Pushing The Limits

It’s still early enough in the year to think about making resolutions for the next 12 months. Like most guitarists, I never feel I have enough time to improve my playing skills. In fact, I generally need some sort of terrifying deadline to properly focus my attention on learning. In the past couple of years, gigs have been the main spur to musical growth, because once the gig’s booked there’s no getting out of it. You have to sink or swim. One thing I learned from recent Hendrix and Cream tribute gigs is that if you really want to grow, you have to leave your comfort zone and tackle something tricky enough that it’s not a sure thing you’ll succeed with flying colours. There were definitely points while we were rehearsing Jimi tracks when I really wasn’t sure if I’d nail it on the night. But the gigs happened, we played our hearts out, people clapped at the end – and we even got invited back. So I’d definitely recommend pushing your limits a little bit – you might be surprised at how well it repays you.

Of course, the motivation needed to conquer new material is nothing compared with what many players have faced after suffering lifechanging injuries, as our cover feature with Tony Iommi, who lost his fingertips in a pre-Sabbath workplace accident, attests. Tony’s story of surviving that, then headlong fame (and infamy) with Sabbath and finally conquering cancer – smashing out some of the greatest riffs in history along the way – is truly extraordinary and a spur to any player searching for the spark of fretboard inspiration.

On a different note, it’s a temporary adieu from me as I’m going to be off for the next three issues working on a guitar book – more on which in due course – so in the meanwhile you’ll be in the capable hands of our very own David Mead, who’ll be serving up all your favourite Guitarist gear, features and lessons same as always. Enjoy the issue and see you in a few weeks’ time.