When we watch an artist, we witness a product that has deep roots.  We are only seeing the blossom, the fruit so to speak, of a long growing process.  Not only is the event a manifestation of their creativity but also an accumulation of their past work and experiences.  We don’t see all the inspirations, teachers, mentors, books, musicians, music, recordings, art studies, instrument knowledge, schooling, endless practice, rehearsals and past concerts and much more behind the momentary performance.  

This year, on January 10th, Jeff Beck passed away at the age of 78.  The legacy of this English musician is enormous.  He solidified the option for guitarists to have solo careers and focus primarily on their guitar playing skills and own compositions.  He is an amazing illustration of how an artist can continually evolve and embrace many different genres yet stay close to his roots.  He also embodied an innovative spirit that saw far greater possibilities of what the electric guitar had to offer sonically.  I would like to encourage guitar lovers to become well acquainted with his tremendous creative output.  

Without a doubt a good melody is one of the most attractive things in music.  It keeps the listener engaged and compels us to re-listen to the song.  Melodies can range from very simple to quite complex and are equally present in all genres of music.  Analyzing their structure, seeing patterns and discovering formulas is engaging and educational.  Equally, composing your own melodies is also rewarding.  Starting in 2023, in an ongoing spirit of self-betterment and musical growth, I set myself the goal of regularly writing and recording a melody.      

Over the years, being a guitar teacher has morphed into a larger dimension.  Of course, the act of teaching, playing, practicing and performing are still at the heart of it.  However, the passing on of knowledge about music can go much deeper.  With the arrival of 2023, I am looking forward to enriching my students’ lives with all I can learn from my interest in music.  Educating them in unexpected ways and keeping them curious is my goal as their teacher. 

Asking questions is a good thing. Not only are you likely to get useful answers but you will enrich the person on the other end as well. Teachers especially are not only around to share their knowledge, but they are there to be drilled with questions from their field. It is a win-win situation. Get past any reason you might be afraid to ask questions. It’s OK not to know everything, and daring to ask questions is an act of courage and a sign of humility. Neither of those are bad traits!

Transcribing songs is definitely a skill that can be learned, and it improves the more you do it. Some songs follow well-established formulas that are recognizable by a trained ear. I notate, and then jot down a rough outline. I first notate the chord progressions with proper chord symbols (G, C, D Em etc.) and determine what part of the song they belong to. Often a song will have an Intro, a verse, a chorus, perhaps a bridge and an outro. You can designate these song parts using the letters A (verse), B (chorus), C (bridge) etc. This let’s you decode the form of the song, also called the roadmap, using the letters in the order the parts of the song are put together.

Saying YES and participating is not only beneficial to the growth of an artist but equally douses a wave of good fortune on others! Sharing whatever lies within you is a wonderful thing especially if you find yourself surrounded by folks who appreciate this mysterious realm we call “the arts”

Teachers need to be inspired in order to pass on the drive to learn to their students.  An ongoing urge to expand one’s knowledge and share one’s insights is a prerequisite for being a competent teacher.  It doesn’t matter whether you are teaching Kindergarten, elementary school, music lessons or a college level science class; anybody who is passing on knowledge is in the best shape if they themselves are psyched about their topic.  Living an inspired life can only happen if we enable it.  

 There is much to be learned from listening to music composed and played on other instruments. Music consists not only of melody, harmony and rhythm, but also of the tone, timbre, texture, dynamics and playing style unique to each instrument. These elements are an equal part of the musical equation and help us understand why genres exist and why a brass quintet is recognizable from a traditional bluegrass band.

 The bond we have to our instrument or music itself won’t always be in the honeymoon phase.  Perhaps it is completely mandatory to have strife and eventually grow, forgive and move forward, instead of viewing turbulences as a sign to quit.  With a positive mindset there are many good things in store once we get over the hurdles, and it is a life skill to be able to work through problems instead of giving up. In this month’s newsletter, I would like to encourage all students to stick with it when things feel hard, and I would like to share some thoughts Quincy Jones has on this topic. 

My son’s childlike approach toward playing in front of an audience contrasts so starkly to the reality of high performers in the competitive world of entertainment. Maestro Christopher Parkening's career as a classical guitarist is a model example of this. In this month’s newsletter, I would like to explore this contrast further.

Come Fire, Broken Bones, Strokes or Bullets:Keep Playing And Create Something Beautiful!

Let’s learn how to read music but also dare to use our own ears!

This is the magic of recording, an area of the arts where musical expression, calculated science and happenstance collide.

Over the years, I have learned many lessons from my children and would like to share some of them in this month’s newsletter.  One of the most striking differences between children and adults is that children simply look at the situation, quickly make an assessment of what is doable and then proceed.  They are 100% in the moment not wasting thoughts or energy on what the ideal conditions could be. 

Learning to play Jazz guitar calls for journeying into the world of Jazz.  Any musician interested in playing Jazz needs to become well acquainted with the works of Jazz masters by striving to memorize the melody, chord progressions and even the lyrics of their favorite Jazz tunes, many of them being known as Jazz standards.

Learning an instrument, performing and recording music requires many tools.  Passionate musicians are constantly seeking to perfect the sound they are striving for, and December is a great time to gift the musician in your life with one of a whole host of musical necessities.  Learning an instrument and being on the path of musicianship also requires attentive listening to music, and starting a personal CD collection is a great gift for that purpose. 

As the final harvest is upon us and the garden season has ended, I'd like to, once more, draw parallels between tending a vegetable garden and musical growth.  Both were bountiful, and there is much to be thankful for.  I learned a lot and the German saying, "Zu Viel des Gutens", sums up exactly what I need to be more aware of.  It means “too much of a good thing can actually cause harm.”  Some unexpected lessons came from our rabbits, who surprisingly provided me with both inspiration in guitar playing and in boosted plant growing power in the garden.  

Ever wonder what is going on in your brain when you play the guitar? Most musicians and music educators are primarily focused on performing or teaching how to play an instrument and easily to overlook all the amazing scientific data accumulated over the past decades about brain development during music education. Neuroscientists like Dr. Daniel J. Levitin study this field extensively, and their research offers insights and dazzling data on the effects of making and listening to music on brain development."Music may be the activity that prepared our pre-human ancestors for speech communication and for the very cognitive, representational flexibility necessary to become humans", Levitin writes in his book titled This Is Your Brain On Music.

The initial spark for this month's newsletter came unexpectedly from my Facebook feed, which shared the following story of Charlie Watts, the recently deceased English drummer of The Rolling Stones.  It reminded me that having a thirst for all kinds of music and being open to listening recommendations is something all serious musicians should strive for.  Not only does that require an open mind, but it also takes a lot of effort and time.