A common issue that comes up is the question of a guitar learning plan. I received this email recently…
A 30-Second Eye-Opening Guitar Exercise
There are a lot of things you can fix in your guitar playing with just some small tweaks, but some of these are left out of beginner guitar exercises. There are also a lot of things you can do which don’t yield much gain.
Although not a miracle cure, here is a little eye-opening guitar exercise that will help you if you lack control in your fretting hand fingers.
3 Random Thoughts This Monday (Slowing Down, Mozart, Lennon and McCartney)
As it is Monday, here are another 3 random thoughts about guitar, music, and life. This week includes thoughts ranging from Mozart to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
I hope you enjoy…
The Most Misunderstood Word in the Guitar World
There is a word that often gets used wrongly in the world of guitar playing and guitar exercises. Is it “vibrato”, “legato” or even “ostinato”? Nope, it is far simpler and if you are not careful, this word can send you down a rabbit hole, like Alice looking for the pesky white rabbit. The word is… “technique”.
A Strange Question
I got this email the other day, with a strange, but common question.
“Hi Dan, your address, Halesowen, was near Birmingham (UK) last time I looked, but you quote prices in dollars. Why?
Regards,
Alex”
How to Build a Golden Gate Bridge in Your Playing
I’ve got a student, a lovely chap called Ian, who also supports the same football (as in soccer) team as me, which is Aston Villa. Anyway, he is a retired engineer of 65ish who started playing about 18 months ago and is doing great. One of the secrets to his success is his use of his methodical engineering brain in improving his guitar skills.
7 Tips to Give You a Quick Blast of Motivation
Ah, motivation, that old chestnut which often trips us guitar players up.
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” as the Billy Ocean song goes, but…
Sometimes, you may feel like doing any old chore before you get going to play your guitar.
It happens to us all.
Try “Habit Stacking” to Help You Practise Guitar More
It has been about 10 days since I first mentioned the 30-day habit plan which can help you establish a guitar practice routine, and here is just a quick reminder of what it is.
If you struggle with motivation or “lack of time” for playing, then try this…
3 Random Thoughts This Wednesday (the Van Morrison Protest Song, Baseball, and One Practice Habit to Avoid)
Last week I shared a post with 3 thoughts about guitar, music, and life, and it went down well, so here is another. Three things I have noticed this week, from the new song Van Morrison wrote to a common practice habit it’s time to break. I hope you enjoy…
How to Trick Yourself to Play More
Many of you may be looking for guitar practice tips on how to be more disciplined about picking up your guitar and playing. Us human beings certainly are creatures of habit.
We often take comfort in doing the same things each day and each week.