Sooner or later every guitar player will ask this same question... "Should I get a teacher and take guitar lessons or should I just teach myself how to play?"
What you want to achieve? How good do you want to get? How hard do you want to work? What is it that you want to learn? And where do you live? Thanks to the Internet, this last consideration may become less and less of a factor.
GUITAR LESSONS (THE REASONS WE GO): These questions assume one thing. They assume you have a reason for getting an instructor in the first place. Everyone actually does have a reason, even if they don't know it yet. In other words, often times a person is not sure why they are going to an instructor or what they should even expect from this experience. They just think that they will most likely get better if they do this. So they go!
Share the responsibility... But there are problems with this approach. First it puts all the responsibilities on the teacher to make sure he (or she) figures out what you want and then supplies instruction that will instill it. Although it is the teacher's responsibility to make sure you get what you pay for, it is not his or her responsibility alone. The correct answer is for both of you to share the responsibilities.
Another problem is you may get better but not in the way you intended. It probably would not be a satisfying experience if a 15 year old started lessons thinking he would learn to play heavy metal, only to end up with a guitar teacher who demands the student go through classical training. He would be learning to play a guitar, but not the way he intended. Most of the time when something like this happens, you can count the days until the person quits. When it happens no one may notice. Often times the student doesn't realizes it for awhile. They just quit!
WHY DO PEOPLE QUIT TAKING LESSONS? The #1 reason... Because it's not fun (to them personally). Other reasons could of course include time issues, or over-booking in a students personal life. But, in general students quit because the teacher is not teaching anything of immediate value and so the lessons have become dull. The reality of the situation never measured up with the vision the student had when they decided to start. It wasn't at all what they had expected.
Here is another reaction. A student wants to learn a few chords and nothing more. He is trying to learn just enough to play some very basic folk-rock songs. He takes lessons from a teacher that uses a standard program for everyone. It turns out to be ten times the information the student wanted /needed and it points him in the complete wrong direction. The result is often the same. The person stops taking lessons, or even worse, they stop playing guitar entirely.
It does not matter if we are talking about teenagers, or a 50 year old Dead Head. The problems is, if you feed a person information in the wrong way, they don't get it, they don't like it and they stop playing. They never got close to the vision they had for themselves when they got motivated enough to start taking guitar lessons in the first place. How does this happen? Better yet, how can you avoid this?
THE STUDENTS RESPONSIBILITY Often times a student will pick the wrong avenue to achieve their goals. They know what they wanted when they dreamed up the idea of going to a guitar teacher. They just didn't figure out how to get there once they sat down in a studio with their new instructor. There was nothing wrong with the original intention. They just didn't get enough of the answers that wanted from the instructor to keep them going back.
So what is the right approach?
Choose your teacher carefully and figure out before hand what you want. Selecting a teacher is not an easy task. Teachers are all different. They are as diverse as students. They all know a different subset of information. They all have a different perspective. Each teacher holds a mental collection of experiences. This mental collection is made up from life experiences. It is a major component of how a teacher thinks of his or herself. Maybe the teacher has extensive experience in performing, or maybe they have an accreditation from a professional music school (generally a good thing). Maybe they've taught all the other kids in the neighborhood. Whatever.
Each teacher learned a different way, they had different teachers and different styles of learning. They all teach a little differently too. They all have different ideas of what should be taught and what is the proper way to proceed. They all have individual biases too. Everyone does! Because of their diverse backgrounds, they all have different things to teach. A classical teacher probably won't be able to teach heavy rock lead licks and rock riff construction. they probably don't know it because they don't play it and they don't study it. That style of music is completely foreign to them.
All teachers have something to teach. They all have something that they know well enough to be able to teach someone. The trick is to find the instructor that teaches what you want to learn. In order for that to happen, you must have an idea of what you would like to learn. It all comes back to what you want? And for that to be known, you have to have some direction.
