You can

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Tom

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.” – Henry Ford

Also said, in part, by Phil X about his recent video of Deep Purple’s Highway Star keyboard solo. Trying to cop a keyboard solo on guitar is tough but try the one in this song and your fingers might fall off! Phil X is an amazing guitarist but he said that he worked out and then practiced the keyboard solo just about every moment he could until he got it. His parting comment was a paraphrase of this quote, “When you think you can…”.

Golf is first won in the head

I’m not a golfer but I love the mindset the pros have and maintain especially under tremendous pressure. It is a version of this same idea that you need to win the game in your head first. Confidence is everything as it propels persistence and then success. Everything accomplished in life comes from this, including guitar. You can do this.

Learning anything is just a series of steps where you say, "I can".
You can do this one step at a time.

The beginner

Ok, so you are just starting to learn to play guitar. How does this apply when everything seems like a challenge? If you are tempted or even say, “I can’t…” follow that up with “…right now.” You might not be able to make the music you hear in your head right now but you will.

I had a student some years ago who would say, “I can’t” when I would show her something new. I told her to just practice and keep at it. A year later she could not understand why she thought it was so difficult! Now she is bored with what she can play and asks for something more complex and challenging almost every time I work with her.

The biggest challenge

Besides getting in the right frame of mind, the biggest challenge I see new players make is taking on something too big, too soon. Breaking down the music into much smaller chunks helps to avoid the sense of being overwhelmed and then defeat. My jazz guitarist friend, Tom Monaco, alludes to this when he talks about taking on a song that you can do about 80% now. You may not know that much of the song right now but it is within your ability.

For those of us who have been playing a long time, discouragement may not be an issue. So, tackling a large challenging piece may be just the thing. For example, I plan to learn Donna Lee on bass. Each individual part is well within my grasp but it will take some time to get each part satisfactorily and then put it all together. Add that to my already full practice schedule and Just 2 Play Guitar class development and – Whew!

Forget about The Little Engine That Could, this is an engine that can and will.

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Getting some time to play my guitar

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Tom

My wife and I are going to a 4th of July party this afternoon but I have a song that came to me overnight. I want to save something of the tune to work on later but getting the time to play and get ready to go to the party is a challenge. Still, I must…

Getting time to play can be a challenge. Time to create is even more of a challenge.
Time is always flying by.

Cramming…

If you remember your days preparing for exams in school, you have an idea of the kind of time pressure. Maybe it is more like completing a major project in the hours before school starts. Either way, I want to get the basics down that will 1) remind me how it goes and 2) give me something to work with later. This entails a couple key elements:

  • Create a drum/rhythm track
  • Lay down the basic guitar part

I am still working with new software and do not have a lot of templates and basic drum parts waiting to be employed. The song isn’t even entirely together. There are some basic lyrics I cobbled together at breakfast but they need work, as usual. All of this takes precious time and distracting work.

Time to play, time to create

When you have a song in mind, original or otherwise, take the time to get it out. Even if for a few minutes! Start then expand. You will get in some smidgen of practice but also may come away with something to work on and motivate you later. The completion will give you a sense of accomplishment at the very least! And you can add a new one to your repertoire.

If you ever would like to play at family gatherings, picnics, or gatherings with friends, this is prep time for you. One of the best things I ever did for myself was get together a couple of set lists for playing at a local coffee house and then prepare for the evening. Now I have a whole repertoire of complete songs I can draw on anytime. When playing with others and the inevitable question arises, “What shall we play?” you have the sets! You can also teach the songs to others and further cement your own educational journey. Win-win!

Consider this the beginning of your coffee house gig.

Taking my own advice

So, I have to get back to my project here. Time is running short! It will show up on one of my Youtube channels. So, be on the lookout!

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Still Got Classic Rock After All These Years

Posted on July 3, 2020 by Tom

I’m sitting in a waiting room this morning at the doctor’s office and the office staff has music going in the background. 80’s music. Bon Jovi, Livin’ On a Prayer, to be specific. I always laugh when I think back to my mother’s disdain for Classic Rock and how it is mainstream now.

Waiting and listening to rock and roll is something my mother would not have approved.
Waiting and listening…

The new muzak?

