Molly Miller with advice every guitarist needs to hear
Plus, how to be a good rhythm guitarist
And just like that, we’re already in February. How are your guitar goals going, if you set any at the beginning of the year? I’ve been trying to use as many tools on my Mac and iOS devices to keep me committed to learning each and every day. I’m going to try and do a write up of everything I’ve been using to stay focused. What apps do you use to practice guitar?
I’ve loved Tim Lerch’s playing and teaching for a while. A video from the tail end of last year popped up in my feed this week, and I’m so happy it did. It’s all about effective practice, and how to take it slow, and make sure you’re not making mistakes. It’s important to understand what’s really behind what you’re practicing. I also watched a tough love YouTube short from Molly Miller, where she says the advice that every guitarist needs to hear - stop playing the same stuff every time you sit down to play guitar. I did a quick write up on both on the blog, which you can check out here. Alright, let's get to the rest of this week's links!
This week’s awesome guitar links!
- I Survived a Nashville Session - I loved this video where Tom Bukovac and Rick Beato got together a killer band, and recorded what happend during an amazing Nashville session. If you want a great behind the scenes look, condensed into a video that's under 10 mins, you should check this one out. It's exciting that they whipped this song in a couple of days, and it instantly sounds like it could be on the radio. Also, I've said it before, but I love Tom Bukovac's playing SO much. I hope we get a course from him in the future.
- The Paul Gilbert Interview: Racer X to Mr. Big - But Beato isn't stopping there! Earlier in the week, he interviewed Paul Gilbert. They talk about gear, Paul's past bands, and a lot more. Every time I watch an interview with Paul Gilbert, I'm always so inspired by his intense love of music in general. If you want to learn some Gilbert-isms, check out Late Night Lesson's video that came out this week, that focused on his string skipping. You can check that out here.
- Molly Tuttle and Tommy Emmanuel acoustic masterclass - What happens when you get a CGP (certified guitar player) like Tommy Emmanuel, and Molly Tuttle, who's a modern day acoustic legend in the same room? A pretty sweet acoustic masterclass that Guitarist was able to put together. If you're into country or bluegrass, you gotta check this one out.
- How to Be a Good Rhythm Guitarist - I've been a big fan of Eric Haugen's TrueFire courses on stuff like CAGED and more. In this video, Eric talks about why it's so important to be a good rhythm guitarist. Everyone wants to solo and play leads all the time, but rhythm guitar is SO important. Thanks to John W. for sharing this one! And if you want even more help with your rhythm playing, check out this great post from Guitar World, where they show you fun ways to spice up your chords.
- Why do people hate the guitar? - One more video from NAMM now that it's done. Tyler from MusicIsWin asked a bunch of showgoers (is that a word?) what they hated about guitar. It was great to see Tyler walk around NAMM and get some genuine reactions from guitarists.
- “I hope the traditional guitar solo dies a slow and painful death”: Marty Friedman explains why the guitar solo as we know it needs to be put out of its misery - If you took this article at only its click-baity title, you might be upset. It seems like everyone like Kirk Hammett and others are over solos in general. But if you actually read through this article, Friedman makes some great points - mainly that guitarists have an opportunity to make a great impact on the song. The solo should be thoughtful, vocal, etc. What's your take on this one?
- 11 reasons every beginner guitar player should take lessons - Might be preaching to the choir here, and of course I'm biased, being a teacher as well, but I think it's very valuable to have a guitar teacher - especially when you're starting out. I'm currently learning Italian, and having a teacher to guide me, and let me know what I don't know, has been super helpful.
- Matteo Mancuso's mind-bending technique has taken the guitar world by storm – learn how to increase your fingerpicking speed to nail his extraordinary licks - Matteo Mancuso has been everywhere lately (including multiple features right here in this newsletter). If you're looking to get some of that right hand, classical-style fingering down, this lesson is a great jumping off point.