I Love Guitar
No matter what 'level' we are playing, we begin at the beginning. We build our practice. We build. We practice.
Playing guitar well commands that we have & attain goals. We set targets & we train to reach them. Without some type of list of objectives, our guitar practice can wander aimlessly and/or become stagnant [both are completely avoidable].
Making music is our overall goal. And, this includes building a life-long, sustained approach for our musical life. We build an ongoing practice, just for the simple joy of it. The path is the goal, yet there are specific things we need to do to even be on the path. And, keep in mind, that at some level, goal-less practice is everpresent. Once we have control over our playing system, we can simply explore & see where it takes us.
So, targets...first, we get ready so we can be ready. We play some riffs and simple melodies. Playing simple tunes builds success into the system from the start. We do some technical training to gain control; everything is dependent on functional technique.
And, the most important of these long-term targets is becoming a reliable rhythm player. If we can solo like James Bond, yet can't hold down the tune by playing the harmonies, reliably, our guitar life is out of balance. When we become dependable rhythm players, we are set for great musical experiences. It is the foundation. The other targets [soloing, reading, knowing the board, etc.] are important & integral to a more full experience, but being a rhythm player is the core path. It is the gateway to jamming with others; it is how we find like minded musicianers; make friends.
And, finally, for any and everything we do, we explore and invent. We make stuff up with whatever it is we are working on. The materials of music are equally available to all of us. Everyone shares the same level of access. Some folks find making stuff to be an effortless organic process, while others can struggle with it. No matter how much ease & access we may currently have for this target, as we invest in it, the process can deepen & we can learn to enjoy it with enduring vitality. Over time, it becomes as central to our playing life as playing other folk's music.
To be ready, we prepare. First, we need to get in tune, get comfortable, and get our practice space set up. We make sure everything is in arm's and/or foot's reach [amps, computers, audio players and/or recorders, pedals, etc.]. Being ready also entails having our gear in working order. Our guitars should have decent strings on them and all of our components have power [AC or batteries].
Being ready means prepared to learn. We anticipate good experiences because we are prepared.
Being ready is also anything that are considered basics as well...visual systems, elements, hand symbols, etc. We call the basics Vitals [and sometimes Ground].
Be Ready is a lesson cluster…
Tuning & Comfort ◊ Tablature ◊ Grids ◊ Hands | Position | Laps ◊ Elements ◊ Metronome ◊ Files
A basic starting target is to figure out and play simple melodies and riffs. This gives us a good start. We typically use tablature at the beginning, yet we learn to use our voice and inner hearing to figure out known melodies. For melodies, we eventually move to reading music. For riffs, we move to learning the rest of the song, all the way through.
We can use linear and fixed position examples as well as simplified and actual ways of playing popular riffs and melodies.
Our learning module for this Target is Starter Tunes.
To play well, we all need to understand and apply techniques. To play anything, we must have some level of control over our physical playing system. Fretting hand techniques include fretting, slurs, and muting. Motor hand techniques include strumming, picking, fingerpicking, tap/touch, plus hybrids. Also, keep in mind that each hand can do what the other traditionally does [i.e. the fretting hand can strum].
We gain technical control through focused training. It is a mindset. We focus. We don't train mistakes in by just trying things over and over. We get it right at the start. If we aren't getting a technical skill after 5 or 6 times, we are going about it wrong. Yeah, falling down the steps is one way to get to the bottom, but can we recreate the fall exactly? When we step slowly through a sequence of movements, we can recreate it again & again; and, at a certain point without having to think about it.
We learn how our hands work, how sweet tone is produced, and the best motion for our motors for a given technique. By training smart, we build intelligence into our playing system from the start. This brings us into the jam flow sooner and we don't waste precious time and create a situation where we have to go back and fix things later. We can always reevaluate our technique at any point in our process as well. We continuously look for ways to improve.
Becoming a solid rhythm guitarist is a noble effort, and a mandatory one. To do this, we learn how to strum while changing chords. We build a chord catalog. This enables us to play our favorite songs, write songs, and figure out songs.
For getting to know our fretboard, we use a variety of experiential & graphical maps [grids, reading] to understand the layout of any particular tuning. We typically start with standard tuning.
