Beginner Guitar Students

Hi, everyone.
Over the past 30 years or so I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of beginner guitar students. Many of them had unrealistic expectations about what a guitar teacher can do for them. Most of them thought I would just show them where to put their fingers and they would play like Eddie Van Halen, or Jimmy Page in a couple of lessons. They think that it is purely an intellectual exercise and they don't realize there is much more to playing guitar.

It is as much a physical activity as golf or baseball; you just use smaller muscles. You have to condition your fingers, build dexterity and build muscle memory. This takes a lot of repetition of basic movements. It doesn't happen overnight.

I often get asked how long will it take to learn to play guitar. That's a difficult question to answer and I don't know if it can be answered. It depends on what your goal is, how far you want to take it. Do you just want to learn a few chords and play a few songs? Do you want to be a rock guitar hero? Or something inbetween. Having a clear goal is important and your teacher should help you define a goal.

I hear people say that it is easier to play the electric guitar than an acoustic. Or that it is better to start with an acoustic guitar first, then switch to electric. That is true only from a mechanical level; it is easier to press the strings against the frets on an electric. But you still have to condition your fingers and develop the dexterity. I do believe that it is good for your finger strength to start with an acoustic then play an electric later.

But for kids, I think it is better to keep them interested. They want to play the latest cool songs from Drowning Pool or even Jonas Brothers. They want to play AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. They want to sound like their heros and they want to do it on an electric guitar. I say it's OK and it will help keep up their interest.

Adult Jam 5-31-08

Hi, Everyone.
This last Saturday we held out last Adult Jam for the season. It was a small group, about 9 of us, but we had a lot of fun. We had Stray Cat Strut, Blowin' in the Wind, Ruth, Knocking on Heaven's Door, Hurt, the usual Stand By Me, Margaritaville. We had a couple of Johnny Cash songs that were a lot of fun and I gave an impromptu lesson on the Carter Lick, aka bass-brush strumming.

Here are the pictures from the Jam www.napervilleguitarlessons.com/photos.html . We're thinking about having a summer Outdoor Jam. I'll post information when I have it.

Keep playing guitar!

Terry

Guitar Rental

PLAY BEFORE YOU BUY
THE SITUATION
It's not easy to learn to play guitar. It's like learning a new language with ear muffs on your head; you can do it but you always feel you're missing something. That's where a good teacher comes in and can lead you by the hand.
But what can be even scarier is buying a guitar before you learn to play. Most people don't buy a car before they get their license so why buy a guitar before you can play something? What happens is you go to a guitar store and ask the salesman what would be a good guitar for a beginner. At that point, you are dependant on his opinion. If you're lucky, and he hasn't been up all night gigging, you might get a decent guitar. But some people say an acoustic is better to start with than an electric and some say just the opposite. Sometimes a salesman tells you to buy a nylon string classical guitar because it will be "easier on the beginner's fingers".
After you get what you thought was a good deal, and a great beginner's guitar, you take it home. The potential student plays around with it for awhile, a few days/weeks then realizes they can't do it on thier own. So you get a teacher. Then you find out that the gutiar is difficult/impossible to play correctly. So, you tell the student that if they learn to play, you'll get them a better guitar.
This starts a terrible cycle. The student tries, but the poor equipment makes it uncomfortable to play, so they don't practice. The teacher does his/her best but can't work around the guitar. The kid gets yelled at for not practicing, the parents get frustrated then stops lessons. The kids never learns to play and the guitar starts to gather dust quickly.
THE SOLUTION : LEARN BEFORE YOU BUY
Generally speaking, it takes about 2 months to learn a few chords and to play a couple of simple songs. To be able to pick out a guitar you like and not one that the salesman likes, you need to play the same song or chords on several different guitars. I look for a guitar that is playable, then how it sounds. The last thing I consider is how it looks. I have the salesman stand there and hand me guitars while I play the same thing over and over again. And I have him play the same thing on the guitars so I can hear it from a distance.
My program is simple. You rent a guitar from me for 2 months and take 8 to 10 lessons . You will then be ready to pick out a guitar that you feel good about. Most guitar salesmen can make any guitar sound great, even the junkers. But if you can play it and have an idea what you're looking for, you will get a guitar that will last you much longer than the bargain basement instrument from Walmart.

Rent-to-own also available.

Please visit this link for current prices Vocals and More .
Call Terry Schafer at 630-983-6674
Or
Stephanie @ Vocals and More 630-851-3262

Adult Jam May 31st, 2008

Hey there, hi there, ho there!

We're having another Adult Jam this Saturday, 8 PM at Vocals and More, 481 N Commons , Aurora IL 

The rules are simple. Play some guitar, have fun and no showing off! If you show off you shove off! 

Of course, we'll play Margaritaville and you must be old enough to order a Margarita to attend the Jam!

See you then. I'll put the photos at 

www.napervilleguitarlessons.com/tschafer/photos/

You can see the photos from the last Jam there! 

Thanks, Terry

Adult Jam April 26th, 2008

Hey there. I just got back from another Adult Jam at Vocals And More. We had a great time. My wife Mary helped me a lot and took pictures which I'll post on my website soon.

We did the usual Stand By Me and Margaritaville. I sang a Steve Goodman song and a John Prine song. Several people got up and sang, like Mike, Marc, John, Cedrick, Eric. But I was real happy to see the new comers, Nate, Nancy, Justin and Nerender. We had Jim, Anne, Colin and Katie! 

It was really a lot of fun. We're going to try to have another one late May. I'll keep you posted!

Adult Jam April 2008

Hi, Everyone. We're going to do it again! Our next Adult Jam will be April 26th , at about 8:00 PM. At Vocals and More, 481 N. Commons Rd, Aurora IL. If you have questions please send me an email at tschaf@aol.com

As usual, this is for adult beginners only. No guitar heros or hot rods. If you show up and show off you can shove off! 

We will probably start with Stand By Me , then Margaritaville. I'll play a song or two and see who else would like to sing. 

I've got a couple of idea for some mini-lessons and, if everyone's in the mood, we'll try them out.

We always have a lot of fun so be there or be square!

thanks, Terry

www.napervilleguitarlessons.com

The Great American CAGED Shoot Out

We had our CAGED contest and it was a great hit! Lucas won by performing 9 chords in 5 keys in 16 seconds! Everyone did very well. 

Here is a link to the pictures from the evening.

http://picasaweb.google.com/candrewmorrison/CAGED2008

Thanks to Marc Morrison for taking the pictures. I was busy running the contest. 

We had a lot of fun and after the contest, the kids got to jam. They got to play whatever they wanted, with whomever they wanted and as loud as they wanted! It was great!