There seems to be a hard philosophical split among musicians when it comes to “learning the rules”. “Rules” primarily fall into three categories. There are rules of music theory that explain why some notes work well together and some don’t. There are rules of technique – the right and wrong way to play. And then […]
Core Concepts 8: play well with others
There are lots of good reasons to play music with other people, no matter what your musical goals are. A significant percentage of people spend most of their time playing alone. Not just in practice time, but playing in general. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but there are musical skills that are only developed […]
Core Concepts 7: the best musicians have big ears.
“Big ears” means knowing how to listen, and what to listen for. All the practicing in the world won’t make you a good musician if you don’t develop your listening skills. The best players can play the right thing because the music suggests it. The specific parts each person plays are shaped by the other […]
Core Concepts 6: balance your practice time
Learning how to practice is one of the most important lessons you can learn as a musician. When you first learn to play, practicing is mostly repetition. To some extent, that’s always going to be true, and most great players spent many hours with their instrument when they were young and had all the time […]
Core Concepts 5: connect the dots, learn relationships.
Learning the guitar neck is like geometry: relationships between points in space, and the formations or shapes they create. To really get to know the guitar well, it’s really helpful to learn these shapes. The guitar neck is a complicated matrix, and the patterns on the neck can really help you learn to navigate it. […]
Core Concepts 4: every technical challenge has a mechanical solution
One of the great challenges for every guitarist is to train the hands to follow directions. Any musical gesture requires a series of targeted movements, placing specific fingers in specific places. Some gestures are much more difficult than others, but ultimately playing any part is just a matter of knowing where you need to land […]
