Talent is a topic that is difficult to pin down. The fact is that talent is a fact in retrospect. After you’ve developed it, it becomes obvious that you have it. The problem is that talent itself is a lot like oil. You’re not sure it’s there unless you drill for it. Drilling for oil [...]
The issue of picking has been debated for years with opinions on all sides. Picking gets down to pairs: 2 downs, 2 ups, 1 down and 1 up and 1 up and 1 down.
Alternate picking is typically used for 2 notes on 1 string. Consecutive picking is used to transition from string to string when [...]
Practice is necessary to develop the skills required to pursue music successfully. But practice can also be a crutch – a delay tactic. Just as many people continue their college educations to avoid the necessity of getting a job – of facing the real world. It can be the same in music. You’re “never” ready. [...]
Practice is that inevitable “dues-paying” time that everyone must invest to pursue music. In the self study approach, the most difficult aspect of practice is the organization of musical and technical principles. Too often the player works in circles not really progressing, not knowing what to practice. Becoming aware of this lack of progress, he [...]
I receive many questions on sight reading. The implication is that it is a special skill with tricks. The reality is that sight reading is nothing but a high level of reading. Guitar players are infamous for their lack of reading skills. Starting with sight reading is akin to wanting to go for your Doctorate [...]
Students seem to think that they should be above low points of practice enthusiasm. They are perhaps unknowingly denying their own humanness. No one is perfectly consistent. Musicians are not machines. There will be peak periods and the opposite. The true measure of one’s potential is not the consistency of highs but rather the ability [...]
It’s commonly believed that teaching and performing are mutually exclusive. Not so!
Each of these pursuits is an outlet for creativity. They are separate but interrelated.
The effort and energy required to pursue two fields is certainly greater than the effort required to pursue one field. But it can be done. Typically, anyone involved [...]
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