A short commentary by legendary Canadian guitarist, JP Cormier, and his advice on how to make the most of learning to play guitar, or any other stringed instrument for that matter! Visit www.mastermusicmethod.com
Where did you come from??? I have needed your perspective for quite a few years, now. Thank you! I live in Doc Watson's neck of the woods and it took a gentleman from N. S. to unlock this for me. Once again, thank you!
Learning theory is the fastest way to finding your way around a fingerboard, to understanding harmony and composition. Sight reading doesn't even come into the equation unless you want it to. While I studied at Berklee I am not a great sight reader. Not a lot of guitar players are, but most good guitar players have a pretty good grasp on music theory.
Today is the first day of school, and I’m lucky enough to teach string band music in the aural tradition in a small K-12 school. This is exactly what I needed to hear and be reminded of: learning guitar, etc., is physical and the motivation for learning comes from emotions not theory.
My last lesson was forty years ago and the joker tried to teach me "The Girl From Ipanima" I didn't go back . You steered me in the right direction when you did the video on the new Epiphone acoustics, I bought a Hummingbird and it's beautiful so I'll check out your teaching website. I can play badly so maybe you can help me. Cheers.
Love Preacher J.P. He's like a big brother telling you like it is. No BS, no fluff, no gimmicks. Just playin' and livin' life. Cuz life is about playing, and playing is about life.
I've been learning guitar from scratch for 6 months using "justin guitar" and I have to say it works really well for self learning. To your point, justin has done everything you've mentioned. After I've learned more of the basics, I plan on learning your music theory stuff.
I'm 69 and have been playing, on and off since I was 12 i.e. 1964.I've had two lessons so most of what I know was self-taught but I'd love to fill in all the gaps in my playing. I've been playing electric mostly and when I bought an Epiphone Hummingbird a month ago I realised how weak my hands were and how soft my callouses were..It's amazing what a set of 0012-0053 strings can do for you. Callouses are harder my hands are getting stronger and I think it's time to get serious. John's responsible for a good part of this insanity and God bless him for it,
Music theory is not just sight reading. How about counterpoint, or chordal theory? Understanding the rules of how to place one chord after another, creating and resolving tension etc. another is actually useful.
Carol Channing (Hello Dolly) once did some recording in Nashville, and she asked the studio musicians there if anyone could read music.....they all said, "Not enough to hurt." .....of course, she thought she was walking into a bunch of hay seeds. They probably all could.
I have been playing for a few years,always wanted to play ,it is great for all of those reasons you said .I have tried lesson but it was a group of people who were at different places and i didnt seem to get it .Anyway i love it and will continue to learn until its no longer makes me happy.I love your playing ,thanks
Absolutely PERFECT rant/PSA. I love how the guitar or an instrument is therapy and comfort. Great advice my friend and I love your way to do things on your site! Well said my friend
Hi JP, appreciate your advise and knowledge, 100% agree I've been playing since I was 10 years old guitar and I'm 55 now. I went School of hard knocks. It takes a lot of effort motivation and drive. I think you have to take steps to keep you motivated always want to pick up that instrument I've learned. Started the same way you did I can even add 8-tracks to my beginning. You're the best I am a big bluegrass band in the last three years that's been my latest passion flatpicking. Thanks for your knowledge. Robert salt lake City Utah.
J.P., you are speaking to my soul. I have been saying the same things for years! I'm commented to teach folks to play music, not understand the theory, such a disconnect. Thanks for doing what you do! Sincerely, Thomas
Loved it! Thanks very much, I enjoy listening to your videos it’s refreshing and right on the mark! I’ve been playing all my life and l’m in my mid fifties now, thankful I had my dad and older bro to guide me along the way of life, let alone playing guitar and navigating through everything else. And this is all because I played a few Boucher guitars last week, never heard of you otherwise, but I’m sure glad I know you now and your music now, you’ve got a new fan!!
Great video I have been picking the guitar for nearly 50 years there were no computers when I learned I took some lessons I am self taught playing Chet Atkins Style guitar.
Lessons were worth it for me, I was already playing for about 6 years practicing about 3 hours a day , the teacher taught me pentatonic minor and major scales which allowed me to play lead guitar and learn what key the song is in, better than trying to learn on my own!
