It really is easy to start playing guitar. Here’s the part I usually leave out. It’s fall, and as the leaves begin to turn color my thoughts return again to a similar chill in the air in Kendrick, Idaho. Football was important in my little town, and fall Friday nights found me crouched and ready, intently staring at the opposing quarterback before the snap and ready to spring into action. I am proud that I led my team in tackles my senior year, although recently it has occurred to me that the reason might have been that opposing teams realized they should always run the ball in my direction. In fact, I now suspect that my stellar stats likely came from being run over enough times that occasionally I stopped the opposing ball carrier by being underfoot. My sense memories don’t just include the chill in the air, the helmet on my head, and the occasional concussion. They also include the relentless cries and chants of the cheer squad. “Two bits, four bits, six bits

Last month I got to jam with my brother-in-law Stephen and one of my daughters–this one is my recent college grad. We played some Doc Watson, some Marty Robbins, some Jimi Hendrix. Anytime I get to play with one of my kids I think “this is one of the great moments of my life!” But it got better. The next morning, my daughter came to me and said, “Dad, you and Uncle Stephen are so good at playing lead guitar–can you show me how to improvise?” Internally, I did somersaults. Out loud, I said something more like, “First, 40 years of practice helps. And second, sure, I guess I could do that.” It’s a question I’ve gotten hundreds, maybe thousands, of times in my career as a guitar teacher: I want to learn how to improvise. And it’s usually followed a few seconds later by a request to learn scales and modes. Hearing it from my daughter made me think about it a little differently. I’d love for my daughter to experience more joy and ma

Don’t Dream It, Be It After 30 years as a guitar school entrepreneur, I’ve heard thousands of people tell me, “I want to learn guitar.”  Often the student has an idea of potential progress in terms of skills acquired. They want to learn chords or barre chords. Scales or music theory. How to play songs. When I ask “why” I might hear that someone wants to learn chords so they can play their favorite songs. Or barre chords so they can join a rock band. Or they want to learn scales so they can play lead guitar. Or maybe they want to learn music theory so they can write songs. I can relate! Like Bottom in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I not only want to play the part of the lion and the wall, but I want to be in the band, I want to write the song, I want to take the solo. But again…why? And now, my guitar-loving friend, we’re getting to the point, the key, the crux. Maybe the person who is telling me they want to learn to play

Yet another way to have more fun and more success by practicing smarter. Thirty years ago I had just arrived in the bright lights of New York City—a very different place than the little Idaho towns where I grew up—and my friend had gotten me a cool gig. I was filling in for a couple songs at Coney Island High as the guitarist for the legendary punk rocker Jayne County. Here’s an awesome picture of Jayne:  Photo by Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons I thought I was a pretty good guitarist. I learned the songs quickly, and when the night came I made my way through a cast of characters who would have seemed slightly out of place in Kendrick, Idaho, jumped onstage, and the gig was on. The first song went great. It sounded just like the record. The lights were bright, the music was loud, the club was packed and I felt a little bit like a rock star. But during the second song, at what seemed like a random point, Jayne suddenly turned toward me and yelled: “Take it, guitar

The Fastest Way to Play Better is to Slow Down You’re practicing too fast. And it is slowing you down. I get it, it is fun to play fast–and sometimes we have to play fast to play the songs that move us. But when we learn a new guitar part or pass a new threshold of skill, there is so much going on at once: finger pressure, pick angle, strumming pattern, tone, tempo, chord shapes, the next note coming. That’s already a lot—and then you add theory, following a melody in your head, playing with others, maybe even moving around the stage. It’s like being asked to run off a cliff in the dark onto a narrow staircase in a high wind while carrying several puppies. If you haven’t practiced, you’re probably going to find your life flashing before your eyes as you fall into oblivion. And to paraphrase Alan Watts, it will do no good to hang on to the puppy, because the puppy is falling with you. It’s no fun to smash into unpleasant destinations—whether you’re falling off a cliff or learning

