This is actually something that Horacio Quiroga wrote under the title of "Decalogue of the perfect storyteller". I just changed a few words to make fit into this particular kind of art. I think it's so good and precise that he should have named it "Decalogue of the perfect artist". Anyways, here it is:
I. Believe in a master - Hendrix, Beethoven, Blackmore, B.B. King - like in God himself.
II. Believe that your art is an unreachable goal. Don't dream about dominating it. When you become good enough, you'll get it without knowing it.
III. Avoid copying as much as you can unless the influence is too strong. The development of a personality requires patience.
IV. Have blind faith - not in your skills for triumph - but in your desire to reach it. Love your art like a girlfriend giving it all your heart.
V. Don't start writing without knowing from the first melody where you go. In a well written song the first 3 notes are almost as important as the last 3.
VI. If you want to express with precision the next chord progression: "Am - G - F", there is no better way to do it than that. Once you become the owner of your musical phrases, don't worry about cheking if they are supposed to sound good or not.
VII. Don't fill your compositions with senseless solos or melodies. It's useless to reload a weak note. If you find the precise one, it will have enough weight to stand on it's own. But you have to find it.
VIII. Don't beat around the bush. A simple song is not a symphony and a symphony is not a simple song. Keep this in mind as an absolute truth, even if it isn't.
IX. Don't write under the empire of emotion. Let it die and summon it later again. If you get to recreate it exactly as it was, you have walked half of the path to your art.
X. When you write a song, don't think about your friends or what others will think about it. (I added this part: Write your songs as if the only thing that mattered was your personal opinion. If you like it, others will too).
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