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Person playing acoustic guitar

Beginning Guitar

  • Have you ever felt like you wanted to learn guitar, but just really didn’t know where to begin?
  • Tried learning on your own but found books, tabs and the Internet to be of limited help?
  • Taken guitar from another teacher but just didn’t get very far?

Physical Technique

I understand your pain. While millions of people play guitar and many folks can just pick it up and start playing, the guitar is actually a rather difficult instrument to learn and play. Physical technique is extremely important. How you approach, hold and physically play the instrument can have a huge impact on your ability to be effective. And sadly, many teachers barely even mention the importance of good physical technique. I first studied bass guitar, which is much larger and more physically demanding than a normal 6 string guitar. Then I studied classical guitar which requires extreme control and precision on the instrument. I fully understand and appropriately stress the importance of good physical technique.

The Internet is probably the single most revolutionary tool for guitarists today. The wealth of materials available on the web provides guitarists with an almost unlimited resource for learning new things. But there is one thing the Interwebs cannot do. And that is look back at you and see what you are doing.

The Right Teacher

Its so important for a beginning guitarist to have a good teacher that can see their unique approach to the instrument. Because every person is unique and therefore approaches the instrument uniquely. Having a good teacher to point out your strengths and help guide you through your weaknesses is vital to a good experience when beginning to learn the guitar.

And while many teachers may be great players or even good teachers, not every teacher and teaching style is appropriate for every student. Students owe it to themselves to find a teacher they are comfortable with and communicate well with. Don’t just take the first teacher that comes along. Make sure you and your teacher are a good fit.

Topics Covered: How to properly hold your instrument, how to properly hold and use a pick, how to employ finger style technique in both Country/Bluegrass and Classical styles, basic rhythm guitar, chord basics, scale basics, songs, tabs, chord charts, notation basics and more…