MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHIES
Key concepts which are fundamental principles in my approach to teaching and playing music.
Teaching concepts
Welcome to a musical journey guided by my philosophy. These key concepts serve as the fundamental principles shaping both my teaching methodology and personal approach to playing music. Together, let's explore the essence of these principles and unlock the doors to a profound understanding of music.
Learn from the masters
Channel the wisdom of the greats, where imitation is a form of mastery, and your musical identity is sculpted by what you absorb. Just as you are what you eat, in the realm of music, you'll sound like the melodies that inspire you.
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Instead of learning one song each from ten different artists, we would stay focused on only a few artists but learn ten songs from each of them so your musical identity and influences show up sooner. Go deep and narrow rather than skim the surface widely.
Walk before you run
Embrace the philosophy of "Walk Before You Run" with my step-by-step guidance, ensuring a methodical approach to your guitar journey. Mastering the basics lays the foundation for steady progress, guiding you through each step to enhance your musical prowess.
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Be strategic in planning which songs to learn, being aware of their respective difficulty and suitability to your level of playing. Tackle each part of the song by splitting them into sections, working on specifics such as hammer-ons, ensuring that those are satisfactory before moving on to pull-offs and eventually bends.
Learn styles, not scales
Elevate your guitar journey with our approach of emphasising the importance of style rather than scales. Dive into the essence of musicality, transcending mere technicality. Ask yourself, do you aspire to be a musician crafting soulful melodies or a technician navigating scales?
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We will not be spending a lot of time on books or PDFs. While those are often informative, they don’t show you the ‘how’ in order to play in style. Music is much more than box patterns on the fretboard.
Limits set you free
Restricting yourself during practice paradoxically opens up boundless freedom in your playing. Experience the art of musical liberation as you set deliberate boundaries, unlocking a realm of creative expression when you play.
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If you are wanting to avoid playing the same rhythms in your solos, set yourself a rule to start your phrases on beat two instead of beat one at the start of each bar. Then only start on beat three. How about ensuring the presence of long phrases across two or three bars continuously? All of these introduce a different musical angle which makes your music sound more interesting.
Guitar as an expression tool
Harness the guitar as your instrument of expression—a conduit for your musical soul. Much like perfecting left-hand technique, consider it not merely an end but a skill to refine. Unleash your creativity, sculpting emotions through every strum, and let the guitar be your eloquent voice in the language of melody.
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That is why we would work on musical aspects more than being solely guitar-focused, including all-round musical skills such as ear training and theory. Aim to be a musician rather than just a guitarist, and you’ll see the bigger picture in music rather than the limited confines of the instrument.
Always go by sound
When in doubt, prioritise sound. At the end of the day, that is what the listener is most interested in. Not your look, not your licks, but the sound. Technique should be used as a tool to serve the playing, being the means to an end rather than the end itself.
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Perhaps there are many factors in influencing your decision to go with a particular finger pattern or to use a certain position on the fretboard. In the hierarchy of things, sound should always come first. This particular fingering may be hard to play smoothly, but unless absolutely impossible, I would rather practise it more than compromising on sound.