Finding a great guitar teacher is difficult for several reasons. Firstly they are very rare. Secondly great teachers rarely have vacancies. Lastly teaching guitar is an unregulated industry so anyone can teach guitar which means you need to go through a lot of teachers to find those few exceptional ones. The question is how do…
Tag: music
The Idol delusion – Overstating your ability
The TV show American Idol has revealed a well known condition that we all suffer from to some degree in one area or another. That is we believe we are better than we actually are. When we watch Idol and see wannabe singers stand up and audition with no obvious training or natural we…
Why we need guitar heroes
It’s easy to be cynical of idol worshipping. When we see the inside of a teenager’s bedroom covered wall to wall with posters of their favorite pop/rock stars we laugh and think its silly or a complete waste of time and money and in some cases may even seem obsessive. Some people spend their last…
Should you look at your fingers when playing guitar?
The answer is both yes and no. The goal is to be able to play guitar without looking at your hands. Relying on your eyes to guide you will put you at a significant advantage which I will explain. The only time you will want to look at your hands is when you are first…
A star is born. Really? I think they are made.
When we think of very talented musicians it is easy to assume they were somehow born with such talents. This theory has little if any evidence but there is plenty of evidence that being born into the right family is a major factor. Without a doubt Delta Goodrem would be among Australia’s top selling artists…
Discover your guitar voice
When we think of the great guitar players like Hendrix, Page, Santana, Gilmore, Van Halen we know they have a unique sound. In each case they played the guitar in their own way. They weren’t trying to be the next whoever. Sure they had guitar influences but they followed their own compass. I believe in…
Why is Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven’ the greatest song ever?
At no other point in history that I am aware was there a song that drove so many people to learn to play music than when Led Zeppelin released Stairway to Heaven. Sure a song like ‘Smoke on the Water’ has probably been played more times but it’s a simple riff played mostly by those…
Does measuring your practice make a difference?
Whenever a new student would begin lessons I would spend a portion of the first lesson asking them to fill in a daily practice log. Now most were happy to go along with my request but not all. Some students would feel it unnecessary, pointless or even over the top. Comments like “Guitar is just…
What’s your 5 year guitar plan?
You can become an amazing guitar player in 5 years if you have a plan. The odds are you have no 5 year plan for your guitar. Once we have clarity about where we want to be in 5 years from now we are more likely to take the right action today. Students without a…
Online guitar lessons are here
We now live in a time where guitar lessons will take a radical shift. Up until the last few years learning with a guitar teacher online was impossible. The technology required for a fast clear connection via webcam is only now coming online. In the next few years we will see a big leap forward…
Focus on doing quality practice and the progress will come.
The whole purpose of learning guitar is to progress but the irony is that the more we focus on progress the more frustrated we often become. There is actually a very good reason for this. We don’t really have control over progress. We hear all the time that we can achieve this or that if…
5 misconceptions about learning guitar. No. 5
Children can’t start learning guitar before age 7 years. This is common misconception with no factual basis. You only have to look at an instrument like violin which in my opinion is more difficult and starting at age 2 years is almost the accepted norm. Children can start whenever they can hold a small guitar…
G4 GUITAR Blog 