I believe I developed a personal style as a player in spite of my education. This might sound like a flip statement, but it’s taken many years to understand. I’m grateful to have had the training I did, but I didn’t fully understand how working to become a professional could also slow the process of […]
Chops vs technique
When you think about “technique” or technical playing, you probably think of what musicians call “chops”. It’s a general term but it’s almost always used to refer to difficult or physically challenging music. Using your chops means playing fast, intricate parts, beyond the reach of players that don’t work to develop that ability. This isn’t […]
What’s your motivation?
What’s your motivation to play? What made you start playing, and what makes you continue? For most of us, the answers were pretty simple to start with. Some people just fall in love with music. I know that I was hooked pretty much from the start, and I knew after the first year that I […]
Making intentional choices.
You make choices all the time when you play. If you are trying to duplicate something exactly, that’s a choice. If you learn a song as a basic framework, that’s a choice as well. And most of all, every time you learn or create a song you choose how you’re going to express a particular […]
Learn concepts from the songs you play
If you really want to keep growing as a player, look for bigger musical concepts in the songs you learn. We all start out memorizing songs as finger patterns, but that way of looking at things will only take you so far. That’s far enough for some people, but if you find yourself feeling limited […]
How do scales become melodies?
How do scales become melodies? Most guitar students practice scales at some point. It’s a good way to build chops and learn to navigate the fretboard at the same time. With a little extra thought you can also use your scale practice for ear training, and to learn to apply music theory to the guitar […]
