I wish I would have stuck with or learned how to play the guitar when I was a kid!

Does that sound like you? More an more men and women in their 40’s and 50’s are picking up a guitar and learning how to play guitar. Some are starting from scratch, others have put it down to pursure careers and families, and now have the itch to play again. Whether you’re 15 or 50, rank beginner or semi-skilled, you’ve probably looked around the internet to see what online guitar lessons are all about. Here are some things to look for.

There’s of course, no substitute for private lessons, but that can be expensive and inconvenient. Online materials are getting better and better. If you’re seriously looking to learn how to play the guitar, you should be able to find just what you need.

Griff has been a professional touring musician and guitar teacher for the last 20 years.You can sign up for free Guitar Tips at http://www.griffhamlin.com/Tips-List

Having been a guitar player for over 20 years, I am often amazed at the number of guitarists that have never taken the time to learn the notes on their fretboard. I have met guitar players that gig on a regular basis, and yet are unable to find a C# on the 3rd string, an A natural on the 4th string or an F natural on any string! Little do they know that by learning this one simple thing, their playing and enjoyment of the instrument will increase ten fold!

It was while studying at the Guitar Institute in London that I first realised that many players do not develop this part of their playing. This realisation prompted me to want to find a way that guitar players could learn this simple thing with the minimum of effort. Some of them could play every guitar solo Jimi Hendrix recorded, yet couldn’t name one single note!

My feeling was that most guitar players just didn’t want to spend time on something that they felt wouldn’t benefit them that much. Unless their practice time resulted in them learning a flash guitar lick they just didn’t want to know. Always one for a challenge, I decided it was my duty to show these poor souls the light. How would I do that?

I decided to use my good friend, Paul, as a guinea pig. Although he played quite well, he, like countless others, hadn’t learnt his fretboard. I asked him why. His reply went something like this: Why would I want to spend time learning the notes on the fretboard when I could be working on a Jimi Hendrix solo? No, it’s not for me, it just seems like so much effort for nothing. I’d rather learn a new chord shape or a hot guitar lick. I honestly don’t see the point.

Paul’s response was pretty much the same as the other people I asked. Waste of time, one said. I’ll probably get round to it one day, chirped another. Little did any of these people know, familiarising themselves with their fretboard would not only improve their guitar playing it would DRAMATICALLY improve their musicianship!! I set to work on Paul.

I wrote out a diagram of the fretboard with 12 frets and 6 strings. I then wrote in all the notes and handed it to Paul. What do you want me to do with this? he asked. I want you to learn it, I replied. Take it home, study it, and then let me give you a test. He wasn’t overly keen on doing this, but I managed to persuade him. I gave him two weeks to learn it all. He placed the sheet into his guitar case and took it away with him.

It was actually three weeks later that I next saw Paul. How did you get on with the fretboard study,? I asked him. Ok, he replied. Right, let me test you. Paul took out his guitar and placed it on his knee. Ok, an easy one to start. Show me an A on the 6th string. Paul thought for approx 15 to 20 seconds and then successfully placed his finger on the 5th fret. I congratulated him, Well done Let’s try another. Show me where to find an E flat on the 3rd string. Paul’s face sank. He thought about it, and then he thought some more, and then, he played me……F sharp! I was disappointed. Wrong! Let’s try another one. How about D on the 2nd string? This is quite an easy one, but once again, after some thought, Paul failed to find D. Ok, a C natural on the 3rd sring. Once again Paul couldn’t do it. I asked him why. Well, I did try, but it is just too mind numbingly boring. It’ll take ages for me to learn the whole neck, Paul complained. Now I couldn’t let this go. It wasn’t a light hearted challenge any more. Paul was going to learn the fretboard whether he liked it or not.

I set to work on an instructional booklet that would make learning the fretboard easy and fun. I also knew that I had to make it motivational and inspiring. I worked hard typing up the study. In 5 days I had a rough copy. I printed it off and took it round to Paul’s house. Not again, muttered Paul when I handed him the booklet. Just humour me, and give it one more go, I pleaded. He reluctantly agreed. I didn’t want to push my luck too much, so I quickly left and wished him well.

