I'm always asking people how they practice. I like to see what works and what doesn't. It can be a very personal thing so I used to not tell my adult students how to practice. Especially the ones that used to play clarinet or oboe! But I've had a few instances where the student wasn't progressing and not having fun learning to play the guitar. We say we are going to practice for 1/2 hour each and every day. When we miss a practice because our lives are busy, we say "Oh, I'll practice twice as much tomorrow". Before long we don't practice at all out of guilt. Then you're sitting in front of me making me listen to the violins as you sing me a sad song how you didn't have time to practice!
After finding out that they set aside 1/2 an hour at a specific time each day to practice, I suggested a change in that routine. I've always believed that a little practice once, twice or three times a day or so on a consistent basis can be much better than the rigid routine.You will think to yourself that , hey, 5 or 10 minutes isn't too bad. If you keep the guitar accessible in a place in the home where you tend to spend a lot of time, you will find yourself grabbing it and "trying" something. And, heaven forbid , you might miss a day or two of practice, you get right back to it as soon as you can. It's OK to miss once in awhile. It's like that horse I fell off once a long time ago and ran like the west wind to get away from; I still don't know how to ride a horse.
Have one or two techniques like a strum pattern or bass run that you want to work on for 5 or 10 minutes. Then, if it goes well have a song ready to play just for the fun of it.
So, the key factors for success, as I have seen in actual use are as follows:
1. Keep your guitar accessable and ready to play
2. Play a little bit but often. Try for 20 minutes or so a day spread out in 5-10 minute chuncks.
3. Focus on one thing at a time, but also set aside some time to play and have fun.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other ideas or practice techiniques that work for you.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Bluegrass in Naperville
Hi.
I just went to the 15th Annual Naperville Bluegrass Festival. What a lot of fun. I didn't go to the concert but spent three hours playing and jamming with other bluegrassers. Next year I want to get a bunch of people together, work on some songs then go to the festival. It should be a lot of fun. In fact, this summer, I'm going to look for the local festivals.
See you later.
I just went to the 15th Annual Naperville Bluegrass Festival. What a lot of fun. I didn't go to the concert but spent three hours playing and jamming with other bluegrassers. Next year I want to get a bunch of people together, work on some songs then go to the festival. It should be a lot of fun. In fact, this summer, I'm going to look for the local festivals.
See you later.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Luna Guitars
Hi, Everyone.
I am very excited to announce that I am now an authorized dealer for Luna Guitars!
A couple of months ago, one of my adult students, Nancy Archer, came to her first lesson with a Luna Henna guitar. Nancy was really happy with it. It was easy to hold and play which is very important to a beginner. It sounded great and looked good. I was really impressed with it. I feel that having a Luna has helped make it easier for her to learn to play guitar. I liked it so well that I approached Luna for a dealership. They are great people and set me up the same day.
Luna guitars offer one of the best values in acoustic and electric guitars today. They are very comfortable, good to look at, sound great and are easy on the budget.
I'll be putting them on my website real soon. Until then check them out at http://www.lunaguitars.com/
If you have any questions about Luna Guitars, please contact me.
I am very excited to announce that I am now an authorized dealer for Luna Guitars!
A couple of months ago, one of my adult students, Nancy Archer, came to her first lesson with a Luna Henna guitar. Nancy was really happy with it. It was easy to hold and play which is very important to a beginner. It sounded great and looked good. I was really impressed with it. I feel that having a Luna has helped make it easier for her to learn to play guitar. I liked it so well that I approached Luna for a dealership. They are great people and set me up the same day.
Luna guitars offer one of the best values in acoustic and electric guitars today. They are very comfortable, good to look at, sound great and are easy on the budget.
I'll be putting them on my website real soon. Until then check them out at http://www.lunaguitars.com/
If you have any questions about Luna Guitars, please contact me.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Beginner Guitar Students
Hi, everyone.
Over the past 30 years or so I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of beginner guitar students. Many of them had unrealistic expectations about what a guitar teacher can do for them. Most of them thought I would just show them where to put their fingers and they would play like Eddie Van Halen, or Jimmy Page in a couple of lessons. They think that it is purely an intellectual exercise and they don't realize there is much more to playing guitar.
It is as much a physical activity as golf or baseball; you just use smaller muscles. You have to condition your fingers, build dexterity and build muscle memory. This takes a lot of repetition of basic movements. It doesn't happen overnight.
