March Jam Session

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March Jam Session

We just completed our March jam session and it was amazing. Students of all ages and levels were there in four separate bands. It was fun to kick things off with a quick solo from Pink Floyd’s Sorrow before everyone got up to play.

It is always a little scary to play in a band for the first time. But by the end, everyone was excited to sign up for the next session.

Jam Session Songs

For March’s jam session, we picked the same song for all four bands since most people really loved the tune. It was called Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton.

Avery and Frank at the March Jam Session

Avery and Frank at the March Jam Session

The great thing about this song is that it had parts for everyone. If the student was a beginner and never played in front of anyone, they could do the two chords. For the more advanced students, they could choose to hit the intro or take the solo in the center.

It was so incredible to see students as young as 8 years old playing in band. It will be a memory they will have for the rest of their life.

Multiple Bands

By having the four separate bands, students were able to play and then leave if they wanted to. The sessions ended up being the perfect length for the younger kids. In the beginning, each band played for full two hours. By then, most everyone was pretty exhausted.

Thank You to Jam Participants

I want to thank everyone for making this session such a success. A shout out to James, Ralph, and Rob for playing in multiple groups since we needed a bassist and vocals across the other bands. They were so much fun to work with and really made the session flow. It looks like our April session will add two more bands to the line up!

If you are interested in lessons, please contact us to get started.

Guitar for a Beginner Student

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Guitar for a Beginner Student

One of the best ways to help your son or daughter become successful in their lessons is to pick the right guitar for a beginner student. I don’t blame the parents who inadvertently chose something hard to play since parents generally don’t know what to look for in a guitar. They are just excited to get their child into lessons. But I know that without a full set up and new strings, or a new guitar, the student will not want to take guitar lessons for very long. And they will absolutely dread practicing.

Price Recommendation

I recommend spending at least $200-$300 if you are getting a new instrument-especially for younger students. If you are worried about spending the extra money for something they may not continue with, remember it is important to give them the best chance for success. Fender makes a very nice, inexpensive beginner guitar that will help make their lessons something they look forward to.

The Fender Squier is Perfect for New Students

Guitar for a Beginner Student

Leila rocking her Fender Squier

Electric Guitar

To make things as fun as possible for the younger students, try a ¾ sized Fender Squier. These are perfect! As I type, Amazon has a package with a guitar, amp, picks, strap, cable, tuner, and strings for $279. This is exactly what I would recommend. For a teen or adult student, the same set up with a full-size guitar is $329. Well worth the investment and the guitars come in variety of colors. This will most certainly help their musical journey.

Acoustic Guitar

Acoustic guitars are nice, but probably the hardest to learn on. This is because the strings are so much thicker. They can begin to hurt the fingertips and be difficult to get a good tone on when starting out. If you prefer to use and acoustic, one idea would be to put light or extra light gauge strings on the guitar. This will help tremendously in giving the student a positive experience.

Guitars to Stay Away From

I am sure that First Act makes a guitar that could be decent. But in my opinion and experience, their intonation is generally off making the instrument sound out of tune. When the intonation is off, the guitar is out of tune as soon as a finger is placed on a fret. This happens even when each string has been perfectly tuned. I cannot remember ever playing a First Act guitar that sounded good. It can cost a lot of money to fix, more than the instrument is worth.

Also, by purchasing a cheap guitar, you may have to upgrade shortly thereafter anyway. This means spending even more money than would have been necessary.

Here is a link to a page where you can check out the ¾ size Squiers. Enjoy your journey, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Welcome Letter

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How Often Should I Practice

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How Often Should I Practice

One question I get all the time is “how often should I practice?”  My recommendation is at least 20 minutes three times per week. For brand new students, sometimes it is better to stop earlier if your fingers get sore…especially for the younger kids.

The key is not to get overwhelmed by how much practice time you must put in. By shooting for 20 minutes, you are more likely to pull out your instrument. Just pulling out the guitar can be the beginning of an hour-long practice session without even realizing it. Getting the instrument into your hands can be so much fun that you may not want to stop.

