The Guitar Practice Routine: Some thoughts on practice routines. All players and students of all ages have their inherent strengths and weaknesses. Guitar players, in particular come in very different shapes and sizes. Some guitarists have fantastic ears, and learned everything they know without ever learning any theory, some players are the total opposite,…
Practicing For Speed: Practicing for guitar speed really takes patience and determination, and GOALS. 1. Speed has nothing to do with talent. 2. The ability to play fast, and the ability to play well, are not always the same thing. 3. There is no clearly defined “fastest”. Meaning, what is “fast” is different depending on…
What’s the best approach to teaching children? Part 4 In the last 3 entries we spoke about different approaches. All have their merits, as well as their own specific weaknesses. In this article we will address the Teacher themselves. Just as there are many different personalities of people, there are just as many personalities of…
What is the Best Approach to Teaching Children? Part 3 This is part three of our series, “What is the Best Approach to Teaching Children?” In past articles we talked about the two most common methods of teaching. Part 2 dealt with the “method book” approach. We also looked at the pros and cons…
What’s the best approach to teaching children? Part 2: In part one of “The Best Approach”, we talked about the Chord approach. Generally speaking, this is usually how a typical teacher working in a music shop will teach. We also talked about the pros and cons of this approach as well. The “Book” approach:…
The problem with notation: Some thoughts on notation, feel, and the mailability of transcription: Notation is not perfect. I’ll say it again. Notation is not perfect. If you have ever looked up a tab online to either double check what you’ve learned, or just to use it as your primary teaching source, you know…
Minor 7th Chords: Is 16 ways to play the same chord enough? No haha. But it’s a good start. Here are 16 ways to play a G minor 7th chord for guitar. The voicings are setup so the lowest note can also be switched to the highest one, effectively giving you two ways to…
Jurassic Park Theme – Tab for beginners – Great performance piece! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8zlUUrFK-M Jurassic Park Theme Here’s a short performance piece for a beginner guitar student. Great for kids that are into movies, dinosaurs, and guitar. This piece is constructed using single note lines, in 1st position, one note at a time, and would sound even…
James Bond Theme: Here’s a link of the tune https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9FzgsF2T-s Another great example of an easy to play, and easy to recognize tune for beginners to sink their teeth into. While not the entire song, students will still get a kick out of learning it, especially using the low E string. Although the…
Harry Potter Theme: Movie Themes make great examples for beginner students to start learning guitar. Students can get a big boost in their repertoire when the music is arranged for their specific needs. For example, a younger student has smaller hands. Their arrangement should not contain any huge leaps or position changes. The attached is…