By Duane Shinn
It’s no secret that virtually everyone loves music in some form or other. After all, music is the universal language. In one way or another we all participate in it from our cradle song to our wedding song to our funeral song, with thousands of other stops along the way.
The country-western fan may not like jazz, but he or she sure loves the sound of pickin’ & grinnin.’
And that’s as it should be. If we all liked the same kind of music, there just wouldn’t be the variety that is available to us now. We can choose from musical styles ranging from heavy classical and opera to rock to children’s songs to Broadway musicals to gospel music to the blues.
Each has its place, and each seems on the surface to be drastically different than another form of music. The key word is “on the surface.” But beneath the surface of all music is a commonality that is organic to all forms and styles of music. Read more »
You need to have a strong will power to learn guitar. You need to stick to it and have a lot of patience to learn it.
1. Decide how you are going to learn and stick to it.
If you have a guitar learning book then use it and follow it exactly. If you are attending lessons then do exactly as you are taught. Once you have made your mind up HOW you are going to learn, then follow the procedures exactly.
2. Know and plan for what you are going to do each session. Read more »
By Edward Weiss
Have you ever been told that you were good at something but not good enough to make it a career or life ambition? Especially with music, if you’re passion is music you are hopelessly outnumbered right from the beginning.
“You better have a back-up job” or “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” are common refrains heard from well meaning adults who inadvertently had their dreams crushed out of them.
The world has more than enough computer programmers and engineers and these professions are well paying ones. What are we musicians to do? Well, for one thing we can forget about needing “talent” to make it.
What is talent anyway but a person’s ability to connect with his or her audience. You might think that talent means technical proficiency. You couldn’t be more wrong. Read more »
Imagine asking a beginning writer to write a short story from scratch. Our writer does not yet have much experience in writing but accepts the challenge and begins to plunge ahead.
He has to start somewhere so he begins to examine how to construct a short story. He learns all about plot, character, and structure and now believes he is ready to begin writing.
As soon as he begins to write, he discovers something. He can’t move forward. He is blocked. What’s the problem? He knows how to construct a short story and should be able to forge ahead right?
The problem is he has not allowed his “voice” to unfold naturally. His internal critic is blocking the natural voice inside his head and the pen stops cold. What to do? Read more »
The very first step toward learning to play acoustic guitar is to develop confidence and to destroy that “I can’t do it” mentality. Your biggest obstacle in your acoustic guitar playing is not going to be money, time, or the absence of a good teacher.
The biggest obstacle is going to be you. You are your own worst enemy. Once you learn how to tame the negativity inside, you will be that much closer to becoming a good acoustic guitar player.
Frustration is normal during the learning process. Learning anything new is not meant to be easy. Resistance is what helps us grow. So the next time you are working on a scale, or chord progression, and you find yourself fumbling or messing up, don’t throw down the guitar with frustration, instead welcome the challenge and have patience in it.
Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Read more »
Arts, Entertainment and Music, Music Theory | TipsForTheBand.com March 15, 2009 | 
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