How to be in a Band part 1

Hi all,

In case you’re not aware, there has recently been some fantastic news from the Musician’s Union for musicians and gig-watchers in the UK.

It involves a change to the strict licensing laws which venues have to adhere to in order to put on live music anywhere – basically, it has become a lot easier, less bureaucratic and cheaper for a venue to put on a gig!

The full story…

In light of this, I have decided to post a few pointers for those of you who want to start a band or join a band and take your first step to local stardom…

Wanted: band member - must be reliable, sociable, level headed. Don't we all?

1) Get out there!!

Now this sounds pretty straightforward, but I get asked quite often

“how do you join/start a band”?

If you don’t have any friends (musical ones at least) and have scoured the local free-ads and internet sites, one of the best places to start is at your local jam night.  These places are brilliant training grounds for new performers cutting their teeth.  A good jam night will usually be run by an experienced musician(s) and will have a full backline (amps, drums) and a PA.  It is also a great place to find local musicians of all levels and a lot of them are looking to join or start a band…! You might even find some pros or ex-touring musos there too, all of them with much experience to share.

You will be pant-wettingly nervous and try to talk yourself out of it, but do yourself a favour and just GO! You don’t have to play. Maybe next time you could, but it’s good to meet everyone first.  These events need supporting as much as possible anyway, so just by being there (and buying a drink) you are contributing to your local music scene (check age restrictions first).

When you are ready, the usual etiquette is to find the ‘jam leader’ and put down your name and instrument(s) you would like to play.  You will then be called out to play with other participants (usually the house band if it’s your first time) and either make something up on the spot, or play a song with a basic chord format so it’s easy for everyone to follow.

Tip – learn the 12 bar blues (in A)

A | A | A | A

D | D | A | A

E | D | A | E

This is more than likely to crop up during the evening and is a great ice-breaker before you get crazy with the funk!

If you want to solo, wait for…

‘THE NOD’
The NOD is a very important tool in the musician’s arsenal.  It is a simple movement of the head, yet it can mean a myriad of so many different things -

“Your turn”, “are you ready…?” “shut up” “your amp’s on fire”…

basically, it’s a form of communication, and this is extremely important when you are on stage and jam nights are where you learn things like this.

You’ll also learn that onstage volumes and mixes are COMPLETELY different to what you hear as an audience member and it might throw you at first…

It may take a while, but if you attend regularly, talk to people and respect everyone’s abilities you will make some good friends, some of which might end up being your bandmates, and when you do, it will be time to rehearse… 

More on that next week!

JW

Timing is Everything

There are some of us in the guitar playing community who just enjoy a strum every now and again (who doesn’t?) and then others who like to put a more formal structure around their playing – neither of which are better than the other.

I do however, think that there is one detail that everyone should pay a little mind to, and that is… timing!!

So, what is timing?

(definition from google)

• The choice, judgment, or control of when something should be done

So, the important words in there are choice and judgement and control.

When we’re playing a song to ourselves or are round the table with our friends at a party having a sing-song, the timing (as long as it’s roughly in the right place) doesn’t overly matter, does it? – I mean, it’s more about the fun, right?

Well, maybe – but if you are playing with other musicians or along to a track, or you just want your music to flow timing is EVERYTHING!

If all the musicians have inherently good timing, it allows everyone to settle into a groove, where everyone’s rhythm is aligned and the song just flows – have you ever heard a song where you just can’t help but nod your head or tap your foot?

That my friend, amongst other things, is a groove and of course, your audience gets sucked in too – and that is when you have them – nodding in agreement with your music – look at them in the video!!

Timing and FEEL.

Of course, you might say “But John, I’m a LEAD guitarist – I don’t care for any of that RHYTHM nonsense – what are you chatting about, fool??”

My answer would be that you’re the fool -

He will pity you

Music is primarily about the rhythm as far as I’m concerned, the rest comes after that.

Chords, melodies, solos, drum beats, bass lines… it’s got to groove, feel right and of course, be in time.

Next time you practice, put on a metronome, or even better a drum beat and try playing along with it. Listen to the overall picture – are you in time? Does it groove?

JW

Music Exams - Published in 2011, Guitar Player Magazine

Can you be ‘qualified‘ to make music?” asks guitar tutor John Wilmshurst.

While most people studying an instrument are happy just to learn for fun, some of you will be thinking about taking music exams.

