What’s Talent Have To Do With It …

14 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by Metal Mike in Inspiration & Motivation

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Talent and people’s perspective and relationship to it is an interesting thing. See if you can agree with me that having talent at something is a gift that allows you to be naturally pre-disposed to doing better than others at a task.

Good example of this is a friend who picks up a pencil and can draw something pretty well or a buddy at work who picks-up playing drums and naturally has good rhythm and timing. You can say that without trying too hard, these people had a leg up on the task out of thin air. It was a gift that could be practiced and improved upon to get better, but that raw ability was in the person’s DNA.

When I was stydying, obsessing and practicing the guitar all the way through my college years, I never considered myself to have any more talent at playing the instrument than anyone else that I met. I felt that I became good at playing the guitar because I practiced it a lot.

One of my college professors disagreed with me, however. He said that no matter how much he practiced he was never able to achieve his dream and play in the NFL. He felt he did not have enough talent in football, although he loved the game and had a lot of passion for it. That conversation began changing my perspective a little.

So, should someone give up a pursuing something because they feel or think that they might have little talent for it? Definitely not.

Truth is that if you have a strong interest in trying something this is very often your talent nudging you to do it. You really never know how talented you might be at anything until you try. They say the more expensive place on earth is the cemetery because unfulfilled inventions, dreams and things that could make life for us humans better never had a chance to be materialized.

Point to remember. Even if you are very talented at something you have to put in the work. This is a sticky point for many talented folks. Because things might come “easier” to them due to various talents they often do not try hard. I have seen this happen with many guitar playing friends of mine who were ridiculously talented but just kind of sat around and settled. They got what they wanted easily and they never knew how to push for super results where real work was needed.

One thing I’d also lke to stress is a quote I recently read from NFL veteran and Superbowl XVLI Champion, Steve Weatherford.

“Talent will always lose to someone who’s willing to work.”

You hear him? Steve believes that strong work ethic will outperform eventually someone with talent. Talent will not improve by itself unles you put in more work. You can’t only rely on it. If you have a talented person rely soley at their birth given talent, the hard working person with lesser talent will eventually rise and surpass him or her. I agree with this to be true. This is a very motivating factor for anyone who wants to become better at something whether it is an instrument or anything else. In a nutshell, the success relies on you.

And, if it is you, then this is good news. You can always control your output, work and dedication.

I think it also important to be straight on this and realize that there are sometimes misalignments. If you really have to work incredibly hard to shoot one hoop out of 10 and you are looking to surpass someone who is just the right height and has a lot of talent that can take him as far as the NBA – you might be in the wrong game.

Remember that because you like something you do not have to become a master at it. Your talent might lie somewhere else. There is plenty of joy just enjoying doing something because you like it and not having the stress of becoming amazing at it. Become truly great at where your talents lie and simply enjoy the rest. It is impossible to conquer everything.

I strongly believe that everyone has a talent to do something whether it is art related, building something, problem solving or decorating. Sometimes the talent speaks to you when it nudges you to try something because of your interest in it and sometimes you have to be concious of your surrounding a bit. Perhaps your talent is simply listening to people and giving small pieces of advice. Horns Up!

Envisioning For Success

07 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by Metal Mike in Guitar & Music, Inspiration & Motivation

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Mindset, Success

I was in the storage area and decided to shift some guitars around, take inventory, etc.

I started to dig up cases that were from some of the first guitars that I ever owned. I had a laugh as all the cases already had my name stenciled on them w. spray paint and had numbers from #1 on. If you did not know anything else, you would think I was preparing for a world tour. The truth was however, that by that time, I have maybe played one or two shows ever in my life.

About a year prior to that, while searching through my office, I found lyric sheets from about 1990. On several sheets, I have written my name over and over and over again. I guess I was preparing that one day someone was going to ask me to actually sign something for them.

This became a game.

When I went to concerts, I would close my eyes between songs when people cheered for the band, I imagined myself that I was on that stage, and the loud noise was for me. I took in how metal concerts smelled, how the energy felt, how excited the people were to see the bands.

I would sometimes peek into tour buses and I imagined myself sitting in some of them.

I would make backstage passes for me and my buddies no matter where I played, even if it was a High School cafeteria.