Elevator music, grocery store music, it even plays a minor part in the first Blues Brothers movie! Back in the day, Muzak was the reigning background music. Was anybody ever inspired to take up an instrument because of their love of muzak? I frequently joke about a local radio station that played the stuff. My mother always had them tuned in at home – WGAY, “Beautiful Music.” Blechh!

Now it is common to hear classic rock quietly playing in the background. Makes me want to jam right there in the waiting room. With Lynard Skynard or The Allman Brothers it is nice to sit and while away the hours at the doctor’s office…waiting…maybe play a little air guitar…

The next generation of guitarists

So, now friends of mine have kids who are coming into their own. What do they want to play? Classic Rock. Not all, but a sizeable portion. Somebody always seems to be trying to nail Back In Black, yet again. Is there such a thing as Neo Classic Rock? Will we be subjected to endless cover bands like orchestras playing the same old symphonies from the 1700’s? I wonder what music will be played for movies that will be made about my generation. Swing is cool but I see Kiss referred to more often than not as a big inspiration to my generation of players.

Re-imagining Classic Rock

Taking the riffs from classic rock and spinning them into something new may be a whole genre that is yet to be explored. Postmodern Jukebox has been making a career out of re-imaging hits into their own unique style. One of my favorite YouTubers also re-imagines songs, Adam Neely. I tend to take the swagger and riffage style into my own guitar playing. It cannot be escaped. The comment is always, “Oo, that’s cool. What is that?” Give it a try.

So, a little pentatonic riff can go a long way and falls easily from the fingers for me. Snap on an appropriate rhythm and something fun always erupts. I only wish I had something to record on when it happens. Unfortunately, I rarely remember exactly what I was doing. Like a dream, it floats away quickly. Still, it is a great outlet and brings a smile to my face. Apparently, others are smiling with me and that is a good thing 🙂

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Guitar Practice Makes Perfect?

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Tom

Building on yesterdays topic, Time to Practice, a good friend of mine who has played jazz guitar for many years sent the following for the more serious guitarist:

How you spend your time practicing your guitar can make a huge difference in growth as a player.
To learn and grow in music, you must practice your guitar

From Tom Monaco:

One of the most important things for anyone to learn and grow in music is practice. Many guitarists are self-taught, using a variety of ways to gain skills. These include watching their favorite players, chord books, chord sheets with lyrics found on the internet and picking this up from friends etc. What this usually produces is a constantly evolving array of variables. These can include everything from holding the guitar to hand positions and pick technique. This can produce a lot of frustration and make learning difficult and self-limiting. The guitar is an instrument that is easy to play some things. But just like any instrument, there is a lot more involved than using chord diagrams and randomly picking out a melody. These things are certainly part of the fun, but you can avoid the arrested development syndrome that often occurs. 

Breaking it down

I break my guitar practice down to three categories and they should be utilized in sequence with one third of your time spent on each one. 

  1. Technique and Warm up
  2. New music
  3. Have some fun!

Warm up time

When we first start our practice we need to make sure we are getting our fingers moving. This starts with making sure we have our hand positions and finger movements working. Fingers are “dumb”, meaning they only move the way we teach them. They can’t learn on their own, unless we teach them. Once we get them working mechanically, they will respond excellently to what they know.

To learn good technique, it’s important to work with a teacher who can help you. I recommend that you choose this person carefully and accept their guidance. This will help to prevent you from learning habits that may limit you greatly down the road. We hear the term “practice makes perfect”, but it really is “perfect practice makes perfect”. This is very important for long term growth. Fingers will learn exactly what we teach them, good, bad or indifferent. So, this is very important to take note of early in process. We want to allow ourselves to not become limited and frustrated down the road.

New guitar music time

Once our fingers are moving and our minds are fresh, it is a great time to move to the second segment of our practice. Pick out in advance what you would like to accomplish. Make sure that this goal is attainable for you and not something that will be frustrating and wear you down. A good barometer for this is something that 80% of it you are pretty much able to. This will allow you to accommodate your growth keeping a level of challenge that you can feel comfortable while still offering a few hurdles that will build your skills and enhance your repertoire of music you enjoy.

Have some fun!

