Kentucky Knife Fight playing at Plush on August 4, 2012 for their Misshapen Love 7″ release. by Abby Gillardi, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
I recently had a big debate over at Reddit with a fellow guitarist. This debate could have been infuriating but it actually was quite useful as it highlighted a certain flaw that experienced guitarists have when sharing their knowledge with less experienced players.
If you are learning to play guitar or you still consider yourself to be a beginner, you’ll find this post very handy – especially if you learn from others, either in person or online.
It might be surprising to hear, but learning to sing can improve your guitar skills rapidly. As we go through this post, I’ll explain why.
First thing’s first though – having the ability to belt out one of your favourite tunes is a skill that not only feels and looks great, but is also an ability that all of us have somewhere inside of us.
Batería by Antonio, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
One of the most fun things a guitarist can do is to stick on a drum beat, turn it up loud and jam the hell out of it.
This goes for acoustic or electric players and rockers or fingerpicking folk guitarists. It doesn’t matter what your style is, you need to be doing this on a regular basis.
Jamming, Kidapalooza, Lollapalooza 2013 by Eric Gravengaard, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
I have a rule that I enforce on myself and which I encourage students to adhere to. That rule is, for every 10 hours I practice, I must spend at least 1 hour jamming with others.
Jamming with others is not only good for your musical soul, but will make you a better all round guitarist, and it feels damn great too.
Thanks for all the comments on my recent beginner New Year’s transformation series of lessons.
In today’s blog post we are getting really practical and it’s a really important topic – it’s about the way you practice. Read More
seeing through by Azlan DuPree, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
In the previous blog post I was explaining the importance of ‘Go Time.’
‘Go Time’ is the time of the year from January 2nd to May 31st.
This is the time of the year that most people get most things done and achieve the most in the whole of the year.
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New Old Guitar by stephanie carter, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
‘Go Time’.
That’s what today is.
‘Go Time’ begins every year on the same day – the 2nd January.
It’s the day where everybody (barring a few hardcore party people) has dusted their hangovers off from New Years Eve and wakes up with excitement, anticipation and an eagerness to make the current year something special.
That’s why we all need to make the most out of our practice time and use absolutely every advantage that we can. It’s rarely discussed in the music world, but there are plenty of scientifically proven ways to learn and master the guitar faster and quicker than ever.
“rockness 2012” by Lennon Photography, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Warning: The title of this post about being a ‘genius’ is meant with a touch of sarcasm aimed at all those who want to become overnight guitar superstars. You can be good in 6 months and if you follow these tips you can be an impressive player, but guitar playing is tough and takes time to master. Don’t wimp out. It gets more fun.
1) First, get one lesson off 5 DIFFERENT guitar teachers. Have one 30 minute lesson per week (or 1 hour if you can afford it) for 6 months with the best one. At least one will be awesome. Find the awesome one. Stick with them. They’ll save you hours/days/weeks/months of frustration.