The Acoustic Asylum

Motivation is one of the biggest factors that will decide if you stick with the guitar or quit. Therefore, you must do what it takes to keep your motivation up at all costs… but of course, you don’t want to get too excited because when the inevitable pitfalls get in the way it can be like a sugar crash and your motivation may plummet… Today’s episode is all about a proven study on increasing motivation from the University of Pennsylvania… and it’s all about the power of Double Think! Follow the simple tip inside today’s episode and you can’t fail to be a more motivated guitarist! Don’t forget you can now get my two exclusive and free eBooks today... Includes the Guitar Doctor (which will help you fix 35 terrible habits) and The Super Mini Songbook (teaching you stunning songs in unique ways). Get them both for free at –https://fingerstyle101.com/free/ 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!

I love being creative on the guitar. Many guitar students out there also want to be creative, but often have no idea where to begin. Well, in this little episode, I share with you a very simple tip on creativity. It involves one chord, one strumming pattern, and one simple concept. With just a little bit of practice, anyone can do it… And the great thing is, according to various studios, being creative is proven to help reduce your brain age. Inside, you’ll hear me talk about a super interesting study from the BBC on identical twins and how the study proved that being creative can help reduce your brain age. …Plus, I play a very cool ‘50s chord progression based around the chords of C Am Fmaj7 and G and show you how to bring them to life! Don’t forget you can now get my two exclusive and free eBooks today... Includes The Guitar Doctor (which will help you fix 35 terrible habits) and The Super Mini Songbook (teaching you stunning songs in unique ways). Get them both for free at – https://fingerstyle101.com/free/ 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!

In this episode, we’re talking boxing and how elite-level sports and learning guitar have more in common than you might think. I use the fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to explain some key concepts for learning guitar as an adult. Some of the highlights include how it’s crucial to think outside the box, why most people teach guitar the way they were taught, and the big problem with that. It’s a short episode, but it’s like a Rocky montage – short, sweet, and right to the point. Don’t forget you can now get my two exclusive and free eBooks today... Includes the Guitar Doctor (which will help you fix 35 terrible habits) and The Super Mini Songbook (teaching you stunning songs in unique ways). Get them both for free at – https://fingerstyle101.com/free/ 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!

It’s May, and it’s spring. Yeah, I know, it has been spring for a while… but if you want to make more guitar-playing progress at this time of the year, this episode will help. In today’s episode of the Acoustic Asylum, I’m giving you two tried and tested ways to have a “spring clean”. One involves something in the physical world and the other in your mental space – but both are effective for getting clarity and making progress. Plus, you get to find out about my lack of DIY skills, hear me jamming a little acoustic piece, and discover the reason why strumming just a few simple chords on your guitar can help you to recharge at the end of a busy day. …Not only that, I’m also sharing with you a weird bonus tip that can breathe more life into your practice space! Don’t forget you can now get my two exclusive and free eBooks today... Includes The Guitar Doctor (which will help you fix 35 terrible habits) and The Super Mini Songbook (teaching you stunning songs in unique ways). Get them both for free at –https://fingerstyle101.com/free/ 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!

Do you practise with absolute focus? Or do you practise guitar in a “wishy-washy” way? Well, today, I’m sharing some interesting little insights into how to practise your guitar in a more optimal way… This includes exactly what I did back when I was learning guitar and I only had 10 minutes per day… How I would “practise” on the bus (even though I didn’t have my guitar with me)… ...And one thing you can put in your practice room that will make you a more creative musician and guitarist today. Enjoy! You can now get my two exclusive and free eBooks today... Includes The Guitar Doctor (which will help you fix 35 terrible habits) and The Super Mini Songbook (teaching you stunning songs in unique ways). Get them both for free at - https://fingerstyle101.com/free/ 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!

Let’s talk about autobiographies. In today’s podcast, I’m sharing some little gems of inspiration I have read from a variety of guitarists in their autobiographies. You’ll hear stories from Neil Young, Eric Clapton, and bizarrely, even Andrew Ridgeley (from Wham!). I find that when guitarists and musicians talk in interviews about their experiences on the guitar, they rarely go into much detail… BUT when it’s in their autobiographies, we hear so much more. It’s super interesting to read about their struggles, successes, and highs and lows. Not only are these interesting for us guitarists, but these stories can be massively inspiring too! You can now get my two exclusive and free eBooks today... Includes The Guitar Doctor (which will help you fix 35 terrible habits) and The Super Mini Songbook (teaching you stunning songs in unique ways). Get them both for free at - https://fingerstyle101.com/free/ 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!

