No matter what age, guitar remains the symbol of cool, hip – whatever new adjective strikes you.

It’s musical potential is virtually unlimited since it’s capable of playing chords, notes and everything in between. It also dominates country, bluegrass, rock, pop, folk, blues etc. Even in the jazz and classical field, guitar continues to make inroads into territory formerly controlled by more traditional instruments.

The guitar is the instrument of choice for song writers and performers in all musical idioms. It can be strummed, finger picked or played with a combination of all of these techniques and more.

From very simple beginnings, the guitar can grow into an instrument of tremendous subtlety, sophistication and complexity. But only if you want it to. Like a faithful pet, it never complains and lets you decide how far you want to go with it. For many. the relationship they have with their guitar is longer lasting and deeper than any relationship they’ve ever had with a person.

There is always a new place to go with the guitar. The jazz guitar often offers the next plateau for players that have been involved with rock, pop, blues for many years but are looking for something more. That something more could be more advanced chords, scales and techniques than are typically available in contemporary music. Certainly, it was the instrument’s unlimited potential that drew me to it and kept me involved in it and with it for my entire career.

The guitar spans a huge range of musical styles from rock to country to flamenco music. Though each of these musical idioms use the it prominently, they all use the same instrument to create wildly different sounds. Though the guitar has been around since the 1500s, it has undergone several big transformations during its history. The development of the electric guitar is an obvious mutation and has had a huge effect on its popularity.

Guitar sales have doubled in the last four years and some research has shown that more children under the age of 11 are playing the guitar than any other instrument. In fact, in Britain, it may be the instrument of choice for more than 50% of all males that play an instrument (and 17% of all females).

Here are a just a few of the reasons that guitar playing is so popular all over the world.

• Guitar playing is typically relaxing for the player.
• Guitar music is equally relaxing and enjoyable for the listener.
• Many people begin to play in order to join a band. This is an ideal way to make friends and expand one’s social circle.
• Guitar playing is ideal for campouts, singalongs or for entertainment at a wide variety of functions.
• Guitar playing improves hand-eye coordination and motor skills in general.
• Guitar playing can also help you gain other skills such as reading music and listening skills. Most people don’t realize how many skills can be learned by playing the guitar – you would be surprised.

­MIA chief executive Paul McManus said: “The popularity of the guitar in the UK is clearly going from strength to strength.” The MIA figures are based on government statistics for UK guitar for UK guitar imports. The MIA is the UK trade association for the musical products industry.

Guitar Center, MTV Games (Rock Band) and Activision (Guitar Hero) have collaborated on a national survey of 7,000 respondents to see how the players of Rock Band and Guitar Hero felt about playing an actual guitar.

Here are some of the interesting findings in the study:

• 67% of Guitar Hero and Rock Band users who do not currently play an instrument say they are likely to start playing one in the next two years
• 72% of musicians that play Guitar Hero or Rock Band report using their own instruments more frequently
• 80% of Guitar Hero and Rock Band users would like to receive an instrument as a holiday gift this year

The last one might have been a bit of a loaded question from Guitar Center in the survey, but nonetheless this is definitely encouraging news for Guitar Center and other music retailers. Guitar Center reported spikes in sales of entry-level guitars in the last quarter of 2007 by 20.7% and in the first quarter of 2008 by 26.9%.

Many think games like Guitar Hero are making us lazy, giving us the instant satisfaction of a fake guitar rather then actually learning how to play it ourselves, but it seems quite the opposite is true, and more people are playing guitar more now then ever. Do you play the guitar? If so, what drew you to playing? And if you haven’t, is there any particular reason why?

http://www.musicafter50.com/category/master-music-teacher/

Alternate picking is typically used for 2 notes on 1 string. Consecutive picking is used to transition from string to string when the direction of the phrase permits it.

The term “sweep” implies an effect as much as it implies a technique. Regardless of how the picking motion occurs (which is a different subject), you can’t avoid the concept of the picking pairs.

If you think of phrasing, consecutive picking gives you a legato, flowing effect, no matter what the speed. On the other hand, alternate picking gives you a more articulate sound.

Ultimately, virtually all jazz guitar players use a combination of alternate and consecutive picking.

As in most things in life, it’s important that you strike a balance between practicing and performing. By performing, I don’t mean a huge concert venue. It might be a performance for friends or relatives. It could be at a coffee house or an open mike night. Anything that puts you in the position of having to play songs – original or not in front of people is valuable.

Songs are not exercises. They are vehicles of self expression through music. This often strikes fear into the hearts of new performers. This is an understandable reaction. Remember that fear can be redefined as excitement. They have the same physiological symptoms – shaking hands, a feeling in your stomach, the tendency to run. But if you enter the arena of performance, these feelings will ultimately turn to motivation.

So, practice and perform. Make it a lifelong habit!

Studying with a qualified teacher solves the organizational problems and provides a type of security for the student. Having dealt with so many self taught players and their problems, I encourage any serious players to find a qualified and creative teacher to assist their development. Every player is comfortable with and responds to varying programs of study but most can be helped by the right teacher. I do not deny the difficulty of finding this teacher but the effort required is usually worth it.

Music Pursuing the Horizon by Chuck Anderson Available at www.ChuckAndersonGuitar.com

Reading encompasses the following skills:
1) Note Recognition and Execution 2) Note Location 3) Fingering Solutions 4) Rhythm Recognition and Execution 5) Ability to follow the “roadmap” – a series of written instructions that moves you from one section of a piece to another and indicates something of the interpretation of the piece.

Putting these together is reading. Putting these together without preparation, just as you would read a book or magazine, that’s sight reading!

Music Pursuing the Horizon by Chuck Anderson Available at www.ChuckAndersonGuitar.com

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 in teaching and performing tends to favor one or the other at various points in their career. But if you’ve trained for both, you should be able to pursue both.

This applies to every field, even Classical music. I remember reading an article about Janos Starker, a famous cellist. He performed and taught at Indiana University. He was the first Classical musician I ever heard who stated emphatically that the duality of teaching and performing could be a reality.

Remember, perform seriously and teach seriously. Each will enhance the other!