The school year has started and lesson slots are filling up rapidly. If you are thinking about guitar, ukulele, bass, (jazz) theory lessons, stop thinking and contact me for a free trial lesson. There are a few bi-weekly slots open too. Don’t miss out!
I look forward hearing from you.
I stumbled upon this article by James Clear called This Coach Improved Every Tiny Thing by 1 Percent and Here’s What Happened. In the article the story of Dave Brailsford is laid out.
Brailsford believed in a concept that he referred to as the “aggregation of marginal gains.” He explained it as the “1 percent margin for improvement in everything you do.” His belief was that if you improved every area related to cycling by just 1 percent, then those small gains would add up to remarkable improvement….They searched for 1 percent improvements everywhere.
Brailsford believed that if they could successfully execute this strategy, then Team Sky would be in a position to win the Tour de France in five years time.
He was wrong. They won it in three years.
Now those cyclists looked for any and every area that related to their cycling and tried to make improvements in those areas. I started thinking how this would work out when it came to playing guitar and here are some of my ideas in random order.
Now these are just some off the cuff ideas in random order. Remember that we are aiming for a one percent improvement only. I would really appreciate it if you could add some additional ideas as a comment.
A lot of students have asked me how they can good as fast as possible. Practice makes perfect is often heard. While that cannot be denied it is also important to keep in mind that not all practice is effective practice. The shortest way to get from A to B is in a straight line. At the same time, it is helpful when you start at point A to know where that point B is going to be e.g. what is it you are trying to achieve in the short and long run. Based on what you are trying to achieve you can now set out and start practicing towards these goals. In the past thirty years I have found that while we all know what the shortest way is, it is not always the way we choose. If you are like me at times it is very easy to get going and get distracted for a while to return back on track. Since you do not have endless amounts of time because of homework, a job, running your own family and business, having a social life, it helps to organize your practice time. In the following paragraphs I will lay down some guiding principles that I use.
You can’t efficiently and effectively go from A to B if you do not have a clue what B is. YOU NEED A TARGET OR GOAL. From these goals it will transpire more clearly what it is you need to focus on. If your goal is to become a blistering fast heavy metal virtuoso, it is of less use to learn lots of finger picking patterns that do not have a relation to what you are trying to achieve. Instead you may have more profit from learning specific style related techniques such as tapping. LOOK FOR AN EXPERIENCED TEACHER OR MUSICIAN/MENTOR to get the components together, someone who can advise or give you some material and understands the requirements that get you where you want to be.
I don’t know about you, but I remember well how I got through some school years. I did what I needed to do at the last moment and would be sitting there complaining how much it all was in terms of homework. I have had several students that worked like that for their guitar lessons as well. The sad thing is that it just doesn’t work. Part of what you are trying to achieve is dependent on finger memory and repetition.
I always say to my students that they may well be better off with 10 minutes of concentrated practice a day than 1 hour a week. I recommend having your guitar on a stand or somewhere where it safe yet easy to pick up. You may just walk by and pick it up ad put it away again after playing a little bit on it.
When you practice and your time is limited, it is important to do so in an environment where it is easy to concentrate. Try to keep distractions to a minimum. Where you practice is not the main issue, as long as the area is free from too much noise to concentrate as well as other common household distractions. A lot of my younger students use their bedroom ad have set up a special corner for that purpose. Others may have some room in the garage or sleep out for the purpose of uninterrupted practice and play time. Wherever that area of practice may be it is preferable to use that same area all times. It maybe be an area where equipment is set up and can be left , as well as a music stand and proper lighting. Nothing is more demotivating than having to set up and pack down every time you practice.
Other things to consider are:
The number of music books and other instructional materials is mind-blowing and more than anyone could work through in a life time. I suggest you become (within your means) a collector. If they are of a general nature read through them. If they are music books, play from them, and most of all don’t necessarily limit yourself to materials for guitar only. I know I learned a lot from piano books and from books like the Charlie Parker (saxophonist) Omnibook. Nowadays, you could look around on the net and find there are many good sites with good materials. There have been several occasions where I was a replacement for a piano player. This is where you will need to be able to step it up and piano books helped me not only to further develop comping technique but also to understand piano better, from bass books I learned a lot on how to build bass lines that later on could be incorporated in my finger style playing and overall it helped it helped me in becoming a more complete guitarist.
There are so many guitar magazines available on the market that have articles, columns and songs transcribed for you to learn and play. Some are very specific and some are of a more general nature. My personal favorites that I read and play through every month are:
Guitar Techniques
I guess this is the best magazine for the practicing musician. It covers a wide range of styles, electric as well as acoustic and even has a monthly classical guitar section.
Total Guitar Magazine
A stronger focus on rock and metal but I really like the magazine and the lessons and songs in there. They have great gear reviews and articles that have to do with the music business in general and with recording guitar.
The play guitar now instruction videos
Every month a booklet and instruction video looking at a particular style. They are not always very in depth but provide a great starting point to develop more in depth knowledge into a specific style of playing or specific techniques. Some of the area covered are electric and acoustic blues, jazz, classical guitar, ukulele, funk, country.
A great resource also for my students.