There are pros and cons to this, you decide which is which:

• Exams enforce structure in your study

• You get official recognition and satisfaction for your efforts, if you pass

• Grades count towards UCAS points

• Exams and books increase the financial commitment to your lessons

• Studying from books can make your playing more clinically correct

• An exam date adds deadlines and pressure

A grade 8 student is always applauded for their discipline and commitment to study, but few can also play with the ‘feel’ of a dedicated musician who practices all night trying to get ‘that sound’ which turns them on.

There is no ‘right’ way to learn, but I do follow one golden rule:

Remember why you wanted to learn to play in the first place.

John Wilmshurst, Guitar Tutor

Rotosound British Steels Review (2011)

To start this review, I strung up two very different types of guitar – one is a Fender Stratocaster (Mexican Deluxe, 1997) and the other is a Custom silverburst Gibson Les Paul (2008). I played through a Fender Hot Rod deluxe ‘Texas Red’ Ltd edition all valve amp. The cable was a Pete Cornish HD cable.

The strings I had on these before were Rotosound R10 (yellows).

British Steels hark back to the days when a lot of the strings you could buy were only stainless steel and were used by guitar legends like Brian May and Jimi Hendrix to name but a few.

These strings have appeared on some of the most famous recordings on this planet!

I couldn’t wait to hear them!

Stratocaster

On first inspection, they add great punch and ‘twang’ instantly to my Strat and I can hear top end harmonics singing away that otherwise struggled to be heard.

The sustain seemed to have increased too, which I suspect is due to the high iron content which gives them increased magnetic property so your pickups can ‘keep them ringing’ so to speak…

I played them on stage at a function gig and I found they cut through a mix perfectly well without the need for EQ/pickup adjustment so I could keep my bluesy ‘neck pickup’ sound and still be heard – though I found they were very lively during rhythm playing – I guess the bonus of this is that I can use my volume pot more effectively rather than ‘river-dancing’ on pedals all night.

When playing functions, you need a versatile array of sounds at your fingertips and these strings performed particularly well on the Blues/Country numbers but were a little too forward for rhythm in the rock numbers.

Until I brought on the Les Paul…

Les Paul

The British Steels can really brighten up an otherwise ‘middley’ sounding pickup like a humbucker so when I switched my Les Paul to rhythm, I could back off and still be present enough to fill the sound.  When it was time to lead, I switched to ‘Treble’ and I instantly came forward to the front of the mix.

Summary -

Bright, ‘twangy’ and grippy strings which really add a true vintage tone and impressive response.  If you’re not careful, they can be a little harsh on a Strat (or Tele) unless you are playing country then you will appreciate the new trebles you can hear.

They really add a ‘bite’ to your tone and for humbuckers, they add a new toppiness which helps your solos soar to the top of a mix.

Rotosound are always manufactured to the highest standards and that is why I trust them night after night – the British Steels are solid, dependable and now my new favourite string!!

They are available in the following gauges:

BS09 09 / 11 / 16 / 24w / 32w / 42w

BS10 10 / 13 / 17 / 26w / 36w / 46w

BS11 11 / 14 / 18 / 28w / 38w / 48w

JW

if you practice at half-speed, you’ll learn twice as quickly

Hi all,

I know this sounds weird, but it’s true -

“if you practice at half-speed, you’ll learn twice as quickly”

Now of course, no-one’s measuring precisely but surely you would think that practising at a slower pace would take up more of your precious time and in an effort to get it all in you will have to cut corners…

Well the first approach is to prioritise.

It is much more useful having the ability to play a few things well, instead of having about ten things you haven’t quite finished or can play ‘sort of’.

Think about it this way -

“if you practice slowly and accurately, you’ll develop your skills properly over a certain period of time.
If you practice something badly, you’ll never learn it over ANY period of time”

This is just pointing out the obvious really (it’s only obvious once you know) but just stick to one thing, learn it and master it as best as you can. Take your time. Chill out!

Start at a comfortable pace, accept the fact that it is going to take a little while and set yourself a short term goal:

“By the end of this week, I’m going to be able to play the first few bars of that riff/that scale/those chords etc…”

Then you can add to it and within a few weeks, you will have it (depending on what you’ve chosen to learn of course – be realistic!)

I’ve had people come to me for lessons who’ve been playing longer than I’ve been able to wipe my own bottom and they’re angry, god they’re angry.

A pent-up bubble of rage is swelling inside them: “Why can’t I play this ***** thing?!?”

