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Can a left handed guitar teacher teach a right handed student?

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 16:09:21 GMT

The 'mirror image' effect.

I was recently asked online if a left-handed guitar teacher can teach a right-handed student!?.
Initially I was quite shocked but then I thought about it and I guess it's a valid question, it's just that I'd never thought about it, ever.
This was my response.

"Absolutely!, in fact many of my students say the 'mirror image' effect actually helps them. More significantly, teaching guitar isn't much about the student copying the teacher's finger movements at all and much more about explaining concepts and theory, problem solving, inspiring with fresh ideas and insights and then demonstrating those things to the student to hear it in action. Any specifics to be physically played and practiced by the student are always written out with the fingering depicted very clearly where neccessary. There's no disadvantage whatsoever, in fact it has proven to be beneficial".

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Choosing Your First Guitar

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 12:21:16 GMT

What to prioritise and how to choose the right guitar for you!.

There is currently an overwhelming amount of choice when it comes to electric and acoustic guitars so how do you know which guitar to buy?, which is the right one for you?.

Whether you are thinking of purchasing an electric or acoustic guitar the overriding factor should be the ease of playing above and beyond sound and certainly looks. How comfortable the body shape sits with you is especially important if considering an acoustic as many acoustic body shapes are deep and wide causing extra physical effort on your part to play. This is not a problem for an experienced guitarist, but for a beginner it's an unnecessary potential hurdle which needn't be there. Steer in the direction of a slimline, small bodied guitar if possible.

Even more important is the feel of the neck. Does the guitar have a good fretboard 'action'. This is the distance of the strings to the frets.

This is the critical factor which determines how easy the instrument is to play. Learning to play and your guitar lessons should be fun and enjoyable and fighting with an instrument that has a poor action certainly is not so please pay attention to this when choosing.

Due to the above it's obvious how important it is to try guitars for yourself at a music store as opposed to just ordering something you like the look of on the internet!. Every individual instrument, even of the same brand and model can vary slightly so it's important to find the guitar that feels right to you in your hands. I would also strongly advise you pay no less than £100 if at all possible.

Reading reviews, checking forums and talking to people can all help towards making your decision and I'm sure there are many options out there I am not aware of. With so many products on the market it's not possible to know them all!.

I am not affiliated with any of the manufacturers below but from my experience I would point you in the direction of the following popular brands and models.

Electric Guitars

Yamaha Pacifica 012
Yamaha Pacifica 112
Epiphone Les Paul Special II
Epiphone Les Paul 100

Acoustic Guitars

Yamaha Harley Benton Custom Line CLD-15M
Yamaha FG830
Tanglewood TWCR-OE
Epiphone DR -100

If you are undecided whether to start on an electric or acoustic please click the link to read my blog post.

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Guitar Lessons for Beginners

Sat, 01 Aug 2020 17:02:15 GMT

Discover new ways to start learning guitar.

Throughout the entire time I have been teaching I've always given special consideration to complete beginners.

My experience in this area has enabled me to develop a vast amount of ideas and material for you to get started with immediately that actually work. I can show you many ways of producing exciting sounds with a minimum of knowledge or skill that will instill confidence. You can progress immediately where previously you may have been discouraged. These are original ideas you will not find in a tutorial.

Overcoming common struggles

There are common struggles for novice guitar players. I will show you how to overcome these with ease. From lesson one you will be able to play a small section of one of your favourite songs or guitar riffs. There seems to be a widely held belief that as a beginner the first thing you would learn might be a simple song with two or three chords. For someone entirely new to the instrument, changing from one basic chord shape to another, especially in time, can be an ordeal. If you are already familiar with this issue you will know just how frustrating it can be. I can show you a way to overcome this so fast that providing you practice you will be playing many simple songs in a few lessons.

Play the music you want to play from the start

Another myth is that being a complete beginner means that you will have to endure your first lessons comprising of music that might be of little interest to you, eg " Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ". This is absolutely untrue!
Direct me to whatever music, artists, and styles interest you and I'll be able to quickly work out a version that suits your ability. I will then write it out clearly in tablature and explain in detail exactly how to play it.
You do not have to be able to read music, or learn to read music in order to learn how to play the guitar. If you are unfamiliar with the tab system I will teach you this as part of your first lesson. Whatever your preferred choice of music, this is where we'll begin.