I often get asked how long will it take to learn to play guitar. That's a difficult question to answer and I don't know if it can be answered. It depends on what your goal is, how far you want to take it. Do you just want to learn a few chords and play a few songs? Do you want to be a rock guitar hero? Or something inbetween. Having a clear goal is important and your teacher should help you define a goal.
I hear people say that it is easier to play the electric guitar than an acoustic. Or that it is better to start with an acoustic guitar first, then switch to electric. That is true only from a mechanical level; it is easier to press the strings against the frets on an electric. But you still have to condition your fingers and develop the dexterity. I do believe that it is good for your finger strength to start with an acoustic then play an electric later.
But for kids, I think it is better to keep them interested. They want to play the latest cool songs from Drowning Pool or even Jonas Brothers. They want to play AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. They want to sound like their heros and they want to do it on an electric guitar. I say it's OK and it will help keep up their interest.
Over the past 30 years or so I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of beginner guitar students. Many of them had unrealistic expectations about what a guitar teacher can do for them. Most of them thought I would just show them where to put their fingers and they would play like Eddie Van Halen, or Jimmy Page in a couple of lessons. They think that it is purely an intellectual exercise and they don't realize there is much more to playing guitar.
It is as much a physical activity as golf or baseball; you just use smaller muscles. You have to condition your fingers, build dexterity and build muscle memory. This takes a lot of repetition of basic movements. It doesn't happen overnight.
I often get asked how long will it take to learn to play guitar. That's a difficult question to answer and I don't know if it can be answered. It depends on what your goal is, how far you want to take it. Do you just want to learn a few chords and play a few songs? Do you want to be a rock guitar hero? Or something inbetween. Having a clear goal is important and your teacher should help you define a goal.
I hear people say that it is easier to play the electric guitar than an acoustic. Or that it is better to start with an acoustic guitar first, then switch to electric. That is true only from a mechanical level; it is easier to press the strings against the frets on an electric. But you still have to condition your fingers and develop the dexterity. I do believe that it is good for your finger strength to start with an acoustic then play an electric later.
But for kids, I think it is better to keep them interested. They want to play the latest cool songs from Drowning Pool or even Jonas Brothers. They want to play AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. They want to sound like their heros and they want to do it on an electric guitar. I say it's OK and it will help keep up their interest.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Adult Jam 5-31-08
Hi, Everyone.
This last Saturday we held out last Adult Jam for the season. It was a small group, about 9 of us, but we had a lot of fun. We had Stray Cat Strut, Blowin' in the Wind, Ruth, Knocking on Heaven's Door, Hurt, the usual Stand By Me, Margaritaville. We had a couple of Johnny Cash songs that were a lot of fun and I gave an impromptu lesson on the Carter Lick, aka bass-brush strumming.
Here are the pictures from the Jam www.napervilleguitarlessons.com/photos.html . We're thinking about having a summer Outdoor Jam. I'll post information when I have it.
Keep playing guitar!
Terry
This last Saturday we held out last Adult Jam for the season. It was a small group, about 9 of us, but we had a lot of fun. We had Stray Cat Strut, Blowin' in the Wind, Ruth, Knocking on Heaven's Door, Hurt, the usual Stand By Me, Margaritaville. We had a couple of Johnny Cash songs that were a lot of fun and I gave an impromptu lesson on the Carter Lick, aka bass-brush strumming.
Here are the pictures from the Jam www.napervilleguitarlessons.com/photos.html . We're thinking about having a summer Outdoor Jam. I'll post information when I have it.
Keep playing guitar!
Terry
Friday, May 30, 2008
Guitar Rental
PLAY BEFORE YOU BUY
THE SITUATION
It's not easy to learn to play guitar. It's like learning a new language with ear muffs on your head; you can do it but you always feel you're missing something. That's where a good teacher comes in and can lead you by the hand.
But what can be even scarier is buying a guitar before you learn to play. Most people don't buy a car before they get their license so why buy a guitar before you can play something? What happens is you go to a guitar store and ask the salesman what would be a good guitar for a beginner. At that point, you are dependant on his opinion. If you're lucky, and he hasn't been up all night gigging, you might get a decent guitar. But some people say an acoustic is better to start with than an electric and some say just the opposite. Sometimes a salesman tells you to buy a nylon string classical guitar because it will be "easier on the beginner's fingers".
