I’ve written about practice a bunch of times. If you haven’t, I totally recommend going back and reading those articles… or you can just get the bullet points…
Category: Guitar Lessons
First off, I realize the irony in reading (and writing) a post about unplugging your devices… on a device. Whatever. You can shut this stuff off when you’re done reading.
Playing the guitar is awesome for many reasons – but one of the biggest benefits is often forgotten: Playing the guitar allows you to completely unplug from the world and enjoy some time in the present. Like reading a good book, practicing yoga, or relaxing with a cup of coffee in the morning before the rest of the family wakes up – playing the guitar is the perfect way to remove yourself from responsibility and take time to relax.
Here’s why…
Ok. So you’ve found the perfect music lessons.
Now let’s talk about practicing.
I’m a guitar player.
I’m a guitar teacher.
I’m a guitar student.
And I have wasted a ton of time practicing…
It goes like this:
- Student goes to lesson.
- Instructor teaches student a new song (or chord, or scale, or whatever).
- Instructor tells student to practice every day for 30 minutes.
- Student goes home.
- One week passes.
- Student practices for 5 minutes before the lesson.
- Instructor is frustrated.
- Student is embarrassed.
- Parent is out another $75 for that lesson.
The bad news… this routine is all too common.
The good news… there is an easy fix. Here’s how…
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
So you’re having trouble learning the guitar. You want to learn guitar, but you can’t quite get the hang of it.
That’s ok. Don’t feel bad. Stop being a baby. Step up and take control…and own that guitar.
But seriously, here’s what you should do if your fingers hurt and you’re struggling to play the guitar…
My last post about how much guitar lessons cost has proven to be pretty popular… So I thought I should do a follow-up with a little more detail (for all of you informed consumers).
Last time we gave an overview based on certain criteria (e.g. lesson length, in-studio vs in-home). This time we’ll try to break it down by, “what you get for the money”…
What chords should you learn first on the guitar? Good question.
Answer: G, D, Em, and C
Learn those four chords in that order and you can play a million different songs (see video above for proof**)
Switch up the order of the chords or take one or two out… now you can play a billion different songs.
To make the quickest and most effective progress, start with those four chords.
You can learn to play them here, here, or here.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
School is winding down. It’s getting nice outside.
You know what that means…SUMMER VACATION BABY!!! Oh yeah.
But not for grown ups.
That means the kids are home for the next 3 months. Naturally, you’ll sign them up for summer camps, swimming lessons, swim teams, camping activities, vacations, etc. There’s no shortage of stuff to do. The weather is nice and it’s great to spend as much time outside as possible.
But… what about those rainy days when the kids are all stuck inside?
But… what about when the humidity hits 100% and even the pool doesn’t provide respite?
But… what about when those summer storms strike and the power is knocked out for 24 hours with no TV, no phone, no video games, NO INTERNET!!???!?
Obviously…
Evidently I’m late to the whole Narwals are Jedi’s of the sea party.
That’s ok I guess.
This week, one of my students asked that I teach him the song from the above video. How AWESOME is that??!? It should be pretty easy to learn on the guitar (we’ll stick with the chords first). I haven’t tried to tab it out, but when I do I’ll post it up on the site.
UPDATE: Check out the link for Narwhals chords. I chose the key of G – cause I think it’s easier.
I love my students.
It’s Friday. That means it’s time for a lazy guitar lesson.
First – in case you missed it, last week we talked about Django.
This week we talked about Why You Should Never Practice.
Today, you get another video… It’s The Band – Classic Albums
Ok….