We’re gearing up for the NAMM show in January. We will be looking for distributors and publishers who are interested in new products, like our Learn Guitar Chords DVD. We’re proud to be an offical member of NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants and are looking forward to making our little company more visible to the industry and the public.
I will make another post with updates after the show.
Andrew Wonacott, President
The Musician’s Toolbox
We just finished our end of the year recital where we had over 100 kids perform, and it got me thinking about performing music.
It is essential that if you are trying to learn an instrument, you perform. You might feel like you’re going to puke your guts out from nervousness, but performing is what ultimately builds confidence and helps you make progress. WHEN, (not if) you end up making mistakes, you learn from them and are able to improve your understanding of your instrument.
Make sure that if you are paying for music lessons you get to perform. Recitals and performances are a must, and you won’t be spending your money wisely without them.
Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox
Wow, that sounds really wise, like an old Chinese proverb or something. Well, it might be, but it’s the starting point from which you will really start to see progress. Here’s the practical side of practicing “better.”
1.) Where you practice is important, so limit your distractions. If you’re not concentrating, you’re not going to make progress.
2.) It’s better to practice 15-30 minutes a day for 5-6 days a week than it is to practice 2 hours only one day a week. Why, you ask? Because it’s the repetition that builds confidence, muscle memory, and accuracy.
3.) Use a metronome or a drum loop of some kind while you practice your warm-ups, scales, guitar chords, etc. Learning to keep a consistent beat will take you far, and you can’t do it with just your imagination.
4.) Keep your guitar tuned at all times. Don’t be lazy with your tuning! Why, you ask? Because you’re building your listening skills as you practice whether you know it or not. Train your brain to hear the notes in tune! Your band will thank you later.
Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox
The most important advice that most parents overlook when their child is learning to play the guitar is simple: At least once a month, go sit in on your child’s lessons and become aware of what your child is learning. This will allow you to gauge your child’s continuing interest, it will keep your teacher on his/her toes and at the top of their game, and it will give you the confidence you need to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.
Simple, but essential.
Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox
The C-A-G-E-D system is a way of understanding where to find ANY chord on your guitar in ANY fret position (…waaaay up there on the 15th fret? no problem…) As a beginner, you start out learning the basic major and minor chords by way of convenience, as they’re easier to play. But did you know that these basic chord shapes can be used to play other chords? Let’s take a look at the A major chord.
When you play the A major chord in it’s normal spot, notice all of your fingers are in the 2nd fret.
But if you keep your fingers on the same strings and slide them (holding the shape they’re in) to the 3rd fret, that’s the A# (Bb) chord. If you slide it again to the 4th fret, that’s the B chord. If you’re a beginner, you might not yet understand why this is true, but for now, just absorb the concept that as you move up the fretboard, you’re changing the name of the chord by changing frets.
As you slide the shape up the frets, you’re going forwards through the musical alphabet by half steps, (which is explained in THIS POST) and now all of the sudden that one shape can be shifted around to get new chords.
I should say that it’s not quite this easy, because when you shift to new frets, you can’t play the same open strings you would on the original chord because the sounds will clash. But again, suffice it to say that the 5 major chords C-A-G-E-D, are the main chord shapes you can use to get to any other chord on the fretboard. The next posts in this series will cover each shape and how to tackle them.
Much Respect,
The Musician’s Toolbox
