How to learn difficult guitar solos: Break it down into small pieces and then “tape” one small phrase to another, one at a time.
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Feel the Space Between the Notes
Play a note, or chord, and just listen. Meet that note. Look it in the eye. Hear its personality. Don’t move to another one until you’ve actually listened to the […]
Read moreHow to Play To a Metronome? Do it Wrong!
No joke. Try it: Set the metronome to a slow, comfortable pace. Play just one note on each beat. Then speed up just a tiny bit WITHOUT CHANGING THE METRONOME…. […]
Read moreGuitarists, Rather Than Going for What’s ‘Right’…
Music is so much more fluid than we often treat it. When we get caught up in whether we are playing it “right”, we run the risk of not hearing […]
Read moreDon’t Like Repetitive Guitar Practice?
Repetition is one of the most effective tools in learning music. Yes, it can be boring, but it helps you memorize the technical stuff so your mind can be free […]
Read moreShould I Practice Guitar on Vacation?
In my book, vacations are ways to get out of our daily grind so that we can relax and bring more enjoyment into our lives. So I say “play if […]
Read moreHow Do I Help My Kid Play Guitar?
Best school? Best guitar? Practice every day? All helpful. But not if your kid doesn’t want to play. Kids who do well are in families that place a value on […]
Read moreDon’t MAKE Your Kids Practice Guitar 30 Minutes a Day
But do have them play something every day. It’s the “every day” part that does the trick. Kids get discouraged when they have to do stuff that’s hard. If they […]
Read moreGuitar Pull-offs Were Named Wrong
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 moreWe 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 […]
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