Just now watched this : Very Well Said my friend! ... same story of my life, started at age 5 ( now 61) play several instruments semi-professionally & full time pro. ( very blessed to do this) Never had a REAL lesson in my life but have been able to progress in music from a desire, a Great ear, hard work & determination. What you said is spot on! ... Thank you for posting this and other videos I"M SURE ENJOYING THEM! ... "we are always learning new things & ways"
You should offer more payment methods .paypal and possible a free trail without having to place payment details . Or just let a few videos be accessed for free so people can see what you offer in teaching .doesnt have to be the full video just clips to see what people are getting for their money . Just a thought .
Hi JP ! You are so right, you've got to enjoy the learning process, ones not going to learn all the bar chords etc in one go, impossible. My mothers family all played musical instruments so I was around music at a early age as there were a lot of kitchen parties back then. I probably learned four or five chords at the age of eight - ten years old just watching family members as I hid in the corner of the room lol during one of those parties. I played up until I lost complete use of my right arm in a motor vehicle accident and boy the term saying you don't miss it until you lose it is bang on the nail. So to those people who really want to learn guitar or any other instrument just enjoy it, for each time you pick it up your bound to learn something, even if it's just a G run it'll always be with you. Thanks JP Cheers from HFX NS
Well said jp, I'd like to share something that I never forgot when you and I first met. I commented on a poster you had with all your intruments you play in a trailer or car. banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin. You are a great player on all of these instruments. I asked you . "Which instrument is your favorite?" you replied: "I Breathe the guitar!" I thought, that's it. passion , emotion coming directly from your brain to your hands and fingers. feeling the music is as important and playing it in tune, in time, and accurately. hope to see and hear you soon, I may be way off, maybe the taxi drive under the car (leuge boy) knocked me silly. LOL
Listen up lady's and gentlemen... This commentary is spot on for the vast majority of aspiring and even seasoned guitar players. Everybody learns differently. Music theory may really help some people, but for the vast majority it's not nessasary to be a "good" guitar player. Eric Clapton is considered to be a "good" guitar player, but has no theory. He may not be super technical, or fast, but he can play a melody and build a empire on a blues scale.
Playing the guitar has made my life so much better, I just can't explain it. I am not the best player and I never will be but the fact that I can play the songs that I love makes me feel so good. I never had any lessons btw, I just learned from some youtube lessons and I bought a chord book.
I was lucky in the 1970's I took classical guitar lessons from a wonderful man who was a student of segovia, his name is Lorne Lotsburg. After I got the basics down I mentioned I liked chet atkins and yes he started teaching me Yankee doodle dixie and yakety axe. Now I play chet, jerry reed and merl travis and doc watson stuff as well as many classical pieces.
The way I learned was all the older folks I listened too in my area either played bluegrass or old school country. I'm 61 and I had others show me the open cords and the use of a capo. From there I learned by playing with others at jams, porch picking. Learn G C and D cord. Learn how keys change with a capo and you have 90 percent of country, bluegrass strumming done. Strumming cords and singing songs with friends is the best fun of all. I also for fun play fiddle in a bluegrass band that plays at paying gigs. The little bit of money is nice, but the best fun you will ever have is playing with your friends in a relaxed setting. Just enjoy making music and I'll say this also the more you play with others the better you will get. At home I play with other groups that have made CD albums for practice too. A lot of stuff of you tube too. You also have to want to play and have a big desire to want to learn.
JP, bless you for what you are doing. I agree that guitar is therapy. With one you can take a vacation, go across the Universe and back without leaving the comfort of your sofa. It gives the player a break from the crazy. I think the greatest epiphany comes when a player steps above playing other musician's tunes to releasing the beauty and feelings that reside inside themselves, their head, their heart, their soul. When they are able to become a true artist and create. Lessons and learning other's music are the best and easiest way to build the muscle memory and knowledge necessary to elevate the guitarist to that ultimate goal.
3:00 - stepped on a Lego. Fantastic! never knew how much pain that could cause an adult male until I had kids and would get partially disabled for a minute or three slinking through the living room at night trying to get something without turning the lights on. Legos have probably caused many clean mouthed folks to say things that would make sailors blush.
