The Acoustic Asylum

Ep21 – Why Testing Your Skills Is Crucial (And a Five-Question Guitar Ear Training Game)

 I’m a huge fan of testing students on their knowledge of the guitar. Testing, quizzes, and ear training challenges are a powerful and proven way to improve your guitar playing and your musicality.
 
In today’s episode of the Acoustic Asylum podcast, we’re talking about testing. Not only am I talking about the power of the tests, but you’ll get a fun five-question guitar ear training game. Plus, I’m sharing my recent experience of trying out learning another language (which reminded me of the importance of testing). 
 
In this episode, you’ll get ear training exercises to test you on major, minor, and dominant 7th chords, guitar riffs, a mini chord progression, and more…
 
If you want more ear training tests specifically made for guitarists, you can check out Episode #4 of this podcast, you can go to my Guitar Domination blog for more, or you can check out the Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy where there are lots of fun tests like this.
 
Take the test today and don’t forget, you can get more tips, advice, and a powerful free eBook on the 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum from me 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!

Ep20 – The Rules of the Asylum: Rule #6 – Take Advice With a “Pinch of Salt”

When it comes to learning how to play the guitar, lots of people have an opinion. Many of these folks have good intentions and will happily give you advice… but their advice can be dangerous.
 
In this episode, I explain why you should be wary of the advice of others. I’ve heard many people tell others, “You need to learn five scales,” or “You should learn modes”. Advice like that can be bad… especially if you can only just barely play a C Major chord!
 
Have a listen to hear some examples of students who were given advice which held them back, plus some useful tips on how to make progress with your playing no matter where you are right now. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer vast number of things to learn on the guitar, this episode is for you!
 
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!

Ep19 – How to Have More Quick and Creative Fun With “Movable Guitar Chords”

Moveable guitar chords are incredibly fun. They will help you be more creative, give you ideas on how to make a song of your own, and they’ll help you “unlock” the guitar fretboard.
 
In this episode, we’re taking four different guitar chords and playing them around the fretboard. There are no barre chords needed as we’re just moving the guitar chord shapes up the neck and playing them with open strings.
 
If you’ve ever wondered how to start a song, what chords to begin with, or how the pros do it, you’ll enjoy this episode. We focus mostly on the E chord on the guitar (as this is a great one to begin with and you’ll hear why), plus there are examples using the A minor chord, the C chord, and the D chord.
 
Not only that, but I’m even sneaking in a tiny little ear training test anyone can do, you’ll hear the chord the “Gatekeeper” of the Asylum would play if he were writing you a love song, and I announce the winners of the 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum paperback book competition. Listen today and enjoy!
 
You can get more tips and advice from Dan Thorpe by joining the free 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!

Ep18 – Playing Like Hendrix, Ear Training, and a Powerful Guitar Practice Routine

Today we are talking about how to get started playing in the style of Jimi Hendrix, some ear training exercises, and a 3-minute guitar practice routine.
 
These three topics are the focus of the brand-new Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy lessons for August, and today I’m sharing some powerful tips from those lessons.
 
These tips include how to methodically transform a boring old chord progression into something more exciting. I’m also giving you some powerful tips on “Immersive Listening” which is where you listen to songs both emotionally and intellectually to help improve your aural skills on the guitar… And you’ll discover why a good guitar practice routine can be essential for your playing. Not only that, I also share a little story about Dave, who was one of my most successful students and what you can learn from him on the guitar.
 
Plus, I share the winner of the book competition from last week. If you’ve left the podcast a review, you might well be the winner, so do give it a listen. If you haven’t yet reviewed the podcast, then please do so as you could win next week.
 
For more tips and advice from Dan Thorpe, join the free 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!

Ep17 – The Rules of the Asylum: Rule #5 – Why You Must Ignore the “Talent Myth”

In my experience, the best way to learn guitar is to focus on proper technique, play the songs you love, jam with others, and develop rock-solid self-belief. In today’s episode of the Acoustic Asylum, we are talking about the topic of self-belief… and specifically why you MUST ignore the “talent myth”.
 
Many guitarists believe they do not have enough talent or that they were not born with the necessary skills to succeed on the guitar. Some of you may be conscious of these thoughts, but most people are not.
 
In this episode, I share four examples with you of why I firmly believe “talent is overrated”. There are some surprising stories from the likes of Mozart, Clapton, and others.
 
