"When I first started playing the guitar, I fell in love with a recording of Asturias and wanted nothing more in life than to play it."
• You probably have similar dreams of playing some of the guitar's most treasured pieces. • You want playing to be effortless so that you can focus on the music and move people's hearts. • But the journey is rough and you can't find a clear path to realizing your dream. |
How things normally roll for you:
• Practice time is wasted You either just noodle around or get frustrated at your lack of progress. • Learning new things is slow and hard You use all the books and videos out there, but nothing seems to help you develop like you want to. • Playing for people is always disappointing - Every time you play for people, things go wrong! |
You can change now and play guitar like you've always dreamed
Here's how you can get started totally risk free, at no cost to you... Sign up below to receive: 1. Two free Skype lessons that will transform your playing 2. A free eBook that will revolutionize your practice In just a single lesson, you can learn how to: - Transform your technique and musicality, resulting in sensitive artistry - Understand the meaning and purpose of every single note you play - Learn how to practice effectively and creatively so that you make the most of every minute (and enjoy every moment too!) This is done with the guidance of someone who has performed around the world and who teaches guitarists worldwide, from passionate amateurs to serious career building professionals. |
Customized to you
Most resources out there don't customize things specifically to you and your needs. You've probably studied many books and videos, but how do things usually turn out? • You practice what they tell you and gain little to no actual results • The information has little to no relevance to what you want to work on Students who study with me get everything customized to them, meaning every piece of information is actually used. Imagine what getting this level of customization would do for your playing and musical understanding: - Lesson Recordings Your lessons are recorded and available to download on Skype immediately after your lesson. - Customized Routines Receive a customized program, technical workbook and repertoire book |
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It Takes Two to Tango
It's easy to read information, but actually using it and tapping into its power takes some work. My students work hard and the results pay off. They frequently send me videos of their playing, which I give feedback about. These students are showing how they have applied the information they learned to their playing. Below are four of my students: Ian, Jason, Sean and Nick. - Ian was working on using intentional rubato and adding expressive color. - Jason was working on adding historical performance practice to Bach - Sean was working on rhythmic clarity and control. - Nick is working on furthering his career as a guitarist |
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Pen pals
Where do you ask serious and specific questions you have about playing... Online forums? Facebook groups? What kind of answers will you get there?... dangerous ones that can harmfully impact your playing. What if instead, you could write to an expert who has devoted his life to the guitar. The quality of answers you get will help move you in the right direction as quickly as possible. My students are constantly in contact with me, because I believe your instruction time deserves to be more than just a once a week. Students can choose to fill out a practice journal that is submitted straight to me. This allows me to track what they're doing and advise and/or send extra relevant material to help. Below is an extract from one student's journal. Note the great detail he went into and imagine how effective your practice would be if you did something similar for every practice session. Want to do even more intensive work that will give you incredible results?
Some students go the extra mile and write out their pieces by hand. They then analyze them. This is a method for learning about music that was used for hundreds of years by composers such as Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Why is it not used by everyone today? Try it out yourself and you'll feel your head hurt, but the benefits are huge. Musical Technique:
A Different (and Better) Kind Of Technique Most technical exercises that are created and practiced today are boring and pointless. They don't address specific problems either technically or musically. Take this one for example, which was described as being "the most important for your left-hand technique." Let's compare this to the type of exercises that were practiced by 19th century guitarists, like Sor, Aguado, Mertz, Legnani, etc.
I call these “exercises in musical technique”, because as well as improving your physical mechanics on the guitar, you also learn the most fundamental building blocks of music. This is like learning a language. You can't learn to read and write English without first learning the alphabet. Music has many alphabets and I've created materials that help you learn the language of music. Learn to understand the function, purpose and meaning of every single note. Imagine what that would do for your technique, interpretation and reading abilities! Learn more about this by reading my article 'A short guide to major and minor triads' click here. Play Like a 19th Century Guitarist
Guitarists like Sor, Mertz and Aguado left us invaluable information about how they played guitar. Imagine what it would be like to get a lesson from them! I can show you what techniques 19th century guitarists used when playing their music. Most of it is not indicated in the score and takes very thorough research and experimenting to discover how this style was formed. What’s the result of applying this information? - A fun, nuanced and unique interpretation - More options to play with, not rigid rules - Knowledge of musical conventions that apply to a broad range of pieces Below is a video where I demonstrate how to apply some of these basic principles to a Sor etude. I would love to share this incredible information with you one-on-one and show you how to apply it to pieces you're working on. Harmony and Counterpoint:
The Keys to Understanding Music Understanding harmony and counterpoint are the keys to understanding the meaning, function and purpose of every single note you play. Problem is, anything to do with music theory is BORING. This is because we usually learn theory from textbooks, which are very watered down and irrelevant. Instead, you can learn about harmony and counterpoint by studying the pieces you're playing - this is the fun way! This approach to learning the most fundamental aspects of music is often sadly neglected by teachers, courses, books, videos and universities. Understanding some basic concepts can help a lot, so here are two documents that I created to help get you started: - Patterns and Functions of Melody (click here) - An Introduction to Counterpoint (click here) Here's an exercise in first species counterpoint that one student composed, which I corrected (in red).
This student then went on to see how the principles he learned worked in the pieces he was playing, which was really awesome for me to see him demonstrate! How much benefit would you get from understanding the harmonic structure of the pieces you're playing?
• Imagine how much more you'd learn about your pieces. • Imagine how much more you'd learn about the fretboard. • Imagine how much more you'd learn about music. • Imagine the level your playing would rise to! Here are examples of harmonic analysis applied to two well known guitar pieces: - Sor Etude 11, op. 6 (click here) - Milonga del Angel by Astor Piazzolla arr. Benitez (click here) The Price You Pay
For Not Getting Regular One-On-One Instruction Just as your car stops running when out of fuel, your progress and potential will be stifled by not receiving regular instruction. You might even progress backwards and make things worse, like what happens to your car if its not regularly maintained. Get the wrong instruction (wrong fuel) and you risk your whole system of musicality and technique breaking down into bad habits. You may even risk injuring yourself and spending months or years undoing the damage done. Think of what you're missing out on if you don’t receive regular high quality instruction: - You will progress much more and much faster in a single one-on-one lesson than through any other means
- You will avoid bad habits and injury - You will understand every note you play - You will gain clear goals to work towards - Your playing will have an added sparkle and clarity of intention - You will dramatically increase the sensitivity and awareness of your playing - Your practice during the week will be effective and always bring great results - Your performing (in any context) will be much more confident |
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Doubts About Skype?
You might be skeptical about taking lessons over Skype, but after giving hundreds of lessons online I assure you it gives powerful results. One of my students was skeptical at first, but soon realized that Skpye lessons actually work great: "I was quite skeptical about having lessons via Skype but you certainly have proven that they can work really well." --- Olalla All that is required is either a tablet or laptop, plus a free Skype account. |
"I wish I had access to these methods when I started to play 8 years ago. As an adult learning an instrument and reading music, a focused approach is all the more beneficial because of squeezing a daily practice into a busy life."
--- Helen Humble, UK
“Your book is a great resource and I think university students would really benefit.”
--- Clancy, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
--- Helen Humble, UK
“Your book is a great resource and I think university students would really benefit.”
--- Clancy, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music