Tag: How long to play guitar

Ask Jake: I’m a Beginner Guitar Player…. When can I play in a Band?

Post author By Jake
Post date March 29, 2016
No Comments on Ask Jake: I’m a Beginner Guitar Player…. When can I play in a Band?

Question from user Tapaswini :

I don’t have a single piece of knowledge in music whether it is vocals or instruments.

Now, I desperately want to learn guitar. I can spend 1 hour practicing.

Suppose, if I want to join a rock band in next 2 years, will it be possible for me?

As I have zero knowledge in music, should I learn from online lessons or is it better for me to go to a tutor or teacher?

How much time will it take for me to compose my own tunes on guitar?

Answer:

Lot’s of questions here. Don’t worry… There is hope and you are not alone.

First: Find some other people who share your vision and you can start a band today. You probably won’t sound great… but that’s ok. It’s about making the connections with similar musicians.

Second: As for learning the guitar…. In person lessons with a teacher are probably the most effective option. If you have a good teacher, you’ll be in great shape… but watch out! Make sure your teacher helps you with YOUR GOALS. A lot of teachers will start with music theory fundamentals (learning to play rhythms, reading music, learning chord structure, etc). While this stuff is amazing and can help make you an incredible musician…. it probably don’t need to worry about it at this point.

Focus instead on learning the kind of music that you want to ultimately play.

If in-person lessons won’t work for you… online lessons, courses, or even YouTube videos are also a great place to start.

Third: And as for making your own songs…. start now. Do you have lyrics written? Write them (no musical skill needed). Do you have melodies in your head (maybe you can sing them, but don’t know how to write them)… that’s ok… record them on your phone or computer (video or audio). Start making music now… no musical knowledge needed. The more you produce, the easier it will come in the future. Just start!

P.S. You mentioned that you can practice one hour (I would guess every day?). If you can seriously commit this amount of time each day – assuming you’re practicing the right stuff and not just noodling around – you will be in great shape. But in my experience, most people that say they can practice an hour a day end up doing much less work than that…. just be warned.

Good luck!

I share even juicier stories and answer questions on my e-mail list…. you can sign up here!

(Jake Posko does in-home and online guitar lessons in the Annapolis, Maryland area including: Annapolis, Edgewater, Severna Park, Pasadena, Crownsville, Arnold and Kent Island, inquire about lessons by e-mailing him at jake@jakeposko.com).

Tags Guitar Lessons, How long to play guitar

The Best Guitar Tuner in the Universe…

Post author By Jake
Post date August 10, 2015
1 Comment on The Best Guitar Tuner in the Universe…

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I’ve gone through a ton of different guitar tuners since I started playing.

The old kind that you plug directly into.

The kind with a microphone that you sit on your lap.

Even just tuning to songs I know are already in the key of E.

Guitar tuner apps that basically do the same thing.

(FYI – if you’re looking for a guitar tuner app or any guitar apps click here, I like the Pano Tuner app… it’s a free guitar tuner app and works on iOS and Android)

And lastly…. I’ve definitely been through a ton of different kinds of clip on tuners.

So..

What’s the best one?

Short answer: This Snark Tuner.

Specifically,the Snark Clip-On Chromatic All Instrument Tuner (Red)

If you wanna know why… read on…..

Tags acoustic guitar, guitar apps, Guitar Lessons, How long to play guitar, learning to play the acoustic guitar

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Best Practice Advice Comes From A Jogging Monkey…

Post author By Jake
Post date August 7, 2015
No Comments on Best Practice Advice Comes From A Jogging Monkey…

So I’ve just binged both seasons of Bojack Horseman on Netflix. It’s pretty good (not for kids)!

Anyway, the above clip is from the last episode of Season 2.

And the advice from the jogging monkey is perfect for guitar practice (or for anything really).

Play a little each day…. but play every day.

I could talk about things like keeping your guitar out in the open, or deliberate practice.

I’ve written about them on my e-mail list and posted articles about them.

But really.

Just listen to the jogging monkey.

(Jake Posko does in-home guitar lessons in the Annapolis, Maryland area including: Annapolis, Edgewater, Severna Park, Pasadena, Crownsville, Arnold and Kent Island, inquire about lessons by e-mailing him atjake@jakeposko.com).

Tags Guitar Lessons, How long to play guitar, Music Lessons

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How Do I Change Chords FASTER On The Guitar….

Post author By Jake
Post date January 21, 2015
1 Comment on How Do I Change Chords FASTER On The Guitar….

UGH!! I remember how frustrating this was (and sometimes still is). Here’s the story…

You’ve finally got your chords down.

They’re sounding great.

No buzzing.

No muted strings.

Just crystal clear musical beauty.

One problem..

One big problem….

