Starting guitar as an adult is too late. Many people assume that if they didn’t start guitar lessons as a child they have missed the boat. While it is true that growing bodies and brains have advantages the reality is learning guitar successfully can be done at any age if you are physically capable and…
Tag: music
5 misconceptions about learning guitar. No. 2.
People with short fingers don’t make good guitar players. I distinctly remember as a teen people commenting on the size of Jimi Hendrix’s hands. To a naive beginner with average fingers playing Hendrix style guitar seemed impossible. This affected me so much so that I didn’t even bother with Hendrix at the time and just…
5 misconceptions about learning guitar. No.1.
You need a certain amount of natural talent to play guitar. After more than 25 years of teaching guitar I can confidently say that natural talent is seriously over rated and more often than not is mistaken for early music exposure. In other words those children who are labelled with natural talent actually come from…
Learning guitar using a system
Guitar teachers tend to fall into two camps. Those who teach using a system and those who do not. I belong to those who use a system of teaching guitar but it wasn’t always the case. For over a decade I would teach each student by asking them what they were interested in and would…
Why do jazz guitar players play for pop stars?
Is it because they love the music? Were they really closet ABBA and Michael Jackson fans as kids but somehow ended up pursuing jazz because their guitar teacher or parents forced them into it? Perhaps but I don’t think it would be the case for most jazz guitarists playing with pop stars. You might argue…
“How do I get my child to practice music without the tears?”
If you are a parent with a child who refuses to practice their musical instrument it can at times feel like a pointless waste of time. Most parents in this situation are left wondering what to do and whether there really is a solution. There are two common schools of thought in this debate. Lets start…
Why are you just dreaming about guitar?
What astounds me are the millions of people who watch shows like The Voice or Idol wishing they too could be up there. Its as though the people standing on stage playing guitar and singing are from a different planet and totally out of reach for everyone else. I think chasing fame is one thing…
How to practice guitar like the pros.
It makes sense that if you want to play like a pro you need to be practicing like one but how exactly do they practice? This complexed question can’t be answer easily but I can offer some insights. Pro players are first and foremost consistent. They are unlikely to miss a day of practice. They…
Is your teacher more of a friend than an effective teacher?
Many students build up a strong friendship with their guitar teacher but instinctively know that the teacher is not really effective. It could be that the teacher spends more time maintaining the friendship than planning lessons and tracking progress. This is not uncommon because planning lessons and tracking progress usually require a lot more work….
Start or join a guitar community
If you are truly wanting to ramp up your guitar skills I can think of no better way than being part of guitar or better still a music community. There are numerous options such as placing notices at music shops or looking on Facebook for other guitar players in your area. My preferred option is…
Keep your guitar dreams alive
Successful marketers know that to keep you buying their products they have to constantly advertise. Think of how many KFC ads or bank ads you are likely to see in a week. You probably don’t even realize but they are everywhere from TV to radio to billboards. It’s no wonder so many people eat KFC…
Guitar is not rocket science
I must admit that when I started learning guitar it may as well have been rocket science. It completely baffled me and it seemed every time I had a question answered it led to 5 new questions. I had no clue why certain chords were used in combination or what modes were or how any…
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