You Want to Play Music That's Too Hard

You’re excited to play a difficult piece of music.

You try it.

It takes hours to learn even one measure.

You become frustrated.

When this happens, the best approach is often to find a different piece of music that fits your current playing level.

But what if you don’t want to do that?

Another approach is to play a simpler version of the difficult piece.

Is this cheating?

No.

It’s a stepping stone in your learning journey.

How do you simplify a piece?

Here are three ways:

1. Play Fewer Notes in Chords

Instead of this:

Try this:

The second version allows you to do a half barre instead of a full barre, making it much easier for the left hand. And the sound is not that different.

2. Simplify Arpeggios

Instead of this:

Try this:

In the second version, you are still playing the important notes in the chords to make it sound good, but it's slower and easier.

3. Take Out Repeated Notes

Instead of this:

Try this:

Again, the second version still includes the important notes to get the sound across without the difficulty of the additional repeated notes.

When you make these kinds of simplifications, you might have the nagging feeling that you’re not really playing the piece.

I understand that feeling, but I encourage you to give yourself permission to play in a way that allows you to succeed.

Learning something you enjoy keeps your motivation higher.

As a result, you’re more likely to improve your skills and be ready for harder pieces later.

Keep making music!

By the way, I've created a mini-course called 7 Steps to Next Level Classical Guitar Playing. It includes short videos and downloadable PDFs that walk you through specific steps to improve your guitar practice and guitar technique.

As a special offer to you, I'm opening up the opportunity to go through the first 2 steps of the course for free! Just go to this link and enter your email address and you will have free access.

First 2 Steps for Free!

Let me know if you have questions.