Funky Fingerstyle Guitar
I’m often asked the question “do you use a set list when you play concerts?” This brings up the question of how to put a set together for a good show. I use a loose set idea with a game plan which I will describe.
But first…has the following ever happened to you…?
[Read more…] about How To Create a Great “Set List” For Musical PerformanceOne of the joys of my musical journey is to discover something musically and see that it also applies to all of life.
(Really guitar and “life” are no different – since it’s our brains looking outward and seeing the contents of our own thought!)
I have been doing a lot of slow, deliberate practice on fingerstyle guitar pieces like “Thriller” and “Aqualeros do Brasil” and “Fly Me To The Moon” simply because I want the groove to be deeper and want the perfect sparkling and coordinated “mix” of melody, bass and accompaniment.
It never fails; once I put my mind on the role and job of my right hand thumb, I see that it has been pulled by the influence of the other right hand fingers, and is not as solid as I thought it was! [Read more…] about As Above, So Below…on the Guitar
Often we hit “plateaus” when we play guitar. We feel that we haven’t been improving.
That’s good! 🙂
To my delight I just started book called “Mastery – The Keys to Success and Long Term Fulfillment” by George Leonard. Mr. Leonard points out the American “war on mastery” – an epidemic of wanting things “quickly and easily”. He then accurately describes the delicious, sweet, long term path to mastery through his story of Aikido.
The path to mastery is not a steady incline; there are growth spurts, and then long plateaus where on the surface “nothing” seems to be happening. At first, the student feels that these plateaus are disheartening and frustrating and wants only the peaks. [Read more…] about Hitting “Plateaus” in Guitar Practice
Great news!
(Revisiting this….I know this is a few years old now but heck, it’s cool anyway…enjoy!)
JAZZIZ magazine has voted “I REMEMBER MICHAEL – A Michael Jackson Solo Guitar Tribute” as a Critic’s Choice Top 10 CD of 2011. Wow!!!
I am truly honored. I worked very hard on this project by practicing guitar for hours and hours, funneling 15 MJ songs onto a little wooden box with strings, and using 10 just fingers and lots of imagination.
Thank you to JAZZIZ magazine – and extra special thank you to all of YOU who have watched my videos & commented (and egged me on for more).
Without your “audience participation” – this CD project would never have happened.
Here you go…take a listen to “Human Nature” from the CD….enjoy!
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/22077163″]
I just got back to NYC a few days ago from a short trip to Germany. I was a guest artist at the Remschied Guitar Festival in Germany – and it was a lovely scene and experience. The students were mainly classical and rock guitar players – and they were excellent.
With each student I see and teach, I see a little part of my past and history, and to be honest – I almost get “tear jerked” as I remember how much my beloved teachers helped, taught and mentored me.
[Read more…] about You Can’t Learn This From YouTube