Building Left Hand Strength and Independence

In order to play for a considerable length of time, your left hand needs to be strong.

Here are a few left hand exercises to help you gain strength and independence in your left hand:

1. Hold down the 1st string, (the skinny one closest to your leg) at the 1st fret and then pick the string.
2. Without taking the 1st finger off of the 1st fret, play the 4th fret with your 4th (pinky) finger. Don't avoid using the pinky, yes it's weak, and yes many people work around it. If you're going to play barre chords and complicated solos, you'll be glad you took the time to strengthen it.
3. Without taking the 1st finger off the 1st fret, play the 3rd fret with your 3rd finger.
4. Without taking the 1st finger off the 1st fret, play the 4th fret with your 4th finger.
5. 1st finger, first fret.
6. Without taking the 1st finger off the 1st fret, play the 4th fret with your 4th finger.
7. Without taking the 1st finger off the 1st fret, play the 2nd fret with your 2nd finger.
8. Without taking the 1st finger off the 1st fret, play the 4th fret with your 4th finger.t

The left hand fingering should be 1, 4, 3, 4, 1, 4, 2, 4. Leaving the 1st finger down through the whole exercise is what makes the strengthening and independence take place. In addition, this exercise promotes the idea of position playing, which is using one finger per fret in a section of the guitar fingerboard.

Do this exercise 2 or 3 times on each string every time you practice, and you'll notice results in a short time. It will make it easier to reach notes and hold them down without buzzing.

Frustrated and Other Negative Terms

Are you slowing your progress with negative thinking?

I have a new student, he's been playing for 4 weeks, and he must have used the word "frustrating" no less than 15 times at his lesson! Are you doing that too? Yes, beginning guitar lessons is very hard at first. Your fingers feel fat, they won't go where your brain tells them to go and to add insult to injury they hurt when you play. Wow, no wonder he was frustrated.

How to overcome the beginning guitar player blues?

• Accept the fact that you're a beginner. No one starts playing the guitar or any other instrument without feeling frustrated. After a couple lessons you realize it's not a short term project.
• Make it a game. See how many times you can play song, exercise or scale without a mistake. Set the metronome to painfully slow, play the music, and when you can do that perfectly, in time, without stopping, kick the beats up a little. Key words, a little.
• Record yourself.  Many beginning guitar students can't hear any progress, so one technique I recommend is recording yourself. Do that, listen to it, then put it away for a few weeks. The next time you listen to it you should be amazed at the progress you've made, provided you've been practicing in between.
• Get feedback from your teacher. When your guitar teacher suggests something or points out a problem area, pay attention! The goal before your next lesson should be to fix whatever the problem area is so you can move forward.
• Be extremely patient. I know, easy for me to say! Learning guitar is all about muscle memory and unfortunately it's not something you develop instantly. While practicing does help, the process really can't be accelerated that much. Playing music is definitely a time art.
• Lose the negative terms and thinking. Attitude plays a major role in your ability to progress. Don't allow your "lizard brain" as Seth Godin calls it get the best of you. Think positive thoughts and look at learning the guitar like the challenge that it is.

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R.I.P. Doc Watson, One of My Guitar Heroes

     It was a sad day when I read that Doc Watson passed away on Tuesday, May 29. I'll never forget checking his first record, simply called Doc Watson, out of the library after reading in the liner notes that he liked to play fiddle tunes on guitar. I'd never heard anyone do that with a pick, and I was absolutely amazed at his speed and technique.
     Then there was the fingerpicking on the guitar. That I was familiar with, but again his flawless technique had me wondering how in the world anyone could play like that. I had been playing guitar for maybe a year or two at the time, and vowed that I'd learn Doc's arrangement of Sittin' On Top Of The World. The only problem was, I couldn't figure out how he was getting that sound.
     I listened, experimented, and finally, after reading the liner notes, (duh), I found that he had tuned his guitar to a D chord. I knew about lowering the 6th string to D, but didn't know about the rest. His tuning from the low notes to the high ones was: D, A, D, F#, A, D. A couple years later I found a guitar tab book, which is still in print, and figured out how to play the song.
     If you're not familiar with Doc, check him out on You Tube, or get some of his recordings so you can appreciate the great gift that he gave to the world. His playing, his singing, and his versatility were what made me a fan from the day I heard that first album. So to Doc Watson, Rest In Peace, we're going to miss you.

Is Your Guitar Teacher Inspiring You or Showing Off?

Inspiration or show-off?

There's a fine line when it comes to showing a beginning guitar student how a song goes, and having him or her interpret it as showing off. I've had students tell me I was showing off or trying to show them up, when actually I was playing the song fast enough that they would hear what it was supposed to sound like.

Does your teacher show off sometimes?

Absolutely! Most of the time it's when I'm asked to play something, maybe even on a different instrument. Students have asked me to play the banjo for them, or if they play banjo to play something on the guitar. Sometimes they're searching for credibility or checking to see if you really can play a particular song.


What's the problem?

The problem pops up when your guitar teacher does more playing than teaching. We're not talking about accompanying you, but rather playing instead of teaching. This happens a lot with teachers who are either inexperienced, lacking in self confidence or just trying to impress the student.


What should you do?

It depends on how comfortable you are with it. When I've been accused of showing off I explain why I played that song or passage in that way. I try to lead by example and make it clear that what I just played is for the benefit of the student. There are times when a certain technique or song has to be played at a faster pace for it to make sense. So, listen to what your teacher is playing, and if you have any questions or concerns about the motive behind it, just mention them and see what the answer is. Most of the time it will be played with every intention of instructing rather than showing off.