Distractions are everywhere – especially in the guitar world! Today’s episode is dedicated to avoiding all these crazy distractions when improving our guitar playing! There’s one really big tip I want to share today. …And it’s been working like a charm for my students – especially for Ryan, who is a super busy father, coach of the kids’ soccer team, and is very busy with his career. Listen to Ryan’s experience and how he is now on the path to achieving his guitar goals simply because we have been doing one simple and specific thing each week. Use the simple tips in the podcast and you too will get some clarity in your playing! 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!

Let’s talk about chord progressions. …And specifically, two super popular chord progressions that I love and that get used in a tonne of songs! When I started off learning guitar, I never used to think about chord progressions. That was a huge mistake because learning just a few chord progressions could have saved me a tonne of time… It would have given me a better understanding of how music works, improved my aural skills, and given me more confidence. Listen today and discover how to put this simple knowledge into practice and have lots of fun with these two chord progressions! The funny thing is both of these chord progressions use the exact same four chords… yet when you change up the order of the chords, the whole tone of the song changes. It’s simple, but it’s powerful stuff! 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!

Today, I want to talk a little bit about connecting the dots in music. One of the key things about music and being a musician is being able to know where the notes are that you hear in your head. This ability is what separates a beginner guitarist from an intermediate guitarist. In today’s episode, I give you a little way of testing your aural skills. I play a little riff and set you the challenge of trying to work it out by ear. It’s as simple as starting out by finding the first note. I’ll also give you some advice on how to work stuff out without just randomly trying to guess the notes. This episode will help you learn how to work stuff out by ear and improve your aural skills, which will help you enjoy your playing more! 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!

Have you ever learnt something on the guitar, enjoyed it, but then later on… forgotten all about it? …You’ve spent all that time learning it, only to not play it again, and then, of course, you have to spend time re-learning it. That’s the sort of madness that would make the malevolent Gatekeeper of the Acoustic Asylum proud. Well, today I want to show you a simple plan to help you so you never forget to practise the things you love. As well as that, I’m sharing a story about Led Zeppelin getting lost in Iceland, why some folk should not try to be too organised, and how I started learning guitar with a dusty old book in pre-internet times (and how that was a good thing in some ways). It’s a fun episode with my tips as well as me talking about various guitar styles such as acoustic, blues, rock, classical, Travis picking, fingerpicking, and even flamenco guitar! 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!

This week’s episode is all about a guitar hero of mine, Kurt Cobain, who passed away thirty years ago, on April 5th. I have many guitar heroes, people like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Chet Atkins, and so many more, but Kurt Cobain was one of my favourites. He was in the band Nirvana and he was only 27 years old when he died. In this episode, I talk about my own discovery of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, and I also talk about the album Nevermind. Nirvana did some really cool stuff, including some amazing covers, and you could see the direction they were heading in before Kurt died. Kurt Cobain was a really underrated guitar player. A lot of people have tried to teach or recreate his solos, but unsuccessfully. He was a student of classic music, which showed in his playing. Whether or not you’re a Nirvana fan, I think there is a lot to appreciate listening to Kurt’s music. Sometimes it’s good to look back at your early guitar heroes who made you passionate about music. This episode is all about guitar heroes and the journey of discovering music. 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!

Let’s talk fingerstyle arrangements. There’s a secret to playing fingerstyle arrangements… Especially ones that sound great, but aren’t painstaking to learn. In this episode, I’m sharing with you these secrets all broken down into three simple steps. You’ll discover some key advice the great guitarist, George Benson, once shared on a TV show called Guitar Star. Plus, I talk about what you can do today to start making more progress on the guitar, why listening to very experienced guitarists may not be such a good thing… …And you’ll get to hear my brand new and exciting Travis picking arrangement of “You’ve Got to Walk That Lonesome Valley”, which I hope will bring a smile to your face today. This episode will help you learn how to play fingerstyle arrangements and have more fun on the guitar. You can get more tips, advice, and a powerful free eBook called 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!

Today, I want to talk about licks and the importance of having just ONE powerful lick in your tool belt. So many people want to teach you dozens of licks, sometimes more... but the problem is, many licks don't work... at least not in a practical setting. That's why having one lick you can use, jam, and mould into different forms is super powerful. In this episode, I take one of my favourite simple licks and give you multiple examples of how to jam it. Plus, I share with you a secret of why treating lead guitar like rhythm guitar is super important and some words of wisdom from the great Tommy Emmanuel… And stick around till the end where I tell you all about some tips from my brand new spiral-bound book, The Six String Lifer's Handbook. This episode will help you learn how to have one lick you can jam with and develop. 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!