After you get what you thought was a good deal, and a great beginner's guitar, you take it home. The potential student plays around with it for awhile, a few days/weeks then realizes they can't do it on thier own. So you get a teacher. Then you find out that the gutiar is difficult/impossible to play correctly. So, you tell the student that if they learn to play, you'll get them a better guitar.
This starts a terrible cycle. The student tries, but the poor equipment makes it uncomfortable to play, so they don't practice. The teacher does his/her best but can't work around the guitar. The kid gets yelled at for not practicing, the parents get frustrated then stops lessons. The kids never learns to play and the guitar starts to gather dust quickly.
THE SOLUTION : LEARN BEFORE YOU BUY
Generally speaking, it takes about 2 months to learn a few chords and to play a couple of simple songs. To be able to pick out a guitar you like and not one that the salesman likes, you need to play the same song or chords on several different guitars. I look for a guitar that is playable, then how it sounds. The last thing I consider is how it looks. I have the salesman stand there and hand me guitars while I play the same thing over and over again. And I have him play the same thing on the guitars so I can hear it from a distance.
My program is simple. You rent a guitar from me for 2 months and take 8 to 10 lessons . You will then be ready to pick out a guitar that you feel good about. Most guitar salesmen can make any guitar sound great, even the junkers. But if you can play it and have an idea what you're looking for, you will get a guitar that will last you much longer than the bargain basement instrument from Walmart.
Rent-to-own also available.
Please visit this link for current prices Vocals and More .
Call Terry Schafer at 630-983-6674
Or
Stephanie @ Vocals and More 630-851-3262
THE SITUATION
It's not easy to learn to play guitar. It's like learning a new language with ear muffs on your head; you can do it but you always feel you're missing something. That's where a good teacher comes in and can lead you by the hand.
But what can be even scarier is buying a guitar before you learn to play. Most people don't buy a car before they get their license so why buy a guitar before you can play something? What happens is you go to a guitar store and ask the salesman what would be a good guitar for a beginner. At that point, you are dependant on his opinion. If you're lucky, and he hasn't been up all night gigging, you might get a decent guitar. But some people say an acoustic is better to start with than an electric and some say just the opposite. Sometimes a salesman tells you to buy a nylon string classical guitar because it will be "easier on the beginner's fingers".
After you get what you thought was a good deal, and a great beginner's guitar, you take it home. The potential student plays around with it for awhile, a few days/weeks then realizes they can't do it on thier own. So you get a teacher. Then you find out that the gutiar is difficult/impossible to play correctly. So, you tell the student that if they learn to play, you'll get them a better guitar.
This starts a terrible cycle. The student tries, but the poor equipment makes it uncomfortable to play, so they don't practice. The teacher does his/her best but can't work around the guitar. The kid gets yelled at for not practicing, the parents get frustrated then stops lessons. The kids never learns to play and the guitar starts to gather dust quickly.
THE SOLUTION : LEARN BEFORE YOU BUY
Generally speaking, it takes about 2 months to learn a few chords and to play a couple of simple songs. To be able to pick out a guitar you like and not one that the salesman likes, you need to play the same song or chords on several different guitars. I look for a guitar that is playable, then how it sounds. The last thing I consider is how it looks. I have the salesman stand there and hand me guitars while I play the same thing over and over again. And I have him play the same thing on the guitars so I can hear it from a distance.
My program is simple. You rent a guitar from me for 2 months and take 8 to 10 lessons . You will then be ready to pick out a guitar that you feel good about. Most guitar salesmen can make any guitar sound great, even the junkers. But if you can play it and have an idea what you're looking for, you will get a guitar that will last you much longer than the bargain basement instrument from Walmart.
Rent-to-own also available.
Please visit this link for current prices Vocals and More .
Call Terry Schafer at 630-983-6674
Or
Stephanie @ Vocals and More 630-851-3262
Adult Jam May 31st, 2008
Hey there, hi there, ho there!
We're having another Adult Jam this Saturday, 8 PM at Vocals and More, 481 N Commons , Aurora IL
The rules are simple. Play some guitar, have fun and no showing off! If you show off you shove off!
Of course, we'll play Margaritaville and you must be old enough to order a Margarita to attend the Jam!
See you then. I'll put the photos at
www.napervilleguitarlessons.com/tschafer/photos/
You can see the photos from the last Jam there!
Thanks, Terry
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