The Art of Patience

We all know the old saying: “practise makes perfect”, but how often do we really take it to heart? If you really want to play something perfectly, you’re going to need to practise hard! So, what does it take to practise hard? First of all you’ll need a practise plan- or some sort of goals [...]

May 7, 2012 at 12:00 pm | Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments

Practising Speed and Fluency

I’ll make this one short. I haven’t addressed this issue particularly when it comes to guitar technique. I’m talking about being comfortable with the instrument- no, its not a specific technique, but yes, its one of those things that make the difference between a mediocre player and an expert. You shouldn’t be struggling to play [...]

April 25, 2012 at 11:37 pm | Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments

Accelerated Learning with Creative Visualization

Sorry if the title is a bit of a mouthful! This is something that can really help you out when trying to play very difficult songs, and I’m not sure of another way to say it. Creative Visualisation What on earth is “creative visualisation”, and how can it help you to learn faster than you [...]

April 24, 2012 at 9:54 pm | Practicing and Practice Routine | 2 comments

The Importance of Playtime

This probably isn’t quite going to be about what you expect… You see, adults often neglect the importance of “play” (or you could say: “mental creativity”) in their own lives, because it’s seen as pretty childish. I’m here to tell you that that’s not only completely wrong, but it is- in fact- bad for you! [...]

April 3, 2012 at 1:23 pm | Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments

3 Tips for Memorising Scales

OK, we all know that learning your scales off by heart can be boring and tedious sometimes- and if you don’t know that yet…you will, believe me! The unfortunately,

March 14, 2012 at 10:18 pm | Guitar Scales, Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments

5 Signs You’re playing too fast!

This is something I honestly do see a lot with students. Practising something at a speed that is just too fast! The thing is though, unless you’re looking out for the signs, it’s almost impossible to tell by yourself whether or not this is happening to you. Guitar playing is not- and I repeat NOT- [...]

February 28, 2012 at 2:13 pm | Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments

Have you “hit a Wall”?

So, what am I talking about today? Well, you know those times when you keep practising and practising, but it just feels like you’re getting nowhere? No matter how hard you try, or how long you play for, you just don’t feel like you’re improving? That’s when you’ve “hit a wall” and can’t go any [...]

December 15, 2011 at 3:43 pm | Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments

Stuck in a Rut?

OK, today’s post comes especially with inspiration in mind. Do you ever find yourself stuck in a rut? I mean, do you ever find that- although your technical ability is improving- everything you play and/or improvise is starting to sound the same? Well, you may have heard that the best way to get out of [...]

September 21, 2011 at 4:00 pm | Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments

Guitar Speed

I made this video because I was asked how fast I can actually play. I have given out lots of advice about how to play faster, but not really demonstrated these techniques in a video before. No, I’m not the fastest player in the world, and I’ve never tried to be. The idea behind this [...]

June 20, 2011 at 8:53 pm | Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments

Transcribing: Melody

The dark art of transcription, a.k.a. “tabbing stuff out” has baffled many aspiring musicians for many years. Well, if you’ve come here looking for the answers then you’re in luck! I’ve broken down the process of transcribing into what I might end up calling “The Lead Sheet Method“. What is the “lead sheet method”? Well, [...]

June 9, 2011 at 2:00 pm | Developing Your Ears, How to, Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments

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