There are many ways to go about learning our fretboard. To learn our tone names in standard, we could use basic tone spelling on a grid. We can also know our octaves [the ultimate skeleton for any tuning].
It is also important to understand Tone Naming and the traditional music theory naming system lesson cluster. There multiple ways to name the components within our tonal system. There are traditional ways, as well as more modern ways, to name things. Knowing what things are called is useful to know and creates language to communicate ideas to our fellow musicianers.
To us, 'theory' is ultimately a naming system [which describe sonic relationships]. For those who think that learning what things are called dampens creativity, this is total nonsense. It does no harm to know and it deepens our understanding. And, we when we know it really well, we can transcend it. Naming things is just one of the many ways to think of our tonal system. When we are in the flow, making music, we might not think of a single name, but rather, of colors and light, or nature, or friends. Names don't have to get in the way of feeling-tone.
To get started, check out our Octave Explorer Intro.
We will use a pick and tone sets to train, then learn to improvise. With this skill, we can play existing solos and/or write our own and/or just improvise all the time.
For training, the metronome is a dear friend. For improvising, we like harmonic audio with and without drumbeats.
By improvising using a given set of tones, we awaken our melodic sensibilities. And, for most, this is a life-long process. We take our time and don't compare our development to the shredder next door. Tone selection, phrasing, and feeling are as important, if not more, than the number of tones that are played.
We often assign reading guitar music to the 'difficult to do' category. It is not difficult if we first sideline this limiting notion. Everyone can learn to read music effectively. It is actually pretty easy, and, a valuable skill to have as a player.
When learning to read music on guitar, our first goal is to be flexible in our thinking from the start. This means understanding relationships between visual symbols in a number of ways. One of the main aspects of this is to always read ahead [plan the next tone or chord]. Our thinking should be "I play that next" not "Now I play this, then this". By being a step ahead, we avoid 'crashing' & can enjoy the tones we are playing, knowing that we have space. As with all things, we start slow.
Check out our Reader Intro.
Jamming with Others = testing our skills. Is our training paying dividends? Whether we are jamming with friends, rehearsing and performing with a band, playing for an audience, or just using audio, this is a vital component of any sensible learning system. For most, it is why we play. For others that view playing as a solitary craft, we still can use audio to interact with the sonic world, or not.
Our learning module for this Target is Jam Audio Zone. Also check out Music Makers.
Our module for Invent, Write, Explore is Music Makers.
Our overall goal is to make music. Every point on the wheel can be done musically; therefore, music is present in every target. And, making music is its own thing free of a training mindset. We can set time aside within our practice to simply make some music. Whether this is performing a piece of music or jamming or improvising or playing songs, alone or with others, we let sound flow without too much thought. No matter the style we play or methods we use, our overall goal is to make and share music and to be musical.
At the heart of music making is creating a rewarding & sustained practice that produces joy and intensity for a life-time. This is possible for everyone; and the best part is, that we, as players, steer the process. When our goals are clear & we make contact with our musical self, incredible experiences can follow.
For any given set of tones, we work the materials in our own way, in our own order, at our own speed. Even if we are learning a song or a solo, we can use the materials of that song or solo to be inventive. We give ourselves this opportunity. We can also make up stuff within any Target, even creating our own technical exercises.
We start this process immediately. It takes time to find our unique approach to improvising and writing. Willingness is the keystone. This process is never finished. It is a work in progress for a life-time.
Our module for the Target is Music Makers, which includes an opportunity to share any aspect of your process, some ideas, and a brief overview of building style through experimentation. We encourage everyone to share ideas, views, & any dimension of your music making process.
From a wide view, there is never a moment where the above four zones are not actively involved in creating our experience. All of our practice can be 'located' in one of these 4 domains. They are also interconnected which means that actions in one will affect the others. When we change a part, it changes the whole.
For practice, we can zoom in on any aspect of any zone to improve that particular area. We can also use this map to locate our weak spots rather quickly.
For any activity, we can consider what is happening in all four. Consider the relationships between the zones. They are correlated.
