If you are a guitarist who has trouble with the following: Memorizing scales or theory Applying scales or theory creatively Getting yourself to practice/study fundamental things like scales and theory Playing expressively Understanding how scales and theory concepts connect with one another Then, I would bet that a couple of things could be said about...
Ah the F chord, the bane of every beginner guitarist’s existence. Mastering the F chord is one of the greatest challenges in learning to strum basic guitar chords. However, much like bar chords, the key to mastering the F chord is finding the right position for your hand. No superhuman strength is needed. Let’s take...
When I’m practicing something on the guitar, I often like to think of myself as a scientist doing lab work. I experiment with things, observe what happens, modify the experiment, and eventually zero in on what needs to be done. Mistakes are one of the main forms of feedback I receive during this practicing process....
One thing I emphasize with all of my guitar students is the importance of using a metronome when practicing. Most of my students are initially resistant to the idea of using one. Some remain resistant to it, while others eventually embrace the metronome as a practice tool. I can usually see a clear distinction in...
Back in 2006 and 2007 I went through a period of intense practicing and musical growth on the guitar. Most serious musicians go through a similar ‘wood-shedding’ period like this at some point, where they hole up and put in consistent days with numerous hours of practicing. During my wood-shedding years, I managed to sustain...
I’ve always found the act of composing to be one of the most difficult and complex activities in music. When composing, I feel that I’m calling upon everything that I am–not only as a musician, but as a person. There was a time when I felt I just wasn’t good at composing, or that I...
Bar (or barre) chords often present a huge difficulty to beginner guitarists. Almost every student I have struggles to some extent when they are first learning to use bar chords in the songs they play. Even though it can be tough to get a grip on these types of chords, they are incredibly important to...
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. This statement is otherwise known as Murphy’s Law. Any experienced musician with more than a few gigs under his or her belt would probably agree that Murphy’s Law applies to the world of playing gigs. For some reason, things have a greater tendency to go wrong when...
There are a lot of different opinions out there regarding the value of learning to read standard music notation for a guitarist. I’ve briefly talked about my opinion of this topic elsewhere on my website, but I thought it deserves a more thorough treatment since it’s a somewhat complex issue. At this point, I’ve done...
I’m occasionally asked by students who are getting ready to start lessons what kind of guitar I would recommend for them to get. These are my recommendations for various kinds of guitars: electric, acoustic (both steel and nylon stringed) and kid sized guitars. Since they don’t know how well they will take to the instrument,...