As it goes, they’ve been playing the same things over and over, full speed and trying to mask bad habits or just putting up with that bit that isn’t quite right but “it’ll do…”

My first port of call is to get them to chill out, play it slowly and accurately to a metronome (or with me playing the chords slowly)

If they can’t do this, then that’s the problem – they’re running before they can crawl – if they can, then I keep speeding it up incrementally, 5-10bpm until I find their limit, which is usually 20-30bpm slower than what they’re trying to play it at – running before they can walk.

When you’ve finished reading this, pick one thing you’ve been trying to learn and tap along to this metronome to find the speed – then cut off 30bpm and try it again – I’ll be interested to see after a week or so of solid practice if it helps

JW

How much do I need to practice?

I receive a lot of enquiries every month from people who are interested in having guitar lessons and they call me up in the process of checking out the local guitar tutor(s).

One of the questions I frequently get asked is “how many guitar lessons do you think I will I need”?

Now, this question in particular is quite a tricky one to respond to because it doesn’t really have an answer, but the whole ‘potential lesson booking’ scenario can hang on the outcome of what I as the guitar tutor, is or isn’t about to say…

There are a lot of factors involved in how quickly you can learn the guitar, the main one being how often can you practice?

Chances are, if you’re already asking me the ‘how many lessons…’ question then you are quite keen to crack on and will throw yourself into it, which is great but please remember that just turning up to your lessons and sitting near a guitar tutor isn’t enough to progress effectively – (I call this phenomenon ’learning by osmosis’…) – you DO need to practice in between sessions.

“How much do I need to practice?”

Little and often is the key here, but if you are a busy working professional, or a self confessed social butterfly then as little as 10 mins a day is acceptable to start with.

This is why young people can pick up things so quickly – when I was 15, I had so much time to spare that I played the guitar for hours every day, but then of course I didn’t have a job, a family, or the internet…

Gradual progress

Progress is slow and you need to keep practicing, going away then repeating again and again – a bit like learning lines to a play or memorising something.

Everybody has 10 mins spare during their normal day to pick up the guitar and practice and usually those 10 mins will become 15, 20 or 30 mins, but if they don’t then anything is better than nothing!

NOTE – a 2-hour-long cramming session before your lesson does NOT work in the long term and only serves to get you stressed about your lesson, not excited.

It is something you want to do, right?

“So, if I book 5 lessons then I will be able to…”

Another common misconception – please don’t expect that after a set amount of time you will be able to do X,Y or Z (or even A, B or Cm7b5 – a music ‘in joke’, sorry!) because it’s not as simple as that.  You will be putting unreasonable expectations on yourself and your tutor and could be setting yourself up for disappointment from the start.

There’s not a recipe or a set-time like you’re baking a cake – we’re not uploading guitar skills into our memory, ‘Matrix’ style.

…but wouldn’t it be cool?

Anyone who does tell you that after 5 lessons “you will be able to play…” without meeting you is not doing you any favours and they are just selling themselves to you by telling you what you want to hear.

What happens if they say that after 5 lessons you will be able to play ‘Wonderwall’ and you can’t – then what? Is it their fault as a tutor? Can you get a refund?

Should you get a refund?

If you have a good tutor and an open mind you can achieve things that you never thought you would be able to do, even as quickly as your first lesson – it may not be what you expect but enjoy it for what it is and focus on the journey.

You might exceed your expectations and find that you are a ‘natural‘ or inversely, you might discover that it’s much harder than you expected and it will take you longer than you originally thought.  It may be easy to start with and then becomes harder (it does) crushing your hopes of winning ‘Guitar Idol‘ this year…

If you want to learn, then great – we as guitar tutors are very happy to teach you but one piece of advice every guitarist will tell you is that it’s about the journey and the enjoyment of learning and discovering new music as well as being able to play your favourite songs, not the end goal because with music, there isn’t one.

JW

How Many Guitar Lessons Do I Need?

First published June 25 2012

I receive a lot of enquiries every month from people who are interested in having guitar lessons and they email me whilst in the process of checking out the local guitar tutor(s).
One of the questions I frequently get asked is “how many guitar lessons do you think I will I need...”?

Now, this question in particular is quite a tricky one to respond to because it doesn’t really have an answer, but the whole ‘potential lesson booking’ scenario can hang on the outcome of what I as the guitar tutor, is or isn’t about to say…

There are a lot of factors involved in how quickly you can learn the guitar, the main one being how often can you practice?  Chances are, if you’re already asking me the ‘how many lessons…’ question then you are quite keen to crack on and will throw yourself into it, which is great but please remember that just turning up to your lessons and sitting near a guitar tutor isn’t enough to progress effectively – (I call this phenomenon ‘learning by osmosis’…) – you DO need to practice in between sessions.