As the title suggests this magazine is completely aimed at the acoustic guitar player. I love the at times nostalgic look of the magazine and the wide range of styles covered in the magazine. It has helped me inn several areas of my guitar playing and has inspired me to look beyond the obvious.
Every month it has a great selection of songs and training material in the form of lessons. Like Guitar Techniques definitely a magazine for those that want to become a complete guitar player.
With these four regular monthly items I always have more training material available than I can handle but besides that there is always something new at had that helps me to get inspired in terms of new approaches, new techniques (for me) and extending my repertoire and insight into different genres of music. This “investment” has paid itself back in two ways: first of all I keep on growing on my instrument, which as a guitar teacher can easily be neglected. I need to because I am also a performing musician. But second of all it makes it easier as a teacher in terms of preparation because on many an occasion I do not need to reinvented the wheel where it comes to lesson material that is fresh.
Share books ad magazines with your friends. It helps to keep the financial burden down and extends the range pf possibilities. I remember well how, when studying at jazz school in the Netherlands, four of us committed to buying one magazine every month and at least one book every term. We swapped and circled around and all had access to more than we could normally afford in terms of resources.
When I was still studying music I kept a note book with lick and ideas for melodic lines, fragments of potential songs and whatever came to mind. Some of these things have resulted in songs, some of these have resulted in licks that have become part and parcel of who I am as a player and some have pushed my technical limitations where I had an idea for a lick but was not able to execute it. I would categorize in style, or theoretical concept. Things like II-V-I, pentatonic scale lick, right hand tapping, chord voicing.
I think it was Steve Vai that said that there is nothing that cannot be put into an exercise. Some of my students who do this end up becoming the best. It is a great way to develop in areas that are part of your goals and that are not part of your strengths (yet). It is the area where you can transform your weaknesses into a strength and where you deepen your strengths to new levels. I stimulate all my students, to let the imagination, inspiration and that which you hear in your head to be a guiding factor in finding your own “voice”. Almost without exception they find that their imagination and ideas are well ahead of their technical abilities. This is where your imagination becomes a guidance for your practice routine. YOU HAVE AN IDEA, BUT YOU CAN’T PLAY IT (yet). TURN IT INTO A EXERCISE!!!!
After getting to grips with the basics ( open chords, bar chords and simple single line playing and reading) the six key areas of practice are technique, song book, sight reading, ear training, theory, general knowledge.
Technique is the result of hand brain coordination and knowledge of the fingerboard. The only way to gain technique is by regular practice of scales , arpeggios, chords, melodic patterns, harmonic patterns, played in all possible ways throughout different relevant keys and different places on the neck of the guitar. Good technique is the key to being a good player. I personally have been helped a lot by various “shredding” resources. I will never be a shredder but focus on speed has helped me a lot in realizing to play some of the music that I was hearing in my head. It has helped me being more accurate in the execution of slower materials because I gained more control.
Repertoire is the learning and memorizing of tunes in the chosen area of study. If you are like me, someone with a very wide range of musical preferences, it will mean that you expose yourself to a wide range of ways to play the same chord sequences and to play solos in a way fitting to the style. It teaches you about traditions and intricate differences between different styles of music but most of all, IT TEACHES YOU WHAT THE COMMON DENOMINATORS ARE. Just imagine how much more effective you will be in practice if your practice regime includes common denominators.
Guitarists in general are not known for their sight reading qualities. And with tabs available for almost anything it does not help. However, when you want to grow in a professional environment, sight reading will give you the edge and more importantly, it is achievable to play a sheet of music through daily practice. I require all my students t learn how to read rhythm at a minimum so they can read tabs with the music notation above. Combined with getting to know the names of the notes on your neck most will eventually get to learn music notation. It is a good thing however to learn to read music notation simply because there is a world of great music that does not come with tabs.
Good ear is not something you have to be born with, it can be trained. It is so beneficial if you can hear chord progressions and melodic lines and play them by ear immediately.
Is very helpful and helps you to understand what you are doing on your guitar, it helps seeing the bigger picture and the smaller details, how to use a capo, write music and arrangements.
Read about the history of music, biographies, know more about leading artists and different styles, how songs were written and produced, listen to a wide range of music and open yourself up to new ideas and concepts.
While all the key areas are of importance, to me music should at all times be fun as well. So in my practice routine I always incorporate some free play time. I think it was Vicky Genfan that said that she would start every day with ten minutes in which she tried something she had never done before. If that something you just imagined is to hard to execute: you now have an exercise. It could be just playing along with your favorite artist, groove with a drum machine whatever puts a big smile on your face.
In the next part we’ll have a look at how these practice areas could be made into a practice routine.
Jaco Pastorius is one of those amazing bass players in history, that set the bar and in fact still does for many players today.
On youtube I found this series of videos comprising an interview with this grandmaster of the bass, where he talks about modern electric bass. There is such good advise in there, for bass players but also for guitar players that I decided to put it out here for you.
So things that particularly struck me is his way of approaching things analytically (like I teach) , how he uses classical music and scale patterns to get proficient, and in fact some of the things he showed on the bass are not to dissimilar to what one might be taught on the guitar by the likes of Paul Gilbert.
So, sit back with a coffee, a notebook and perhaps your bass to try things out.
Did you enjoy that as much as I did?
Acoustic Guitar Magazine
John Dierckx Music Studio 