The third segment of your practice should be the time that you play things that you are comfortable with and most importantly, enjoy. We want to leave our instrument with a good feeling so that we will want to come back to it. There’s nothing like leaving your instrument on “a bad note”. This is part of the growing process of building a good, bonding relationship with your guitar so that you leave all doors open to growth, and enjoyment of playing guitar!

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Time to Practice

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Tom

Feeling like you don’t have time to practice? You work all day and get home exhausted. The kids need your attention, your spouse would like some time, you have obligations,… Where do you find the time to pick up your guitar and play? Time can easily derail what was an honest effort to learn or just improve guitar playing. There are many things you can do to help and we are going to concentrate on just two: proximity and making use of downtime.

Proximity

Where do you keep your guitar? Probably in its case which is not a bad idea in light of what I wrote yesterday. However, you may want to consider getting it out and leaving it out close to where you typically spend your time. Not to contradict what I said before about humidity, take some steps to help better control the atmosphere in the room you keep your guitar or buy a beater and don’t worry about (my solution 😉

Keep a guitar within easy reach so you can play when you are waiting on something or have a break.
Keep a guitar within easy reach.

In the picture above, you can see my ol’ beater electric that I’ve modified many times over the years. My office/studio is fairly well controlled for humidity and doesn’t fluctuate much. So, this guitar is safe. Not very visible behind my Texas shaped coffee mug, is the mini amp I use with it. Plugged or unplugged, every little stolen moment is worth it.

Downtime

So, you are sitting at the doctor’s office either for yourself or for a family member. Could be a five minute wait but it is likely to be more like 30 minutes or more. What a waste! …or is it?

Denis Waitley, a noted motivational speaker and author, introduced me to the concept of “practicing within when you are without.” This is a concept used by Blue Angels pilots, dancers and musicians all over. You may have run into it if you have ever heard about how professional musicians take time to “get in the zone” just before they play. Noted studio musician, Tim Pierce, goes into this in one of his videos. In his 20 guitar TIPS you MUST know to always be READY, tip 18 is about Eddie Van Halen doing this exact thing.

Stealing from the Pros

Denis relates the story of sitting next to a violinist on a plane and hearing a funny sound coming from him. The violinist had his head back and eyes closed in deep concentration. When Denis was able to ask him about it, he told him that he was practicing for a concert he was traveling to by going over the music in his head. He was imagining all of the moves necessary to play the pieces.

Blue Angels pilots go over their flight moves in detail together in a room. They talk through their moves while imagining themselves actually flying. They have their eyes closed as each of them go through the choreography of the show they will perform immediately following this session.

You can do this!

In your car at a light or in a traffic jam, you can play a little “air guitar” by making the actual moves you would make if you had a guitar in your hands. I will form the chords on the wheel with one hand and make the picking motions with the other against the wheel or on my leg. You can do that anywhere.

Notice where you miss something or have trouble remembering a move or chord shape. Identify your trouble spots and you will know what to spend your time on later. You don’t need your guitar in your hands to do that.

Take control of your time

Make it more convenient and take advantage of what you have available. You are training your brain so the next time you really Do have time, you haven’t fallen backwards. That can be frustrating. Just beware that the next time you see someone playing air guitar, you will notice whether they can actually play or not. Watching actors play guitar will suddenly cause you to notice if they can really play. My wife and I just look at each other knowingly when that happens.

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The Care and Feeding of Your Guitar

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Tom

As we march into summer, you may be experiencing some changes in your guitar. They will be subtle for the most part but keep an eye out for them. Here are some things to look for, primarily for acoustic instruments:

  • Increased string height (action) making chords more difficult.
  • Bellied top due to increased moisture absorbed by the top.
  • Corrosion.
Look down the length of your guitar and see if the top is bellied.
Is your flat top not so flat anymore?

Increasing action

Usually, it is a small increase but just enough to make things uncomfortable when they were just perfect a month ago. In and around the Baltimore/DC metro areas where I live, it can feel like the tropics as the humidity rises in the summer. This will lead to the thinner wood parts of acoustics (e.g. the top) swelling and raising the action ever so slightly. What was once an easy barre chord G, is now a major pain! The best thing to do to remedy this situation is adjust the bridge down to compensate for the change.

Watch out in the winter, though. As the air dries out, so will your guitar top. Down will come your action and you may experience buzzing. Before that happens, invest in a good guitar case humidifier and keep up with it. They dry out, too!