“How much do I need to practice?”

Little and often is the key here, but if you are a busy working professional, or a self confessed social butterfly then as little as 10 mins a day is acceptable to start with.
This is why young people can pick up things so quickly – when I was 15, I had so much time to spare that I played the guitar for hours every day, but then of course I didn’t have a job, a family, or the internet…

Gradual progress

Progress is slow and you need to keep practicing, going away then repeating again and again – a bit like learning lines to a play.  You simply cannot expect to learn something instantly.
Everybody has 10 mins spare during their normal day to pick up the guitar and practice and quite often once started, those 10 mins will become 15, 20 or 30 mins. However, if that's not possible then anything really is better than nothing!
NOTE – a 2-hour-long cramming session before your lesson does NOT work in the long term and only serves to get you stressed about your lesson, not excited.
It is something you want to do, right?

“So, if I book 5 lessons then will I be able to…?”

Another common misconception – please don’t expect that after a set amount of time you will be able to do X,Y or Z (or even A, B or Cm7b5 – a music ‘in joke’, sorry!) because it’s not as simple as that.  Everybody will learn different things at their own pace.  
Please don't begin by putting unreasonable expectations on yourself and your tutor.  You could be setting yourself up for disappointment from the start.
There’s not a recipe or a set-time for learning something, like baking a cake – we’re not uploading guitar skills into our memory, ‘Matrix’ style.…but wouldn’t it be cool?

Anyone who does tell you that after 5 lessons “you will be able to play…” without meeting you is not doing you any favours and they are just selling themselves to you by telling you what you want to hear.  What happens if they say that after 5 lessons you will be able to play ‘Wonderwall’ and you can’t – then what? Is it their fault as a tutor? Can you get a refund?  Should you get a refund?

If you have a good tutor and an open mind you can achieve things that you never thought you would be able to do, even as quickly as your first lesson – it may not be what you expect but enjoy it for what it is and focus on the journey.  You might exceed your expectations and find that you are a ‘natural‘ or inversely, you might discover that it’s much harder than you expected and it will take you longer than you originally thought.  It may be easy to start with and then becomes harder (it does) crushing your hopes of winning ‘Guitar Idol‘ this year…

If you want to learn, then great – we as guitar tutors are very happy to teach you but one piece of advice every guitarist will tell you is that it’s about the journey and the enjoyment of learning and discovering new music as well as being able to play your favourite songs, not the end goal because with music, there isn’t one.

JW

Guitar Lessons for Christmas - A Bit of Advice...

First published November 26th 2012

Ho ho ho!

My Xmas shopping outfit this year

I know it's early yet, but with Christmas on the way, you might be donning your battle gear ready to hit the streets in search of that perfect gift for your friends, family, other half or little rascals.  Others though, like me, are hiding under the stairs, chewing their nails and breaking into a cold sweat at the thought of the inevitable last minute Xmas eve shopping-spree handing out wads of cash to anyone, ANYBODY who can sell them something that looks remotely thoughtful.

There is one gift though, that will guarantee to show your thoughtfulness and aptitude for a bit of 'out of the box thinking' - guitar lessons!

Now, I'm not just plugging my own business as many of you reading this around the country will be too far away, but if you are planning on purchasing this unique present for a lucky recipient, here are a few tips for you to take into consideration when buying guitar lessons as a gift:

Don't buy too many

Has the person you're buying for mentioned guitar lessons before?  If not, you might be taking a chance, in which case, 1-5 is perfectly reasonable.  If it's a dead cert - up to 10 is great as it's virtually a short course and you might get a discount, if you ask.

Be sure to get something physical

At John Wilmshurst Guitar Tuition, I have professionally printed gift certificates that you can give on the big day - it makes a huge difference to the delivery of the gift!  Be sure to get something similar from your guitar tutor if it is available - even a print-out.

Check out your tutor

Like any other business a good reliable guitar tutor will have an internet presence with some online information.  They will be experienced and have a good word of mouth reputation.  They will also be prepared to take the time to answer your questions and let you know what their waiting list is like, if they have one.  Do your research - a bad tutor can put off a promising student for years.  

Don't leave it last minute!

If you are planning on buying a gift certificate, how will you collect it or pay for it? Can you pay by card, or online?  If you pay by transfer, does it have to clear first?  If possible, try to visit the tutor to collect, or ask them to come to you if they do house calls. Don't expect the post to guarantee fast delivery, that's all I'm saying... 

