Practical online lessons, courses and digital downloads that help you play the songs of your heart. Even if you’re starting late or coming back after years away.
Here’s a video I made to help my students track where they are- see if it helps you!
Did a song light you up back in the day? For me it was John Denver’s Leaving On a Jet Plane in 3rd grade, when a trio of 6th grade girls played it at school assembly. I couldn’t take my eyes off the guitar and knew at once I had to play. But there was a 4 year wait for lessons. That was tough because I badly wanted to play.
Now I’m a senior and so grateful for guitar, grateful for the amazing 60s/70s songs that have stuck with me through all the good and bad times of life.
If you’re a senior and guitar still calls to you, you’re one of my tribe. It’s your turn now. And no, it’s not too late.
Tried to play and it didn’t work out?
Are you new to guitar and want a laid-back, friendly introduction to playing?
FLIPPED GUITAR
can get you past the early challenges
SO YOU DON’T QUIT
I Flip Things
Flipped Guitar
Creative alternatives that include rather than exclude beginners from making music.
Beginning players start off in the hardest part of the guitar- open position, where the frets feel miles apart. It’s tough to get clear sound and picture yourself ever making music.
It’s an unfriendly introduction to a friendly instrument. And it sets up a lot of beginners to fail and quit.
Don’t do the hard things first. I’ll help you get through the early challenges by sneaking up on the instrument- learning easy things that sound good so you don’t quit.
We start higher up the guitar neck, where the frets are closer together and it’s easier to get clear sound.
We focus on the strumming/picking hand instead of the fretting hand while your fingertips toughen up. We develop your picking/strumming skills first to give you easy wins that motivate you to keep going.
We build left-hand skills gradually, starting with smaller chord shapes that are easier to play. We sneak up on full chords by starting smaller, giving you the encouragement that comes from early success.
Not saying don’t master your chords- just suggesting you postpone the tough ones and prioritize strumming/picking skills first!
Think of it like this. The left hand is basically holding stuff down. It’s the right hand that brings the vibe, the groove, and turns that “stuff” to music.
You deserve to hear yourself making music early! It will inspire you to keep going.
Ukuleles are great for making music! More finger-friendly than guitar (soft nylon strings), and the small size makes them comfortable to play and carry around.
They’re also a great way to ease into guitar! Your strumming and picking skills will transfer over very well. Chord shapes, too, partly- you’ll just need to learn new chord names when you bring those shapes over to guitar.
Check out my video to learn a cool fingerstyle pattern called Travis picking on ukulele. You’ll get lots of mileage from that pattern- on ukulele and guitar!
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