This week’s episode is all about a little tone test I’m doing on three different acoustic guitars. It’s really important to find a guitar that suits you and inspires you to pick up the guitar every day. One of the best ways to choose a guitar is to try out several guitars and do a little tone test on them. In today’s episode, I’m showing you how to do this by doing a little tone test of three of my acoustic guitars so that you can hear the difference. We look at the importance of trying out different styles of playing on the guitar to get a feel for the tone and to be able to see how it fits your style of playing and what you are looking for. I do a quick bit of strumming and play some blues on each of the guitars, which highlights the differences in tone of the three acoustic guitars. I also give some tips and advice on what type of pieces and how many to play when trying out a guitar. This episode will help you learn how to do a tone test when trying out different guitars. 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!

This week’s episode is all about Rule #11 of the Asylum, which is all about the break / blast method. When people practise, they tend to play everything too fast, causing everything to be full of buzzing notes. Today we are looking at how to avoid this when practising. Most of your practice should be slow and methodical. Practising slowly allows you to focus on all the details and consciously think about what you are doing. However, we also look at how in your practice routine, every now and then, you should play fast. The reason why is that it feels different. When you just practise slowly, you can get into the bad habit of letting your fingers drift slowly, and then when you go to play at regular speed, your fingers aren’t ready. Playing fast will fire your fingers up, test your muscle memory, and it’s fun. This episode will help you to learn how to use and apply the break / blast method to your practice routine. 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!

This week’s episode is all about overcoming your biggest guitar-playing hurdles. Last week, I sent out an email asking everybody what their biggest hurdle was in guitar playing. Loads of people replied, and I decided to pick out some of those and address them in today’s podcast episode. These include questions about how you can practise guitar without your guitar on hand, when you should start introducing fingerstyle to your playing, how to practise with a metronome, and more. In the episode, I go over the questions and give you tips and advice on how to overcome the biggest guitar struggles. I discuss some tips from Jeff Beck, advice on how to play challenging chords, how to make switching between chords easier, and much more. Give it a listen and start solving some of your guitar-playing struggles. This episode will help you to learn how to overcome some very common guitar-playing hurdles and enjoy your playing more. 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!

This week’s episode is all about ear training, working out songs by ear, and a fun little challenge. Today, we are looking at the importance of ear training, and how ear training can help you work out songs by ear. Working out songs by ear (without using TAB, without using videos) is a wonderful skill that everyone should develop. Even if you’re at the beginning of your guitar journey, it’s important to start working on this skill as it will bring you many hours of joy to be able to work out songs you love by ear. In the episode, I go over tips that will help you work out a song by ear. It’s as simple as starting by trying to work out the first note or chord. I also give you a little challenge in the episode that you can work out by ear. I tell you what string the melody is being played on, and you simply need to try to find the patterns and work it out by ear. A really useful tip is to break it up into smaller chunks. This episode will help you to learn all about ear training and how to start working songs out by ear. 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!

This week’s episode is all about Rule #10 of the Acoustic Asylum. It’s based on a famous boxing quote that can be applied to guitar playing. Today, we are looking at a famous old quote by Muhammad Ali, which is also rule #10 of the Acoustic Asylum. This is a very powerful rule and, in the episode, we go into depth looking at how you can apply it to your playing. For most people, when they play guitar, their fingers are stiff and rigid, making playing painful. By remembering to let your fingers move around in a relaxed way, you can avoid all the tension. In the episode, I give you some tips on how to keep your fingers relaxed. We also look at how to keep your playing sounding powerful by using dynamics. Take a listen and learn these helpful tips! This episode will help you to learn all about Rule #10 of the Asylum and how to apply it to your guitar playing. 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!

This week’s episode is all about a movie-inspired tip that will help your guitar playing. It’s about working your way backwards to find the root cause of an issue and fix it. Today, we are looking at a super useful tip inspired by the movie Memento. It’s all about going backwards to check more than just the surface issue. Taking a look at more than just “fixing” your fingers when you play will help you have a whole-body approach to playing. We tend to just focus on one thing, but in this episode, I talk about the importance of looking at the whole process. Everything from your seating position to your posture can affect your playing and your tone. Take a listen to discover more about this super useful tip that can help improve your playing. This episode will help you to start looking at the whole process when you are practising so you can have a whole-body approach to playing. 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!

This week’s episode is all about the famous character Pennywise the Clown from the horror movie It and how he can inspire you to be a better guitarist. Today, we are looking at how to make 2024 the best year possible for you when it comes to playing guitar. It’s a new year and a new start. It’s “go-time”, which means it’s the best time to take action and start the year committing to your guitar playing. To help you with that, today I am delving into Stephen King’s character Pennywise the clown and how his story can help you improve your guitar playing. One of the things we are talking about is the importance of resolution in playing music. Music is often about building tension and resolution. We also look at not giving up when learning, especially songs, and how choosing the right song is key. Finally, we look at facing your fears about guitar playing and overcoming them. This episode will help you to understand the importance of tension and resolution in music, the importance of not giving up on what you’re learning, and facing your fears so you can enjoy practising and playing the guitar more. 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!