Here's another story about the benefits of being able to read music. 40 yrs ago, singer/guitarist was the golden boy of English folk music, and he would travel up and down the UK playing, mainly, at folk music clubs. Now, very often, when on the road, Nic would arrive in a city hours before the gig and he would then head for a local library looking for interesting books on folk music. Nic would pour over old books of songs and tunes hoping to find something that caught his ear/ear. Now, for most people, there is no "ear" involved in looking at the printed page BUT Nic could sight sing, which means that he could read "the dots" and hear the melodies in his head. And, didn't Nic use that skill beautifully, discovering, as he did, some great melodies "lost" in dusty old books.
In the information age of these days there are so many options, good & bad. Total information overload. The time wasted going through to find the good stuff is deflating. I think with many of the sites and even private lessons, the really good ones show easily how much they believe in “their way” or whatever platform they use to teach. I’m over 50 and love the guitar. Took 1.5 years lessons locally with G4 and I have gone a long way, but I agree with you about the theory; that I don’t have to have that knowledge to play. I’ve gotten the best advice (on YT) from Tomo Fujita on specific things to do to improve. I appreciate your video and the direction you’re going. I’ll have to check it out soon. Again, many thanks!
I’m 100% self taught. My problem is that I was only ever interested in learning to play the music I liked. But none of it is all that complicated so you plateau very early.
Trying to teach myself after taking in person lessons two times. Both were $35 for a half hour. Now I’ve been in my profession for 30 years. I don’t make that kind of money. Trying to find a way to get some direction or lessons has almost become a part time job. I love to watch your videos. I also love to watch you play. I’m 55 and I try to invest an hour a day if I can plucking away. It sure would be nice to find some direction. God Bless you all..
I wish you the very best with your online teaching site. And I do agree that sone 95% of people who claim to be "guitar teachers" are dismal failures at teaching. However, I have been teach music privately since 1975. The percentage of my students that have become professional and semi-professional musicians over the years is staggering. Yes, I get paid very well for this service. But I am very good at what I do. I only charge for one lesson at a time. No advance fees whatsoever. So many of my students stay with me for 4 and 5 years. I leave them with a trajectory that will keep them learning on their own for the rest of their lives. So while I wish you success in your teaching endeavors, there isn't any need to demean those of us who are master teachers with great success, just to promote what you are doing. For the same reason, I don't need to cut down Tony Rices' playing to appreciate you as a player. I appreciate you both. Again, I wish you great success in your teaching endeavors. Thank you for listening.
Some great points are made in this video, luck and drive are really key factors to becoming a musician. I don't understand why some people are so averse to music theory. Theory is just a way of putting names to the things you are hearing, putting sounds in context. It explains the relationships between the notes being heard be it in a band or an orchestra or whatever the scenario. It is both the how and why "it" works that this gentleman speaks about at around the 7:00 min mark. The reading I did in theory classes was always to analyze scores, fugue subject relationships or harmonic relationships, never sight reading (that's only in aural theory classes). There is no question, this gentleman is a top-shelf player, I enjoy and respect his work but don't let him dissuade you from understanding music on every level possible.
Steve Thanks . I pick up what i can from these great guitar experts on the tube , but it seems their videos r so self-promoting ,.i.e., look at me I’m great ., some folks just want some knowledge to advance their playing ability., i have 2 acoustics and 1 nice as-80 artstar ibanez .,. I just want to improve my ability at the end of the evening to enjoy my crappy skills ....😳
My problem has been I hit a wall in my learning journey and can’t be told why that is what it is. So I can’t get passed it. I’m 61 now and my time is still required of me to work for another year. I must learn to not just play but play on an exceptional level. Not for you or to perform for others but for me because I know I’m capable and because I have too. It’s who I am. I need this just to feel they way I need to feel. Ps. Happiness and joy is what you become. I comes from within not what you find. If I ever learn to play the way I need to. I will never except money for my playing. I’ll never go looking for a gig. If someone likes what they hear and wants to pay for my time. I’ll be willing. What I express what I try to share with the guitar is what I feel inside. If I reach the level of playing which enables me to express how I feel. They could never afford that cost. So it will never be for sale. I would love to just be able to get out of me what’s inside by playing that well ! Ps. I know I can never teach my kids who are grown everything I have learned in life. I can never give them or anyone my like experience. I know I can make them feel those experiences with the guitar. Just freaking need to no. Have to learn to play well enough to get those feelings out. It’s the only way they will ever truly know who and what their father is and was. I hope this makes sense ! Ps If I had your knowledge and skills. Not your talent and abilities, I have that in spades. I would be looking for people worthy of those skills and knowledge Not trying to sell it to the masses for X#$. Simply because theirs no price that can cover that !! I truly believe
John, I couldn't agree more!Nobody would say to a baby- "this is a noun, this is a verb, now using conjunctions and prepositions you must combine these words into subject and object, and with a clause or two( pause here to explain clauses and phrases) you can make a sentence- then combine into a paragraph or two, and now you can talk, but first learn to write the symbols for letters and words and be drilled on your ability to read them... the child has already stopped listening, and is looking out the window! This sounds far fetched but is EXACTLY how some poor souls are taught music( or what is called music.If a few notes or chords are played in a forest and nobody hears them, then no MUSIC actually exists. Music is a complex sociological phenomenon, requiring both performer and listener in a cycle of magical psychic communications that can't be equated with a set of blueprints for its construction.As you rightly point out, music is like behaviour and discipline. You teach the basics to young children in the hope that they will learn to do it for themselves- to do otherwise is to replicate a lifeless clone of your own making for them to play the defining parameters of without it having any connection to your own soul. I wish more people could articulate these matters as you have- we would have a lot more happy creative people in the world!