Four days later there was a loud knock on my front door. Ok, ok, I yelled as I rushed to answer it. As I pulled open the door, I found an extremely excited Paul with his guitar case in hand. Test me again, he demanded. He pushed past me to the living room and opened up his case. Go on, ask me any note on any string. I sat down and called out G flat on the 3rd string. The words had no sooner left my lips when Paul was on the 11th fret playing me the requested note. And another, my friend requested confidently. Ok, C sharp same string. Paul played the C sharp. I then asked for a D on the 1st string, an F sharp on the 2nd, a C on the 4th. Paul played each one without any hesitation. What do you think about that? he asked smugly. Oh no, I thought, I?ve created a monster!!!!

Paul then went on to play notes all over the neck, calling them out as they sounded. I couldn’t believe it, I knew my fretboard study was good but I didn’t expect these results. Paul was delighted. He thanked me for the study, and also for encouraging him to master his fretboard. He said he now knew what I had meant when I told him how much this knowledge would improve his playing. That study is dynamite, he told me. Maybe he had a point.

Now, a few years down the line, I realise just how true Paul’s words were. The study IS dynamite. I have used it with many of my students and they have all reported results that are equally as impressive as Paul’s. After much encouragement from my students and friends, I have now decided to make it available worldwide. For the small price of ?5.00 (five pounds), you too can experience what Paul did all those years ago, and also what countless other people are experiencing today. If you are serious about being a guitar player you really need to know your fretboard. Visit our website at www.jack-sky.com for your copy of this great ebook. You will not be disappointed.

Improve today – Grab the Fretboard Master!

Peter Jones is the Managing Director of Jack Sky Ltd. Based in the great city of Liverpool, Jack Sky is committed to providing 1st class guitar tutorials to all of its customers. A warm welcome awaits you at http://www.jack-sky.com

I’ve overheard teenage musicians mention casually they are considering teaching music to make extra money. I am compelled to butt in, “Do you enjoy teaching?” the answer I interrupt with “Are you patient?” Their response: “Like, I play wicked, teaching will be an easy gig.”

My response: maniacal laughter.

Teens, let us hear the wise old violin teacher preaching a holy sermon from atop a glorious mountain of experience: Teaching music isn’t a luxurious life of sleeping in late, illuminating the unquestioning minds of flocking prodigies through 30-minute jam sessions and writing off all your music gear and fast food meals come tax time. Lord have mercy on our souls.

Simply put, teaching music is weekly customer service, with occasional late night support calls when the instrument falls out of tune or the player is struggling. A teacher is dealing with customers who are exploring new ground, hence requiring lessons in the first place, and is responsible for helping advance them into musicians who no longer require our services.

Sounds easy, except that the most trying aspect of customer service is, oddly enough, the customer. The human collective is a random grab-bag of mixed egos and inhibitions, fears and potential, attitudes and limitations. Even the ideal customer, who listens closely, asks exactly the right questions and retains everything they have ever been taught, cannot master music in an afternoon. (At least we teachers have a semblance of job security).

Music, a vast system of pitch, velocity and rhythm that can take a lifetime to understand, has been further complicated with pedagogy. There are more styles to teach violin than there are ways to cook an egg. Each method claims theirs is the most effective way to master the instrument, they have countless scientific studies to prove it and please enter your credit card number here.

A teacher has to weed through the dogmatic hype and come out with a cohesive teaching concept that jives with their own approach to playing and learning. They also have to understand their instrument inside and out, keeping in mind a clear idea how and when to introduce new concepts as to not overwhelm the student. After carefully formulating a perfect lesson plan, the teacher will then scrap it all and reinvent their method when it inevitably doesn’t fit the student’s learning style.

A good teacher is not locked into one method or way of explaining ideas. Instead they receive feedback from the player and interpret it into a lesson that will make an impact.

What makes the most impact, you ask? Repetition. Repetition. Then you do it again. Detach yourself from how many times you’ve played “Fur Elise” or corrected that particular eighth note. There are pin-sized holes in my eardrums from “Twinkle Twinkle” and I develop an itchy rash prior to our annual Christmas recital, but I’ve found a Zen peace in accepting my fate.

I see each lesson as a new chapter in the life of a musician I am helping along. With experience, lessons have developed their own rhythm and my teaching days swoop past me.

The repetition can get to some people, like the crusty old piano teacher, the one everyone seems to have had as a child, who wielded a nasty ruler for discipling unwanted notes. I knew a guy in high school who whacked his violin students on the head with his bow whenever he, the teacher, became frustrated.

