I have to say the quality of the "Picking Techniques Vol. 1 V.2" DVD is excellent, and it's great to have as a reference. Since I've watched (most of 'em more than once) and taken notes on over 130 of Pebber's instructional clips, I figured I should purchase something or at least send a donation. I chose the purchase route. Glad I did - Great instructional vid!

Pebber Brown has awesome qualities for a guitar teacher: great musician (that helps), wealth of knowledge and experience, detail-oriented, motivational, no BS, covers the minutiae of the craft, actually cares (especially if the student cares), has a system that works. Wish I lived on the west coast!

Anyway...

This might be a stupid thought, but...

For future DVD's, I'm thinking a section of "Pebberisms" or "Words to Live By" (or something to that effect) should be included as a menu item. It could be an edited collection of Pebber saying some of my favorite motivational phrases:

"A lack of effort will give you a lack of results."
"Endlessly review the basics."
"Thumb behind the neck!"
"Curve your fingers. Play with the tips."
"Pull those fingers in tight!"
"Work on your technique!"
"Have some dignity when you play - you want to look good and sound good."
"Don't be sloppy!"
"Good technique takes WORK."
"This is your art, your craft - take pride in it!"
"Practice correctly!"
"Don't let those idle fingers get sloppy."
"Be patient. Practice! Keep at it!"
"You suck! What are you going to do about it?"
"The greater you make the commitment to yourself, the greater you will improve."
"Practice your ass off!"
"Take pride in your technique!"
"Draw and practice."
"Think about this stuff all the time."
"Never stop working on your technique."
"Map it out."
"Don't rock the boat!"
"Practice smooth with no audible slides or glitches!"
"Take pride in yourself!"
"Make your timing accurate!"
"You have to practice way, way, way more to get good."
"... every day for the rest of your life."

What do you guys think? Might be a lame idea, I don't know. I realize the DVD's might have a more professional lean to them (read: serious tone), but I really think a short clip like this would be good. A lot of these phrases go through my mind as I'm practicing - helps me to work at it and bear down when things are tough. The next day, everything is cleaner and more accurate than the day before - because I kept at it when I thought "Cripes, I'll never get this down!" And I have a picture of Pebber with the words "You suck. Now what are you going to do about it?" taped to a wall as motivation, if anyone wants a copy!