Optimist, Realist or Pessimist, Which One Are YOU?

Would you describe yourself as an optimist, a pessimist or a realist?

As a guitar teacher I've taught, (am teaching), plenty of examples of all three. Most beginning guitar students start out as optimists, and I do my best to have them maintain that outlook. I've said for years that talent is overrated, and I still believe that to this day. Let's look at how attitude plays an important role in learning to play guitar.

The optimist.

The beginner starts out being optimistic about how much fun guitar will be, the enjoyment that will be derived from it, and how great it will be to have a hobby that will last a lifetime. He or she has no doubt that learning the guitar will become a part of the daily routine and that progress will be steady.

The realist.

A little more conservative than the optimist, but still maintains a lot of the same positive attitude. Smart enough to not buy the "learn guitar in a weekend" hype, and understands that learning is going to be a slow and sometimes difficult process.

The pessimist.

The most difficult of the three to teach. The pessimist calls or sends an email with red flags waving. I'm thinking maybe I'd like to try to learn guitar, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do it, or I may not even like it that much. Already convinced that it will be hard to learn, the journey begins on a negative note.

Changing the thought process.

Before seeking out a guitar teacher, you need to ask yourself some questions. Here are some you should think about in no particular order.

• Have I always wanted to play guitar? Some beginning students have a burning desire to learn to play. I took my first guitar lesson when I was 5, although I believe my parents were just humoring me. They bought me a beginning guitar book but no guitar, and I was supposed to "practice" playing air guitar. When I didn't practice enough, remember I was only 5 years old, they told me I couldn't take lessons.
• Do I have time to practice?  A minimum amount of practice time would be 5 days a week, at least 30 minutes. Making the commitment to put in the time is absolutely essential. If you can't see that happening, taking guitar lessons is probably not a good idea.
• What kind of music do I want to play? If all you can come up with is a general statement like I just want to learn to play guitar, you need to drill deeper. While it's possible to start taking generic guitar lessons, it's a lot more fun to learn songs you know and would like to play.
• Am I willing and able to commit time and money to this? While the cost of entry isn't a large amount of money, there are some basics that will help you get the most out of your lessons. At the bare minimum you need a decent instrument, a music stand, and learning resources. Either a teacher or a do it yourself method to guide you. Self serving or not, I always recommend a live teacher, especially in the beginning. The main reasons are that a book, CD or DVD can't answer questions, and they won't correct potential bad habits. There are many different ways to get started on guitar, and a teacher can move you in the right direction.

So there's a basic overview of getting started on guitar. It's a new year, time to decide if you're serious enough about learning guitar to take action. I've played guitar for years and can honestly say that it's still fun to play.

 

Are You Learning Guitar the Right Way?

Have you ever wondered if you're learning guitar the right way?

After working on playing guitar for a few months, a beginning guitar student will wonder if there's something he or she can be doing better so that they learn guitar the "right way." The first thing to keep in mind is that everyone's tastes and goals are different, so you may want to start thinking instead in terms of learning the "right way for me."


The guitar is a very versatile instrument.

Since the guitar is so versatile, there are many approaches to teaching and learning. One of the first things you and your guitar teacher should do is have an interview to help you understand the different teaching methods and ways of getting started. The type of music you like, the equipment you own, your previous musical background, and the level of commitment will all be considerations. It's a good idea to think about these things before you set up your first lesson. Hint: "I just want to learn guitar, I want to learn songs," and other general statements Don't Help! Dig deeper and find what really would make you want to stick with learning guitar. Think about particular artists, bands and styles of music. The more details you can provide the better.

So, what's the right way to learn then?

Set goals, learn technique and remember that you're supposed to be having fun. If you've never played an instrument before you'll have to develop a basic skill set to work from. Your guitar teacher will help you learn what tools you'll need to play the style you like. For example, if you want to play rock guitar you need to work with using a pick, and you can't give up on it. Too many beginning guitarists get discouraged and think they'll find a short cut to learning. Believe me, it will catch up to you and you're not going to like relearning something.

When Your Best Isn't Good Enough, What Do You Do?

 What now, you may ask.

Beginning guitar students have lots of doubts in the beginning, and it can be very frustrating. Let's say your guitar teacher has given you a song you really like, you've practiced and practiced and it's just not coming together. What do you do now? Have you reached a plateau, or are you not going to play any better?

Analysis, but not too much.

The first step is to record yourself and listen to what your playing sounds like. Is it as bad as you thought? Better? Worse? Be a critic, but don't beat yourself up over it. Listen with an open mind and be objective. Think about whether the whole song sounds bad or whether it's certain spots that you continue to have trouble with. Play the recording for your teacher so you can get a second opinion.

Ask for your teacher's honest opinion.

Any good guitar teacher will be honest about the good and points of your playing, so ask for his or her opinion. Maybe the song is too hard for you at this point in your development and you need to acquire more skills. I had a 10 year old student who wanted to learn Crazy Train after he'd been playing for only a few months. He insisted he'd "practice real hard", but the my bad news for him was that he just didn't have the technique down. It's hard to accept the fact that you can't play what you want to play, but like anything else, you need to be prepared to wait.

Trust your teacher or your gut instinct?

I've had students who get advice from so many different sources it makes things worse instead of better. Keep in mind that not everyone teaches the same way, and not everyone learns the same way. I let my students give it a shot, but if after a few weeks the song isn't fun anymore and they've hit the proverbial brick wall, it's time to step back and learn the techniques you'll need before you attempt the song again. Not ready to give up? More power to you, but again, don't be afraid to learn something that's a little easier to play.