9 Weird Things Guitarists Do: The Common Myths & Misconceptions that Poison Your Playing - and How To Defeat Them Review

by Tom Boddison
•
25 Jan, 2017

This could be the best guitar book I've ever read...

"If being average excites you, this is not the book for you" writes Neil Cowmeadow, author of this unusual guide to success.

If you've ever struggled to play the guitar as fast and effortlessly as you'd like, then this may just be exactly what you've been looking for.

I tried the book for myself to see whether it really can "change the way you play - forever" and see what all these fanatical Amazon customers are raving on about...

Defeating Your Guitar Playing Demons

Divided into individual chapters for each "weird thing", the book is very easy to digest. Neil includes a nice and helpful "Remedial Action Steps" section at the end of each chapter so you can apply what you've read immediately. I loved this because so many guitar books and courses give you the information and then leave you with no idea how to apply it!

Another great thing about this book is the humour - unlike a lot of other guitar books I've read this one doesn't drag on. It's not written like a scientific report, it's written like Neil is talking to you - making it much easier to digest. After all, nobody likes reading page after page of dry, boring info, even if it is useful, so it's nice that "9 weird things" has a relaxed and fun style.

"The ideas are applicable to any style..."

Don't get the wrong idea, though - the points in the book aren't just "quick tips" like you'd find in a click-bait style article, oh no. They're solid, factually-based ideas that are explained well and are applicable to any style. After all, this isn't a book of scales or songs (there's no tab or notation to be seen), it's a collection of superb principles that you can use regardless of what style you play.

Brilliant Tips that Anyone Can Use

One of my personal favourite chapters was the one on buying too many guitars! The author admits that even he is still an occasional victim of this particular weird thing, and it's one that I can definitely relate to.

We all need "just one more" don't we! Neil doesn't just explain why your money and time could be better spent elsewhere, he also gives you some excellent advice on making your current equipment sound better.

Your dream tone could be right there in the equipment you've already got. Neil points out that most people simply find a "decent" tone with their amplifier and then never go any further, when if they spent some time looking into things they could probably come up with a really great sound. This is something that everyone should consider. Just sit down next to your amp and spend some time tweaking - you never know what you might come up with!

The Ultimate Benefit

The main thing that struck me about this book is that it is about so much more than guitar.

The points are presented in a musical context, but when you apply them to your playing you'll slowly realise that you can use similar principles to succeed in any area. Say you wanted to start a successful guitar teaching business, for example. You could take the point above about the equipment you use and apply it to your website - instead of paying for more website design software or tools, you could experiment more with what you've already got to come up with something great without spending any extra cash.

How great is that? The book is like a manual for success in any field! Whatever you want to achieve, the tools in this book could help you get to your goals.

For just £8.99 on Amazon UK for a print copy, I can definitely recommend this. It's a great way to refresh your view on guitar playing and come up with new, more effective ways to play. At the time of writing it's got eleven out of eleven five-star reviews on the UK site, so I'd say it's real top-quality stuff!