It takes FOREVER TO CHANGE FROM ONE CHORD TO ANOTHER!

How can you possibly play an actual SONG if it takes (what seems like) an eternity to change chords.

How do those musicians do it?

Here’s how….

Tags deliberate practice, Guitar Lessons, How long to play guitar, how old to play the guitar, learning the guitar

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Is This Your Chance to Be (a little) Famous….

Post author By Jake
Post date January 14, 2015
No Comments on Is This Your Chance to Be (a little) Famous….

Hope the new year is treating you well and you’re sticking to all of your resolutions.

I gotta give a shout out to everyone who has been commenting/asking questions on my site. It’s been super helpful to get feedback and your points of view.

So…

Now it’s your turn to show off all of your sweet guitar skills….

If you want me to feature YOU on the site (through an interview, video, or just share some audio of what you’re learning), shoot me an e-mail and let me know.

I don’t care if you suck, or if you are a guitar master. I want to hear (AND SHARE) your story with all of our readers/viewers.

Trust me… it is so helpful and motivating to hear about the progress from other people.

So e-mail me at jake@jakeposko.com (and maybe you’ll get kinda famous)! 🙂

Tags Guitar Lessons, How long to play guitar, learning the guitar, Music Lessons

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For the Perfectionists out there….

Post author By Jake
Post date January 8, 2015
No Comments on For the Perfectionists out there….

Just a quick post today that I wanted to share.

My mom sent me this article from The Washington Post by Meghan Leahy, about how (as a parent) to handle kids who are perfectionists (really for the benefit of me, my wife, and our 4 year old daughter).

I saw some value as a guitar teacher as well.

Here’s a little story…

I’ve been teaching a 14 year old for about a year. Let’s call him Tyler.

Tyler had never really played guitar when I first started with him.

He’s super smart. Super busy. Has a ton of after school activities… Lacrosse, football, even a part-time job…. and all of the other social things that come along with being a teenager.

We started lessons and he picked everything up quickly…. until…

… we started doing some complicated versions of chords. Barre chords mostly. We were moving past the beginner stage and onto more intermediate stuff.

I could see he was struggling. I could also see that we’d been here before.

I remembered seeing this kind of frustration when we were learning some beginner open chord positions. So what did I do?

– I encouraged him. Yay!

– I reminded him of past successes! You can do it!

– I told him to keep at it!

None of it got through to him. The frustration remained, and he would say things like… “I don’t really need to know bar chords, the older chords sound better”.

I was suspicious.

We’d continue to learn, I’d continue to push, encourage, and all the usual teaching stuff. Every so often I’d find myself just empathizing with his frustration and struggle. I’d talk about my current struggles: learning difficult pieces and just not getting it. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this is exactly what Meghan Leahy talks about in her piece in the post.

Of course I didn’t really understand the scope of what I was doing (in my guitar lessons). I know empathy goes along way when others are struggling, but I never really thought of using it as a teaching tool

For those of you who aren’t teachers or parents, there is still an incredibly important takeaway message here: we all struggle and progress. Sometimes it sucks (usually it sucks). Embrace the struggle.

That’s it. The struggle doesn’t get easier. But you don’t need to feel bad about feeling bad.

That’s it! If you like this article, and what some more tips, just sign up for my e-mail list to get some sweet guitar hacks (and other fun updates).

Tags Guitar Lessons, How long to play guitar, learning the guitar

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The Top Guitar Posts of 2014!!!

Post author By Jake
Post date January 1, 2015
No Comments on The Top Guitar Posts of 2014!!!

Oh man I love lists. And this time of year we get a ton of the “Best of 2014” lists. So before we say goodbye to 2014, here is my stab at the best of Severn River Guitar.

These are the most popular blog posts of 2014….

The Guitar Hurts My Fingers!

My fingers still ache if I’m learning a particularly challenging piece. I know that my newer students feel the pain. This post covers everything you need to know to help ease the pain of learning.

What is the Youngest Age to Play The Guitar?

Huh. This one surprised me. I guess a lot of parents are interested in getting their kids starting on the guitar (or their kids are bugging them for guitar lessons). Check out this post if you’re curious about my thoughts on the matter – I’d love to hear what you think as well? How young is too young for guitar playing?

How Much Do Guitar Lessons Cost?

I’ve caught a little bit of heat for this. For some reason, a lot of music teachers (or any professions for that matter) don’t like to publish their prices. As of the time of this writing my lessons cost anywhere from $50 – $100. Prices are always changing based on lesson time, package deals, format (online vs face-to-face), etc. In this post I cover what typical lessons cost – and what you should expect from each price range.

How Long Does it Take to Learn the Guitar?

Oh yeah… the mother of all of my blog posts. This article consistently brings visitors to my website (maybe you’ve already read it). I’d love to get your take and thoughts (especially if you’ve already started playing). I think I stand by my original thoughts, but I’d like to hear what you have to say.