Practice the Day of Lessons

One important recommendation is to practice after you get home from a guitar lesson. By doing this, everything will be fresh in your mind and you can then reinforce the skills or songs right away. In addition, if you do have a question, it is easier to text or call your teacher then so he can address it and either send additional information or help you through it.

Keep Your Instrument Visible

How Often Should I Practice

Kennedy at Practice

Another helpful hint is to keep your instrument in a stand. This way, your guitar will stare you down. Just having to open the case will sometimes stop a student from practicing.

Another idea is to put your instrument next to the couch. If you have an electric guitar, it is a lot of fun to noodle around while watching tv. It is amazing how fast you can become just by doing a few finger exercises or simple riffs while watching your favorite show.

Dedicate a Specific Time

Having a practice time helps tremendously as well. Making it a part of a routine is a great way to remember to pull out your instrument. Right after school can be a perfect time to schedule a practice session.

As a parent, it can be a bit more difficult to find the time and/or energy to practice. Having lessons on a regular basis can help with this. A parent can then get in some consistent practice time that works the best with their schedule. For those very busy parents, it may be a great idea to consider a full hour lesson each week. You can literally achieve your goal twice as fast and help make up for the lack of available practice time.

Final Motivator: Build Your Brain Cells While You Sleep

Some final thoughts…The interesting thing about practice is that your brain will processes the information from the previous day while you sleep. You will then be much better at that skill the next day.  That is why we are sometimes able to play riffs and chords better the next day than while we were practicing.

Hope you found these suggestions helpful. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sprucing Up a Lesson Studio

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Sprucing up a Lesson Studio

Sprucing up a Lesson Studio

Improvements to the Studio

If you ever take on the task of sprucing up a lesson studio, make sure to be patient. Studios tend to always be a work in progress. Teaching studios are incredibly fun to put together. But even when you think you have the perfect idea, trying it out can be a whole different thing.  There are three simple steps that can help turn a plain room into an inspiring studio, and remember, Amazon can be your best friend!

Ambience

The first thing is to create ambience. One of the additions that was most commented on in my studio were the acoustic panels. The red and black square foot wall panels help to make the room feel much more inviting.

Depending where you are installing them, they could be difficult to put up. I quickly realized that the acoustic panels would not stick to cement using tape, so I bought a hot glue gun to put them onto black cardboard. Then Velcroed the cardboard to the cement. That did not last either, so had to hang the panels from the floor joists with thin black sewing thread. Finally, they stayed and look great! They will be much easier to install if you have a finished room.

One thing to consider is to purchase 2-inch thick acoustic panels. I currently have the 1-inch thick version which does help, but the thicker the panel the more dampening effect it will produce. There are also corner shaped acoustic panels that look really nice. Putting a few of those up will add to the professional look.

The Lesson Studio Floor

This may sound crazy, but black yoga mats work incredibly well, especially on cement floors. I bought the Innhom gym flooring mats off Amazon. I did not know how they would turn out, but they ended up being amazing for several reasons. First, they looked great and were very comfortable to stand on during the jam sessions. They also did wonders to hide all the guitar and speaker cables. Now I don’t have to worry about people tripping over cables. Plus, keeping the cables hidden makes the place look much cleaner. As an added bonus, they made the room look bigger.

Lighting

Teaching Area of a Lesson Studio

The Teaching Area

This is probably one of the most important additions. I purchased WIFI light bulbs that can be controlled by a cell phone in order to change colors and intensity. Those are incredible! The only downfall is that the studio only had 2 light fixtures. This made the room darker when they were changed to blue or red. A student commented that the studio seemed a little dark, so it was Amazon to the rescue.

I picked up some 40 watt Hekee colored LED lights which put out an equivalent to 400 watts of lighting from an incandescent light. Those were strategically placed around the studio to splash light up on the walls. Eventually, I ended up with 5 of those and added some PAR 56 LED lights. What a huge improvement.  I think having the lighting dispersed all around the studio really gave the room a nice rock and roll feel.