TAKE OWNERSHIP! Remember we go to teachers to get better. You can use a teacher for an extended period or just to pick up some specific skills. Usually if you find a good teacher, you can speed up the process of learning. Teachers can make the subject easier to grasp and quickly turn that information into new musical ability. When you find the right teacher you can jump to a higher degree of confidence and extract more fun from the instrument. It's very cool. They can help a lot!
But it is helpful if students take their rightful place in this process and that means they need to take on ownership of their lessons. The students are not only the managers of the topics studied with the teacher... They are also the ones that have to live with the results.
Triad chords produce a majority of the music we listen to and they're found within almost every style of music. Understanding them all over the neck is an absolute must for every guitar player...
The way triads are generally used is through large Barre chord voicings based off of primarily the 6th and 5th strings. However, triad shapes can also be applied as other, "less common" chord patterns.
These can include being performed rapidly as smaller chord patterns that can more easily take advantage of inversions. Triads used in this way are played more laterally with a focus on "three string-set" groupings. When triads are applied using only three strings they can work perfectly for creating a strong enough part that will end up functioning to stand on its own, as either a lead segment or used as a lead solo-riff.
In this lesson, we'll learn a number of common major and minor 3-note triad shapes and we'll put them to work by making a study of some triad riffs that function like this.
PART ONE: In the first part of this lesson I will introduce the most popular 3-note triad voicings built from off of the 4th and 3rd strings. Example one applies 4th-string root triads in both major and minor chord qualities and demonstrates them within the key of "G Major" from the 10th position to the open position. Example two, switches to the key of "B Minor" and applies a number of popular 3-note triad patterns based from off of the third guitar string.
PART TWO: Examples three and four add filler licks and surrounding tones to our triads. In example three the common "I - IV - V" chord progression is shown within the key of "D Major." The harmony is made more interesting through the use of both 3-note triads and a filler lick that appears within measures two and three.
Example four uses the mode of "G Dorian" to bring together an altogether new and interesting harmony. The progression uses arpeggio concepts to highlight the tonic chord of "G Minor," across two chord different chord voices. A series of 2-note (double stop) chords is applied in measure two and demonstrates the powerful effect that surrounding tones can have when taken from a modal key center.
If you’re scoffing at the idea of having a separate area just for musical activities, keep in mind that, as a professional musician, you’re going to be spending a lot of your time doing anything but actually creating music, especially in the early stages of your career...
Booking shows, ensuring everything is in order when it comes to copyrights, publishing, and licensing, writing blogs, creating YouTube content, and typing out all things social media will take hours every day, and those are the times when a separate work station will be helpful. If you need a little more motivation, here are a few reasons to create a space just for your music.
1. Increase efficiency
If you have everything you may need frequently for your work in one spot, and it’s all organized, it’s a given that your efficiency will increase, and the more you can get done in the same amount of time, the more successful you’ll be in the end.
There should be a space where your “work things” are. This could be a certain chair and table or perhaps a desk and office chair. You likely already have these spaces, but they might not be work-only spaces... yet.
Do your best to keep "work things" separate from "personal life things," which may mean a drawer, binder, or box dedicated to just music. All of your folders, your files, and any information you’ll need while doing the million-and-one things that musicians need to work on that aren't necessarily just “making music” should be together, not mixed in with anything else.
2. Declutter to destress
Messy workplaces stress people out and don't foster clear thinking or focusing. Some people may thrive in that type of environment, but most of us aren't able to get things done in a huge mess.
While taking the time to clean up your space may seem like an incorrect allocation of your most precious resource (time, of course), you’ll see the payoff after just a short period of time.
Keeping things relatively tidy and clean isn’t just good for keeping down stress levels, it can actually improve your mood, and that’s typically better for ticking items off your to-do list.
3. Limit distractions
As a musician, you’re going to be listening to a lot of other people’s music. It’s what helps you learn what else is out there, and while you would never copy what someone else has done, the important work of other singers, songwriters, and artists influences what you create. Listening to music is always a great thing... unless it’s taking your mind away from doing something that requires your full attention.
