How COVID-19 is Affecting Guitarists and Musicians Well, this is a guitar website after all… We’re all musicians, we’re all in this together; even if it doesn’t always seem that way in heated political discussions on social media. (I’m guilty, I know) Things have changed A LOT. The 2nd week of March 2020, I was finishing up a typical 5-gig week. On that following Monday, everything was cancelled. Everything on my calendar gone, literally …
Essential Modal Scales for Guitarists
How the Guitar Modal Scale Workout Started Back in the 1990s, I was teaching guitar lessons at Lentine’s Music in Akron, Ohio. I was teaching 6 days a week and playing gigs at night on the weekends. Before the internet, before cell-phones, before YouTube lessons… you had to take lessons in person from an actual person. I have a lot of great memories from those years. Consequently, at one point I had over 70 students …
Fernando Sor Study in B minor
Guitarist Fernando Sor 1778-1839 “The Beethoven of the Guitar”, José Fernando Macario Sors, aka Fernando Sir, was born February 14th, 1778 in Barcelona, Spain. Sor was widely considered the best guitarist in his time by his peers and the general public. He composed for the guitar, ballet, opera, string quartet, orchestra, piano, and voice. Sor came from a family of military men and intended to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfathers before …
Guitar Modes – Essential Guitar Scales
Introduction to Modal Scales for Guitarists I know what you’re thinking. Oh, great. Another article on guitar scales. You may be asking yourself the usual questions: These are the same things I asked myself over 30 years ago when I first started using the Modal Scales in my everyday guitar playing. I remember back in the late 1980’s when I was first starting out on the guitar, reading about these mysterious scales in magazine interviews …
Taking Your Music With You Wherever You Go
For many people, playing a musical instrument isn’t just a hobb. For some, it’s their passion, which makes leaving it behind for college or vacation all the more difficult. So how can you take your music with you wherever you go? Here are a few things you could try. Invest in a good quality travel case If you can’t bring leave your instrument behind, then bring it with you. Before taking your instrument with you …
5 Tips on How to Become a Better Musician
As an independent musician, several factors can disrupt your career. Maybe you’ve got a day or night job, social obligations, you’re in school, or other responsibilities that take top priority. So how will you create more time to focus on your talent? Just like any other endeavor, you need to create time for your creative work. How much you devote will mainly depend on the demands of your non-musical life. With this in mind, it’s …
Beginner Guitar Chords – 20 Essential Chords
Introduction to Beginner Guitar Chords If you’re new to playing the guitar and wondering what chords are suitable for a beginner guitarist, look no further. I’ve got you covered in this lesson 20 Essential Beginner Guitar Chords… and then some. Don’t be turned off by the term Beginner Guitar Chords though. If you follow through with the lesson, you’ll see it gets into some advance guitar music theory. You’ll find no shortage of downloadable guitar chord …
6 Ways Parents Support Kids Guitar Lessons
As a music teacher and private lesson instructor for a while now, I’ve taught them all. From ages 7-70, I’ve seen students become proficient on guitar no matter what their background. The challenges from younger learners are much different than with older ones. The sad thing is the reason most of the younger students (18 and under) quit is because of the parents. Without realizing it, parents may be hamstringing their child’s learning potential. With …
Compression Therapy for Guitarists – WristGrips
I had an action packed January full of gigs that concluded yesterday (Sunday) with the 5th of 5 straight gigs in a row. Now, maybe you’re a Rock Star doing a 90 minute concert. Or, an original, regional band pulling a 45 minute set. Regardless, chances are you may not be able to stop playing before the pain sets in. This is why I decided to do an article on compression therapy for guitarists. ..or …
10 Essential Guitar Scales for Beginners
If you’re a beginning guitar player, you’ve probably heard the word “scales” before but may not be sure where to start. If you’ve tried a few, you may be wondering what are the best scales for guitar practice. There are a few reasons why adding scales to your guitar practice routine is super important: Scales build technique, strength and coordination in both hands on the guitar. Scales are the basis for all melody, solos and …