Would my dreams or aspirations come true? It was hard to tell then, but I did not give up. A friend of mine wrote me a check for a million dollars as a joke and later he asked to get it back. Hmm … I took that as a good sign 😉

Now, the honest truth is that this had very little to do with ego, and it really had to do with me visualizing what it would feel if I had a chance to do what I wanted. What I wanted was to play metal guitar for a living, make records and go on tour. I really got into this and while maintaining those mind journeys – I worked hard. Make that very hard. Harder than anyone I knew.

Many people might refer to such visualizing experiments today as the Law Of Attraction. Some popular books and movies such as the “Secret” have shed spotlight to much of this.

Now, while this is all great to think about whatever term you put on it, I must stress that nothing happens without hard work. You can imagine anything you want, but unless the image (let’s call it a dream, or your desire) is put to paper next to a plan of how you are going to achieve it, nothing usually will come of it.

This is where many people get confused as they wait for something great to just appear out of the air just because they really wanted it. While a strong desire or want is essential, the universe, let just call it that, won’t caught it up unless you pay the fee. The fee is planning and diligent work to make it happen.

But, the desires of where you want to be and how it would feel once you get there are great destination markers. They are great beacons of where you could concentrate your energies and efforts to.

Action Before Inspiration! (And, A Quick Story About A Car Battery)

06 Monday Mar 2017

Posted by Metal Mike in Guitar & Music, Inspiration & Motivation

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In today’s blog I want to touch on an idea that I learned to be true and can definitely be applied to guitar playing.

As humans we often have 2 internal voices. One that wants to do something and the other one that comes up with excuses as to why we shouldn’t do it. You know the routine. You’re tired, not enough time, etc.

This applies in everything we do in life, but for today’s example, I’ll just stick to it as far as it applies to the guitar.

Often, we know we should play the guitar but then the battle starts as to why we could do it later. At this moment, hopefully you are naturally inspired to play often and that is great. However, there will be a time when the enthusiasm will dip and the info here is helpful. It happens to everyone, even professionals.

Let me share with you 2 great things to remember.

1) What I found out that we sometimes can NOT wait until an inspiration takes over for us to play or do a task.

2) I also found out that when we take action to do a task and stay with it for a few minutes an inspiration to keep doing it kicks in on its own and finds US. We simply must know to take action first and let the inspiration kick in shortly. It happens all the time. We might not feel like gong to the gym, but once we are there usually we end up doing what is necessary to finish the trip successfully.

Remember the car battery? Well, practicing the guitar is also similar to starting the car. The car takes the most juice out of the battery right when it starts and this is same with the guitar when you don’t feel like playing. But, after you pick up the guitar, plug in and play a few licks – you usually stay with it for a long while.

Studies show that we need about 15-25 minutes of doing something until we get into a creative zone where time dissapears. You know what I’m talking about.

Keep these simple but true ideas handy for when you will need it. Horns up!

Why Great Attitude Is The New Black

04 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by Metal Mike in Inspiration & Motivation

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I want to take a brief moment and talk about something that is truly important to your journey as a musician. That is the attitude you apply to a task or a situation.

As some of you might be aware, I recently took part in the Axes & Anchors Cruise that sailed from Miami, FL to the Bahamas. It was a star studded event that featured some amazing music acts and guitar players. Anyone and everyone was there and while it would take a long time to mention everyone, let’s just say some of the greatest musicians in rock and metal took part in this.

I did individual guitar workshops as well as played with the Randy Rhoads Remembered show that also featured Rudy Sarzo, Brian Tichy, Johny Kelly, Bumblefoot, Jeff Watson, Alex Scolnick and other awesome players.

Here is what I noticed: Althought it was not an easy situation to navigate though because of rented gear, set list changes and more – everyone, and I mean everyone tackled the task with a killer attitude. This meant no egos. All of the players were focused on getting the job done, having fun, getting their performance in and coming out in the end as winners.

Why am I mentioning this? Well, I teach a lot of students who are starting to perform at bars, clubs and I hear about the negative attitudes that are prevalent in other musicians at that level. So, remember that you should continue with a great attitude because at the top – positivity is what rules the game. Strive for that.

How To Extend The Life Of Your Guitar Strings

22 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by Metal Mike in Gear & Reviews, Guitar & Music

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I want to share another quick tip with you and this one has to do with extending the life of your guitar strings.