I was lucky, and had private lessons, and conservatory training, and many mentors and bandmates who all had a certain amount to teach me. When each person had no more to teach and share, which at most was 6 months once a week, I would quit them AND MOVE AHEAD TO ANOTHER TEACHER. I learned to sight read, but lost the ability when I left it behind. I had to give standard and shortcut charts for bandmates, learning to write in a common language. Then there's live sign language for the changes. Then, as every guitarist does, I sat down and invented my own chart for harmony theory and melody, which opened up the world. Many online courses rely on fretboard charts. Guitar playing is not rocket science, but what Benny Goodman told one of my mentors is that YOU MUST PLAY EVERY DAY. I learned this at 25 yrs old, that seems the most important concept, besides NOT PLAYING LONGER THAN 20 MINUTES at a clip without muscle rest, or you will end up with damaged fingers later in life.
Wow, exactly the "rant" Ive been looking for. I can play all kinda stuff on several instruments, but only bc I've mimicked what ive seen others do in the 30 yrs that I've been trying to do it, not bc I know WHAT im doing or why. Im checking out the website. I'd rather a teacher look at me and say, "you need to take 2 weeks off, then quit" than blow smoke up my ass about my talent level. Lucky for me that i dont give a shit what any teacher, or anyone, thinks of my talent or ability.....I just LOVE MUSIC. If I have to sit alone for the rest of my Life and pick a guitar I am perfectly content with doing so. Its not about them, or even myself, it's about that Nirvana that only the music can bring. Ive always felt that I owe it to the music to learn as much as I can about it, just never found anyone that can teach it to where I grasp it. Look forward to this part of the Journey!
I've been playing guitar (and other instruments) since 1963. I had a great teacher (off and on for about 5-6 years) from the beginning who didn't teach me theory, but taught me Beatle songs, etc. and introduced bits of theory along the way. I could play 3 chords at 5 years old, and we played around those chords until I became fluent at it. Years later, we dissected Hendrix, Clapton, Page licks, and Steve Howe progressions, etc. and I learned finger picking by playing Paul Simon songs, all for fun. By this time, my fingers had strengthened and my playing became innate, and eventually, I taught myself a hybrid kind of picking. Later on, I studied orchestral composition in graduate school and had to study advanced theory for composition, but I found that unless I wanted to compose/arrange for orchestras, this amount of "theory," was useless. Mastering the fundamentals of an instrument is the key. For guitar, learn the fretboard, basic chords and some useful scales, then imitate - try to understand why something works or doesn't work. Explore.