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Effective Practice

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 16:48:38 GMT

A guitar practice method that really works!.

The advice outlined below is based upon 30 years of teaching and observing the almost universally common psychology of the aspiring guitar student. It has been quite amazing to see over all these years that there is one common factor that prevents rapid progress.
So common in fact because it is simply due to human nature. If we want something, we tend to want it now or even yesterday.
The desire and hunger to play the guitar well, as soon as possible, although entirely understandable, can actually be the very thing that is holding you back. It will inevitiably make you try to run before you can walk. Yes , I know that is a huge cliche but please read on.
How many times have you looked at an example of guitar tab and began to attempt to play it before you have truly absorbed the information on the page?. What did it sound like?

How many times did you repeat this action?, or maybe I should ask how much time did you waste?.

"You cannot play what you do not know".

Jumping in like this leads to the essential elements required to achieve your goal to be completely ignored and sacrificed, making the whole process needlessly longwinded and very frustrating, for you and also for whoever might be listening to you!.
The essential elements I mentioned are Accuracy and Timing / Rythym.
Without these there is no music.

The following simple steps will enable you to achieve the desired goal of learning to play anything you want perfectly and is the shortest route to get there.

Follow these 5 steps for a perfect guitar practice routine

1. When looking at tab or notation for the first time, only consider a small section at a time, maybe just one or two bars. Study every detail. Familiarize yourself with all the movements you will need to make BEFORE making a sound on your guitar. Only when you are certain of exactly what you are meant to be doing, proceed to try and play it

2 . At first, you must play everything slowly. If something is new to you, it is impossible to play accurately at speed. If you approach the task with haste you will almost inevitably make mistakes. Therefore you are practicing mistakes

3 . Accuracy is everything. Accuracy requires focus and patience. Once you are able to play something truly accurately, it is relatively very easy to gradually increase the tempo to the desired speed. Basically you are speeding up something that you have previously, fully learnt how to do. Try doing this the other way around and it will enevitably fail.

4 . Practice everything to a consistent beat. If possible use a metronome or a drum machine, count in your head, tap your foot, or both
Do not ignore this and play the sections you find easy, faster than the trickier parts. Do you recognise yourself in the previous statement?.
Remain focused on consistent tempo, relax and listen to the sound you are making. Possibly ask yourself, “If someone else was playing this, would I enjoy listening to it?".

5. Now very importantly, play the phrase you are working on over and over, to that consistent tempo so as to create a loop
Leave a one or two bar pause of silence between each attempt. This creates a solid structure for you to work with as opposed to an erratic, frustrating, haphazard and I suspect non productive approach. Within a short space of time if you are doing all of the above you should find you are playing the music perfectly .

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Acoustic or Electric?

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 16:47:17 GMT

Is it true you should start learning on an acoustic guitar?

As a beginner this is probably the first question you may ask. There is a widely held belief that you must begin on an acoustic guitar and only when you have mastered the basics on an acoustic might you progress onto electric guitar. In my opinion this is untrue.

Unless you are solely interested in acoustic music, there is no reason not to begin on an electric guitar should you so wish. There are some advantages. Electric guitars tend to be more comfortable to work with due to the slim body design and a low action. The "action" of a guitar is the distance between the strings and the fretboard. The better the action, the easier it is to play. This is important. Why make life harder than it need be?. Electric guitars also tend to have slimmer necks which may be an advantage to some people. That is not to say all acoustic guitars are hard work. Guitar design has improved immeasurably and there are many modestly priced acoustic instruments now available that are wonderful in sound quality and playability.

I strongly recommend you play as many different guitars as you can and compare. All guitars feel slightly different and one may feel just that little bit easier to get on with than another. This is the instrument you should buy. Playability should be the priority above sound or looks
So, acoustic or electric? Ultimately it comes down to the sound you prefer and the music you want to play. Both instruments are wonderful in their own right and both are suitable for a beginner.