Ok, I must admit that sometimes I’m not a fan of changing guitar strings. Not that it takes too long, but I’d rather be playing them then changing them. I’m sure you might agree.

What I found out is that after I finish playing the guitar – I lightly spray some guitar cleaning polish or something like Pledge on the strings and wipe of the sweat from playing. Do this also underneath the string as well. What kills the strings quickly is the toxins and rust that forms on them from being wet after you are done playing. This trick keeps the strings lightly worn in, which gives them a nice warm tone while extending their life. So, spray and wipe after you are done and it’s a simple as that.

I know many (most?) players don’t wipe their strings down. Now, you can use this info in your metal guitar ninja tool-box. Check it out for yourself.

Interesting Note: Years back guitarists used to boil their strings. Yep, you got that right … they would take the strings off, boil them in hot water for a while and put them back on. The strings would sound bright and like new again, but would break easily!

The Greatest Guitar Playing Advice From Bruce Lee

09 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by Metal Mike in Guitar & Music

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“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once. I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” – Bruce Lee

This entry of the dragon is for guitar players and yep, Bruce Lee is right. In truth, I find that many guitar players out there are confused as far as what to practice and how to practice. I can understand why. No one really wants to talk about boring practice routine. That’s ok. I’ll just do it right here.

Read the quote above and understand that what Bruce Lee is talking about is focus and the art of mastering something by repetition. One of the definitions of mastering something is the ability to be able to call on something quickly and perform it exceptionally well.

Here is how this applies to guitar playing.

First of all, many guitar players have already figured out that to stay at the same level technically they are at, they need to at least practice 45 minutes a day. Anything else and you are sliding back. Anything more, give or take, and you’ll be gaining. So, while we are here, I’ll chime in that there are no plateaus in guitar playing. We never arrive and stay at the same level. If we are not getting better, we are getting worse.

Here’s the deal. When guitar players practice they usually jump around the fret board playing parts of someone else’s solos they know, a lick here and there and then they work on something they feel is not yet up to up. But, this is only one type of practice.

If you want to get terrifyingly fast and fluid, we need to check out the Bruce Lee quote.

Instead of playing dozens of 75% there licks, choose one lick and play it over and over and over again. Don’t practice any other ones. Just keep nailing that same lick until the cows come home. Doing so will help break barriers and will allow you to obtain a complete new level of performance out of that one lick.

Here’s where the great bonus appears. Read the next sentence slowly, so you understand. Because the way the guitar is set up, meaning that only frets and strings make up the fret board, anytime you play anything similar to the lick you’ve mastered, anywhere on the fret board – it is already almost if not as good as the lick you practiced. This is one of the great secrets of guitar playing.

Get it? It is absolutely true.

If you want to develop your right hand picking practice one or two licks until they sound incredible. Master them. Own them. This is much more beneficial that practicing 25 licks that never reach a superb level.

How much should you practice the lick? Well, it depends on good you want to get. I used to have about 5 licks like these and I’d put on a timer and watch it while I played each lick for let’s say 5-7 minutes non stop. I had a few licks for right hand picking, one for pull off, one for a long legato run across the neck and so on. I’d play them with a timer at the beginning at every practice session.

Paul Gilbert (Racer X, Mr. Big) practiced his famous Al DiMeola guitar lick so much and got so good at at it that his early guitar shred style was based around it. Now, that’s mastering something.

I hope this helps some of you a bit. Horns Up!

My New Online Guitar Coaching Program

28 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by Metal Mike in Guitar & Music

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Recently the folks at Skype told me that if there was one guitarist out there that could get metalheads playing together in the internet world, it would be me.

I did not think much of it as first, except being thankful for the complement, but then the gears in my mind started to turn.

What if they are right, indeed?

Then, I started remembering that one of the main gripes from many guitarists that I meet is that they are not in contact with many other players who just get “it” and are into the same type of music and playing they are into. They kind of feel alone in their quest to play better and don’t have enough feedback.

This explains why my Metal Heroes Summer Camp and The Metal Guitar Retreat are popular destination getaways. Not only the players get awesome personalized instruction there, they are indeed connected with others just like them when they attend these events. And, let’s face it, guitar playing can be extremely rewarding, but sometimes lonely place and not as fun if you have to go at it alone.

With that in mind, I had something up my sleeve last few weeks.

I’d like to announce and introduce you to Metal Mike’s Metal For Life Online Guitar Program.

