Being Logical and Taking Your Time

The method to your teacher's madness!

It happened again the other night, a student who "wants guidance" but doesn't recognize it when he's getting it. Here's what he needs to be looking for and listening to.

Why do we play songs at the lesson?

The best thing a music teacher can do for you is listen to you play, then play the song with you. This helps you learn to make music with other people, understand why timing is important, and it helps you get over nervousness/stage fright. Yes, I know, you play better at home. THAT'S WHY I'M PLAYING TOO!

I can't make the song sound like the recording.

The recording has been made by professional musicians with thousands of dollars' worth of equipment. In addition there is more than one guitar on the record and someone is singing or otherwise providing the melody. You're supposed to be playing rhythm guitar which means keeping a steady beat. A common beginner mistake is to try to strum with the phrasing of the tune to the song instead of a straight rhythm part.

Beware the evils of internet overload.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record about this point, watching You Tube videos of a "guitar teacher" showing you how to strum, how to play chords or whatever, you have no idea who's teaching you. He or she may know exactly what they're doing, or, they may not be a much better player than you are. Keep in mind that a good guitar player isn't necessarily a good teacher.

Take your time and learn it right.

The key to learning guitar is not multi-tasking. My emphasis is on teaching and learning each technique as a separate function. Don't worry about palm muting if you can't change chords in time. Don't worry about complex strumming patterns until you can play the song up to speed.

Summing it all up.

Learning to play guitar or any other instrument is a time art. Hurrying through so you can learn the next technique catches up to you in the long run. In the words of Ringo Starr: "You know it don't come easy."

New Year, New You?

Happy New Year!

The new year has begun and there's always a lot of soul searching, resolution making, and bad habits that are going to be fixed. That usually lasts anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, then it's back to the same old, same old. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started.

New Strings.
If your strings have not been changed since last New Year's, now's the time. New strings make your guitar sound better and they're not rusty or caked with gook. While you have them off, clean the fingerboard. I use Gibson Fingerboard conditioner which cleans the wood and adds a little moisture.

New Books or Songs.
Are you still practicing the same songs you were playing months ago? Congratulations, you've found your comfort zone! The bad news is, you're not making any progress. Yes, it's fun to play songs you know well, no, you shouldn't forget about them. Think about how excited you were when you first started to play them and how happy you are now that they're polished up and ready for public consumption. Get yourself a new book, or pick out a new song and challenge yourself a little. Maybe a different genre or something that's more technically challenging to get you to the next level.

New Guitar.
Is your old guitar kind of clunky? Does it make you want to sit down and play it or have you gotten to where you really don't like that make or model any more? If you can afford it, treat yourself to a new one. Or if you do like it, try something different. Maybe a classical guitar, a 12 string, an acoustic if you only play electric, you get the idea.

So have a wonderful New Year and dig back into playing and practicing your guitar!