A teacher cannot crack when the student plays the wrong note for the hundredth time, so impatient musicians must carefully consider their suitability as teachers. “Penny whistle teacher needed: Psychopaths with Intermittent Explosive Disorder need not apply.”

Instead of whopping students with a pernambuco stick with hair, my aforementioned colleague could have channeled his infinite aggression into another enjoyable branch in the music industry, such as fending off broken beer bottles at the country bar or smashing double-neck guitars for screaming mobs at GM Place. Last I heard he’s still teaching at the music store, but has invested in a heavy carbon bow and a cocktail of barbiturates.

Once a player has established that teaching is a good direction to take and they have passed all the inkblot exams without incident, he or she needs to lay down a teaching foundation. Selecting a method book to use is one thing, but the teacher needs to develop a mission statement and their goals in teaching.

My mission focuses on two words: Inspiration and Encouragement. My goals include “music as a life experience” and sharing my love for violin among friends. The mission statement and goals serve as a guide whenever I am faced with a decision or problem in my work, it’s sort of an operations manual for my business. And that’s what teaching music really is: a business.

I urge all musicians who plan to make their music more than a hobby to take business classes on marketing and promotion, finances and taxes, and business plans. Learn to promote yourself because no one will know who you are if you just sit at home chatting on MSN. Keep good financial records so you are prepared for tax season. There are far too many exceptional musicians, performers and teachers who are stuck on the dole or playing for the coming and going liquor store clientèle due to poor business practices.

You don’t have to be a marketing whiz or a lawyer, though your mother would prefer such a career change so she can have her basement back. Just learn enough to keep yourself out of trouble with the tax man and to maintain a full compliment of paying, regular students. For more guidance I suggest the book “Making Money Teaching Music” by David and Barbara Newsam, available for a free read through the Okanagan Library system.

It seems to be an oxymoron, but it is possible to make money teaching music! So teenage musicians, nod your head, say “yes Rhiannon,” and do exactly everything I have ordained in the article above, then watch the money pour into your bank account.

Hallelujah!

And try not to spend it all at the music store filling the blank slots in your gear rack.

Amen.

**Rhiannon Schmitt (nee Nachbaur) is a professional violinist and music teacher who has enjoyed creative writing for years. She currently writes columns for two Canadian publications and has been featured in Australia’s Music Teacher Magazine.

Rhiannon (age 29, she’s not really old) has worn the hats of businesswoman, performer, events promoter, classical music radio host, school orchestra music arranger and music columnist in rural British Columbia, Canada.

Her business, Fiddleheads Violin School & Shop, has won several distinguished young entrepreneur business awards for her comittment to excellence. Her shop offers beginner to professional level instruments, accessories and supplies. http://www.fiddleheads.ca provides a rich resource of information on her school, violin, products for sale and more.

Rhiannon is also Founding President of the Shuswap Violin Society. http://www.violinsociety.ca She dedicates much of her time to community music projects and helping young musicians.

We’ve all been there – soon after we get hold of our first guitar we know that to play anything people are actually going to listen to we need to learn a few chords. These first few chords for most beginners end up being the open position chords, down at the first few frets.

Soon, we begin to associate these basic chords with shapes – E, A, D, C and G shapes. These 5 shapes are way more fundamental than we initially think, because once it comes to mastering the dreaded F chord, or more accurately, the E-shape barre, we immediately feel liberated – we can now create major and minor chord variations up and down the neck.

Some stop there. Some may even go on to realize the A shape barre (based on the A string) can widen our scope of tone and voicing that little bit more. True, these two movable shapes are indeed enough for most of today’s middle-of-the-road rock music. You can write great songs with a mix of the 5 open position shapes, and these two barre shapes, even epics!

But why stop there? Why limit yourself at all? There’s so much more to discover on the fretboard. Different voicings – voicings that can make a chord on its own sound 10 times more intricately lush. The truth is, as guitarists get into their 2nd year of playing, these fixed form chords begin to sound, well…a little dull.

Too many guitarists are missing out on producing music that will astound themselves, let alone others, because of their love affair with the quick-reference chord chart, learning parrot fashion, shrugging off any understanding of what that chord would sound like voiced…here and knowing your several options.

