Guitar Lessons in Bed Stuy Brooklyn

Category: z

Guitarists, 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 what we are doing well. If you’re caught in the trap of “WRONGNESS” try this:

For now, rather than going for what’s ‘right’, go for what you think sounds good. Learning music is a process and you are somewhere in the middle of it so, for now, go for your good tempo, your best rhythm, your best note choices.

Listen for what you are playing that is good and build from there. Perfection is the result, not the method.

September 11, 2014
Why Use a Guitar Strap?

So you can bring the guitar into your comfort zone.

We often approach the guitar as something we need to wrap ourselves around. We end up in awkward positions because we’re trying to hold it and play it at the same time, sidelining a lot of our energy and attention.

With a strap you can find what’s most natural to you and bring the guitar into your space, bringing it to you. Strumming, picking and fingering becomes simpler, easier and smoother and your sound gets much more expressive.

August 22, 2014
Should 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 you want to, but be sure to play for fun”.

We often spend more time with family and friends on vacation, which can be great times to jam or play for someone. I just had a week-long vacation which actually gave me time to practice the basics, which I loved! So play, or don’t play, but be sure it’s not a grind.

August 16, 2014
Don’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 only play every 3 days it’s always hard.

Playing London Bridge once a day starts as a small challenge. By the end of the week they’re bragging about how easy it is.

Then they get the rush that spurs them on to play longer. They are more familiar with the success that practice brings and they’re more likely to dive in on their own.

July 31, 2014
Practice 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 thought I’d share a little of what I’ve learned regarding this, both as a student and a teacher.

Consistent practice is very important but we do have times when we just can’t practice consistently. If we feel that we can’t move ahead until we make up for that lost time, we may be right, but we also may just be being hard on ourselves. This could lead to feeling a little guilty when we can’t get to the guitar and if that builds up, we may feel so bad about it that we quit playing. That’s the mistake, not missing some playing time.

One of the more powerful aspects of steady lessons is that they keep you on the path to your goals, even when you’ve had a crazy week(s) with no time to practice. If it gets to where you’re not able to practice for 6 weeks, then that may be time to reevaluate.

June 25, 2014
What is a Guitar Chord, Anyway?

Click on the pic. You Gotta See This!

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 way that, to them, sounded like Heaven.

Hark!

Choose a scale and select every other note of it until you have 3 notes (notes 1,3,5)
Play these 3 notes at the same time and that’s a chord.
If you add the next note using the “every other” pattern (the 7th) then you have 7th chord. Keep playing the scale higher and you’ll come across the 9th, 11th, and 13th notes, giving you the 9th, 11th, and 13th chords.

Now you know everything about music. Go outside and play.

June 10, 2014
Learning 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 find that note on the guitar. Then find that same note on one of the top 2 strings (E & A) of the guitar.

If you’re looking for a chord, try playing a major or minor chord on that note. If that’s not it and you’re on the E string, try moving straight down to the A string and up 2 frets. If you’re on the A string, try moving straight down to the E string.

It can be more involved than this, but 80% of the time you can find most chords using only these few steps.

May 27, 2014