one of my favourite simple licks and give you multiple examples of how to jam it.
 
Plus, I share with you a secret of why treating lead guitar like rhythm guitar is super important and some words of wisdom from the great Tommy Emmanuel… And stick around till the end where I tell you all about some tips from my brand new spiral-bound book, The Six String Lifer's Handbook.
 
This episode will help you learn how to have one lick you can jam with and develop.
 
You can get more tips, advice, and a powerful new free eBook on the 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum from me, Dan Thorpe, by joining the email list here – https://acousticasylum.com/
 
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!
 
 

Ep45 – A Tone Test

This week’s episode is all about a little tone test I’m doing on three different acoustic guitars.
 
It’s really important to find a guitar that suits you and inspires you to pick up the guitar every day. One of the best ways to choose a guitar is to try out several guitars and do a little tone test on them. In today’s episode, I’m showing you how to do this by doing a little tone test of three of my acoustic guitars so that you can hear the difference.
 
We look at the importance of trying out different styles of playing on the guitar to get a feel for the tone and to be able to see how it fits your style of playing and what you are looking for. I do a quick bit of strumming and play some blues on each of the guitars, which highlights the differences in tone of the three acoustic guitars. I also give some tips and advice on what type of pieces and how many to play when trying out a guitar.
 
This episode will help you learn how to do a tone test when trying out different guitars.
 
You can get more tips, advice, and a powerful new free eBook on the 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum from me, Dan Thorpe, by joining the email list here – https://acousticasylum.com/
 
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!