Final Thought

Overall, those few additions turned an ugly cement room into an amazing teaching studio. Adding a snack table and small refrigerator made a huge difference as well, especially to the younger students. Sometimes students come straight from school and are hungry. Keeping chips and snacks around have really helped.

If you are interested in taking lessons, I would be happy to get you started on your musical journey!

Feeling Nervous About Lessons

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Feeling Nervous About Starting Lessons

I always look forward to meeting new students, especially if they are feeling nervous about starting lessons.  It is nice to see them relax after about 10 minutes-once they begin to realize how easy learning guitar is.

The guitar is simply and amazing instrument, and the speed in which we learn how to play it is completely up to the student. Private guitar lessons are so different from a college class. There is no fixed time line and a very flexible path of learning. Whatever the student’s goal is will determine the speed and direction.

Unfortunately, there have been several occasions where my students have aced the college jazz band audition only to quit after a year. This is sometimes caused by the rigid programs and endless commitment to practicing. I think there are occasions where certain students will excel at an intense program. However, most people seem to want to have an artistic approach to playing music rather than an academic approach with that type of intensity.

After years of teaching, I believe that if the focus is on the areas the student is interested in, they will stay inspired. When I demonstrate how to play something, they can see that it is something they can do and it drives them to pull out their guitar at home. Intrinsic motivation is by far a a more positive force, in my opinion, than extrinsic.

Everyone Has Different Interests

Feeling Nervous About Lessons

Song Writing

Some people do find enjoyment in the deep theory and how everything fits together. This is incredibly fun to teach and can open a lot of creative doors for song writers. But it seems that most students would simply like to learn how to strum their favorite songs for friends around a campfire. Pursuing what the students is interested in will keep them motivated while they learn other things along the way.

Final Thoughts

In the end, music is a place where you can lose yourself sometimes for hours. When students enjoy the lessons, they continue taking lessons and those relationships are very rewarding. Watching a student grow musically is amazing. Everyone has their own journey with their own time line, never let nerves stop you from learning a new instrument.

If you have any questions about lessons, feel free to contact me.

Our First Gig in the New Band

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Leaving Spotlight Music

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The Amazing Jam Sessions

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The Amazing Jam Sessions

Growing up, playing with other musicians was extremely inspiring. The guitar took on a whole new dimension and eventually led to a rewarding teaching career. I hope to pass along that same inspiration to my students by having some amazing jam sessions.  A person never knows where it can lead. Even if they don’t pursue music, my hope is that each student can look back and have a great memory and be able to scratch “playing in a band” off their bucket list.

How the Jam Sessions Work

June was our first open jam session which started right after the student band finished. Everyone is invited, and their parents and friends are welcome too.

There will be two full bands each month. Each group will consist of 3 guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, one or two vocalists, a ukulele player, and possibly a keyboardist. Each band learns a song in the one-on-one lessons and then plays their assigned part at the show.

During the performance, the song is played 3 times. The first time is to get comfortable with the levels and playing in the group. This time through is with the pre-recorded song. After that, it will be played twice more to tighten up the song and allow the parents to record it. The older students are invited to solo over a 12-bar blues if they would like to.

No one is required to solo, but everyone is welcome to. Each of the soloists will take 2 rounds of solos. We will go over the solos in the one-on-one sessions for the students who want to play during this section.

There are two 27-inch monitors which display the chords and diagrams on the screen just in case anyone gets lost.

Anticipation

The Amazing Jam Sessions

Karney on Drums

Despite a little twinge of nerves, the rush afterwards is incredible and addicting.  What stops most people from participating is the fear that they will not do well and become embarrassed. But with one simple 5 note scale called the minor pentatonic, it is easy to hit every note in the blues jam perfectly. The pentatonic scale is simple to learn and play. It can make a brand-new soloist sound like they have been playing for a while.