Bellied top

You may notice that your flat top is not so flat anymore. This is, basically, the same thing as above only more extreme. The bridge may be down as far as it can go leaving little room to compensate for this issue. Further, the bracing underneath may not be adequate to handle the string tension. This is typically a problem on less expensive guitars and may not be worth your time and expense to repair. Get the bridge adjusted as above but be prepared to start looking for another guitar. This problem can be improved with clamping and time but will come back just the same.

Corrosion

Depending on your body chemistry, you will find corrosion to be a bigger or smaller problem than others with the same guitar. When I had a shop repairing guitars, there was a customer who experienced much more corrosion on her guitar’s bridge than she thought there should be. She contended that the metal was the problem and demanded she be given a new guitar under warranty. There was nothing we could do for her, unfortunately.

Keep a rag with you in your case and within easy reach at all times. Wiping down your guitar between songs occasionally will improve the life of your strings and help you keep ahead of the corrosion of the other metal parts of your guitar. It will also help the electronics as the salt from our sweat can work its way into the controls and begin to cause scratchiness.

Get into the habit of cleaning your guitar periodically. When you change strings is a good interval. After playing live is always a good idea.

Cleaning tools

Save your old toothbrush! Those are excellent for getting down into electric guitar bridges. I find old t-shirts to be the best rags as they don’t produce much lint or dust. They also don’t get caught on frets like towels and wash rags tend to. Throw the rags in the wash occasionally so you don’t keep wiping dirt back on to your guitar. This will also remove grit that can scratch your nice finish! Maybe you want that old, worn out look? Avoid paper towels as the wood fibers leave behind fine, micro-scratches that can dull a finish.

Be proactive

You have heard the old proverb: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It is always cheaper to do small things now to avoid a big problem later. Get a sound hole humidifier, such as the D’Addario Humidipak, even for your semi-hollow guitars and solid bodies. Necks can shrink from being too dry exposing the fret ends – Ouch! Keep ahead of corrosion by getting in the habit of wiping down your guitar.

I had a guitar repair business for a few years and can tell you these were the most common repairs I saw. Get ahead of them and you will avoid the pain in the future!

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A Little Guitar Competition

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Tom

I have played in a number of bands over the years. The 80’s and early 90’s were the time of “hair metal” and “glam bands” and I was part of that in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore, MD metro areas. It was probably the closest I have ever gotten to getting signed to a record deal – not very close in retrospect but closer than before. I was in a band named Menace and we had originals, a decent following and were gaining some recognition in the scene.

Playing bass at the Paragon in College Park, MD
Playing the Paragon in College Park, MD

The members of my band were friends with another local band, Misdeal. We teased them and had fun at their expense. Our guitar player would say their lead guitarist “Couldn’t hang” (meaning: couldn’t keep up with him and was not as good) and I called them Mrs. Deal. Mostly, all in good fun but we definitely saw ourselves as the better band. I/We could have done it differently.

Time to mature

I watch a lot of YouTube videos by other musicians and am pleased to see how well a number of them get along, play in each other’s bands, and even swing by to say “Hello” to each other when they are out doing their thing. Look up Phil X, Steve Morse, and Mike Portnoy as good examples. It wasn’t always like that as I can attest to myself. Look up the history of the band Chicago and Peter Cetera for what can go wrong in a major way. Their original drummer, Danny Seraphine, wrote a book that is well worth your time: Street Player: My Chicago Story.

I suggest the new way of allowing musicians to float around other music projects is the better way. There are numerous examples where everyone seems to flourish and boost each other’s careers at the same time. So, where’s the harm in that?

At our level

How does that work out at our level? I just want to play my guitar in peace and enjoy the experience, don’t you? I have heard enough of, “That’s not how you play it”. If XYZ band calls on me to replace their guitarist or bassist, I’ll worry about it then. A band or ensemble may need me to be more accurate to better represent the song live but I am at home and it is close enough most of the time. These days I take time to create and write my own music. That has gone a long way to detach me from the cover band pressure to get the song “just like the recording”. Getting your ideas and feelings out is always a good thing and does not have to produce million seller.