You may be thinking this sounds complicated, where do I go from here? What do I need to learn to be able to think outside the box when it comes to constructing interesting chords?

Two words that will make some jump into their guitar case – chord theory

Chord theory is a subject area of guitar that doesn’t necessarily have to be pretentious, elitist or just for jazz/classical guitarists. Explained and learned the right way, knowing some basic guitar chord theory can open up a songwriting factory in your head, producing its goods right on your guitar.

There are 5 steps you need to go through to reach your guitar chord nirvana (and I DON’T mean the band!), the first 3 you probably already have…

1) Learn the 5 barre chord shapes (E, A, C, D and G)

2) Learn the major scale in 8 (yes, eight) different positions based around these barre shapes

3) Use your knowledge of the major scale to create triads, 7ths and extended chords in several positions on the fretboard. This is the foundation for building unique and interesting chord voicings.

4) Use your knowledge of chord construction to create unique chord voicings with inversions all over the fretboard.

5) Don’t forget to float chords occasionally with open strings.

Once you invest a little of your practice time learning chord theory basics (it doesn’t take long to pick up), you’ll start to investigate the fretboard as second nature. You’ll come up with chord progressions and really use your ears to identify the right chord for the change. Your playing will open up to a diverse range of styles.

Most of all though, creating unique original music that is truly you won’t be limited by the size of a chord chart – it will only be limited by the 6 strings on your guitar.

Mike Beatham runs a website with the easiest to follow guitar lessons on the web. Get your chord theory to really sink in and finally open up your playing at http://www.audio-guitar-lessons.com/guitar-chord-theory.html.

Whether you are considering a teacher for yourself or your child, a music teacher needs to have the right balance of likeability and strictness. This is crucial. Friendly teachers without firmness or insistence lack the ability to push students in the right direction with the benevolent detachment that is required. And stern teachers with no ability to show a friendly side can make the learning experience too intimidating.

If the instructor you are searching for is intended for your son or daughter, you need to be aware of how your child works with different types of personalities. While adults can often respect a person they don?t care much for, some children find it hard to make that distinction. They respect whom they like, and they like whom they respect. If they find a tutor to be unlikable as a person, they will have difficulty learning from that individual. I have witnessed over the years many students who have struggled with their private teacher. And with children, the results of a bad student-teacher relationship can be disastrous. I know students, some with promising careers ahead of them, who gave up their instrument because they didn?t like their teacher. They didn?t just give up the teacher ? they gave up everything to do with music! So it is very important to choose a private teacher wisely.

Private instructors who are accepting students usually make their availability known through bulletin boards in malls and at local schools, by word of mouth, or by advertisement in a newspaper. In larger towns or cities, the choices are numerous. How can you filter through all of the ads to find the right teacher? There are some guidelines:

? References

- Never choose a teacher without getting a list of references. If a teacher does not offer to provide references, avoid that one. Be sure to call at least two references.

- Ask the reference about the teacher?s rapport with their son or daughter, strictness (strictness is good, but must be tempered with kindness) and reliability (does the teacher make a habit of canceling lessons, etc.)

? Program

- Ask the teacher about the program of study. It is important that a teacher be at least somewhat interested in the student?s interests. But at the same time, a good teacher will insist that certain techniques will need to be mastered no matter what style the student eventually specializes in. (Rock & roll pianists need to learn their scales as much as classical pianists.) Teachers who are too accommodating (?Oh, I?ll teach whatever you want me to teach??) should be avoided.

- An instructor should show interest, and have some expertise, in a student?s particular stylistic concentration. If you are interested in jazz, but your teacher knows nothing about it, look for a different teacher.

? Policy regarding missed lessons.

- If the TEACHER misses a lesson: Most teachers who miss lessons will offer to make them up at a later date. A good teacher will minimize this circumstance. If the teacher is a busy performer/ clinician, they need to be upfront regarding the possibility of missed lessons. This is something you can discuss with the teacher and ask references about as well.

- If the STUDENT misses a lesson: You need to expect that a good teacher will be (and should be) intolerant of habitual absenteeism. If you are finding a teacher for yourself, ensure that you have made these lessons a priority, and that you have set aside the agreed lesson time. If your child is the student, a good teacher will guard that lesson time jealously. It is not usually acceptable to cancel lessons because of a birthday party, sporting event or other social activity. Hiring a private instructor means devoting time to that weekly lesson and keeping absenteeism to a bare minimum.

