Heartwood Guitar Instruction

The following is an excerpt from Rob’s Totally Awesome Guitar Teaching Handbook.

When was the last time you were terrified trying something new? I’m not talking about the fear of sharks at your first surfing lesson. I mean trying something you really want to do, but you’re worried that Jah had other intentions when he doled out your aptitude. Perhaps it was dancing lessons, auditioning for a band, deciding to write a novel, or going on your first date after a bad breakup.

Many beginning guitar students will have the same kind of fear. They’re often courageous adults who were told in elementary school that they have no rhythm, or are tone deaf. They’re coming to you because they’re still searching for a way to make music despite discouragement, and they’re hoping you can point the way. Empathizing with them—feeling what they feel —will help you teach them.

One way to empathize is to recall a comparable time in your life. You may have to dig deep. Kids risk failure all the time, but as people mature, they tend to find their path and then cruise it—seat back, one hand on the wheel. Even if you’re a dedicated life-long learner, it might be hard to remember the last time you were scared of being bad at something.

I got reacquainted with the fear of failure when I started singing lessons a couple years ago. I spent my first lesson mortified at all the unpredictable sounds I made. Afterwards, I remember recovering in my parked car soaked in sweat, staring at the dashboard, feeling like a vulnerable kid.

I recall that moment when I start lessons with a new student, reminding myself that while it’s just another day of work for me, it might be one of the scariest things they’ve done.

What do you think: How necessary is it for a teacher to empathize with their student? I’d love to hear some stories.

You can learn more about Rob’s Totally Awesome Guitar Teaching Handbook here.

My 11-year-old student Connor had quite a week. Last Tuesday he appeared on TV. And on Saturday night, he gave an electrifying performance with his fellow metalheads at the School of Rock Presents: Classic Metallica show.

Never have I seen Connor so energized. He had me pumping my fist in the air, screaming the lyrics with him.

A couple vids from that night:

Yesterday morning I joined my 11-year-old guitar student Connor at The Seattle Channel’s studio to watch him perform for the show Art Zone with Nancy Guppy. Nancy had contacted me a couple weeks ago looking for a rock guitarist to perform on an episode dedicated to young local artists. I sent her links to some of the videos from my 2009 Coffee Shop Jam. When she saw Connor’s explosive performance of “Death Nightmare,” she knew she’d found her rocker.

Connor had to do some scrambling to get ready for his TV gig. For one thing, in the past year Connor’s been revising his old songs, adding long guitar solos featuring new skills he’s developed. “Death Nightmare” in its current iteration is a sprawling, 5-minute epic. But Art Zone limited performances to 3 minutes. Uh-oh. Previously, when I’ve tried to nudge Connor toward making his songs more concise, I’ve been shut down. I may as well have been telling Michelangelo that he’d chiseled David all wrong.

Connor will be joined by an actor, flutist, hip-hop dancer, and magician.

I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that Nancy Guppy did what I could not. Connor was more than happy to hack up “Death Nightmare” for the promise of TV stardom. When I saw him next, he’d already figured out how to shorten the song to a crisp 2:45.

A tougher challenge Connor faced was performing for a TV camera. When you’re playing in front of a cheering crowd, it’s as if you’re connected to them by electric wires: Their energy pumps you up. But playing for a video camera is like playing into a black hole that’s sucking your energy into space. The only solution is to be your own generator.

I posed this problem to Connor by showing him two photos.

“You’re used to playing for this,” I said.

“But next week, you’ll be playing for this.”

“It’s not that you don’t have an audience,” I told him. “It’s just that you can’t see them. You’ll be playing for hundreds of people, and they’re going to love your music. But they’ll be invisible. How do you play for an audience like that?”

“I could imagine them,” said Connor. Bingo. For the rest of the lesson, Connor visualized cheering fans while playing “Death Nightmare.”

It was great to see Connor relaxed and having fun on the day of the shoot. He chatted with the friendly film crew, noodled on his guitar between takes, and hammed for the cameras like an old pro. Well, maybe not that old. Toward the end of the filming, Connor reminded the crew that while he digs 80′s metal, he’s still a kid of the cell phone era. On one take, Connor finished his song and then Nancy rushed in for her post-song interview, yelling “That ROCKED!” and holding up a lighter. Connor looked at her as if she were holding a banana.