Take the pressure off

It can be a frustrating experience to constantly fuss over “playing it right” and steal all of your joy. Lighten up and let it flow! I find ways of playing music that work better for me and my style. Sometimes they bleed over into some other song as I apply what I did from something before to a new context, “Hey! That’s pretty cool!” So, when you feel like you are getting hung up on a phrase or technique, forget it for now. Play what comes to you now and maybe come back another time.

Remember that getting it “right” or “perfect” can kill the fun and lead to abandoning your guitar. Criticizing other players kills your ability to enjoy it for what it is which leads to self-righteousness anyway and nobody wants that, right? Like a wise associate of mine says, “You don’t need to get it perfect. You just need to get it going.”

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Do You Have G.A.S?

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Tom

One Sunday when I was kid, we went to church as was the standard practice in my Catholic family. There were five of us kids at the time (three brothers and one sister) and on this Sunday, I was next to my sister. Fairly random ordering but here we were sitting, standing kneeling as the service required. My sister looked down and whispered, “She has gas!“ as she pointed to the bottoms of the shoes of the girl who sat in front of us.

Gas Shoes were new in those days and “Gas” was imprinted on the soles. This sent me into a fit of uncontrollable giggling. My parents were not amused and scowled at me as I desperately tried to stop. Every time I sat down, I would see the soles and start chortling all over.

This is not about that kind of “Gas” nor is it about the other kind of gas that makes little boys laugh uncontrollably and little girls embarrassed.

Time for some gear!

Just getting started with gear for your guitar?
Image by Michael Henry on Unsplash

As your skills on the guitar improve and you want to get an electric or install a pickup in your acoustic, the irresistible allure of pedals, amps and even more guitars will begin to take hold – Gear Acquisition Syndrome!

Sound familiar? A friend of mine introduced me to the term. There is even a YouTube channel dedicated to helping guitarists “Get the most music from the least gear”, Five Watt World. Check it out, you will be glad you did.
Anyway, I have never collected much gear due to limited budgets and lack of opportunities to use most of the stuff. I’m a practical (i.e. cheap) guy at heart. If I can’t find a use for it, I will not buy it (usually) 😉 I do love to learn about the new flashy gear and I always have a catalog from a music store coming so I can drool over the latest guitars and stuff. Reverb.com is an especially guilty pleasure for me. My collection of guitars is one that serves particular styles and I have interests in many styles. Just talk to my wife!

What gear should I buy?

So, you have your basic instrument. Now you find that it would be cool to add something to make it sound more like a recording you fell in love with. There are pedals for just about every additional effect you could possibly want. Many of them are combinations of effects and some are modelling. We’ll get into that in a minute.

Due to the plethora of videos delving into the equipment of almost any guitarist, you could research what they are using for a start. Another plan is to get a close up look at what is being used by the musicians playing your local venues. People love to talk about their setups and give advice. I would also suggest looking into what the different effects are called. For example, reverb and delay are different. If you are new to gear, that may not be apparent to you.

Going virtual

You could go entirely virtual. Modelling pedals and amps, such as those by Line 6, are good options. Try them at your local music store and see what you think. They can be amazing but also intimidating as the options available can overwhelm you.

I have chosen to go down the Amplitube by IK Multimedia path. The options are endless but the initial freebie software is a good starter. If you don’t know what you are looking for and just want to try stuff out, this a way to get your feet sopping wet. If you have never tried an envelope follower, for example, this is a great way to try it without spending major coin.

The home studio

One huge advantage I have found with my virtual gear is home recording. I can run my bass and guitars through almost any signal chain imaginable. Setting up my amp and pedals is a pain in my small space and I may not be able to get the tone I want in the end. I just don’t have the time, space and money to grab every pedal or amp I could want or need. I suspect you are in the same or similar situation. If you do have the time, space and money… spend some time with the Five Watt World mentioned above 🙂

For now…

As you explore, let me know in the comments any questions you may have. Hit us up on Facebook, above, to let us know if you would like a course on this stuff or some particular aspect of effects and signals. We would love to cover this topic for you! Until then, keep exploring and learning Just 2 Play Guitar!