That’s it! I hope you had an awesome 2014 and I wish you a Happy New Year and all the best in 2015!

(Photo credit: Jess Feldon)

Tags Guitar Lessons, How long to play guitar, Music Lessons

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The Only Guitar Stuff You Need This Year (or check out these music related gift ideas)…

Post author By Jake
Post date December 3, 2014
1 Comment on The Only Guitar Stuff You Need This Year (or check out these music related gift ideas)…

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

So you need some holiday gift ideas for your guitar player? No problem. I will totally hook you up with some ideas that won’t break the bank.

Here we go…

Kyser Quick-Change Capo 6-String Gold

A capo is basically a little clamp for your guitar. I’ve been using this since I’ve been playing the guitar.

I strongly suggest anyone who is new to the guitar (especially kids) pick up a capo. I love this Kyser kind because it’s super easy to get on and off of the neck of the guitar. I have a bunch (and they come in multiple colors if you prefer something other than gold). Capos are especially awesome for kids because they can help smaller fingers get used to fretting notes and chords.

Elixir Light Polyweb Acoustic Guitar Strings

At some point, you’re gonna need to change your guitar strings.

I’ve been playing with these guitar strings for as long as I’ve been playing the guitar. There is a reason for that. These strings are super easy on the fingers. Do your fingers hurt when you play the guitar? These little babies will ease your finger pain (if only a bit). They have a coating on them that is easy on the fingers, cuts down on the screechy sound, and has a nice mellow tone. Get them. They’re awesome.

The Best Electric Guitar Strings in the Universe

Same brand as above, but for electric guitars. I’d go with ta medium or light gauge.

Snark Clip-On Chromatic All Instrument Tuner

Ok… So I’ve gone through at least 10 different brands/styles of tuners. And I always lose them (or leave them in sofa cushions or at gigs, etc). This is by far my favorite.

It is durable, easy to read, easy to use, and bright red (so it’s not easy to lose). I also recommend getting a tuner app for your phone (the app has definitely helped me in a a pinch), but these clip-on snark tuner has been awesome.

Guitar Picks

Pretty much any guitar picks will work (it’s all about personal preference). Good selection over here.

Guitar Pick Stamper

how to make your own guitar picks — Or… Just Make Your Own Guitar Picks.

This is so cool… and it’s a good way to get rid of all those used up gift cards you’ll get this Christmas.

Guitar Cable

Pretty much any guitar cable will work. I’m not picky. Though I’d go with at least 10 feet of cable or longer. It’s just more convenient.

Guitar Stand

You know I’m not a fan of guitar cases. I prefer leaving the guitar out in the open where I’ll actually remember to pick it up and play or practice. Rather than leaning it up against a wall, I’d suggest a nice little guitar stand. I have at least one per guitar (or I use a guitar wall mount like this). Either way, keep those guitars out and ready to play.

Some Other Cool Gear

Basic (and Awesome) Microphone

Awesome and easy to use microphone for recording (macbook not included)

If you’re a singer/songwriter, you may want to pick up something like this Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone. It’s an easy way to record your vocals and acoustic (or electric if you’ve got it amped up). It’s not meant for professional quality, it’s really just a nice way to get your music down. It’s a inexpensive and easy to use microphone. You can use it to add better quality to videos (especially if you like recording stuff and uploading it to youtube).

Should work with most current Mac or PC software/computers (check the specs just to be sure).

Nice Little Webcam

This is the camera I use. It's cheap and effective. — This is the camera I use. It’s cheap and effective.

If you’re serious about putting some videos of your songs/recordings on Youtube, you probably want to use a webcam (that didn’t come built into your computer). I have this Logitech camera for my videos. It works great and it’s pretty cheap.

Wireless Headphones

bluetooth headphones — Worth it. Totally. Amazing. Buy these.

I used to use a pretty decent pair of bose headphones for all my recording (Youtube or otherwise). Until the cable/wire wore out and they became useless. I spent a month researching wireless headphones (that were affordable). I finally came up with these. I have not been disappointed. They hold a charge really well (i.e. excellent battery life). The sound quality is great. Easy to pair to multiple devices. Plus they have a microphone built in (that I use when paired with my phone).

Seriously… get these headphones.

That’s it!

If you have any other thoughts or ideas, leave them in the comments below. I’d love to know what you think (or if I missed anything).

Happy Holidays and all that stuff!

(Full Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission if you purchase through my site. But don’t worry – these products are awesome, I love them… if I didn’t I wouldn’t recommend them. I recommend them because they’re great… not because of the small commission that I make from them. If you have other recommendations, just shoot me an e-mail and let me know!)

(Photo Credit: JD Hancock)