By understanding these vital dimensions, we can more effectively communicate with folks. We can place statements that are made, understand how those statements relate to other statements, & experience dynamic exchanges. One of our objectives is to find musicians that share our common values and content within these domains.
A balanced approach, at the very least, includes our awareness of where are strengths & weaknesses lie. Being informed is a solid approach.
This is an evolving map.
We predominantly view practice through the Technics lens. These are the things we typically do within our practice time...scales, exercises, etc. Yet, practice includes the whole picture. We consider each zone as a space to understand what is happening for us as musicianers. And, how one affects the other, is where much of the action is found. Things have a way of cascading.
In most of our worlds, time is limited. We have to make the most of the time that we allot for making music. To get the most out of it, we are suggesting that each zone is given some focus. We check-in within each, whether moment to moment, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, etc. The lists [in the boxes] are by no means exhaustive, yet they cover a lot of ground. One of the main purposes of checking-in is to build better practice circuits, & another, to get to non-reference modes of playing [the 'big zone']. With continued awareness of & exercise in these zones, our practice can [& shall!] flourish.
Technics are the physical dimension to playing; our techniques. This is where most of our actions for practice live. Technics include fretting, pickstyle, strumming, fingerstyle, tap-touch, and whatever other physical actuating we may include.
Taking action in this area is immense. It is truly endless. It is every version of every known learning system on the planet. It is working our hands to get results. And, the how of what we do matters as well. Variety in our practice is a key to continual technical improvement.
Understanding our internal space is paramount to enjoying a fulfilling playing life. Balancing thoughts & feelings & desire & expectations can be challenging. The basic action for this domain is "How/What am I feeling/thinking?" [any combination].Sometimes, we may not even seek an answer, we just keep asking the question/s.
On matters of music, we do want to improve our playing confidence, openess to new ideas, depth of humor, our sense of musical space [feeling-tone], our inner hearing [connection to musical self], our understanding of what things are called [naming], & our overall experience. To do this, we experiment with an array of exemplars, tracking changes in our phenomenal space. This is an unending & enthralling process of discovery.
Interactions matter. As with all things human, we live in a world of agreements. Even just to get some practice in, we may have to let the family know that it is guitar time and no invasions!
If we jam with others, all kinds of agreements have to be established. If we step outside a perimeter, most likely others will take notice and/or action. Styles are based on agreements. Certain styles use certain types of harmonic structures; go outside & it is no longer the style! Even song forms are agreements.
And, many interactions are based on roles. We think it is important to understand and serve any role with complete genuineness, sincerity, & focus. We do our best to do our job well.
If we are or are becoming performers, the volume of agreements increases greatly. There are moments when even a Zen mind will be challenged as a performer.
Taking action here is to make & keep some agreements. Call a new or old friend for a jam.
Technology is everywhere. The chairs we sit on are technology; as well, the buildings, transportation, electrical wiring, and the guitar, ... on and on.
Most of us to some degree are gear-heads. Keeping our gear in working order is a badge of honor & humility. Dreaming about the next acquisition is a part of our daily or weekly mind time. Gear is so good. Having functioning equipment that produces sweet tone is as good as food. And, all of the tools we use, add to our overall experience; not too many, not to few! Taking action here is spending time improving our tone, rearranging our practice space, acquiring a better metronome, changing our strings, & so on.
The idea here is that we consider these ideas, at least for 4 minutes [that's a full minute per zone!]. Try checking in with each for any given moment. As with everything, we test things for ourselves. We are looking to see if zone awareness & activity can deepen our total experience as a musician [most likely will!]. And, we do it, just because it is interesting [or not!].
In doing this, we look for how actions in one zone affect another [thumbs up, down?]. We all know the feeling of being underprepared. When we are prepared, and remain open, good experiences typically follow. With our preparations, we seek balance & not overkill [leave a little wiggle room]. We try to maintain a light touch.
In thinking about these zones, & taking action, again, we seek balance. All of us most likely know folks that obsess about one particular thing to the exclusion of other vital dimensions ... virtuosos that find it challenging to have a conversation, gear-heads that can hardly play much of anything, social cats that forget to practice parts because they are at the bar instead, or maybe introverts that are completely terrified of the stage or jamming with others. There can be positives to some of that. And, maybe some of us have been one or all of those types at one time in our lives. No big deal.