You can watch Connor perform this Friday at 8pm on The Seattle Channel, streamed live here. It’ll also be available in the archives if you miss it.

Also, if you’d like to see Connor perform live, he’ll be playing and singing a few Metallica songs at the School of Rock Classic Metallica show on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 6:30pm at Studio Seven. $10 advance, $12 at the door. Details here.

Finally, in case you haven’t seen this, here’s Connor playing “Death Nightmare” at the 2009 Coffee Shop Jam. Hold on to your hairnets.

Update: Looks like the clips have been removed from YouTube. Bummer!

Today I want to share with you two examples of great music, deconstructed: A classic Rolling Stones recording split into its separate tracks, and an epic analysis of the gorgeous and baffling use of delay effects by U2′s guitarist, The Edge.

Gimme Shelter Deconstructed

Dangerous Minds turned me on to this series of audio clips, posted on YouTube, of the component tracks of the Rolling Stones classic, “Gimme Shelter.” I love Mick Jagger and Merry Clayton’s harmonies, and Clayton’s face-melting screams toward the end. Be patient during the brief periods of silence between the vocal lines—it’s worth it.

I also appreciated the opportunity to hear Keith Richard’s guitar work up close. The bit of string noise here and there made him more human.

And Bill Wyman’s bass playing was impressive. You can hear all these nuances that are lost, at least to my ears, in the final mix.

Vocals:

Rhythm Guitar (Keith Richards):

Lead Guitar and Piano (Keith Richards and Nicky Hopkins):

Bass (Bill Wyman):

Drums (Charlie Watts):

The Edge Deconstructed

I’m a huge fan of U2 and their innovative guitarist, The Edge. The Christmas after I bought my first electric guitar (I was 16), I begged my mom to buy me a $240 Boss DD-3 delay pedal so that I could create the beautiful cascades of notes I heard on U2′s Unforgettable Fire album. Santa delivered, but I still remember the disappointment of realizing, after two weeks of what must have sounded like very bad avante-garde electronica, that The Edge wasn’t going to give up his secret sound easily.

If only I’d had this website to refer to: A veritable PhD thesis on The Edge’s use of delay. A lot of it’s technical minutia that will only appeal to the geekiest U2 fans, but at least check out a few of the author’s home recordings.

A Study of The Edge’s Guitar Delay

Enjoy the music,

Rob

The Princess Bride. A ’59 Les Paul. Lucky the goldfish’s funeral.

There’s something satisfying about a true classic. I thought I’d dig up one of my favorites from this blog: Strumming 101.

Since I posted this tutorial on how to strum a guitar in 2005, over 100,000 people have visited it. Every week or so, someone leaves a comment telling me how much they enjoyed it. It’s gratifying to know that I’ve had the privilege of introducing so many people to the guitar.

I remember writing that tutorial. I expected 100 people might read it. I was living alone for the first time, in a dumpy apartment, above a neighbor who’d blast an airhorn when my students would tap their feet.

Five years later, I’m married, living in my own home, and starting development of a beginner’s guitar course that I’ll starting this winter. I hope every page of it has the same spark as this tutorial: Strumming 101

Enjoy,

Rob

My student Wesley and I have been having fun this past month filming songs and commercials for a make-believe TV show. It’s been an awesome motivator for practicing songs.

Here’s his first segment: Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi.” Yep, he chose the song.

I’m happy to announce the biggest chord chart update ever—over eighty new songs added, plus about thirty revisions. Almost all have strum pattern recommendations. I know how valuable those are to many of you.

At the end of this list, you’ll also find simplified songs for kids and total beginners.

Enjoy the music!

