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Category: Music Thoughts
My Story Part 2: Finding My Path
My first week at Palm Beach Atlantic College (PBA) kept me firmly in place as the underdog and nowhere near second, third, or twentieth best. Finding my path would be tricky at best. Unknown to me and prior to the start of every year, the concert choir met for a weeklong retreat. I had no…
My Story Part 1: Escaping The Choir
Being a guitar teacher was never in my plan book for life growing up. As a matter of fact, it was the furthest thing from my plans. But it is the road I have traveled for almost 20 years. I grew up the son of, what Southern Baptists call, a minister of music. This puts…
The Minimalist Guitarist
There is a lot of music in the world. If we limit ourselves to only guitar music, then we still have more than we could ever learn or listen to in a single lifetime. When I think about this idea, I am overwhelmed. Where do I begin? What piece(s) should I work on? Which exercises…
Play The Long Game With Guitar
Last year I launched a Patreon page in hopes of finding support for pursuing a doctorate in performance on the guitar. Then, the pandemic hit. A lot can change in a year. Like many, I had to put many things on hold…like pursuing a doctorate. However, most great things we achieve in life happen over…
Practicing Mindfulness With A Scale On The Guitar
Mindfulness is a skill that scares away many people and intrigues others. Many people practice mindfulness through yoga, Eastern meditation, walking, and a slew of other activities. The idea is to be fully present at any given time. The guitar makes a great tool to incorporate practicing mindfulness into your life. Below is a simple…
Play Guitar With The Goal Of Contentment
This article comes after a life-changing event has happened in my life. I will leave that for another post or blog entirely. The idea of contentment has been the foundation of yogis and religious ideas for centuries. I believe that it is also ideal for learning any skill, including learning to play guitar. Learning To…
Your Guitar Playing Going Backward During Vacation
Guilt…we all have to deal with it at some point. It’s the vacation season and for those learning the guitar taking time away can lead to feelings of guilt. Get over it and don’t let it happen! You are not going to lose everything you’ve worked for in your guitar playing just because you take…
Music Connects Us Without Limitation
Daniel Levitin’s quote (below) from This Is Your Brain On Music resonates much with my thought processes currently. At this moment in the book, he makes a reference to a Neil Young song. However, I would like to apply a little bit of Bach to this statement on how music connects us without limitation. The power…
Filling The Void Of Silence With The Sound Of Music
Have you ever thought about silence? A famous quote that truly has been attributed to many musicians but without a primary source is, “Music is the silence between the notes.” As I sit here, I am overwhelmed by silence. Yet, it is this silence that gives meaning to the sound of music I have given…
Music as an Art: From Sketch Of A New Esthetic Of Music
I stumbled upon this wonderful theoretical work by Ferruccio Busoni that really fascinated my thoughts on the esthetic of music. He ventures beyond musical theories into the thoughts of the essence of music itself. He was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. Who, throughout his career, challenged the status quo of musical…