I have dabbled with playing guitar my entire life. I started at six years old and then took lessons on and off all the way through high school. By the end of high school, I could easily play Green Day's song, "Good Riddance" and Johnny Cash's song "I Walk the Line."

But that was the problem.

I could only play simple songs that utilize the same chords, and I was stuck at that level until this last summer. Thankfully, though, I had a roommate who is a master level guitarist, and he gave me the best piece of advice anyone has ever given me.

I was sitting in my dorm, playing the newest song I just learned ("King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1" by Neutral Milk Hotel) when my roommate walked in and said to me, "Hey, good playing man! You should start learning guitar solos though. Try learning the solo from "Jessie's Girl." It'll really help your playing!" Naturally, I thought to myself, "Jessies Girl? You scoundrel, how would this ever help me?" Naturally, I just dismissed his advice and continued limiting myself to playing the same four chords over and over... and over again.

All year he would ask, "Have you learned that solo yet?" and I always responded with, "No, not yet. I'll get to it though!" It wasn't until the beginning of this past summer when I finally got bored enough to consider his advice. I scoured Youtube, looking for a video to show me the way. It took me two days to learn the solo, but once I did I noticed how much I had drastically improved.

I'm not saying I can totally shred it, but I definitely learned a lot of valuable new skills after learning the solo. I sat down, learned some scales and other fundamentals, and started learning more complex songs. The best part about learning all these new things was how much easier it came to me. It wasn't as difficult for me to learn them as it had been the year before.

You could probably find some kind of psychological reason behind why, but it was like a switch just turned in my head and I finally got out of my plateau. But this experience, oddly enough, taught me the importance of being able to take advice. Sometimes what seems like ridiculous advice may actually help you make the switch from "Jingle Bells" to "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson.

For anyone who was like me a year ago, a Four Chord Guitar Hero, do yourself a favor and learn the solo from "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield. Being a Four Chord Guitar Hero is not a bad thing, but if you want to take the steps to becoming a better guitarist, do yourself a favor and learn it. While I may not understand how it worked for me, it may have just the right of touch to help you, too.