I've had a yearn to learn an instrument for way too many moons now, but never had the confidence to just pick one up and have a crack. The main objects of affection have always been (in varying order over the years) the bagpipes, sax, guitar and drums but early on there was no encouragement around me and as I got older the self fulfilling problem of a lack of confidence let me tell myself it was too big a risk. After wasting all those years on wishful thinking I've recently been thinking, no I've actually decided to just pull my finger out and get cracking. Out of the favoured options listed earlier the guitar makes the most sense from an accessibility perspective to me - cheaper than the others for a beginner but also more friendly on the ears of my family as I learn lol. Now it's down to choosing my new friend to learn on and currently tossing up between Alvarez and Ibanez as my first guitar as from what I've seen from doing some research, they both produce a good sound at a reasonable price for a beginner. I know some might say to just get a AU$100-150 guitar to begin with but I disagree on two fronts with that approach - my Scottish heritage would not allow me to buy what I'd think of as a disposable guitar (one I'd not own for very long before replacing). More importantly though I feel that if I get a dirt cheap guitar I won't feel encouraged as I learn and improve, I'd rather spend a few hundred on a guitar that will sound how it's played - the better I get the better it will sound. That will encourage me to pick it up and practice every day rather than get disheartened. I hadn't hear of you before J.P. and stumbled across one of your videos when doing my research on which brand to get - a video where you were comparing Alvarez to Martin. Your presentation style got me interested and your playing made me watch until the end (and then the answer video), but I think it was your passion and obvious love of guitar that made me do a search to see who you are. You are a couple of months younger than me as I'm a '68 child but of course have decades more experience in guitar, and the honesty you project as you talk about music and guitar ensures that as soon as whichever guitar I choose arrives I'll be signing up to the Master Music Method. My first goal is pretty simple and that's to get comfortable enough to pick up a guitar, sit on my back deck and play to the sunset whilst enjoying the music I make. Other goals will come but the first step is just making music, as music is life no matter where on the planet you come from, and has ever been thus. Thanks for giving me that final nudge and you'll have a new subscriber from the land down under very soon I hope. Stay safe, take care of you and yours and keep hearing the music in life.
@@JPCormier Just a quick update. Decided on an Alvarez RD26C to start the journey and pick it up Thursday from a local store. I've got nothing against buying over the internet and do it often, but like to support local businesses when I can and if there's not a huge price difference (especially during these COVID times). A lot of lives were saved here with shutdowns to slow the virus but businesses did suffer, so it's up to us to help try and keep their doors open by buying their products/using their services if they are charging fair prices. Some people forget the upside too of keeping that local business open, if something goes wrong with your gear then there's someone local who can fix/replace it rather than you having to package it up and send it away lol. So now I'm looking forward to Thursday when I bring my new friend home, jump online to sign up and get into it - no time like the present to get started, already wasted too many years dithering about lol.
My dad got me lessons all they taught were gospel hymns but i thought i wanted rocknroll but i couldnt get it so i quit playing low & behold i guess i was 25 came home one day & said hey honey look what i bought, but i did learn to read music but cant now but i retained the knowledge & put it to use like 3 major chords in each key gcd ade so on, still dont play no rocknroll Your never to old until you die
I look at music purely as a language. Your vocabulary is as limitless as your own imagination. It does take time and practice to expand your vocabulary and you need to speak (and practice) the “language” with other musicians as often as you can. RU-vid is a great tool, but it’s just one tool. As well, stop quantifying and comparing yourself to other guitar players (guitar hero envy). Just play because you love it and if you expose yourself to as many inspirations as you can, you’ll be just fine.
Hi. I’m just wondering if this site is still up and running? I really like the video after seeing his name mentioned elsewhere. When I go to the site, I’m only seeing about 12 guitar lessons available. Am I just not able to see the content? I know he tours all year long it seems so I’m wondering if maybe he just didn’t have as much time to invest as he thought he’d have. Thanks.
I was fine with paying $2500 a year in lessons. What pissed me off wasn't being sick sometimes, it was how lazy I am, and how little I practiced. I went to the lessons, progressed slowly and gave up because I'm lazy. Sight reading (basics) is not hard. Sight reading and they playing live from sheet music is a waste of learning time. But being able to reason about music is priceless. I am actually paying right now for piano lessons and I love having an in person teacher, and mine is wonderful. I may go back to in person guitar lessons as I've plateaued as a player, but I've still got to get farther along in piano before I switch focus again. :-) I would rather buy courses where I pay X and more or less pay for one set of videos to work through at my own pace, rather than pay X a month, just sayin. My view is that as much as we like to rag on the conservatory type piano teaching approach, at least it is methodical, and built on solid precepts. Whereas most guitar tutelage is random ass nonsense from random ass teacher X. Not saying you are like that, just saying that probably most guitar teachers are highly erratic and idiosyncratic in what they consider to be their core syllabus. This instrument deserves a kind of brain trust, a conservatory, for folk and rock guitar. If we were to get you and 20 other guitarists together in a room, could you hammer out a conservatory syllabus and teachers outline, of the essentials? How different from Berklee's book would you be?
