A while ago I stumbled online on a few good articles on practice tips: a few of these included these12 rules by master jazz trumpet player Winton Marsalis. I want to share them with you as I think they are a great way of approaching practice and playing in general. Enjoy. THE WYNTON MARSALIS 12… Continue reading Practice tips: the 12 Marsalis Rules
Tag: Practicing
Bending exercises
This is quite a common exercise, but a really good one, I must say. It starts with playing a C major scale 2nd string, from the top C (13 fret) down to the same note one octave lower (1st fret). Play note the first note and try and replicate that sound by bending up the… Continue reading Bending exercises
Right hand strum – different divisions/accents
The goal here is to be able to accent every possible 16th note in a very simple strum pattern. Of course the accent will happen in places you would not usually put it, so at the beginning, this might feel a bit odd. You will realize right away that this exercise will give you more… Continue reading Right hand strum – different divisions/accents
Right Hand Exercise – Just RH
Right hand Technique – inside/outside picking
Spider with a twist
The Spider (with a twist). This is a great exercise, and I always advice doing this to guitarists that struggle with their left hand posture, or with playing with the tips of their left hand fingers. The concept is simple: play a 1 2 3 4 finger combination like I show you in the video,… Continue reading Spider with a twist
Guitar Technique: Left Hand Posture Tips
I have seen too many times young or inexperienced guitarists having to go back to basics because of poor left hand posture. In this video I’ll give you some tips on how to better your left hand posture following a few simple concepts: 2. Keep your thumb opposite your fingers on the other side of… Continue reading Guitar Technique: Left Hand Posture Tips
Jog Scale
This is a scale I know as ‘Jog scale’. I am sure even though you might not know it by name, you have heard its sound before, as it is featured in a lot of Beatles tunes, and also a favorite of guitarist Eric Johnson. It has an Indian flavor to my ears…just watch the… Continue reading Jog Scale
On how to find new and original material
A lot of musicians seem to have to wait for the magic inspirational moment to write new material…but as we know, that does not always come very often…and usually it always comes at the wrong time, when you have noting to write/record your new ideas on. Even though there might be moment of your… Continue reading On how to find new and original material
Considerations on practicing – the power of your mind.
Your mind is a very powerful thing. Have you ever thought how many single actions are necessaries to play an instrument? Even in its simplest form, play a single note on the guitar, it must involve hundreds, if not thousands of impulses in our brain and around our body. This never ceases of… Continue reading Considerations on practicing – the power of your mind.