This group is like none other before it.

You get an exclusive twice a week videos, a Metal Monday motivation message beginning of every week and a private Facebook group hosted by me for only $19.95 per month!

This program is on-going, so you can join today and start right away. Once you register, you’ll be billed automatically each month. And, you are free to cancel any time with no questions asked.

Guitar playing is a funny thing. I should know as I dedicated 32 years of my life to it so far. Hundreds of thousands of players (sound crazy, but it’s true) saw my online videos and they e-mail me saying “Metal Mike, your video really helped me with a technique or with writing riffs,” or, “What do you use to get that guitar tone?” I love getting these e-mails and I reply to everyone.

But, I also know that jumping around the internet looking at a video here and a video there with no rhyme or reason and getting an answer to an isolated question robs these players of true results. Or, if the results come, it is through a very slow process.

The jumping around strategy is too scatterbrained. In order to truly get better fast, you benefit greatly from a succession of videos geared towards a goal and a commentary on what you might be doing wrong. When you pair that up with a support network of players just like you, well then, you can start seeing that this can bring your playing up to a whole another level.

When you get a destination place to visit time and time again for valuable information over a period of time – results come.

I have created an Effective and Inexpensive way to help you obtain your guitar goals.

You can join me at $19.95 per month!

Here is what we’ll be doing together:

(1) 2 videos each week (Tuesday and Friday) on one topic.

(2) Metal Monday Motivation post on Monday.

(3) Membership in a private Facebook group.

(4) Access to me with personal interaction answering your questions, e-mails and overseeing your progress.

(5) Support from players just like you who love to play metal guitar and want other encouraging people around them.

Guitar videos and topics will include a variety of topics from technique to fortifying riffs to leads to practice tips. We’ll talk about guitar tone all the way to guitar travel tips. And, Monday Metal Motivation will hit you each Monday afternoon with a nice dose of mindset shred to keep your week going.

Note: Each video will come with TAB (Tablature) sheet that you can save and print out later. I understand that many players need time to learn licks and each example will be shown slowly and explained well.

You bet I wish I had this when I was growing up!

I learned the old fashioned way of getting mail-order guitar tapes and trying to learn licks from MTV videos. But, here is 2017, we have a new way of learning the guitar.

And, we are doing this for $5 bucks per week.

Check out what some of my students are saying:

“One quick lesson with Mike has doubled my picking speed” .. Ben S.

“You are a great inspiration and a source of knowledge” .. Sebastian S.

“Having Metal Mike as a mentor has enhanced my playing ability drastically! He was able to point out my errors immediately and teach me techniques like no other guitarist I have ever met” .. Tony G.

“Mike helped me unlock my playing potential to a whole new level by showing me awesome licks, riffs and usable theory. There is no substitute for seeking face-to-face instruction from a world class player who has recorded and toured the globe with the all time greats” .. Alex H.

“Thank you for the lesson. Already writing riffs that are inspiring me again” .. Chris W.

“Mike’s instruction is a perfect blend of classic training and real world experience” .. Charles A.

“I will happily take another 100+ lessons without any thought whatsoever” .. Matt B.

“I’m fortunate to be getting first hand information from the ultimate wizard” .. Rob D.

One and that sums it all up from Greg D …

“I feel like I have learned more in the past 4 lessons than last 2 years on my own”

Read On!

This is an ongoing program, so you can sign up today and jump right in. You can go back and check out any materials we might have covered before you joined as well. Purchase the first month here and we’ll set you up for a recurring monthly billing of $19.95. Once you register, you’ll receive a welcome e-mail with further instructions.

Remember that you can cancel anytime free and clear with no questions asked.

If this sounds like something that you feel is designed to help you go after your goals go to my Metal Heroes Academy site HERE and let’s rock.

Metal For Life!

Success In Opposites

23 Monday Jan 2017

Posted by Metal Mike in Guitar & Music, Inspiration & Motivation

≈ 5 Comments

I have been thinking on an interesting observation lately. The idea is that much of success lies in the acceptance and being comfortable with opposites of where you want to be. Let me explain.

Let’s take a look at something I know well such as practicing your instrument. In order to become great at a guitar you have to have a final goal. It is something you strive for. The end goal for you might be the ability to play fluid, effortless licks in front of lots of people. But, that end goal needs an opposite which is the daily task of practicing and building up your abilities. The opposite is where you want to be versus what needs to be done now.

