Jazz Education

What’s the Best Approach for Improving Your Guitar Technique?

Learning to blend technique and feel are like having a good balance of “head and heart.”

Both are important!

If all we use is our head, the feel will be missing
If all we use is our feelings, we’ll miss out on good musicianship and nice harmonies

I got a question recently from a subscriber that read…

I was wondering what your opinion was on practicing technique, learning scales, chord progressions, and theory in the context of a song versus on their own.

This is really a good – and complex question. Here goes… [Read more…] about What’s the Best Approach for Improving Your Guitar Technique?

Practicing Guitar and Your “Happy” Brain Chemicals…

By Adam Rafferty 19 Comments

This is a pretty taboo subject, but let’s dive in.

I recently got an email from a reader saying:

“Hi Adam. I’m going through a phase where I can’t find any I situation or have as much fun playing as I used to. Have you got any idea or any tips or me to get back into it? Thanks – Mick”

Musicians are human, and all of us have ups & downs because it is built into our system. When we have ups & downs, much of “how we feel” has do do with the presence or absence of certain naturally produced brain chemicals.

Adam Rafferty Rethinks Recording CDs & Distribution

By Adam Rafferty 43 Comments

Note: This article is NOT a gripe & whine session. It’s an inquiry of “what should musicians do now that the game has changed?”

Below I will outline 12 points.
Items 1 – 6 diagnose “the problem” with doing things the old way in the today’s environment (it’s a mismatch)
Items 7 – 11 become solution oriented, so yes there is hope! (we have to think differently)
Item 10 is my big AHA moment and I describe what I may do next

Practicing Music or Practicing Guitar Technique – What’s Better?

By Adam Rafferty 3 Comments

Adam Rafferty guitar technique
Often when we hear a soulful musical performance we can’t imagine that the “wonderful music” had to be practiced technically.

Even though we are “feeling it” as listeners, much more than “feelings” had to go in to it.

Master musicians look at music from all angles, musical and technical.

Master musicians love it all…music and technique. They go together.

4 Tips for Keeping Your Guitar Arrangements Under Your Fingers

By Adam Rafferty 44 Comments

A student just asked me the question from the “Ask Adam” page.

“Adam…..I have a problem of remembering songs I’ve already learned
when they haven’t been played in a couple of weeks…usually when I’m
concentrating on new material. How do you keep it all under your fingers?”

When I learn a new song, or am writing a song I have to almost have to “forget” every other song I know.

For example, I recently came up with an arrangement for “Killing me Softly” and I had to
play nothing but that song for a week.