Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Being Logical and Taking Your Time
It happened again the other night, a student who "wants guidance" but doesnt recognize it when hes getting it. Heres what he needs to be looking for and listening to.
Why do we play songs at the lesson?
The best thing a music teacher can do for you is listen to you play, then play the song with you. This helps you learn to make music with other people, understand why timing is important, and it helps you get over nervousness/stage fright. Yes, I know, you play better at home. THATS WHY IM PLAYING TOO!
I cant make the song sound like the recording.
The recording has been made by professional musicians with thousands of dollars worth of equipment. In addition there is more than one guitar on the record and someone is singing or otherwise providing the melody. Youre supposed to be playing rhythm guitar which means keeping a steady beat. A common beginner mistake is to try to strum with the phrasing of the tune to the song instead of a straight rhythm part.
Beware the evils of internet overload.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record about this point, watching You Tube videos of a "guitar teacher" showing you how to strum, how to play chords or whatever, you have no idea whos teaching you. He or she may know exactly what theyre doing, or, they may not be a much better player than you are. Keep in mind that a good guitar player isnt necessarily a good teacher.
Take your time and learn it right.
The key to learning guitar is not multi-tasking. My emphasis is on teaching and learning each technique as a separate function. Dont worry about palm muting if you cant change chords in time. Dont worry about complex strumming patterns until you can play the song up to speed.
Summing it all up.
Learning to play guitar or any other instrument is a time art. Hurrying through so you can learn the next technique catches up to you in the long run. In the words of Ringo Starr: "You know it dont come easy."
