It’s almost 2023 and I want to give you something to think about going into the new year.
This is especially important as we head into 2023.
Why?
…Because in my opinion, 2023 will likely follow the same path that guitar tuition has been going for years.
You see, generally speaking, since the classical days, guitar tuition has become less focused on technique and more about ineffective tuition.
I.e. most people would rather teach the exciting stuff rather than the essential stuff.
The irony is we all need to do the essential stuff to be able to do the exciting stuff.
Over the last 10 years, with the popularity of YouTube, and “click bait” lessons, this is only getting worse.
Some of it is due to the way YouTube works.
For example, the most popular lessons tend to be those that give students lots of big promises.
(These include videos claiming to teach you how to play “10 songs with 3 easy chords” and stuff like that).
These videos get a lot of engagement from viewers, and this means more ads get shown to these students.
…So YouTube pushes these videos to more potential viewers.
Therefore, if a guitar teacher creates a video on core technique, it might get 100 views, but if they create one on a popular song with a promise to teach it to you in 5 easy steps or something like that, it might get 1000 views or 10,000 views or many more.
I’ve seen it in the past with my own tutorials.
“My April Come She Will” song tutorial has 141,000 views to date.
Yet my lesson on playing barre chords with good core technique has 2,200 views.
…And that’s with me promoting them both the exact same amount (which is to say barely any promotion at all).
So, if a guitar teacher sees this happen to them, naturally they will want to release more of what has worked for them before.
I.e. teach the songs and the exciting stuff.
The trouble is these same teachers don’t release lessons on technique to help the student play the songs to a good standard.
As I say a lot, 99% of guitar teachers don’t have any idea about what good technique is anyway.
If anyone disagrees with that, I challenge them to link me to a video of a guitar teacher (apart from the great Jamie Andreas) who does actually teach good basic technique.
All of this is why I don’t really post YouTube videos anymore; I’d rather email you good folk on this list and share valuable tips instead of posting a video on YouTube that doesn’t get a whole load of traction.
I may go back to releasing videos on YouTube in the near future to try to buck that trend though and make guitar tuition on there more substantial – I’m still debating it.
So, anyway, the point of this email is to highlight that as we move forward, this trend of style over substance is definitely one to watch out for.
…But on a more positive note.
The other day I filmed a new lesson that covers 10 of the most important technical things that EVERY guitarist should know.
It’s a pure technique lesson, but if you follow the advice inside…
You’ll be head and shoulders above all those guitarists learning bits and pieces of songs on YouTube but scratching their heads 5 years later wondering why they’ve not made much progress.
Some people may think basic technique is a little boring.
The fact is though, good basic technique will mean smoother playing, far less stuttering in the music, and better songs and-all round musicality.
…And that for me is very exciting.
So always work on your basic technique – i.e. using less pressure, smoother transitions, relaxed movements, precision, accuracy, and more.
…And if you want help with all this, then you may want to check out my membership programme.
If you join before the 2nd of January deadline, you’ll get my lesson on the 10 most important technical things EVERY guitarist should know.
(I’ve delayed the deadline until the 2nd for this month because the 1st is New Year’s Day of course and many of us may be busy with family or feeling a little worse for wear!).
Here’s where to find out more about the academy:
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
To your playing!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
Add Comment