Give it a listen, soak up the info, and if you do, you may find your journey on how to learn guitar will be that much more enjoyable.
 
You can get more tips and advice from Dan Thorpe by joining the free 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!

Ep16 – The Joy of Creativity and Playing Games on the Guitar

If you want to learn guitar while having more fun, then I urge you to try playing some enjoyable guitar games. Many people take guitar playing seriously. We are all guilty of this sometimes, but today I want to share with you some ideas on how you can have more fun, be creative, and solidify your guitar skills.
 
These simple guitar games I’m sharing can even help you improve faster and give you some light relief as you’re learning to play guitar or improve your skills. Plus, these tips can help slam the brakes on frustration with almost immediate effect.
 
In this episode, we talk about guitar string notes, chord changes, guitar vibrato, beginner guitar chords, and memorising the notes on the guitar neck.
 
These are all tried and tested fun guitar games I’ve used with students in my studio as well as some games I enjoy playing myself. Enjoy!
 
You can get more tips and advice from Dan Thorpe by joining the free 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!

Ep15 – How to Fix Suffocatingly Slow Chord Changes

Slow chord changes are the bane of most guitarists’ lives. Never has one specific element of guitar playing caused more toe-curling frustration, sky-rocketing blood pressure, and pained looks in the eyes of guitarists than slow chord changes.
 
Well, if you struggle with your chord changes, today’s episode of the Acoustic Asylum will help. Inside, I talk about the two core elements that are essential to improving your chord changes. I give you an incredibly powerful exercise you can do along with me, and I even share an important lesson from the 90s horror movie classic, The Blair Witch Project. Yes, this episode has it all.
 
Getting smooth and fast chord changes is one of the secrets to escaping the Acoustic Asylum for good and freeing yourself to enjoy playing many campfire classics and strum your heart out (as well as improve your all-around technique). Listen today, enjoy, and start mastering those chord changes once and for all.
 
You can get more tips and advice from Dan Thorpe by joining the free 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!

Ep14 – The Rules of the Asylum: Rule #4 – Set Realistic Expectations or Face the Pain of Eternal Frustration

In this new episode, we are talking about expectations. Today, I want to give you a reality check on the truth about learning guitar. I want to tell you why you should be aware of what others say about how long it took them to get good at guitar… And I want to give you some tips, advice, and hope so you can go about your journey in the most enjoyable way possible.
 
I also share two stories about two of my old students, Dave and Paul. Both of these stories will highlight the important points in the podcast and help you set more realistic expectations and avoid the pain of eternal frustration!
 
Don’t forget you can get a free copy of my eBook 13 Ways to Escape the Acoustic Asylum for FREE. To get it, simply leave the podcast a review and let us know by emailing hq@acousticasylum.com. We will then send it over.
 
You can get more tips and advice from Dan Thorpe by joining the free email list here - https://acousticasylum.com/
 
Like this episode? Remember, your reviews for this podcast mean the world to me, so please let us know what you thought about the Acoustic Asylum!

Ep13 – The Key Ingredient Many Guitarists “Bury Alive”

 In today’s brand-new episode of the Acoustic Asylum, I want to share with you some important tips on avoiding a few issues many people make when learning/playing songs. I’ve been guilty of some of these issues in the past and I’ve made one of these mistakes recently.
 
Have a listen to discover exactly what this issue is, discover some simple advice from the great guitarist George Benson, and an unusual little tip inspired by the movie Kill Bill. I even play some snippets of a really fun arrangement of a Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley tune. If you ever struggle to make your songs sound like actual songs, then the tips inside will really help.
 
You can get more tips and advice from Dan Thorpe by joining the free 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!

Ep12 – The Rollercoaster of Guitar Playing

 
 
Learning guitar can be like a wild rollercoaster ride. Some days you might feel wonderful and other days you may feel hopeless and frustrated. Well, this is quite natural as the journey of learning guitar is a crazy one – as you will already know. This is the story of what happened to one of my most promising students, as I’ll tell you about in the episode.
                                
…But I’m also sharing some tips with you that can help you be more measured in your approach, stop you from feeling the big “crash” when things go bad, and make the journey more enjoyable. You can get more tips and advice from Dan Thorpe by joining the free 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!