They should have been called “pop-offs”. I don’t mean any disrespect to the great Pete Seeger who brought us modern tablature and named the pull-off, it’s just that if you […]
Read moreAuthor: Bryan
We Don’t Really Play Guitar With Our Fingers
We play with our finger TIPS. I know that seems obvious, but we often don’t do it. If we spend some time getting used to this weird use of our […]
Read moreGuitar Game: Improvise With Your Name
Bored with playing the same predictable rhythms when you’re improvising? Break it up using the rhythms in names. Say these names aloud and feel the rhythmic pulses in them, especially […]
Read morePractice Guitar Every Day? Yes. And no.
A player asked me yesterday if he could postpone his lesson a week because he didn’t get to play much that week. Of course, that’s fine with me, but I […]
Read moreWhy Practice Guitar Slow?
Well, you may have heard several reasons, but this is my favorite: To witness what you actually do instead of what you think you should be doing. We are […]
Read moreWhat is a Guitar Chord, Anyway?
In the beginning there was cacophony, and it was good. But not everybody thought so. Several hundred years ago, Christian monks discovered how to play several notes simultaneously in a […]
Read morePlaying Tough Chord Changes on Guitar, Method 2
Yeah, it’s a killer. Try this: Don’t strum all the way to the moment that the tough chord should be played and then changing chords (that’s like pressing pause while […]
Read moreLearning by Ear From a Recording
It can be tricky. Try this: Pause the playback immediately after you hear the note/chord you’re listening for. Then, listen to your short term memory, sing whatever you hear and […]
Read moreMistakes in Guitar Practice Are Good News
They show you where you can improve. If you try to avoid them you won’t know where where to focus your practice. The trick is to be open to mistakes. […]
Read moreLooking at Hands While Playing Guitar = Thinking
And thinking is often too slow for playing. Now, obviously, we have to think and occasionally look at our hands when we play. But we often watch our hands because […]
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