When I began learning guitar as a young teen it was a struggle. Everyday I would fight with the negative thoughts that kept creeping into my head. “You’ll never be any good on guitar” or “It’s too late dude. The best musicians begin when they are 5 or younger” or “Some people are born with…
Category: Guitar Students
Posts aimed at guitar students
The Fastest Way To Learn Guitar
When I was 8 years old I received a guitar from my parents. Probably as a present but I don’t actually remember. In fact I can hardly remember much about the experience at all. What I do know is the novelty of guitar at that age wore off pretty quickly. I vaguely remember having…
3 Chord Songs for Guitar
Many beginner guitarists are surprised by how many songs are written with only a handful of chords. Sure they might be in different keys and the concept of keys may be a little hard for the beginner to grasp but lets give it a shot. Rule No.1 ‘Every key is the same’. Thats right. The only…
The True Value Of A Coach
I must admit that I too at times question the value of a coach given that there is so much free information on every possible topic you can imagine. Pre-Internet a coach/mentor/teacher was almost always your best option. But the rules have changed. Now if I want to get fit, learn how to take great photos…
Do You Know The No.1 Reason People Quit Guitar?
Imagine this Your favourite singer comes to town and you are lucky enough to get a ticket to their concert. The atmosphere on arriving at the music hall is buzzing and even before the concert starts you know its going to be amazing. After what seems like an eternity of waiting the lights go…
School Exams…Should You Put Guitar On Hold?
School exams for many students can add extra demands to their already hectic schedule. A common complaint from students is they simply don’t have the time to focus on exam preparation and guitar practice. In this case it can seem like putting guitar on hold is an obvious choice but in my experience this is…
How To Master The Guitar
The question of how to master guitar is often thought of as purely a technical one when in fact the technical aspect makes up 20% or less of your eventual success. We instinctively think that all that is required is knowing the steps involved as if we were piecing together a puzzle. … The 80%…
Does Your Child Dislike Guitar Practice? Are You Ready To QUIT ?
Like you I also have a child learning guitar and like your child she doesn’t always want to practice. In fact most days she doesn’t want to practice but before I go on I should point out that I have been teaching guitar and training guitar teachers for over 30 years. This of course allows…
Practice Guitar Out On The Edge
In the book ‘Bounce’ the author (Matthew Syed) talks about how high level success comes from thousands of hours of practice. Top chess players for example would have studied the game for 10,000 hours or more. By study I don’t mean just play but actually study possible moves and consequences. Are you willing to fall?…
Daily Practice With Young Beginners On Guitar
I received the following question from a guitar teacher and parent regarding teaching their young child guitar. Question regarding VERY young beginners… I’ve been doing some stuff with my oldest son since a little before he was 3 on a ukulele. He loves it – in very small bits. We’ve done naming the strings tinker…
Parents, give your children choices with guitar
Most parents understand the challenge of getting their child to clean their room, brush their teeth, do their homework and so on. Guitar practice is no different. Children will often resist such requests because it feels like work or seems boring. They just want to play games or watch TV which is understandable. We were…
Blitz your aural skills with these 3 tricks
Good aural skills are a powerful tool for a musician. It was aural skills (and a freakishly good memory) that allowed Mozart to write out a 13 minute song for two choirs after hearing it once. And he was 14. If you develop your aural skills, you’ll be able to recognise the notes you hear…
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