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The Evolution and Location of Just 2 Play Guitar

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Tom
Glenn Riley playing a Parker Fly guitar
Glenn Shredding on a Parker Fly

We are just about to release a new lesson by Glenn Riley that is geared towards the intermediate guitarist. He has more coming but this is a good introduction. A bit of a sampler of his style and direction he will go with his classes. In the process of putting the class together, we have had several email conversations. One of them included an email address from a customer who bought one of his books. The guitarist is from Romania!

The Plan…

In the internet world we now live in, this is to be expected but it got me thinking about our direction at Just 2 Play Guitar. Our plan goes something like this:

  • Offer online downloadable classes to adults looking to learn guitar or improve their playing from the beginner and intermediate levels. Help the novices overcome their challenges and really enjoy playing.
  • Add online live sessions where students can get individualized instruction and help specific to them and their skills. Like golf, there may be some minor adjustment that changes everything and off you go to play like a pro.
  • Offer a “camp” or other get away where the students and instructors can meet in person. We will offer specialized instruction and advice, in-depth classes, play in a real band, and just have fun jamming with others.

Going Worldwide

That last bullet is what immediately popped into my mind as I’m adding the guy from Romania to our newsletter subscribers (btw, if you haven’t already, add your name to the list. We promise not to spam you with irrelevant garbage 😉 Not much going on with that, yet. But just you wait!
My initial thought was to do a camp somewhere in the US. I suspect many of our students would be from there, at least, to start. I did not even add location to the newsletter subscription sign up as I did not think it relevant for now. However, here we are. It would be handy to know where everyone is so we can better select a location when we get to that point. Maybe we do something in two or more locations?

I’ve been around the world…

Almost around the world, anyway, and there are guitarists everywhere of various skill levels who are looking to improve. Maybe it is just trying to get over that hurdle to really enjoying their own music or looking to get to the next level. Wouldn’t you love to jam with someone from another country? I would hope some of our students could travel outside of their home country to learn and play with others. What a reach! I hope you will go with us. Hit Learn More! to sign up and don’t forget to add your name to the newsletter and we will see you there!

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Putting my Guitar in the Closet

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Tom

I’ve seen a lot of guitarists over the years and been mega impressed at the virtuosity and skill of some of these players. Others…not so much. There are two reactions I have had:

  • I can do that!
  • Why even try? I’m giving it up and hiding my guitar in the closet

Wait a minute! Is that all there is?

So easy a caveman could do it

I’m not going to mention names but there are plenty of guitarists out there making a good living or are famous who are not that great. Are they not worthy of their fame and fortune? Maybe not for their limited skill on the instrument but what separates them from me?
I would suggest two things rise to the top:

  • They can write great songs
  • They surround themselves with great players

Do I need to do that to be accepted? Fortunately, not! You have their work to benefit from and play to your heart’s content. Not only do you have some great songs but the additional players and production choices have taken what may have been a so-so song and propelled it into greatness! Now, we can learn from all these years of recorded genius!

Imposter Syndrome

Asking yourself questions like, “What do I think I am doing?” or “Nobody would come to see me play” are evidence of this condition. Having the distinct sense that I should give up playing because I will “never be as good as that guy” is clearly in this same mentality. Well, I may never be as good as that guy but I don’t have to be. My music is decent and I enjoy it just the same.
On occasion, I will be called on to lead singing like at Christmas parties and such. Do I need to be Brian Setzer and pull off a swing version of The Nutcracker Suite to play and sing Jingle Bells? No, not really.
So, you might see a guitarist play some difficult song note-for-note but remember my previous point about writing – they can play but can they come up with something as catchy that sells a jillion records?

Look Closely Around You

The local hangouts have a variety of players and there is the occasional children’s music sing-along at the library or whatever. Looks like fun, right? One of our newest places, Jaxon Edwin, had a solo woman playing her guitar and singing the other night and she was passable on guitar. What really stood out to me as I watched her was how one of the patrons got up and danced to her song as he made his way to the restroom and then dropped money in her tip jar. Are they concerned that Eddie Van Halen might stop by and show them how its done? I don’t think so.

So, Why?

Why did you or are you learning to play the guitar? Because it is fun! You can express yourself in ways that you can’t other wise. As I tell my wife, I can express my self in “socially acceptable ways” 😉
Join the journey if you haven’t already by clicking the Learn More! button above.

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