You can not obtain the final goal without breaking it down to daily steps. But, your daily steps very possibly won’t lead you in a desired direction unless you know what the direction of the final destination is.

So, the success lies in the ability of operating while seeing the distant possibility and what needs to be done now. You accept the two points and are conscious of the stretch in-between.

Let’s take a look at another example where the opposites work, perhaps with a slightly different twist.

If you want to ask a person out successfully, I really think you have to be ok with getting rejected. You can see a clear “want” and the “fail” scenario here. You have to be ok with it. The more you accept the possible opposites outcome of where you want to be, the higher your chances are of success.

In my own life, the greatest gains were obtained when I went after something not caring if I loose. One of the materialistic examples of this is when I wrote a check in the amount of my yearly salary to buy a car that I always wanted. On top of that I did not even care if something was wrong with it. You can call it stupidity of being young (there might be some truth to it) but that is the point, you see? I was ok with either outcome. Most people would not take that chance. The vehicle turned out great and has quadrupled in value since the day I bought it.

Here is another case from my own life. I made a decision growing up that I was going to give my all to practicing the guitar in order to ultimately become a full time metal musician. I said to myself that I am ok with failing as long as I know what I gave it my all. So although I can not say that I never thought about it; I was completely ok with sitting in my basement playing while missing out on Summer days at the beach or making very little money for a long period where some of the people I knew were getting real paying jobs and setting up their life on much more socially accepted terms. I went for my goal and accepted the opposite result.

Once again, this approach has not let me down. I’m going to cap it here and leave the above with you.

I hope this will give you some ideas to think about. Horns Up.

Ready, Set! Wait, What?

19 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by Metal Mike in Guitar & Music, Inspiration & Motivation

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Hey musicians! Are you in the habit of announcing your projects and then not finishing what you set out to do or promised?

We all go through this. We get excited about an idea or a project and want to share it with the whole entire world. And, definitely, I have been guilty of this myself.

What I found out, mostly by reading about it, is that our human brain almost gets a morphine like drip of satisfaction when we announce something. It feels good.

The issue is what happens next.

Because of the feel good moment when we announced something of what we were going to do, out initial fire of that inspiration gets a little extinguished. We realize at that time that hard work and problem solving comes next. So, we go to another idea and get the morphine drip. Get my point?

Here’s a tip. Save the announcement until you are ready to roll out your idea in the flesh. This is not always applicable, when you are making an album and want your fans to go along for a ride, etc. However, in many cases it is wise not to announce until you have something tangible to show.

There was a time when I was writing more press releases then “doing.” And, rethinking my approach to the above has truly changed the way I do things now.

Add Two Legs To Your Keyboard

18 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by Metal Mike in Guitar & Music

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I really enjoy computers and the internet age. Some of it frustrates me, of course. I was not born into all of this “stuff.” For those of you older than 24 you know what I’m talking about – e-mail, social media, blogging, websites, new business models. Can I just please just play the guitar? No? Ok. So, you learn and get on with it. Same way we learned how to drive a car or raise a child. We figured it out. After a while, this is no different than changing oil in your car. It is something you do. My real saving grace is that I really enjoy being able to communicate and reach many people through the internet.

However, this online based connectivity is a dark turn for many musicians.

Remember this: money and opportunities flow through people.

Many musicians out there think that they can hide behind a keyboard, send tens of e-mails or newsletters and never leave their house to the place that the strongest connections take place – the real world.

I’m not saying that communicating via e-mail is not important, because it is. However, it is not enough. It is certainly not enough without face to face contact.

What hurts musicians and artists in general in this is that let’s face it – most of “us” would love to stay in and work on whatever is occupying our mind and clicking on the switch to go out and socialize is painful.

But, as an important lesson, please remember that it is essential. You must develop your skills and the more you chisel them out, the more you’ll enjoy staying in touch with the people you find interesting. Through real connections … interesting projects and opportunities will flow.

I find it absolutely best to make 1 heartfelt connection versus 1000 nice to meet you acquaintances. Keep that in mind. It is quality versus quantity. In the age of what can feel like an impersonal world, real connections feel better than ever before. Use that to your advantage. It is hard to succeed as a musician if you dislike talking to people. And if you truly do, work on that skill because it is essential for a career.