..as someone who taught for several years ...my objective was to keep it fun and positive ...teach them songs FIRST ...open tuning's etc ....give them tools to work with ...and they either keep playing...or they don't ...ps some if not most of the kids / adults wanted to learn in one month ....no one wants to put the time in anymore.
Is self taught out of the question? , i have acoustic nylon and steel string and a nice art star as- 80 , ibanez electric ,.i find if i increase my practice time everyday i feel more comfortable with my guitars and hopefully my ability....???
Lessons are a two-way affair. You have to communicate between student and teacher, or it won't work. You have to know what you want from the teacher, and find out if you can get it. Some music theory is essential. Sorry, but it's true if you want to understand the fretboard properly. Not so if you are a natural genius like Peter Green. But they are one in a zillion, and you won't be one, trust me on that. The key for students is to ask yourself, do you want to learn, if so are you willing so make BIG sacrifices? Most are not. So you have to love it then it's easy. It also makes you different from others, do you want that?. Remember, western music ALWAYS begins with scales. So learn 'em good.
I’m attempting to sign up but even after my credit card is confirmed and all account info set up, the start subscription button remains grayed out and unclickable. Is this still an active site?
Have taken lesson 30+ years ago and then picking up guitar about 5 years go, I say that 90 percent of the people wanting to learn to ply re going to end up being campfire players. The most important lessons for them will become experts with the strumming hand.
it appears you have been offering this master music method online for more than a year, but I just went to the site to possibly sign up and I only see 8 lessons for guitar. Am I looking at this correctly?
I’m pretty sure there’s more than eight. There’s enough material there to last you at least six months of practice and study. I’ve been trying for four years to build the site but to no avail. Can’t get enough subscribers unfortunately.
What about an intermediate player with a little over 10 years experience, I am just now learning to play some solos built around triads, and beginning to get a little better at playing up and down the neck, I'm definitely not what you would call a lead picker though. I also have a mandolin that I would like to get better at!
I've tried and tried guitar lessons, only to feel I wasn't getting what I needed from my teacher. Last lessons I tried to do, we were interrupted constantly by his kids and or his wife. OR when I was trying to pick up the chords and listen to what I was playing, I couldn't her properly because he would be playing riffs on an electric. I'm 48 and long for proper lessons. I can sing a bit, and would love to be able to play around a camp fire or even on stage again as I did when I was a front man for a band I was in. I'm in Truro, NS.
Learning to read music can open up so much. I play the guitar BUT a can open up a book of Klezmer violin music and off I go. I can play the amazing melodies of Scarlatti in real time. and so on BUT I am not a slave to the printed page. And,I would say that MOST of the greatest musicians in history could read music. From Bach to John Coltrane. Of course, it must be added that some of the greatest musicians couldn't read music. The great Django Reinhardt, for example, couldn't read period, never mind read music.
Hi JP I sent an email. My charge cards will not get accepted on the site. Perhaps I am not entering something correctly? I never usually have a problem.
I hate to disagree with an awesome guitarist, but music theory and reading music are not the same thing. Music theory does include reading music, but I think of it more as understanding chords and chord progression, keys, time. All things that actually help you play by ear and understand what you're doing and how music works.
let me apologize for my question which it may sounds silly but if you said 6:06 that online lessons mostly don't work what is the difference or what your website offers that makes it different or better?
@@JPCormier thanks for the quick response. I'll give it a try then as soon as I buy my guitar...which I haven't decided yet, I'm unsure if buy an Alvarez Artist Elite AGE95CESHB Grand Auditorium Or a Epiphone ej200sce.
He and Miles had so much heart and soul that it's easy to forget they were also two of the most schooled musicians who knew very precisely what they were doing and why. Cheers.
I'm just learning. It is not easy. The internet is good for encouragement. I began learning piano at 6 or 7. The teacher really sucked. All I learned was twinkle twinkle little star, but he never told me that Mozart wrote it and Mozart was one badass dude. That's the difference between a good teacher and one that sucks. The learning process is between the player and him/herself. The teacher should be pouring fuel on the flames. Not water. Ive taken a few years of Tai Chi. And i know my teacher is good. He said once that his main job in teaching is motivating the student to practice. Thats a teacher Then youll find the money for lessons. Its always been that way. And guitar is difficult.
