I have a dilemma: I am really, really tempted to buy a new guitar. Admittedly it is not a life-shattering problem. I have managed to save some money over the last few months by making packed-lunches for work and not spending money on coffee.
But I also see my dilemma as a deeper issue: can I justify buying another guitar when I really don’t play my current guitar as much as I should?
Part of me knows that I am being pulled in by the marketing that a new guitar will make me a better, more inspired guitarist; the other part of me realises the harsh truth that buying a new guitar will not create more time to practice, and that my improvement as a musician is purely reliant on me focusing on developing my skills and putting in the hours of practice.
I am trying to reconcile what will make me happy and what will give me meaning, and these are very different things. Buying a new guitar will make me happy – even though it may be transitory – and there is also the anticipation of ordering a guitar, waiting for it to be delivered and then finally unpacking the box and looking at my shiny new guitar with all the case-candy (even just writing these words makes me want to reach for my credit card!).
But the rational part of me thinks that what I really need to do is play more and practice more: finish those songs I’ve half-written; go through some jazz chord books and expand my harmonic knowledge; re-learn some of the songs I used to be able to play flawlessly, but which are now a little rusty; go through the tutorials from my old guitar magazines; jam along with a backing track. Perhaps if I did this consistently and aggressively, then I could emerge like a Ibanez-swirled-butterfly from the lock-down chrysalis.
As I’m writing these words, a thought just occurred to me: maybe I should do both: rather than choosing one or the other, I could buy a new guitar and change my mind-set to practice more consistently. Maybe a new guitar will be the catalyst to kick-start my motivation?
If you have any suggestions, put them in the comments!
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