Pay for quality

If you are looking for professional guitar tuition, you will be paying professional prices, somewhere within the region of $60+ per hour.
If somebody is advertising 'guitar lessons for $30 per hour' then be prepared to get only $30 worth of expertise, experience, reliability and service.  $75.00 well spent will save you time, effort and money in the long run. Just think, would you hire a $50 per hour lawyer and expect to get a good service?

There you have it, a few tips to help you find the perfect gift experience this Christmas.

Happy shopping!

JW

Timing is everything…

There are some of us in the guitar playing community who just enjoy a strum every now and again (who doesn’t?) and then others who like to put a more formal structure around their playing – neither of which are really better than the other.

I do however, think that there is one detail that everyone should pay a little mind to, and that is… timing!!

So, what is timing?

(definition from google)
The choice, judgment, or control of when something should be done

So, the important words in there are choice and judgement and control.

When we’re playing a song to ourselves or are round the table with our friends at a party having a sing-song, the timing (as long as it’s roughly in the right place) doesn’t overly matter, does it? – I mean, it’s more about the fun, right?

Well, maybe – but if you are playing with other musicians or along to a track, or you just want your music to flow timing is EVERYTHING!

If all the musicians have inherently good timing, it allows everyone to settle into a groove, where everyone’s rhythm is aligned and the song just flows – have you ever heard a song where you just can’t help but nod your head or tap your foot?  That my friend, amongst other things, is a groove and of course, your audience gets sucked in too – and that is when you have them – nodding in agreement with your music – look at them in the video!!
Timing and FEEL.

Of course, you might say “But John, I’m a LEAD guitarist – I don’t care for any of that RHYTHM nonsense – what are you chatting about, fool??”
My answer would be that you’re the fool –

Music is primarily about the rhythm as far as I’m concerned, the rest comes after that.
Chords, melodies, solos, drum beats, bass lines… it’s got to groove, feel right and of course, be in time.

Next time you practice, put on a metronome, or even better a drum beat and try playing along with it. Listen to the overall picture – are you in time? Does it groove?

JW

Learn twice as fast – Practice at half-speed!!

Hi all,

I know this sounds weird, but it’s true –
“if you practice at half-speed, you’ll learn twice as quickly”

Now of course, no-one’s measuring precisely but surely you would think that practising at a slower pace would take up more of your precious time and in an effort to get it all in you will have to cut corners…

Well the first approach is to prioritise.
It is much more useful having the ability to play a few things well, instead of having about ten things you haven’t quite finished or can play ‘sort of’.

Think about it this way –
“if you practice slowly and accurately, you’ll develop your skills properly over a certain period of time.
If you practice something badly, you’ll never learn it over ANY period of time”

This is just pointing out the obvious really (it’s only obvious once you know) but just stick to one thing, learn it and master it as best as you can. Take your time. Chill out!

Start at a comfortable pace, accept the fact that it is going to take a little while and set yourself a short term goal:
“By the end of this week, I’m going to be able to play the first few bars of that riff/that scale/those chords etc…”
Then you can add to it and within a few weeks, you will have it (depending on what you’ve chosen to learn of course – be realistic!) 

I’ve had people come to me for lessons who’ve been playing longer than I’ve been able to wipe my own bottom and they’re angry, god they’re angry.
A pent-up bubble of rage is swelling inside them: “Why can’t I play this ***** thing?!?”
As it goes, they’ve been playing the same things over and over, full speed and trying to mask bad habits or just putting up with that bit that isn’t quite right but “it’ll do…”

My first port of call is to get them to chill out, play it slowly and accurately to a metronome (or with me playing the chords slowly)
If they can’t do this, then that’s the problem – they’re running before they can crawl – if they can, then I keep speeding it up incrementally, 5-10bpm until I find their limit, which is usually 20-30bpm slower than what they’re trying to play it at – running before they can walk.

When you’ve finished reading this, pick one thing you’ve been trying to learn and tap along to this metronome to find the speed – then cut off 30bpm and try it again – I’ll be interested to see after a week or so of solid practice if it helps 🙂

JW

Teaching Your Child | Guitar Tuition for Kids

Having been a guitar tutor for over 18 years I have taught many different people of all ages and abilities, from budding professionals, all the way down to absolute beginners; a good portion of whom are children.

The great thing about teaching kids is that they arrive with bags of energy and absolute enthusiasm; the tricky thing, is guiding that enthusiasm and turning it into good practice without having to overuse the word ‘discipline’!

