After years of teaching guitar, I’ve noticed many recurring issues that crop up with beginners trying to figure out how to start playing. If you haven’t played guitar before, it can be daunting and confusing to know what is the…
Category: Motivation
The Perfect Practice Sandwich
Let’s face it, practicing guitar can be a pain sometimes. Why can’t you just play songs you enjoy when you feel like it and not worry about making time for it, doing exercises, or going over the harder parts? The…
Guitar Quote of the Week: Jimi Hendrix
“Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you’ll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you’re gonna be rewarded.” — Jimi Hendrix
The Fastest Way to Start Playing Songs, Part 1: Playing Melodies
With first-time students, many guitar methods say to start by learning open chords. This method makes some sense: Open chords are used in many songs, you can strum most or all of the strings at once, achieving a bigger and…
Getting Kids Interested in Music
Many parents would like to introduce their kids to music. Music is a great outlet, a chance to develop creativity, and has a slough of well-documented health benefits. And on top of it all: Music is enjoyable for the players…
5 Books that Changed My Guitar Playing
Everyone has their top books that changed the way they see things and go about their lives. Here are five books that not only changed my viewpoint, but also my approach and course of guitar playing—and none of them are…
Discomfort and the Secret of Guitar Mastery
Becoming a decent guitar player is surprisingly easy. You just have to play for many hours—whatever music you enjoy—and after a while you’ll turn some heads. You’ll probably enjoy playing on your own or for friends, and perhaps have some…
15 Ways to Write a Song (Part 1)
One of the top songwriting questions is: Where do you start? Do you begin with a feeling? With lyrics? With music? In reality, there are dozens of ways to write a song, and while many songwriters have one preferred method,…
How To Get Really Good At Guitar As Fast As Possible
In addition to taking guitar lessons, the best way to ensure rapid progress is to practice regularly. I know from experience how easy it is to put off or forget to practice, and how tempting it is to play the…