A little bit of everything can deepen, balance, & expand our total experience.
Even though we practice specific things in specific moments, it's important to consider our total experience. This includes how we feel & think about our playing; how we interact with others. It is good to be totally in it.
We have so many options for how to practice. It can be overwhelming at times. What is the best use of our practice time, especially when it is often so limited?
Building frameworks for our studies creates space for exploration & gives us a sense of grounding & steady growth.
A framework can be many things. The categories on this site are a framework. There are also visual systems, checklists, timelines, & endless possibilities for organizing our practice.
It is ultimately up to each of us, as our own best teacher, to determine what types of frameworks work best for us. This is most often learned through trial & error; through experimentation & awareness of what works & what hasn't.
However we decide to track our musical progress, frameworks provide a view of the territory for exploration. And, views, especially ones that expand our sight, provide a container for our advancement.
When we sit down to practice, we should already have session goals in mind. Defining goals is important, yet we try to keep everything in balance. Session goals are different than long term objectives. And, ultimately, being a musician is a goal-less path. The activity is the end in itself. We consider the moment, rather than projecting into some future fantasy world.
At the center of our studies, is process. One moment is linked to the next with musical action. Musical action has connective threads that create an overall experience. Just because we are doing something doesn’t necessarily mean we are making progress, but it is still, all part of a process.
Our physical practice space should contain everything we need, within arm'sb or foot's reach. We organize our space to allow for the best use of our precious time. Getting up & down, having to reset can fragment our experience.
We set up our space to reflect our commitment to using our practice time in the most beneficial way. Our practice space is a reflection on our mental organization. Other situations include performing & jamming with friends, or going to music classes or lessons. Every space serves a function. We set up our personal space so it reflects what we think is at the core of our development. The right tools in the right arrangement can energize our practice experience. Our practice space may include a computer, guitar gear, physical metronome, picks, audio gear, etc.
There are many modes or types of listening. In all situations, we listen, really listen.
We try not to take ourselves or the guitar too seriously. Web weave humor & lightness into our experience.
One of the most important dimensions of being a musician is working & playing with others. We can be a guitar hermit, yet it is good to get out & at the very least play with a friend. By working with others, we gain insight into where we stand musically [Is my practice effective?].
Performing, like jamming with friends, is a great way to collect information on where we are as musicians. It isn't mandatory to perform, & our decision in this regard is your own to make.
If we don't want to perform, don't. If we do, we reap rewards from the endeavor, guaranteed.
Ultimately we are our own best teacher. A coach is merely a guide. We can self-study, alone, & this is fine. If we work with a coach, we always strive to maintain independent thought while integrating the guidelines or activities that our teacher suggests.
| 1. | As with all things, not too little, not too much. |
| 2. | We are all given the same 12 tones. What we do with them is up to each individual. |
| 3. | One of our primary practices is to free explore using a given set of tones. |
| 4. | Different tunings and keys deliver and engage different affects. |
| 5. | Developing chord preferences means learning all of them. Different styles utilize different types of voicings. We get to know them. All of them. |
| 6. | We supplement our learning with as many sources and activities as we consider worthwhile for our advancement [including or not including this site]. |
| 7. | Claiming or reclaiming the I space and experimenting within this domain assists in understanding and unfolding our unique player self. |
| 8. | Use a panoply of views of tonal content. Theoretical, shapes, forms, colors, sequences, names, and/or nothing. |
| 9. | Keeping agreements in the We space [Interaction Zone] balances the overall learning system. Knowing how to make, when to make and not make agreements is vital. |
| 10. | Existing styles are one valuable approach to learning guitar and not the only. Exploring music as music can be defined by simply using the tones that are given. We don't have to view our musical world through the musical world that has been presented to us. At some level, it is inescapable, but it is possible to sideline many expendable aspects of it. We can also tune the guitar to anything that sounds good to us. And, we can attach objects to strings or play with a toothbrush. Possibilities are endless. And, new styles will emerge. |
| 11. | We consider beginner's mind as a starting point, daily. Fresh look, always. Beginning is advanced. |
| 12. | Being a reliable rhythm guitarist is a noble objective. Knock it out with confidence. Be reliable. |
| 13. | We save time and effort by focusing on universals: good tone, strength, flexibility, inner hearing, fretboard knowledge, tonal exploration, uplifted practice, naming, and being musical [rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic self]. |
| 14. | Build intelligence into the system from the beginning. Use indigenous intelligence to do so. At some level, we already know how to play. |
| 15. | Use reference points as vehicles for non-reference playing. The 'Big Zone' is equally and always available to everyone. We unpack the steps it takes for us to enter that space. |
| 16. | Training is training, and jamming is jamming until they become a unified experience. |
| 17. | Stay open to new information. We experiment and test based on our own sensibilities. |
Our musical outcomes & development are determined by how we practice. Practice is the centerpiece to balanced & steady growth as a musicianer. In a way, everything is practice, even performing. After performing, we can evaluate our actions across a number of vital dimensions.