All American Rejects – It Ends Tonight
Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem – Roses
Avett Brothers – Paranoia in B Major
Avett Brothers – Slight Figure of Speech
The Beatles – Drive My Car
The Beatles – Hey Jude
David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust
Carla Bruni – You Belong to Me
Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (written by Leonard Cohen)
Buffalo Springfield – For What It’s Worth
Bush – Glycerine
Cake – Love You Madly
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Long As I Can See the Light
Judy Collins – Someday Soon
Shawn Colvin – Sunny Came Home
Deep Purple – Smoke on the Water
John Denver – Leaving on a Jet Plane in G
Dire Straits – Romeo and Juliet in C
Bob Dylan – I Shall Be Released
Bob Dylan – If You See Her, Say Hello
Bob Dylan – Simple Twist of Fate
Foo Fighters – Times Like These
Ben Gibbard – You Remind Me Of Home
John Gorka – Branching Out
Grand Funk Railroad – We’re An American Band
Green Day – Basket Case
Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends
Green Day – Welcome to Paradise
High School Musical – What I’ve Been Looking For
Islands – Creeper
Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwo’ole – Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Michael Jackson – Beat It
Diana Jones – A Hold on Me
Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
Ronan Keating – When You Say Nothing At All
The Kooks – She Moves in He Own Way
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – Killing the Blues
Lady Gaga – Paparazzi
John Lennon – Happy Xmas (War is Over)
MGMT – Kids
Ingrid Michaelson – Maybe
Midnight Oil – Beds Are Burning
Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl
Alexi Murdoch – Orange Sky
Willie Nelson – Seven Spanish Angels
Old Cow Medicine Show – I Hear Them All
Owl City – Fireflies
Paramore – Misery Business
Pedro the Lion – Arizona
Pedro the Lion – I Am Always The One Who Calls
Tom Petty – Free Falling
The Presidents of the United States of America – Naked and Famous
Joe Purdy – Brand New Set of Wings
Bonnie Raitt – Love Has No Pride
Bonnie Raitt – Wild for You Baby
Rihanna – Disturbia
Simon and Garfunkel – Only Living Boy in New York
Smash Mouth – All Star
Smashing Pumpkins – Tonight, Tonight
Steve Miller Band – The Joker
Cat Stevens – Father and Son
Sufjan Stevens – The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!
Survivor – Eye of the Tiger
Taylor Swift – Love Story
Talking Heads – Psycho Killer
U2 – Red Hill Mining Town
Townes Van Zandt – Pancho and Lefty
Weezer – Beverly Hills
Wilco – Jesus Etc
Pete Yorn – Crystal Village

Bass Lines for Total Beginners or Kids

These are simplified versions of songs played on just the 6th string. It’s the easiest way to play these songs on guitar—perfect for beginners or kids who want to sing and play at the same time.

Note that several of my young students have…shall we say…non-standard tastes. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend some of these songs to kids, but if they request them, here they are.

Bush – Glycerine
Johnny Cash – Wide Open Road
Bob Dylan – I Threw It All Away
Robbie Fulks – Godfrey
Green Day – Good Riddance
Green Day – Holiday
Merle Haggard – Mama Tried
Lady Gaga – Paparazzi
Iggy Pop – The Passenger
Bruce Springsteen – Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips
Neil Young – Needle and the Damage Done

We all need heroes: People who inspire us to realize our full potential and to do the hard work of being good. People to imagine when making tough decisions, and ask, “What would _______ do?”

I just found a new hero.

I usually don’t plug products, but the just-released PolyTune app for the iPhone is amazing. You strum the open strings on your guitar, and the six pairs of dots—one for each string—show which strings are out of tune. Instead of going through each string one-by-one, you can see immediately where the problem is.

In the image at right, the 4th string’s a little flat, and the 2nd string’s pretty sharp.

I just tested the app on my acoustic guitar, and it seems as accurate as my favorite “normal” tuner.

The first 25,000 downloads of the app are free, so let the feeding frenzy begin. More info here: http://www.tcelectronic.com/polytune-iphone-app.asp

One of my students is playing “Sad But True” by Metallica at the upcoming Coffee Shop Jam, and he’s made an unfortunate choice for a vocalist: Me.

I’ve been singing along with Metallica videos to try to get this John Denver voice to rock a little harder, and I came across this excellent Fresh Air interview with Metallica’s lead singer and rhythm guitarist, James Hetfield.

I love it when Terry Gross, Fresh Air’s geeky librarian-like interviewer, has grizzled rock stars as guests. This episode is a new favorite.