The Best Practice Technique, Ever.

If I were to give the best practice technique ever, it would be this: Variation.

Take the same exact thing that you are practicing, be it a chord progression, a lead guitar lick, or a scale, and practice it in as many different ways as possible.

Doing this strengthens the synapses needed to execute the skill faster. The synapses become coated with more Myelin, and because the circuit is more insulated, the skill becomes faster.

Last night, I was helping a student practice variations of the chord progression D to A. I asked him to play on different strings, different frets, different tempos.

Of all the practice techniques I know, just this one will make you a 10X better guitar player.

Hit me up to learn how to apply variations to your guitar practice routine!

Guitar Is The Easiest Instrument To Learn

Pound for pound, guitar is the easiest instrument to learn. Here's why:

1. 7 basic chords can offer you millions of songs alone.
2. Strumming is easy to do when you have the right skills (and those don't take too long to learn)
3. Strumming and changing chords can be difficult at first, but later become like second nature.

Though guitar can seem like a steep learning curve, it's not as bad as violin, clarinet, or piano. Plus, you get to play loud and enjoy playing along to your favorite tunes.

The Cheesiest Guitar Solos, EVAH!

I don't know quite why, but the cheesiest guitar solos of the 80's stick out to me as the most awesome guitar solos ever. I've been transcribing and teaching a ton of guitar solos as of late, and teaching them to a very interested student. He really likes the cheesiness. Maybe millenials have a higher tolerance for cheesy guitar solos?

Here are the solos I've been transcribing (and would love to teach YOU):

1. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You - Bryan Adams
2. Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship
3. Highway To The Dangerzone - Kenny Loggins

I've also been preparing to teach this same student some more Red Hot Chili Peppers solos, and some more Nirvana solos too.

Want to learn to solo on guitar? Hit me up!

When To Start Learning Guitar From A Teacher

Not everyone was born to be a guitarist. Some of us have to work at it, including yours truly.

No matter if you want to learn acoustic guitar or electric guitar, there's something to be said to be engaged with learning the instrument. If you set your mind to it, you should be given all that you need to succeed at the instrument.

The only time to look for a guitar teacher is when you are feeling frustrated with learning. If this is the case, please think of The School of Feedback Guitar. This school was founded on the idea that beginners can learn guitar and make a beautiful hobby out of it, too.

B7 Chord Photos: High Resolution.

This B7 chord is often seen in songs that I have been teaching a lot these days. These songs include:

1. I Should Have Known Better - The Beatles
2. Pop A Top - Jim Ed Brown
3. And It Spread - The Avett Brothers

Need a little help making the B7 chord your own? Here’s a couple of pictures to help you out.

Need a little custom help? Come and book a lesson! I'm here to help you, and I would be honored with your presence.

When Not To Practice (and how to figure out when to move forward)

As guitarists, we are constantly subjected to a restless energy that pervades our personal, practicing lives: The need to always get “better” at guitar. As a result, countless people are burning themselves out from this wonderful instrument!

I have seen plenty of students make practicing guitar into a super heavy commitment. Anyone who is familiar with my teaching method knows that I only assign practice exercises that can be completed in under five minutes of practice each day. The result is this: We tend to get more momentum with smaller, more targeted amounts of practice.

Sometimes however, we have to be mindful of how we are practicing because in no other activity on guitar do we spend so much time relating to the instrument. Sure there’s performance, but how many beginners are interested in that? My point is, sometimes we take practicing guitar a little too seriously and we need to chill out!

The following are four situations where I think it would be a smart idea to practice less, or even not to practice at all. Let’s jump in!

Don’t practice guitar when life is overwhelming you

Do you need any reminder about this? Life is challenging enough without adding extra weight in which might complicate things.

When my father died, I didn’t bother to even think about practicing. Rather, I let it go and allowed myself to grieve naturally. When I was ready, I found myself back in the saddle and practicing with gusto.

Don’t practice guitar when you’re extremely tired

Again, we can say this is common sense. Practicing guitar is a mentally heavy activity. Why go at it when we are tired?

Lately, I’ve been getting into my studio early in the morning. I’ve found that I can get more done when I’m fresher and have experienced less in a day. There are times however when I just need sleep and I forced myself to get to the studio only to realize that I just wanted to take a nap! It’s better just to take the nap and come back later.

Don’t practice guitar when your hand, or any part of your body is hurting

Many times, we practice more and more and more for no good reason, which is misguided. That saying “No Pain No Gain” doesn’t apply to guitar. It’s the type of instrument that will punish you if you try to practice it and ignore pain.

As a graduate student at the Eastman School of Music, studying classical guitar, I often put in 6-8 hours of practice every single day. I would ignore pain, and as a result my body felt fatigued with practice. That experience came close to ruining my relationship with guitar, which I believe is far more important than “being good at guitar.”