Try to have a music-free zone, which is reserved for difficult, complicated work. The same rule applies to things like television, movies, or even other people or pets. All of these things can be incredibly distracting, and that’s not going to get you where you’re trying to go career-wise.
You don't always need total silence, but it can be helpful, and you'll complete more tasks when you aren't being distracted by what's happening on the radio or on TV.
Hugh McIntyre is a freelance pop music journalist in NYC by way of Boston. He has written for Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and MTV, as well as various magazines and blogs around the world.
GUITAR BLOG INSIDER... Ways Musicians Get Ripped Off (And How to Avoid It)
Getting ripped off sucks... Doing a professional job on a musical performance gig, and then getting stiffed at the end of it all, is one of the worst things a musician will face...
It happens a lot more than most people realize. As a musician we play a gig and at the end of the night we don't get paid. It took a number of bad experiences for me to become clear on what was going on in these situations. I realized that I needed to avoid certain settings and people for things to improve.
Professional musicians need to learn how to become mindful in advance, (before getting into a playing situation where you could get stiffed). Sometimes, it's as simple as watching for certain hallmarks. Other times, musicians need to break ties with certain people. Some of those people may even get upset that you are not happy about playing gigs for free.
Some players simply do not understand why other musicians won't play free shows, or shows that pay next to nothing. That's their thing however, not yours. You have bills to pay, and you don't have another job.
The most important thing about playing gigs (for professional players) is to not fall into really obvious traps where you'll get ripped off. In this episode of the "GuitarBlog Insider," I'm going to discuss ways that you could get ripped off, as well as, how to avoid them before they happen.
Posted by Andrew Wasson
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Courtesy of Adam Rafferty...
The more musically you play, the more you'll touch your listener’s hearts. But what does it mean to play “more musically”?
Music is essentially a flow of melody and groove. Whether you’re playing rock, jazz, bossa-nova, classical, or funk, a flow of melody and groove is always present. So, playing more musically just means going with the flow.
First, rid yourself of a couple of fallacies. Playing musically is often confused with playing with emotion or feeling. If all you needed were feelings, everyone on the planet would be a musical genius. What you want is to play with intuition, rather than intellect. To hone your musical intuition, you must play slowly, paying close attention to specific details. In time, those details will settle and become automatic.
Another fallacy is that more gear will get you there. New guitars, pedals, pickups, strings, effects, alternate tunings, faster technique, special picks, crazy capos—all make little difference in how musical you sound. On the other hand, the following will make a huge difference: your sense of melody and groove; your ability to listen and incorporate the real “blue” part of the blues into your playing; your touch and tone; and your patience for practicing slowly.
Try these six tips to make your playing more musical:
1. Develop a sense of melody
The simple test for figuring out your sense of melody is to ask yourself: Can I sing what I am playing? The great jazz player George Benson can play an entire improvised solo and sing along with it note-for-note. His fingers are not just “doing the walking.”
Whether it’s a blues solo, jazz solo, or fingerstyle arrangement, you should always be able to sing the melody you are playing. It’s a special connection.
Try This:Play and sing the melody in Ex. 1 at the same time. click to enlarge example images...
2. Develop your groove
Whether it’s rock, country, techno, blues, jazz, funk, or some crazy sub-genre, most music today is influenced by African rhythm. I practice a 12/8 African groove on a hand drum and have a specific way to count different time signatures. By practicing on a drum, you will notice that your touch and tone on the guitar will start to “sparkle” in a new way.
Try This:
Play the 12/8 rhythm in Ex. 2 on a hand drum. (You can do it on your legs if you have no drum.) The hands always alternate right-left-right-left, and so on—count “1-2-3-4” out loud (where shown) as you play. For fun, practice this along with the original recording of “Higher Ground” or “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder. This will help you develop body rhythm.
3. Hone your listening
Have you ever heard your own speaking voice on a recording and been surprised at how it sounds? The same is true for your guitar playing. Often you know exactly what you’re playing, but when you hear it back—whoa! It sounds different.
