Hello, music friends! Welcome to this week’s edition of the Friday 5. As always, we are super glad to have you 🙂 We’ve got songs of the sea, a dance music maker, and other goodies. Take a look: Song Beyond the Sea as done by Bobby Darin Just try not to tap your feet along to this snazzy summer tune. Guitar Under the Sea Play “Under the Sea” like a cool mermaid. Matt breaks down the intro for us. Instrument Casio CTK-3500 Keyboard This keyboard has weighted keys, solid sound,…
You can see many more videos like this if you should choose to join the Guitar Club 🙂
In today’s post, I’m entering an area that can, on the surface, seem a bit “woo woo”. (How did new age-y things ever get that name, anyway?) I’m exploring the practice of visualization and how it can help us as musicians, students, educators, therapists, and human beings. First of all, what is visualization? I was first introduced to it as a practice in middle school athletics. We would be on the bus traveling to a football/basketball/wrestling/track event, and our coaches would silence the bus and have us visualize the contest…
Improvements on guitar, like many things, occur in baby steps. We get better little by little. Big leaps are rare, although they do sometimes happen. But we can’t expect them to. We have to get better each day, even if progress is barely noticeable. A key skill is being able to recognize: where you want to go, what the steps are leading up to it, and acknowledging when progress has been made. Having a strict timeline can help, but it can also hurt as it will be discouraging if things don’t…
It’s a question I get often. And it’s a question I sometimes answer without being asked 🙂 Check out the video below: The strings I use: The long-lasting Elixirs: The disclaimer: If you buy these strings using my link, a small portion of the sale will help support Music Therapy Source. It doesn’t change the cost of the strings at all! 🙂
I know that many of us use finger picking patterns on a regular basis. It gives us some dynamic control and provides some nice movement in our music. Every now and again it’s good to check in on technique. Are our movements as efficient as they could be? Here is a video about technique and a couple simple patterns you can employ to work on improving your finger picking skills: If you’re interested in learning more, please check out the Guitar Club!
Are you tired of feeling s0-so on the guitar? Are you ready for a confidence boost? You can improve your clinical guitar skills, you can do it with me, and you can start now. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working behind the scenes to put together a new resource. Some of you may have already seen this, as I had somewhat of a “soft” launch that involved some emails going out. So:Â this is the official announcement for the Guitar Club! I do a lot of private teaching, conference…
If you’ve been following along on social media, you may have noticed that it’s Barre Chord Week at Music Therapy Source. Why? Because I interviewed dozens of music therapists who said barre chords are a challenge for them. And I get it. As someone who’s been teaching guitar to music therapists for the last 6+ years, I know first hand the frustration they cause for some. So, I created a mini-series with some strategies that can help you right away. Drop in your email address and watch the videos here:…
When I was a young guitarist, I used to scoff at capos. I thought to myself: “You use a capo? What? Can’t you play barre chords?” Barre chords ARE important, but I no longer scoff. In fact, I use a capo. Often. Why? Because playing open chords gives me more flexibility and more options for embellishments. I also sometimes want the “open string” sound which you don’t get when barring. Furthermore, barring can get tiresome if required for the entirety of the song. SO: I hereby give you permission to use a…