One thing that is very nice is that there are no egos.  Some of the students have never played an instrument and are only a couple of months into guitar lessons. And the people who have been taking lessons for a long time are very supportive of the other players. The new students are learning alongside other students who may be soloing for the first time.

Having such a positive environment is a great way to get started before trying a club or open mic where sometimes the musicians might be a bit less accepting of new players.

The Reward

Trying a jam session really helps because it drives a person to want to learn more and get better. There is nothing like having full set of musicians, including a bassist and drummer, to jam with. The feel of the music is so important, something a lot of people miss out on.

On top of gaining inspiration, playing with other musicians is a great way to meet people and have an opportunity to start a band.

Encouraging Students

If you are not sure about trying it, feel free to stop by to watch and see what it is all about. That is a great approach. Then if you decide you would like to try it, I will get you slotted into the next available band. Before you know it, you will be hooked!

As with everything, just taking that first step can open a door to something incredible. Putting yourself out there can build a lot of confidence.

Let me know if you are interested in signing up, it could be a life changer- it was for me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting the Most Out of Your Lessons

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Getting the Most Out of Your Lesson

When taking on a new skill such as learning guitar, it is so important to make sure you get the most out of your lessons.

A couple of important things to think about before heading off to your first session:

  • What do you want most out of the lessons?
  • What type of music do you like?
  • What does your dedicated practice time look like?
  • Is this something fun just for you or do you want to be able to play for family and friends?
  • Are you interested in an academic approach with notes and theory?
  • Do you want to improve skills through learning songs?

What do You Want to Get Out of Your Lessons?

Getting the Most Out of Your Lessons

Josiah’s Certificate of Achievement

One of the first questions I ask my students is what their musical goals are. For most students, it is something they want to do for fun. Some just want to play for family at the holidays or jam with friends. A few people are looking to try out for high school and college jazz bands.

To play for fun versus preparing for a jazz band tryout are taught in completely different ways. Most instructors want to know your goals, but if for some reasons it is overlooked, definitely talk about it.

I currently have students who just want to solo and some who only want to learn strum patterns. So each week we match up a song they like with an amazing solo or strum pattern and they are very inspired to learn. For Jazz students, having the ability to read a chart and get through the chords is a huge motivator.

Without a goal in mind, you may be learning songs or doing exercises that a far less beneficial than they could be. Some songs will help to get the chords down in a way that makes sense. A knowledgeable instructor will be able to pull out several tunes from different styles to get you to your goal systematically.

What Music Styles Do You Like?

Telling your teacher what kind of music you like is probably the second most important piece of information to pass along. If you signed up hoping to learn rock and roll and your classically trained instructor pulls out Mozart, you may dread the lessons. He or she may be the best teacher in the world, but it is hard to get excited about a style you are not familiar with and do not like. This happened before I met one of my current students almost causing them to quit guitar altogether.

The quickest way to destroy musical passion is the to continually teach music that does not inspire the student.

What Areas Do You Want to Cover

Some people have come into my studio and only want to learn strum patterns or how to solo. Right away, I start thinking about some of the coolest solos in their ability; or some songs with an amazing strum pattern that they can build from. Most teachers will have a collection of songs that fit the different areas, so it is important to let them know what you are interested in.

Make Sure Your Teacher Knows Your Practice Time

Practice time for a teen is usually drastically different than practice time an adult. With kids, a career, and other obligations, sometimes an adult may only have a half hour a week to sit down on the guitar. Whereas a teen may have a lot of extra time. Even with sports and school, teens can usually find a couple of hours per week. Whatever your case is, you may pass that along to the instructor as well. This will affect the amount of material covered per session. Some adults only are able to practice when they have the lesson. Knowing that can really help. The teacher can then prepare the material in way to keep things moving forward without overloading the student.

It is all about enjoying the musical journey. No matter what, make sure you do not lose your passion for any instrument in the process.

If you are interested in learning the guitar, bass, or ukulele, please contact me. Thanks!!