It is my belief that a good tutor should inspire and enthuse before anything else can be achieved and this is my main aim in my lessons; especially where kids are concerned.  After all, nobody wants to spend 20-60 minutes a week with a boring teacher playing boring music, so I make sure that all the information in the lesson is delivered in a fun and appropriate way.  How is this done? In the form of games, fun tunes and keeping things simple enough to be achievable, but hard enough to be interesting.

A reward system is often good, especially in the form of cool riffs and song melodies – “once you’ve played this scale 5 times, I’ll teach you this!” – and I find that a structured system is important too, to measure development and to show the parents, the guys who are usually paying, where their bundle of joy is headed and what is expected of them and also of me, the tutor.

Grades

I know a lot of parents who’re keen for their child to take exams and I’m all for that, but it is also important to retain the sense of fun.  It’s always best to talk to the tutor about whether grade exams are appropriate for your child.

Working With Children Check

This is a requirement for any professional who is to be working with children and should e checked by the parents whether the tutor has one in place (I do!).  The tutor will provide their number and you are able to verify it online.

If you are looking for guitar lessons for your child, why not drop me a line at my guitar studio in Berowra Heights to discuss your options.

JW

Good Repetition

first published Septmber 17th 2012

Have you heard the phrase “repetition, repetition, repetition”?

Of course, this means that by repeating something you can commit it to long term memory, which is useful when we want to remember lyrics or melodies.  Sometimes though, when performing technique for example, ‘brain memory’ just isn’t fast enough and is prone to forgetfulness so we need to employ something I call ‘finger memory’.

‘Finger memory’ is really another name for muscle memory, which suggests that your muscles can remember certain actions they perform very frequently.   As musicians, this means that if we practice something often enough we should eventually be able to start doing it without having to think about it anymore – it’s like our fingers seem to know where they’re going on their own!  This can help us with fast phrases, scale runs, chords… nearly every aspect of guitar playing.

I’D LIKE YOU TO MEET… YOUR BRAIN

There is a catch – the reality is that because you have done the same movement often enough your brain assumes that’s how you always want it to be done.  It will always take the path of least resistance and follow what seems to ‘feel’ right… even if it’s wrong. It’s not your brain’s fault though, it’s only doing what you told it to do!  In other words, it’s important to practice your movements on the guitar slowly and as technically perfect as you can manage.  If you make a mistake your brain will record it as part of the process and therefore you will be prone to making the same mistake.  Start again, slow down and take your time. ALWAYS be consistently correct.

This approach to learning can be very frustrating but can yield HUGE results in a relatively short period of time.  I’ve had students who have been playing something the same way for 20 years and never improving at it but after a couple of weeks of slowing down and using ‘good repetition’, they find that they start to make real progress again.
Next time you see anybody who is a master of their profession, maybe a chef chopping vegetables really quickly , watch their technique and how they make it look easy.
This is because with good practice, it is.

Until next time…

JW

Have Guitar Lessons to Save Money

First published May 6th 2011

You would think that learning to play the guitar has never been easier, what with the internet and Youtube videos.  Music shops have shelves groaning under the weight of ‘how to’ books and DVDs of poodle-haired rock stars from the 80’s promising to reveal THE secret to learning to play the guitar, with little or no effort – like Joey from Friends, “you won’t even need a guitar!”??  Based on my twenty years of learning the guitar I can tell you that there is no hidden secret to reveal, nor are there any shortcuts .  
No matter how many videos you watch or books you read there will always be unanswered questions which no amount of re-reading or rewinding or will answer. 

The truth is that there is simply no substitute for having a real live teacher sitting across from you, tailoring your lessons to your exact needs, structuring and guiding you in the best and fastest way possible to develop your skills.

Eventually the day will come when you decide to stop spending money on books that you’ll never read and DVDs which end up propping up a wonky table, and you’ll decide to invest your hard-earned cash in booking a lesson with a guitar tutor.  A good teacher will inform, enthuse and inspire you to practice day after day, week after week and learn to take control of your own musical journey – not spoon you feed old rock guitar riffs and country songs for months on end.  They will ensure you understand what it is that you’re learning and show you how to get the most out of your precious practice time. They will structure your learning, motivating you, pushing you.  

It’s not impossible to learn on your own, but having someone who is experienced guiding you will save a lot of wasted time, space on your bookshelf and importantly, hard earned money!  They won’t however, be able to prop up your wonky table leg – you can use your old books and DVD’s for that.

John Wilmshurst