I recently read a press release on Harmony Central where this company, Hypnobusters, has just released a self-hypnosis audio to improve your guitar playing. I snickered at first because when the word “hypnosis” is mentioned, my gut reaction is, “Yeah, right… just some more of that New Age crap…” But then again, over the years, I’ve developed meditation techniques to help focus and quiet my consciousness to develop and extend my “chi” (for those martial artists out there), and even so far as performing self-healing. In a way, those meditation techniques are a form of self-hypnosis. And if I’ve used self-hypnosis to accomplish different things, why not apply it to guitar playing?
The mind is a very powerful tool. And if you have the ability to quiet your consciousness, and filter out the hustle and bustle of your waking mind, you’ll find that you can much more clearly analyze different subjects or help steer yourself towards accomplishing many things. It’s not hocus-pocus. It’s pure focus.
For instance, have you ever been playing guitar at a gig or in the studio, and you close your eyes because you’re so in tune with the song that what you’re doing is just pure expression? While you’re in that “groove,” nothing else exists. It’s just you and your axe reverberating with the song. That, my friends, is a form of self-hypnosis. That’s happened to me many times in my studio, and when I listen to the printed track, I’m sometimes in total disbelief that I actually played what I played! I’m not really all that good of a soloist, so I suppose any clean take is a good take. 🙂
In any case, I went to the HypnoBusters site, and found their guitar improvement page. The audio session only costs $9.95, so I said, “What the hell? I’ll give it a whirl. Besides, I could use a little mind quieting time.” And really, that’s what it’s all about – quieting your mind, and allowing yourself to explore the limits of your playing. I’ve often found that the limits of my skills on guitar aren’t merely technical – there is definitely that – but also because my conscious mind often tells me “You can’t do that.” It’s like an inherent fear. But as I break through those boundaries, I find that my actual limits are much further than what my conscious mind tells me.
I’ll give this audio a try, and report back. I’m not sure that it’ll make me a better player – that’s purely up to me. But one thing I know about things like this: They help you give yourself the permission to improve.
Guitar Gear 
Hello!
Your article is very good and it’s very nice of you that you have described every thing nicely which is very helpful and interesting .
Thanks
After reading your article (about a week ago) I decided to give this a try. Here’s my observations…
I wouldn’t say that my playing was completely transformed from ‘lemon’ to ‘Lemmy’ However there are now definite differences. Technically there maybe a small improvement, but in the creative side of things – oh yes!
It’s true what you say about quietening the mind. I just play now – its almost automatic. And because my mind is more relaxed, so are my hands, which allows things to flow out into my playing. My skills at ad libbing have dramatically improved. It’s not always perfect, but I often surprise myself. My memory also seems a little better now that I am not worrying about what chord or note I will play next.
I would say this product is worth the $9.95. It hasn’t turned me into the next James Marshall Hendrix, however my playing is now better than ever, and I am enjoying it a lot more.
I’m interested to see your observations Goofydawg?
Completely slipped my mind on following up on this! Thanks for reminding me! My experience was similar. It was a little tough to get over the thick Scottish accent at first, but I just closed my eyes and relaxed.
Like you, I haven’t become the next Jimi or SRV, but it did help me get out of my own way so I could just play. I also found it useful getting over my fear of not knowing what I was doing in a particular phrase. I trust myself a lot more. It’s not necessarily the recording that did this, but the self-affirmations that arose out it certainly helped.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi all. Check out the FREE hypnosis recordings available at free-hypnosis-downloads-mp3.com – no signup or anything. Commercial quality. Have been sold online but no cost at this site.
hypnobusters, didn’t work, waste of money, bad quality, these comments must be fake
They aren’t fake. But bear in mind that audio sessions like this are actually meant to quiet your active mind, and get you into a “groove” kind of mode, where you’re not analyzing everything, and just letting things flow. Admittedly though, you don’t need a “hypnosis” tape to accomplish this. Over the years, and especially the last few, I’ve relied more on my years of meditation to quiet and relax my mind while I’m playing so that my playing is more responsive as opposed to reactive.
Completely slipped my mind on following up on this! Thanks for reminding me! My experience was similar. It was a little tough to get over the thick Scottish accent at first, but I just closed my eyes and relaxed.
Hey there! Nice post. If the hypnosis works, can you somehow… Copy it and give us a link so we don’t have to pay the ten dollars 😀 ? Thanks 🙂
Most people who think self-hypnosis doesn’t work think they only have to play the recording once and that’s it. That’s not how it works. You need to play the recordings over and over, until your mental habit patterns change. The time it takes will vary according to the beliefs you currently have, and how relaxed you are when you are listening and just letting go, accepting everything that is said and getting fully into the flow of the recording.
I’ve used self hypnosis for over 40 years, and know from experience that it works. But results come with repeated listening. So, if you’re going to try the hypnobusters session, dedicate yourself to listening to it as many times as it takes to begin seeing changes in your playing, your creativity, and your skill on the instrument. It may take a few days, it may take a week, or it may take a few weeks, but you will see changes in how you play, how you feel when you play, and how you feel about your playing.
Hypnosis works, and everyone can be hypnosized. We all go in and out of hypnotic states all the time without even realizing it every day, such as when you’re driving and you arrive at your destination without remembering how you got there, or when you’re watching TV and nothing else exists except what you’re watching. Those are states of hypnosis, and the effects of hypnosis.
When your doing self hypnosis, you’re doing mental rehearsal and the mind can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s imagined. Imagine often enough and you’ll see results in your real world experience soon enough. It’s what athletes call “inner practice”, and not only does it remove inner blocks you have, but it gives you an opportunity to experience yourself performing at your optimum level, which in turn shows up in your real world experiences.
…and you need to ask yourself this – if you’re too cheap to spend $10 to quickly and easily advance your playing far beyond what practicing alone can do, just how serious are you, really, about wanting to play guitar with a high level of skill, to be a great guitarist…?
I know… seriously? You can’t spend $10? 🙂 Thanks for the post!
On another note, things like this shouldn’t be confused with “psyching yourself up” because frankly, you have to BE WILLING and OPEN YOURSELF to accomplishing something before you can realize any success. This applies to all aspects of life; not just guitar.