Todays email is another

“lesson from the road”

literally a lesson I learned…from the road.

As in laying on the tarmac after a Motorbike crash

back in 2016.

Not gonna lie, it was painful. Physically and mentally.

It was when I was doing my bike training which I didn’t finish due to the aforementioned spill.

It shit me up quite a bit and, whilst I love old bobbers and choppers

I’ll stick with 4 wheels for now

However, it taught me many lessons.

But for today I’ll stick with just this one…

‘Where the head goes, the body…

No one really cares about how fast you can sweep pick arpeggios.  

No one cares about how many BPM you can blaze up and down a scale at. 

No one's jaw's hitting the floor when you play those quick licks...

Those things don't actually impress anyone. 
 

Other than maybe 13 year old boys 
 

How I've managed to land a LOT of gigs in many bands and, more recently, recording work in studios, 
 

All comes down to GREAT TIMING.

By that I mean... literally putting myself in the right place, right time...

Also, in terms of…

Here's a sobering statistic

It's been calculated that across all the main social media platforms...

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and, the big one for us guitar geeks...YOUTUBE!

the average user will spend up to 6 years

just ...

scrolling... 

SIX YEARS!

Not engaging...

just the SCROLLING part! 

Literally looking and thumbing through a news feed or search results! 

Man, I read this and it has really stuck with me since.

Imagine what could you do with SIX years of your life instead of scrolling?

I'm not a doctor or…

If you wanna improve your playing or you’re just starting out on guitar, who better to to go to than the guys that are actually doing it?!

Well, I wish that was the case…but it ain't always so…

I’ve seen “famous” players giving out TERRIBLE advice. 

Some of it is can be so confusing for students and just plain wrong when it comes to learning music.

I think that the distinction needs to made that a great player does NOT mean they’re a great teacher !

There are some really accomplished guitarists, who can…

I'm currently enjoying listening to the audiobook version of Steve Lukather's "Gospel according to Luke"

Even if you're not sure who Steve Lukather is...

you WILL have heard songs he's played on! 

He's the guitarist in Toto and has been a prolific session guitarist since the late 70's perhaps most well known for his work with Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Lionel Richie and for playing on Michael Jackson's Thriller album...

(yep he wrote and played the iconic riff from Beat It!)

The list of artists he's worked…

Your schedule for guitar practice this week that is!

What did you think I meant!?

What's that?

You don't even have a weekly practice schedule?

Benjamin Franklin said,

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”

or... as the old British Army adage goes,

“Proper preparation and planning prevents piss-poor performance"

I like that one!

Anyway, soldier...your mission this week should you be brave enough to accept it is this:

Create your own practice schedule and stick to it for 7 whole days!

Here's some examples…

Here's a powerful guitar practice session idea to implement if you're short on time. 

It'll give you much more bang for your buck than noodling, keep you focused and making progress. 

You can adapt this to be around either:

15 mins

30 mins

or 45mins.

1. Warm up exercise or learn a brand new riff, lick, idea for either 2, 4 or 8 mins. Use this time to be aware of correct posture and hand positions and always practice slower than your top speed. REST for 90secs. 
2. How much do you wanna push speed today? Pick a…

Don't get me wrong...there are some GREAT guitar teachers on Youtube. 

However, as with anything on the inter-webs,

there's a lot of other stuff to sift through sometimes to get to the good stuff.

AND, I see some guitar teachers on Youtube who,

as good as their videos look and their playing may be...

They offer some "interesting" advice when it comes to learning guitar.  

Don't get me started....haha

Truth is, there are no magic pills or shortcuts to getting good on guitar. 

We DO have to put the time in 

Practicing…

I've been playing around with ChatGPT

You know, that AI chatbot that's going to improve our lives

but then steal all our jobs...

Hope you can detect the sarcasm there folks...

The thing about AI is that it is literally learning new ways every day to help people 

So, as a guitar teacher ....

how the hell do I compete with that?!

Where are the opportunities for one-to-one lessons in the future?

What happens to guitar teachers like me in the years to come!? 

I decided to ask it some questions...

How do I improve my…

The best players focus their guitar practice around phenomenal fundamentals.  

The foundation of ALL technique (not just rhythm guitar but lead stuff too)

is great timing.

​​​​​​​Yet it is often the least practiced skill I see when guys come for lessons. 

Some players know they need to work on building their awareness of timing,

which, of course is a skill that you can practice like any other.

One beat, bar, riff or song at a time! 

However, there are others that think timing will just take care of itself...

Wrong.…

I played my first gig of 2023 last Friday

It was a long old drive from Southampton to Stoke and back on the same day

To play just 30 mins of music to an almost empty venue,

Not earning enough money to even cover fuel costs

I was sweating like a turkey at Christmas in my mask and stage gear under the hot lights!

The onstage sound was the absolute worst I’ve experienced in almost 30 years of playing

I played the entire gig by muscle memory as the sound was soooo bad!

The sound out front wasn’t much better either…