Above: That’s Dave on the far right, performing in Herald Square with (from left) my NYC Guitar School business partner Jen, me, student Sophie—and teacher Dylan Charles on the snow mountain. We were playing “On Broadway”… on Broadway! (Photo by Malik Chatman) Today’s guest post comes from Dr. Dave Popple—a successful entrepreneur, organizational psychologist, and an inspiring guitar student, too! Over the past few months I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Dave at Song Labs, masterclasses, and other NYC Guitar School events. He’s the kind of student every musical community hopes for: curious, generous, and always looking for ways to help others learn. Dave has hosted practice sessions for fellow students at his home and helps keep the momentum going in a Level 7 guitar WhatsApp group he and his classmates started. In his professional life, Dave built an online assessment system that helps organizations evaluate people for hiring and promotion. His newest venture, Telleus, aims to

Sticking with it matters more than suffering through it We’ve all heard the old joke: Patient: “Doctor, it hurts when I hit myself in the head.” Doctor: “Stop hitting yourself in the head.” Today, I will be your Doctor of Guitar. After several decades of teaching guitar and watching thousands of successful (and not-so-successful) students, I’ve noticed something important: A lot of hardworking, well-meaning students blame themselves for problems that are actually outside of themselves. I’m talking about pain. Yes, I know Nike says “No pain, no gain.” But guess what? Pain… hurts. And the number one secret to success in guitar—or anything—is simple: keep going. It’s hard to keep going when you’re in pain. Is Pain Necessary? Pain might be physical. It might be mental. It might even be spiritual. But it always hurts. So is pain necessary to succeed? Yes, absolutely–some pain is built into the process of growth. For example, if you’re a beginner learning on a steel-string guitar, your

Read this if you want your next resolution to actually stick! It’s the New Year! And that means lots of New Year’s resolutions. As a rock‑and‑roll entrepreneur, I love that — January is always one of our biggest months for new enrollments. People are fired up, hopeful, and ready to try something new. But every year I also hear a few jokes about how New Year’s resolutions are likely to last about as long as a champagne hangover.  It’s true! One of many studies showing the fleeting nature of goals is a 2023 poll from Forbes Health, which found that the average resolution lasts about 114 days, but most people start slipping by early February. But every year I remind people of the greater truth—making a resolution or setting a goal is still a great idea! Why Goals Are Still Worth It The science is clear — goals matter. People with goals aligned to what they value tend to report higher life satisfaction, positive emotions, and well‑being compared to those without goals. And even if the

60+ Events Made This Our Biggest Year Yet! I’ve had so many moments of joy and satisfaction this past year as a guitar-slinging, song-teaching rock-and-roll entrepreneur—but one of the very best came just a couple of weeks ago at one of our Songwriter Showcases. Mass Appeal in Union Square Park: Over 100 guitarists jamming together on the summer solstice. Thirteen rock band showcases: Kids, teens, adults, summer rock camp bands—so many communities taking the stage. Singer-songwriter nights, kids’ showcases, and location events: From Manhattan to Brooklyn to Queens, our many “micro-communities” showed up to share their music. (Special shout-out to our cutest community: Suzuki Guitar! Open mics and open mic showcases: Friendly, warm, safe places for first-timers and for growing musicians to hone their craft. Samoa’s open mic group usually meets on Zoom–but they held an in-person showcase this fall at our new Midtown space. Not to mention a NYC Guitar School Night Out to see t

Just Play You don’t need a breakthrough—you need a habit. I felt on top of the world! I had just finished hosting a sold-out Master Class at NYC Guitar School with the incredible lead guitar player and teacher Suke Cerulo. The room was packed, the energy was high, and the students were stoked. I felt inspired to go home and play lead guitar, proud of what we’re bringing to our students, and excited to start planning more Master Classes.  Do I look happy? Yes, I look happy. I was happy! (photo: Ellis Nolan) As I stepped outside into the lights and sounds of New York City, I was filled with that classic NYC sense of wonder. It’s been many years since I was a farm boy in Idaho, but gosh, I still can’t get over the bright lights and tall buildings and how lucky I feel to be here. In fact, I was looking at a bright moving billboard when I stepped off the curb near Madison Square Garden onto a patch of uneven asphalt and fractured my ankle! Bummer. Luckily, I could still play guitar. Th