| 1. | Set up your practice space. Everything - all learning tools - within arms reach. |
| 2. | Always start with warm-up. Start slow. Get blood flowing into the hands. |
| 3. | Practice a little at a time. 15 to 25 minutes daily is a solid time-span at the start. This will enable the hands & fingertips to strengthen, & consistency ensures that gains will be maintained. An extended session at least once a week is a good goal. Incremental practice leads to emerging advances. |
| 4. | Train with a metronome as much as possible - especially for scale training. When we train, such as playing scales, the proper use of a metronome ensures we are playing in time. The idea is to start with a slow tempo for whatever we are doing. Then, increase the tempo gradually, redoing the training at the new speed. We make sure we have complete control of any exercise at a tempo before moving on. Bump it up, knock it out. Using a metronome is a perfect instrument [benchmark keeper] for becoming a solid musician. Use it. If it is functional, it doesn't lie. |
| 5. | Sit down to practice [play] with objectives in mind, yet maintain openness to new experiences & experiments. Be intuitive in this regard. |
| 6. | There is a rhythm to practice. Discover a practice rhythm. |
| 7. | Each session can & probably should contain training [doing exercises] & jamming [experimenting]. |
| 8. | It's okay to take a day off. This happens naturally; relax about playing/practicing & keep it in the fun-to-do category. |
| 9. | Always keep it fun. With learning to play any instrument, find new ways to keep it fun, while continuing to improve. There are moments when we have dissonance, but this is normal and a natural part of stretching ourselves as musicianers. |
| 10. | We use our voice [it is our primary, given instrument]. We sing. We match the pitches we are playing. Our voice is our connection to the outside world, where the guitar physically exists as an extension of our voice. |
| 11. | Slow = Control = Fast. Anything that is going fast, under control, once went slow. Speed is relative. When we practice slow, with control, we can then play it at any speed humanly possible. Fast, yet sloppy, means we can't play it slow with control and this correlates to not really knowing it. |
| 12. | Mix it up: play to audio; look around on the internet; check out books; learn riffs & tunes; make stuff up; jam with others. |
| 13. | Practice away from the instrument by seeing stuff in the mind & feeling it with the body. As we grow as guitarists, we can almost taste playing. After work, we just have to get home to jam. |
| 14. | Guitar information is plentiful. Look around. Explore. |
| 15. | We jam with others as a rhythm and as a lead player, even if only to audio [any song we play can be a solo and rhythm track as well]. This is an opportunity to gain feedback for our practice. |
Music learning is a life-long activity. There is no rush. In fact, rushing squeezes space, rather than creating more. Learning to create space for your practice and playing is central to making steady progress. Our outcomes are determined by how we practice, how we approach our studies, the views we maintain along the way, and the actions we choose to take.
Truly inspired practice comes from within. Teachers and lessons are guides to point out important features of the learning terrain. Each of us [& supporting structures] are ultimately in command of our playing lives, always. We are our own best teacher.
Once we make important discoveries about our motors and what our musical directions are, we can effectively build dynamic practice circuits based on our ability to mix components into a time span. As a basic principle, let's keep practice enjoyable.