The Social Media Comparison Traps That KILL Our Kids’ Self-Esteem

  Our Kids Live In A Hyper-Competitive, Comparison-Obsessed Culture Amplified By Social Media The note from the loving parent of a potential summer camper was heartfelt and expressed deep concern about a struggling teenager:   “Being a good guitar player is really important to my son’s self-esteem–so I’m worried about him being placed in a group with a better player. Can we

NYC Guitar School East in tip-top, 3S-ed form! Cleaning Up Is Faster, More Fun And More Effective With This Simple Lens At NYC Guitar School, we have lots of rooms, lots of equipment, lots of books, and lots of moving parts. Sometimes they get messy! And it isn’t just physical rooms or file cabinets that get messy–so do processes and systems, like the way we book lessons or do our mark

Strategies And Tips For Mastering Music From Master Players And Teachers by Issac Hernandez, NYC Guitar School What is the best way to practice? It can be quite a confusing and daunting subject to break down because there are numerous approaches, and there are always a multitude of things to practice. In this article, I will explore techniques and strategies that will give you the biggest results

Over-lecturing is a common teacher mistake that kills the passion and progress of students. Sometimes we talk too much because of ego; we want to show off. Sometimes we talk too much because of laziness in preparation. But usually we talk too much (or for music teachers like myself, we play too much) because we are so enthusiastic about our topic, and we have a fundamental misunderstanding of what

Many parents, like me, use a parental control feature to limit the time and content of their children’s screen time. For me, it is the Screen Time app on the iPhone–and my 12-year-old daughter is not a fan! Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the phrase “Parental Control”. It conjures up images of a wise parent protecting an immature child, who cannot resist the all

Or If You Don’t Have The Time To Be World-Class, Why Not Settle For Being Merely Awesome (In Guitar Or Life) We have all heard that it is counterproductive to compare yourself with others. But…sometimes we do. So even though I love to quote John “don’t compare yourself to others, just do your best” Wooden, in this blog series I’m giving in to the dark side–

My approach to learning and teaching guitar is deeply informed by the many years in which I studied martial arts. I often think of this quote from Bruce Lee: As a beginner in any discipline, we are unconscious of technique. A musical novice doesn’t know what key or time signature a song is in–or even that keys and time signatures exist. They may enjoy hearing an expert play music, but

Here’s How I Kicked Discouragement in The Teeth, And How You Can, Too Many people tell me “I’ve always wanted to play guitar.” While I’ve played guitar for decades, I know how they feel, because I’ve always wanted to speak another language fluently. Over the past decades I’ve intermittently tried to brush up on my high school Spanish skills–but like

Learn to rock your major 7th chords with star teacher Eliane! Good luck and keep shredding! For more beginner guitar tips, click here. Take a lesson with Eliane here!

  “Don’t Prepare The Path For The Child, Prepare The Child For The Path.”   Yes, Our Children Are Growing Up In A Crazy Environment–And We Naturally Want To Protect Them Last month I wrote about how our society’s norms for our young are completely wack! The average US 8–year old spends 6 hours per day on entertainment media and US children rank #1 in the world&#