I taught a 90-minute “Intro to Jazz Guitar” clinic at Hamilton International Middle School yesterday. I met the band director several months ago when he bought my saxophone via Craigslist. He discovered that I’d studied jazz guitar, and he asked …
Discover a Guitarist: Stevie Ray Vaughan
With this post, I commence a new series on the Deft Digits blog: Discover a Guitarist. Each post in the series (inspired by John Horne’s great article, 70 Guitarists You Really Should Know About) will profile one prominent player from …
Why Learn Music Theory?
Learning music theory is essential for recreating and communicating musical ideas. While some great professional musicians are known to have skipped conventional music theory entirely, they’ll always be handicapped, unable to articulate musical ideas other than by playing or humming. …
The Easiest Intro to Music Theory
The major scale is the root of all music theory. Know it well, and the rest of music theory will become easier than you thought possible. Everything else relates back to the major scale, so it’s crucial to be familiar …
How to Find Major and Minor Chords All Over the Guitar
One of the keys to unlocking the guitar fretboard is being able to play the same thing in different places. A great way to get started on this path is learning how to find every major and minor chord everywhere …
8 Essential Open Chords and How to Use Them
What is an open chord? Technically, it’s any chord employing at least one open string. With that definition, you could make thousands. However, the term “open chord” usually refers to one of only eight basic open chords, which I’ll cover …
Know Every Note on the Guitar in 9 Days
Note: Since writing this article, I’ve created an entire course on the subject: Know Every Note. Knowing every note on the guitar is a challenge unique to the instrument. A saxophone has only one way to finger each note, while a …
Listen to Everything
How many distinct sounds can you hear right now? Try to be consciously aware of all of them at once.
How to Hold a Guitar Pick
Proper picking technique is one of the most-discussed aspects of guitar playing. The overlooked truth is that there are as many picking techniques as there are guitar players. A quick look at some of the fastest pickers out there will …
Always Take Notes
I encourage all of my guitar students to take notes during lessons. I provide frequent handouts and digital materials, but these are supplementary to the student’s own understanding.