Seeing the Shapes in your Head

It is always a big debate among music lovers: who's the best guitarist ever? I have maintained for my entire life that this man is the best. He makes a guitar sing, and not only the melody, but also the words. He is a genius songwriter as well and many of his songs tell stories about heartbreak and loss, dreams and tragedy. Knopfler speaks in this video of the magical point when you can play the guitar and make it sing as an extension of your imagination. He talks about seeing the sounds: making the "shapes" of the music in his head...as he plays the guitar, he sees the positions of his fingers and the motions they make. And music comes out. 

I think that this is a great lesson for learner's of a second language. As we study a second language, sometimes all we can hear are our mistakes. Learning a language is a lot like learning to play an instrument sometimes. We may not feel confident or like we are making any progress, but if we continue to practice we will reach a point where we begin to see the shapes in our head, and language comes out.

 

Have a listen to this amazing musician. I hope he inspires you to become