"The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." - Albert Einstein Mention "classical guitar" to many beginning guitarists and you will get a whole host of reactions, from "What's that?" to "Do you mean classic rock?" to "Why would you want to play that on guitar?". Despite a brief...... Continue Reading →

Image of Ancient Egyptian stringed instruments, including a lute. (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) “When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it.” - Yo Yo Ma A few years ago I attended a cello concerto...... Continue Reading →

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure that you seek. ” Joseph Campbell In the basement of my childhood home there was a big, dusty, menacing piece of furniture that nobody ever went near. My first memory of it was being warned to stay away from the “monster” because it would crush my […]

  “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson The musical instruction “adagio” comes from the Italian phrase “a dagio” which means “at ease”. It’s a good word, and it got me thinking. The question always comes up: “How long will it take me to learn to play guitar?” as […]

This article is about how you can maximize your productivity during practice sessions. It is also about rediscovering how to enjoy practicing again. We all know that having clear goals is the most important thing you can do to accelerate your rate of learning. But what exactly does it mean to say that we should […]

We can thank the Internet; it is now possible to listen to nearly every piece of music ever recorded. This is staggering to think about, but it is true. Today, there are millions if not billions of recordings available for download or streaming over the Internet. I haven’t done the math, but it’s a fair […]

“The true art of memory is the art of attention.” — Samuel Johnson A good memory is the single most important skill a musician can have. If you haven’t been blessed with a great memory, don’t worry, it is something that can be improved and enhanced. Memories are like muscles and they can be developed […]

We can thank the Internet; it is now possible to listen to nearly every piece of music ever recorded. This is staggering to think about, but it is true. Today, there are millions if not billions of recordings available for... Continue Reading →

“When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it.” – Yo Yo Ma A few years ago I attended a... Continue Reading →

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson If you are reading this, it is likely that you play music at some level. Maybe you’re a solo performer, maybe you’re in a band, or used to be in a band, or maybe you are practicing hard and […]