How Can Your Mind Make You A Better Guitar Player?

by Luca Turilli

Your mind has more power to make you a better guitar player than your hands do. Top athletes, coaches, entrepreneurs and artists all know this secret and use their mind’s in very special ways that most people are not even aware of (and certainly do not even try to do themselves). I frequently harness the amazing power of the mind in my musical, personal and professional life. I want to help you today to do the same in order to help make you a better guitar player. 

I have always loved to study psychology as a hobby in order to know more about all the brothers and sisters who share the wonderful gift of life on this planet with me, but I especially study to understand more about myself.

The complexity of our brains and the way it works is simply astounding. We can use the knowledge we have about the brain to improve our ability to learn and master our guitar playing and musical abilities. To do this however, we must train our minds in the same way we train a muscle in a gym.
It is important to focus on training the “ego”, the part of us that wants and needs desperately to be heard. It wants to scream to the world that “we are alive” and “deserve to be alive” as we want to “make something great” on this planet. The ego has been with us since childhood.

To some extent we all depend on our ego and so do all the social relationships among us. 

The important thing is not to become dominated by our ego because doing so can be dangerous – possibly causing mind wounds that can actually lead to various forms of psychopathologies. So the fundamental goal is to train ourselves, and our mind in order to not be its victim but instead to be able to harness its power in positive ways.

Let’s apply this concept to our study of the electric guitar.

One way to harness the primordial energetic power of the “ego” is to visualize ourselves in a situation where we are completely and totally achieving something successfully. I’ll give you an example of how I used this a lot in the beginning of my guitar studies in order to never lose the will to learn, practice and play guitar. 

Try this: Take an album of your favorite guitar player and listen to it while eventually moving and faking to play it on your guitar (air guitar), or lying on your bed and closing your eyes (if you prefer). Imagine you are in his place (on stage for example) hearing the crowd in front of you screaming YOUR name. Lose yourself in that atmosphere, in the same way you would simply relax or meditate (if you do that). Feel the concert event inside yourself and live the excitement and the amazing experience of the people acclaiming you.

This exercise creates energy in your brain and if you follow this process for a couple of songs once a week, week after week, every bit of energy compounds on top of another one and will create an instinctual connection to an experience of virtual success that will be elaborated by your brain as something “needed to be achieved”. This will be automatically translated into great “fuel for training” and will definitively improve your practice sessions, giving you all the energy and mental and physical endurance you need to carry on.

Of course there are many other ways to visualize your success and each depends on the way you utilize your ego. In particular the above example can be very useful for anyone who has been practicing guitar for a few years or less. But what is important is the main concept and the “mind strategy” behind all this, applicable at all levels and in all the situations. The most skilled guitar players could, for example, visualize and “feel” in the same way for different goals or overcoming different challenges. I still do it and with great results while facing new steps in my career!

I believe all that I have achieved has been made possible by first focusing on my mind and harnessing the power of the ego in healthy ways. It is the starting point for all major challenges I face. I can say with certainty that this too can make an amazing difference in your musical life and personal life too.
As always, everything needs to be “under control”, the ego especially, and the best way to prevent your ego from getting out of control is to use humility and modesty. These are the best remedies for every artist ☺

I teach my students how to master all aspects of being a neoclassical guitar maestro. If you want me to guide you down the shortest path to the ultimate neoclassical guitar playing, visit my Neoclassical Revelation Guitar Course and let's begin working together today!