Day If u started playing piano 🎹🎹 at 6 or 7 ? Damn i sure envy u ..? I took folk guitar at 15 or so .., now I’m starting up guitar with 2 acoustics , nylon and a steel string and a nice hollow body artstar as-80 Ibanez, korea , cica 1997’s , , damn man play that piano , wish i had ur skills .....
I WISHED I WOULD HAVE HAD YOU FOR A TEACHER. WHEN I WAS YOUNG. GOT MARRIED TO YOUNG PUT THE GUITAR DOWN. WENT TO WORK RAISED A FAMILY. I RETIRED THREE YEARS AGO. 6 MONTHS AGO DECIDED I WOULD BUY ME A GUITAR. BEEN MARRIED 43YR THIS JUNE. THAT HOW LONG IT HAS BEEN. WIFE TOLD ME. I SOUND GREAT. SHE LOVES ME. GOT FIVE GUITARS NOW. THE PASSION BURNS. I AM 65 NOW. IF MY FAMILY LOVES TO HEAR ME PLAY. THEN I AM GOOD. TO ALL OLDER FOLKS. THINKING OF LEARNING THE GUITAR. GO FOR IT. NO THAT IT WON'T BE EASY TO START OUT. STAY THE COURSE IT WILL COME IF YOU HAVE THE PASSION. THIS GUY IS RIGHT ON THE MARK. YOUR NOT BORN WITH IT. IT'S ALL ABOUT
You're right on many counts JP. especially about being lucky and having drive.Personally I was lucky to have a neighbor who came to our house in the late 50's who owned a 1951 Gibson LG-1 with a PICKUP in it which I got to play quite often.I was lucky my brother belonged to the Columbia record club and had a record player.Every day I locked myself away with Johnny Rivers,The Shadows,The Ventures and they had to make me come out to eat.I was lucky my older brother sent to Eatons for a 60.00 electric guitar & amp set that really got me going.I was lucky there was a love of music in our home,my father being a great harmonica player,uncles fiddlers etc.I was also lucky to have a music teacher in high school named Sandy Clarke who could see I could play and loved what I was doing.He would come to our home with his banjo and we'd play together.I was lucky the high school band bought a new 1968 Fender Telecaster for me that really formed my playing style to this day.Then I was lucky to have an insatiable drive and love to succeed.I've always believed if you want to learn to play, then always play with people who are better than you,and I did.I would take my Tele to the clubs on Saturday afternoon in Charlottetown PEI and sit in with people who sang,played bass,piano,drums etc.It wasn't long before I was hired to play in groups and I've never stopped.
Depending on which website you land on, your rates are $15, $20 (this site) or $30 per month in U.S. dollars. Very confusing, but I assume the highest rate is the current one. Sorry J.P. - Love your work, but as a Canadian guy, I'm not paying another Canadian guy in U.S. dollars.
I think it is a very natural sentiment looking back on your history and practice as a musician to want to impart the reasoning that underlies a practice and method. Something that really stands out to me is that you describe guitar playing as a physical and expressive emotional activity, the challenge is that initial playing lacks the physical refinement to be in sync with expressive parts of how you connect with music emotionally. To me, and it is open to disagreement, that initial part of learning is about establishing a practice and a mindset that allows you to refine your attention to detail. How the note sounds, how the playing feels and does it match the melody you hear in your head and in your ears but also am I moving my hands in a way that is efficient and I can build upon. It's a lot for a new person to process so I believe we mistakenly marry scales and theory as a framework to manage those details. That exchange, as a teacher often loses the core part - scales, chord shapes and to some degree conceptual maps of the fretboard don't replace the need to pay attention to what and how you are playing. In the times where I have taught I offer players the advice to record as many things that they practice as they can. Also, to take a song they like and are working on and ask what is it that draws them to that song (is it a rhythm, a melody, lyrics) but to take those elements and try and to map them on another project. Often, it gives you a new set of tools to use that you can then carry with you going forward. It would be nice if every new player could be given the keys to make their path shorter but I also suspect some people just need to walk the path and find it in their own way.
You are just about as wrong as wrong could be wrong. What a shame that you spout off this drivel. If you have a passion for this art form - which I think we ALL do, then you should embrace the concept of learning EVERYTHING there is to know about music. That includes learning music theory, not running from it.