Some other bits of advice: While it is possible to ?interview? a potential teacher over the phone, I would recommend arranging to meet if possible. You will get a better handle on their personality and demeanor, and this is so important.

You will need to discuss price. There tends to be a ?going rate? for private instructors, and this will vary from one area to another. Perhaps you know of others who are studying privately; you might be able to contact them to get a ballpark figure. Teachers will usually offer half hour, forty-five minute, or full hour lessons. For very young children a half hour is sufficient. Forty-five minutes is great for middle school-aged children (12 ? 15 years of age), and hour-long lessons are a good choice for older students.

Some teachers will request payment in advance while others will accept payment per lesson. Though most have developed a payment policy over the years, some can be somewhat flexible, so don?t be afraid to discuss it with them openly. There are many instructors who have been ?burned? in the past by students who have forgotten to pay, so you can expect such teachers to have fairly exacting payment terms.

People hire private instructors because they want to go further than they might go in a class situation. If you aren?t ready to commit to the time to practice (at least forty-five minutes per day, or more for some instruments), private lessons may be a waste of time and money. Students preparing for university study in music should certainly be considering private instruction for at least the year prior to the audition. The private teacher can ensure that students know what is expected of them on a university-level playing test, and can suggest appropriate repertoire for the audition. And you will love the advancement that comes with private instruction.

Gary Ewer is a veteran music teacher, clinician, composer and arranger. He is most well known as the author of The Essential Secrets of Songwriting and Gary Ewer’s Easy Music Theory.

Gary has taught music to students of every age group, from five-year-olds in elementary school, through to university-level musicians. This enormously wide- ranging scope has given him a unique perspective on how people learn. Teaching is his passion. He is in demand as an adjudicator, clinician, conductor and composer. His music has been commissioned and performed by ensembles from amateur level through to professional, including the world-renowned Elmer Isler Singers, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Symphony Nova Scotia, and others.

He currently teaches orchestration, theory, ear training and choral conducting at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Playing guitar requires a technique that is uniquely different from an instrument such as piano. Think about this for example, you can drop a roll of quarters on a piano and get a clean crisp sound out of the keys. The guitar requires a little more finesse with both hands in order to get notes to sound (other than the open strings). Most beginning guitar players focus most of their attention on the left hand (or fretting hand for you lefties), and rightly so. The left hand needs to learn the grid pattern of the fretboard ? where the notes are, where to hold your thumb, how much to squeeze down etc. For the most part, their right hand just holds a pick and swipes away at the strings with little regard to control.

A strong right hand is essential to becoming a complete guitarist. The right hand is the key factor in controlling dynamics, tempo, and clarity. If you want to increase your right hand control and accuracy, practice scales, arpeggios and chord rhythms with palm muting. By palm muting, you are ?training? your right hand to be where you want it to be at all times. Make sure each note comes out equal. Don?t go so fast that you can?t hear each note clearly, you may be over-muting or not muting enough. It may be tricky at first, but stick to it.

Here are some ideas to get you started. First, keep in mind that there are no rules in playing music or guitar. However, as my students know, I do create ?temporary rules? for the sake of developing certain techniques or theory knowledge. So, for now, let?s make alternate picking a temporary rule. Downbeats will get down-picks, and upbeats will get up-picks when playing eighth notes. When playing sixteenth notes, the first sixteenth gets a down-pick, two is up, three is down and four is up. Discover different rhythmic variations of eighths and sixteenths, use strict alternate picking and of course palm mute all of your notes. Palm muting should sound like the notes are muffled, not choked off.

This practice strategy is great for acoustic as well as electric players. Work palm muting into your daily practice schedule for at least 14 practice days. When done properly, you will start to notice a great improvement in your overall dexterity!

John Maurice Doyle is a top Elite Performance and Guitar Coach in Los Angeles, California. His clients have included A list Hollywood celebrities, international rock stars, and hundreds of pro artists. He is the owner of Green Monster Music and creator of the internationally acclaimed Monster Guitar Method interactive guitar instructional DVD series. Visit http://www.greenmonstermusic.com and download your free guitar lesson and listen to his Guitar Monster Podcasts (also available on iTunes).

http://www.greenmonstermusic.com