Archive | Pedagogy RSS feed for this section

Feedback Through Soundcloud

23. April 2013

2 Comments

Consistent feedback is one of the markers of great teaching. Most private music instructors have a limited amount of time with a student each week. A half-hour or hour lesson with a student, once a week, does not provide multiple checkpoints in a week a student could use to deepen their understanding of a piece [...]

Continue reading...

Practicing While the World is On Fire

14. March 2013

1 Comment

“Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity.” – Jean de la Bruyere More often than not I feel like I am running around with my hair on fire. My day is packed with a thousand different things that demand my focused attention. I am also [...]

Continue reading...

Using Major and Minor Shells

22. February 2013

0 Comments

Here is a short video I made about using major and minor shell voicings in acoustic guitar playing.

Continue reading...

Preparing for Music Studies

16. February 2013

0 Comments

I’m frequently asked by students what they should do to prepare for their first semester of music studies. It seems most people understand how demanding it can be to earn a degree in music. Prospective students want to make sure they have the proper foundation in music in order to be successful. So, if you [...]

Continue reading...

How to Play in Any Style: Listening

11. December 2012

1 Comment

Making a living playing guitar is difficult. To be successful as a guitarist you must be able to play in multiple styles, all at a high level. Playing in multiple styles goes beyond playing the correct groove or notes but also includes sound. A guitarist must be able to replicate the vast timbres present in [...]

Continue reading...

Guitar Strumming from Start to Finish

5. November 2012

0 Comments

One of the greatest mysteries in playing the guitar is strumming patterns. I have had student after student ask me how to strum the guitar like ___ (insert your favorite acoustic guitar player here). The problem I have in answering that question has to do with rhythmic complexity. It would be more confusing for me [...]

Continue reading...

Spice Up Simple Chord Progressions

23. October 2012

0 Comments

Let’s face it. Some pop tunes have very simple chord progressions. You can really get bored rolling through three chords for an entire tune. It is also not as interesting to listen to three root position chord, played in first position, over and over. Chord inversions are a simple way to spice up a simple [...]

Continue reading...

Adding a Moving Line to a Chord

15. October 2012

0 Comments

One of the things that can be boring about playing acoustic guitar is having to “hang” on one chord for a long period of time. You can create interest in a static chord by playing with a creative strumming pattern. Not a bad idea. Another way of creating interest is to add a moving line. [...]

Continue reading...

Responsibility vs. Opportunity

13. February 2012

0 Comments

I have been thinking about the words responsibility & opportunity for a few weeks. Too often we operate under the banner of responsibility. Responsibility is not an inviting word, it does not lead me to go above and beyond what I am responsible for. For example, since I bought a house I am suppose to [...]

Continue reading...

Becoming an Overnight Sensation

8. September 2010

0 Comments

I admit that I am a huge Robin Sharma fan.  Years ago I stumbled upon his blog, downloaded a few articles, and purchased his bestselling book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.  Sharma is a business coach/leadership guru and best-selling author (The Leader Who Had No Title is his latest book – highly recommend).  In [...]

Continue reading...