Try This:
In Ex. 3, do the following experiment to activate your “listening” while you play. Fret a G note—the high E string at third fret. Play the note and let it fade to silence, and follow the sound with full concentration. Next, strum up a G chord very slowly with your bare thumb. Can you make the top note pop out like a melody, and just a tad louder and more bell-like than the rest of the chord?
If you have a smartphone, use the voice memo app to record yourself practicing, then listen back. It’s a super tool.
The simple test for figuring out your sense of melody is to ask yourself: Can I sing what I am playing?
4. Develop your blues feel
The blues is more than a style, scale, or set of licks. It’s a whole set of musical physics. Being “plugged in” to the blues will make any type of pop, rock, country, jazz, funk, and other genres sound better. Even modern pop singers, such as Justin Timberlake and Adele, have a sense of the blues in the way they sing, although you don’t think of them as blues artists.
Try This:
Ex. 4a and Ex. 4b will help you realize your blues feel. Ultimately, you’ll have to use your ears and guts and go more deeply than what you see in the written example. Play both melodies and compare. Can you get really bluesy with the second one?
5. Develop your touch and tone in the higher register
It’s easy to get a good sound on lower strings, but when you play single notes in the higher register, the sound can be weak, thin, quiet, or scratchy. The reason for this is simple: It’s easy to play faster with a thin sound, and most guitarists like ease and speed. But classical and jazz players pay a lot of attention to getting high notes on the guitar to sound bell-like, with a satisfying, rounded front-end attack and tone.
Try This:
Play the melody in Ex. 5 first with the flesh of your thumb, which is your fattest sound. Then play it with your pick-hand fingers or a flatpick. How do the sounds compare? Can you improve the tone of the fingers or pick to get it more like the thumb sound?
6. Practice slowly
“Practice makes permanent, not perfect.” With that in mind, practice slowly. Every time you try to play too fast, it’s like opening the oven to see if the cake is finished yet.
The remedy? Allow yourself to get to the place where you enjoy practicing slowly. By doing that, you’ll be repeating only the correct motions and not reinforcing the wrong motions. After that, playing fast and accurately will feel much easier.
Now, rock on, and get to work!
Adam Rafferty is a fingerstyle guitarist from New York City who tours worldwide.
Posted by Andrew Wasson
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Courtesy of Hugh McIntyre...
There are few instruments that are known to be as rough, as difficult to get going on, and as frustrating as learning to play the guitar. If you’re going to try to learn the guitar, you need to know what to do to survive the long hours it takes just to get started...
Guitar training has chewed up and spit out millions of people over the years, so if you’re going to be one of the few who actually makes it, and learns to play, there are some tips you need to keep in mind in order to prevent yourself from going crazy frustrated and giving up.
1. Stay positive Obviously, one of the best ways to keep from getting depressed and going crazy is to stay positive, but that’s so difficult to do sometimes. There's disappointment waiting around every corner, and as I mentioned, learning the guitar is so hard make work for you that feeling blue is bound to happen. It’s okay to get down from time to time, but if you let all the technique, scales and theory destroy your happiness, it could end up hurting you more than helping, and it’s nearly-impossible to rebound from that.Which is likely why so many people quit and give up the guitar before they cross those initial hurdles. It might sound silly, but wake up every morning and remind yourself how lucky you are to be learning about making music and to be investing your time in learning such a cool instrument. That might be the opposite of what you’re feeling, but realizing that there are hordes of people out there who likely wish they could be playing guitar puts things into perspective. I’ve had to do the same thing many times as a writer working in the music industry, and it's been effective.
2. Listen
As a musician, you should always be listening, and I mean that in more than just one way. Always have your ears open for what other musicians are doing, for new talent and for inspiration, as well as for what people say. Take note of what those who have been practicing the guitar for longer than you are saying and doing.
