Obscure Guitar Links

I'm always looking around the web for guitar stuff (so busy, devoted readers of my humble blog won't have to) and lots of times I find things that would be very helpful to guitar players. Also I find things that anyone can enjoy. Today I thought I'd share a few, some aimed at students, and some for general listening pleasure:

Music Theory for Experienced Guitar Players — In spite of the word "Experienced" in the title, this is a pretty good site for anyone who wants to learn the rudiments of music theory as it relates to guitar:

http://www.zentao.com/guitar/theory/

The C-A-G-E-D system is a method for learning the fretboard. It is a guitar-specific system for learning the shapes of the basic chords C, A, G, E and D on the guitar and how they interrelate. Here is a site that explains its fundamentals:

http://www.cagedguitarsystem.net/

And another in a little more detail:

http://www.highcountryguitar.com/caged.htm

Dutch guitar player Matt Otten is kind enough to put jazz guitar lessons on youtube. He has a lot of good pointers for improvisation. There are good things here for students and also just for general listening:

http://youtube.com/user/mattotten

Another Youtuber, Swedish Guitarist Per-Olov Kindgren has a very nice way with the guitar. His videos can be enjoyed by guitarists and non-guitarists alike:

http://youtube.com/user/AndanteLargo

This is a piece, performed by Mr. Kindgren, I had never heard entitled Arroyos de la Alhambra (the link is to a zip file of the sheet music that you can download), by 19th century Spanish guitarist and composer Angel Barrios. I liked it so much that I found the music on the web and learned it. I taught it to super-student Sean Morse (who learned it by rote, believe it or not) and now plays it at least as well as I do (should I be mad or excited?). Still, I get great comments about it on my gigs now. It's a beauty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz1jnDe4gTE

Another Dutch player Hans Van Leeuwen, here plays something he calls Django — Jazz Meets Flamenco. The tune was written by jazz giant, pianist John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet. I just stumbled on it and thought it was great:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4566DWMbyIM

I hope you'll write and tell me your thoughts about any of these, or make suggestions about others I should include in my blog.

Reader/guitarist Lyle Robinson has asked that I add this site and his blog. There's lots of really good information here:

http://www.jazzguitarlife.com/

http://www.jazzguitarlife.com/blog/

"Make Haste Slowly"

I got an email from a prospective student today with a common problem that many of you may recognize. Here is the original letter (with name changed) and part of my response:

Hi Herb,

Thanks for the reply. I am self taught and been playing for 12 years with all the books and a few lessons. I have been tinkering with Leyenda and Bourre in e minor for years and can do bits and pieces but would love to master them someday.

Ron

Ron,

I know just where you're coming from when you say you know bits and pieces of certain pieces, without learning them in their entirety. I'm just guessing that you've kind of "plateau-ed" in your learning and playing. This happens with a lot of people who study classical guitar and is perfectly normal. I think I can be a lot of help with that. I've been doing straight guitar gigs -- all guitar solos, no singing -- of three to four hours for many years. I did a three hour gig last night with no music in front of me. I don't tell you this to toot my own horn, but only to convey that i know how to learn an entire piece, without the understandable frustration that can build up with practicing a piece over and over without seeing any real progress in learning the entire piece. Honestly, you're just the kind of student I'm looking for.

Sincerely, Herb.

Whether you're playing the classical guitar, or your favorite songs, knowing bits and pieces of music without being able to play them all the way through is a common problem. With all the new instructions, ideas and thoughts that go into programming the brain to learn the motor-memory that it takes to learn an entire piece — oh, and with good hand positioning and technique, keeping it in time and trying to be musical — it's easy to be overwhelmed. When I learn a new piece, I go about it the same way I would if I were a beginner — I play it so slowly that I can't possibly make a mistake. It works every time and has the great added benefit of helping one towards the ideal of total concentration. Once you can do this it's only a matter of speeding up incrementally — but again at a very slow rate. You've probably heard the phrase "Make haste slowly". It certainly applies here. I've tried to learn pieces too quickly before and have always been dogged afterwards with spotty performances of the particular piece. Sometimes when I feel "hot" I may get through it okay, but at other times being sloppy and unsure. Whenever I take the trouble of "making haste slowly", as partially defined above (and as I always do now), I learn much more quickly(!) in the long run, and am much more prepared to pull it off when I have to on a gig. It's a tortoise and hare story. The tortoise wins every time.

Guitar Instruction

Recently I've had a few people contact me about guitar lessons. I had given guitar lessons in the past but hadn't taught in a number of years, concentrating mainly on practice and performance. I was once a guitar instructor at Tidewater Community College for music majors. A couple of months ago I decided to start taking on students and I've had a great time teaching. So far I've been blessed with students who actually practice and listen to instruction well and I'm seeing great improvement. It has had unforeseen benefits for me as well. My own focus in my playing has improved sharply. It has gotten me to "practice what I preach" and has helped me become a better "practicer" and ergo, a better player.

I think of my style of teaching as intuitive and it is based on teaching students to learn to really focus on what they are doing. It sounds simple, and it is, but how often do we really focus in our day to day lives? It takes practice, but it is applicable to any aspect of life. I recently read an article by web guitar guru Jamie Andreas on what she calls "perfect intention". Perfect Intention, as she describes it is hearing music "being played by someone who is investing every particle of themselves into every note, the totality of their physical, mental, and emotional selves". That's a pretty heady statement and it describes well the kind of focus I'm taking about. If you'd like to read Jamie's full article, click here.

I truly believe that anyone can learn to play guitar and I base my teaching on aiming for this kind of perfect focus and applying it to the guitar. If it has a spillover effect on other aspects of your life, so much the better. Learning the guitar is a lifelong experience. A very fun and rewarding lifelong experience. If you really want to learn to play the guitar and this brief description of my approach appeals to you, I hope you'll contact me.