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- Written by Greg Shoemaker
- Category: Motivation Blog
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"Does a one-legged duck swim in circles?" was a favorite saying of Cameron Christopherson, a co-worker in the computer center at Georgia State University in the early 1980's. Why am I bringing this up? It's intended to be an admonition to those of you who tend to practice the same thing over and over and don't try to learn anything new. It's also more of an appeal for you to try and push your boundaries rather that always falling back on the same tried and true things you have been doing in the past. So if you feel that you're getting nowhere with your practicing it may be that you need to branch out and grow another leg. If you look back to when you started playing you likely weren't as good as you are now. Something was motivating you to get better then and pushed you to get to where you are now but something along the way may have stopped you from pushing your limits and you got into the habit of playing the same things over and over. If you want to remember just how bad you were when you started just turn your guitar upside down or swap your drums around and play left handed. (If you keyboard players want to try that you'll have to create a saved plugin into your DAW to invert the midi signals to play a virtual instrument.) Be creative and push your limits. Try something new. And if at all possible find a teacher who will help you push those limits.
Of course, some people are satisfied with their playing and I suppose some ducks don't mind going in circles all day either. Just my little thought for today! Grow a new leg and enjoy.
Greg Shoemaker
