I’ve had a few of you ask about strumming exercises for guitar recently.
Just like Arnold Schwarzenegger said in Terminator 2, “Strum with me if you want to live”. Okay, he didn’t say exactly that, but for strumming success, give this a go…
The Map of Your Guitar Playing World
As I discussed recently, there are two crucial aspects of guitar playing which are key to creating a guitar learning plan and being successful.
These are:
3 Random Thoughts This Monday (a Special Guitar Group for You, “Pairs”, and Some Big Inspiration)
Here is another of the Monday posts with 3 of my thoughts on guitar, music, and life, including a new guitar group, an inspiring story, and more.
I hope you enjoy… [Read more…]
A Long-Term Guitar Plan Versus Short-Term Day-to-Day Practice
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”.
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…