Guitar Lessons in Bed Stuy Brooklyn

Guitar Lessons in Long Island City, Queens & Clinton Hill, Brooklyn

Tag: Practice

  • Practice Guitar Every Day? Yes. And no.

    Practice Guitar Every Day? Yes. And no.

    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.

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC
  • Why Practice Guitar Slow?

    Why Practice Guitar Slow?

     

    Snail GuitarWell, 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 usually so caught up in trying to match some ideal in our head that we can’t hear what we actually sound like.
    Play slowly so you can notice what you notice. Then you can fix things.

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC
  • Playing Tough Chord Changes on Guitar, Method 2

    Playing Tough Chord Changes on Guitar, Method 2

    Difficult-Guitar-ChordsYeah, 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 you’re playing, and even the tone-deaf know that ain’t right).

    When you’re headed straight for a tough chord, say Q#minor14 (see pic), only play on the first beat of the easy chord before it (G). Use the next 3 beats to change to Q#minor14. You’ll only hear G on the first beat beat, but if you keep the count going in your head while you change, you’ll play Q#minor14 right on time, keeping the song together.
    This is a lot better than the “Wait just a, I’ve almost..I’ve…” approach.

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC
  • Interview on Talk Music Talk

    Interview on Talk Music Talk

    A few weeks ago I sat down with boice from the weekly podcast Talk Music Talk and chatted about how receptive listening can benefit musicians facing difficulties onstage or in practice. Sitting down with musicians, music journalists, artists, music industry folks and more, boice discusses what they love about the world of music and how they got into it. We had a great time and you can listen in.

    Follow this link to listen and download podcast interview TMT 043. And, yes, it’s free!

    Bryan Wade from The Connected Musician on TALK MUSIC TALK

    At the top of TALK MUSIC TALK are links to subscribe to iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn Radio.
    There is a lot of emerging artists and seasoned pros over there so check it out.

    Much More on this topic on my new site theconnectedmusician.com

    Bryan Wade Guitar Signature - Queens Guitar Lessons in Long Island City and Clinton Hill Brooklyn NYC