Don’t practice guitar if you’re feeling a lot of tension in your body

One reason I love music is because it offers me a chance to just relax and enjoy the music I’m playing. Why on earth would I want to make that very enjoyable experience into a tension-filled one?

One student I worked with years ago often practiced with so much tension that she stopped feeling like it was fun anymore. She played with so much tension that she was unable to play without it. Technique on the guitar can be built on tension, but the problem is you’ll need that tension to be able to play what you practiced.

In conclusion

It’s not often that you’ll want to put the guitar down, especially after you get some momentum on the instrument! But sometimes, staying still and not approaching it is the best way to get better and to enjoy playing it.

Talking Shop About Teaching

The business of running a guitar school has weirdly fascinated me for many years. Truly, how successful I’ve been I owe to the idea that teaching guitar has to be ego-less. In other words, just because I’m the authority in the situation (the teacher) doesn’t negate from the fact that the person I’m working with (the student) is the most important person in the room.

I’ve been surprised when I’ve heard other guitar teachers talk about their students, their income from teaching, their livelihood. This type of thinking is indicative of a teacher who hasn’t really given up the dream of being a rock and roll star, and is teaching to make a little money on the side. This type of thinking also makes it seem like this teacher doesn’t care about the students in the first place!

The most surprising thing that I noticed when I began teaching was how invested I got in practically everyone’s progress. I found a large income when I focused on providing the students an excellent story, one where they transformed themselves and became the guitarist they always knew they were. Not only was it profitable, but it was incredibly satisfying.

I teach less now than I did two or three years ago because I began to limit how many people I was working with in the first place. Good people are out there and finding them is important. With good people in my life, it’s easier to live and breathe. It’s easier to go about my life and create the life I want to live. Moreover, I found out that working with and reaching out to great people for lessons is far more satisfying anyways than just simply working with anyone, no matter what.

I’m reminded of that thought today as I’m working on parts of my life that I’d like to take to the next level: Good people first. This would be my recommendation to all new guitar teachers: Find the good people and serve them well.

May I have the opportunity to serve and guide all the good people of the world who want to learn guitar.

How to Learn Guitar on YouTube

There are millions on guitar lessons on YouTube. Millions. How do you choose which one is best for you? How do you choose the best teacher for what you’re interested in? After all, learning guitar on YouTube is possible, but it can be a really difficult task if you don’t have some guidance.

Luckily, there are ways you can make it easier. Here are my tips on how to learn guitar on YouTube:

Know your skill level

If you know your skill level at guitar, then you know exactly what videos to look for. Not all YouTube guitar teachers are great at saying what level their video lessons are for, but if you can find one that is specifically meant for your skill level, that’s half the battle.

For instance, I like to give my YouTube lessons a rating from 0 to 10. When I rate a lesson at a 0, it’s meant for people who have zero experience, and 10 is for experts.

Know the style of what you want to learn

Many people are sucked into the guitar lessons that are interesting but not exactly what they want to learn. For example, you may want to learn indie-rock, but the guitar teacher on YouTube is showing you a pentatonic scale. Though that scale might be interesting, it’s not exactly what you want to learn, right?

Knowing the style of what you want to learn will make it a lot easier to find good content that’s relevant to your interests, and will keep you engaged for longer with the guitar.

Find teachers that are interesting and funny

Guitarists can be either really funny and a party to hang out with, or they can be a bit of a downer! There’s a little in-between that, but my point is to find a teacher that doesn’t rub you the wrong way.

I’ve always made it a point to make sure that my students are having an excellent time in their lessons with me. It’s important that you have a good time learning, that it doesn’t feel stressful.

If you get frustrated, seek real advice from a human being

The biggest problem with YouTube is that is doesn’t allow you to interact with the teacher in real-time. This means that you are at a disadvantage, especially when it comes to learning something custom. That is why I recommend not being shy about finding a local guitar teacher whom you like and can ask questions.

I will be honest: Many of my students tried to learn how to play guitar on YouTube and failed, so you are probably climbing an uphill battle. Be good to yourself if it doesn’t work out, because chances are that it will be a lot tougher to learn that way than to take lessons (but of course, I’m biased!).

Good luck!

Guitar Calluses: How long does it take to get them?

One of the questions that the majority of beginners I work with ask is “How long does it take to form guitar calluses?”

It’s a worthy question, considering that their new hobby is just starting, and they want to make sure it isn’t always painful.

The good news is that everyone will develop guitar calluses within two weeks of starting to play guitar. This is assuming you put in regular practice, and it’s my belief that five minutes a day is the perfect amount.

Good luck!