Until quite recently I was quite poor at memorising pieces of music – especially long, complicated classical works. Over the past few months I’ve researched memory and found a number of helpful strategies that make memorising music easier. Although quite a few sites around the net offer tips, I found that only certain suggestions worked well for me, and these are not necessarily the ones that will work for you. So rather than simply compiling another list of tips and tricks I’m looking at first principles. By developing a solid understanding of how memory actually works you will be able to develop your own strategies and adapt existing approaches to your needs. So lets being by looking at the three basic stages of memory: encoding, storage and recall.
Category: General Tips and Ideas
Its essential to know the correct way to string a guitar, and avoid string slipping and tuning issues. This post looks at the nylon strung ‘classical’ guitar.
This post looks at the balancing act of getting a good tone.
This is the first in a series of posts which examine, in detail, the basis of lead guitar tone. This introduction covers the basics of frequency response, distortion and dynamics.
Why Practice Slow?
Many students are reluctant to practice slowly, usually because it seems unnecessary and boring. In this post I’d like to share a typical scenario from my private teaching. Hopefully it will highlight the reason and benefits of slow practice.
In this article, we have a look at the benefits and drawbacks of using TAB instead of standard notation. It looks at how TAB can be a great help to beginning guitarists, but possibly a hindrance for greater guitar development.