Feel free to work in questions when you’re speaking with those who have been in the game for a long time. What gets them to keep it up? How do they deal with the frustration and the long hours of practice? What excites them, and how have they made it through the hurdles of learning the instrument so far?
People love passing down wisdom and the secrets to their success, and you can learn a lot if you just listen.
3. Work on the Guitar every day
If you're looking to only put in a few hours between Monday and Sunday, you’re in the wrong head-space, and learning guitar will be very difficult for you. While many guitar students get in 3 or 4 days, great players rarely miss a day away from the instrument. If you want to become really good, and highly successful at guitar, you need to practice it every day, no matter what.
I’m not saying you need to go into a room and spend 2 hrs a day, 7-days a week, but it’s not advisable to leave the guitar for days, or worse not pick it up for a month. Whether you're actually working on something new, rehearsing songs, or just fooling around, be musical every single day. Do something interesting with the guitar every single day of the week. You'll need to be like this for a few years to get the foundation.
4. Try new things
While making music is a creative endeavor, that doesn’t mean that things don’t sometimes get stale and slightly boring. Playing the same tunes over and over can be exhausting, and even new music that fits in with the same genre you’ve been selling for a while can be tiring. An guitarist... a musical artist needs to switch things up and do something different every once in awhile to keep from losing his or her edge.
If playing the guitar starts feeling monotonous and repetitive, do something completely different! Try learning a song that's not what people are used to, do more theory, learn to read music, or maybe even switch musical genres. I wouldn’t suggest making a drastic shift for good, as it'll alienate you from your most interested styles, but there’s nothing wrong with trying something new just for the sake of trying it.If you like rock, try country. If you only play folk, try reggae. Learning new styles goes a long way in keeping yourself motivated.
5. Keep thinking big
While you may still be playing Twinkle Twinkle, or Happy Birthday to You, great things could lie ahead. Everybody had to start somewhere, and there's always room for some great new breakthroughs in your music.
Having the ability to play Stairway to Heaven might seem like it’s an impossible dream, but working towards those big goals never hurts. Even if you don’t ever play like Eddie Van Halen, the hustle you will feel when you hope that you will get there could help you learn styles and techniques in guitar music that you never would have if you assumed you could possible play. Keep in mind the sappy adage of shooting for the moon, because even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. It’s corny, but there’s a reason you’ve heard it a million times in your life.
6. Don't compare yourself to others
It might be tough to avoid looking at better players and wondering why you aren’t where they are, but that kind of thinking can kill your drive and momentum a lot faster than you’ll imagine. Stop comparing yourself to others and focus on being the best you possible be. It simply does no good at all to try and compare where you are now to where somebody else is. If you continue to make strides in your playing, and if you continue to work incredibly hard to build your way up the ranks as a guitarist, only good things can happen. When you only focus on yourself, you'll notice more. You are who you are, and you're at where you're at. Over time you'll improve and with practice you're going to get better each day! It's just that simple. Hugh McIntyre is a freelance pop music journalist in NYC by way of Boston. He has written for Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and MTV, as well as various magazines and blogs around the world.
The latest QwikLicks video is, "D Blues /Rock Pentatonic Licks" Available in the FREE members area. Includes a PDF handout!
QwikLicks are a FREE lesson series for all membership levels at Creative Guitar Studio.com. Lessons in the QwikLicks Series will run through a short collection of guitar licks in all kinds of different playing styles...
Episode 017 covers three licks that use the "D Blues" scale. In lick #1 we apply a fast 16th-note run covering two scale patterns on the neck. Lick #2 takes the classic Patter #4 position and builds a 10th position scale run using the tones. In lick #3 we tie together two adjacent scale patterns to create a nice lateral lick between the 3rd and 10th frets.
This QwikLicks episode marks the first time I've included references and layouts for all of the neck patterns. Please let me know if you find these included pattern layouts helpful.
Sign into the website with your free members account to watch the lesson, and be sure to download the PDF lesson handout.
If you're not currently a FREE member of the website, sign up today!
