The Sound Hounds

The Tortoise and the Hare

There once was a speedy hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, Slow and Steady, the tortoise, challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch. Hare ran down the road for a while and then and paused to rest. He looked back at Slow and Steady and cried out, “How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?” Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, “There is plenty of time to relax.” Slow and Steady walked and walked. He never, ever stopped until he came to the finish line. The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise, they woke up Hare. Hare stretched and yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise was over the line. After that, Hare always reminded himself, “Don’t brag about your lightning pace, for Slow and Steady won the race!”

Aesop’s Fable

The tale of the tortoise and the hare has an obvious moral to the story as it relates to hard work and practice. The obvious application to guitar is that consistent methodical practice and perseverance pays off in the big scope of things. Those that persevere are rewarded for their hard work and dedication. However, there is a second lesson to be learned that is not so obvious. That lesson is how we practice. Something I’ve observed in teaching students for thirty years is they always want to play things fast now. The student will stumble twenty times over a few notes attempting to play fast and continue attempting to play fast until I convince him to slow down. Even after I tell them to slow down several times they still insist on attempting to play fast. It is in our nature to be impatient. Plus, we are excited about playing the guitar and we tend to rush when we are excited. Most people talk faster and body language moves faster when we are excited. It is a natural thing. However, when practicing guitar we need to be very aware of our tendency to rush and strive to practice slowly. When we practice slowly several things occur. First, we are certain to play things correctly and pay more attention to fine details. For example, when playing eighth notes we should be using alternating pick strokes. Students that insist on playing fast almost always struggle with picking technique. Second, the time you spend stumbling and starting over is more time you would spend if you had practiced it slowly in the beginning, and third, by playing slow you learn to be patient and not rush or get ahead of the down beat. To achieve this goal the best investment you’ll make is a metronome. Keep the metronome handy all the time. Put it on an extremely slow tempo when you practice. This will force you to wait for the beat. As you become comfortable at an extremely slow tempo you can increase the tempo but not until you are able to play it perfect at a slow tempo. The ability to run comes after learning to walk. The ability to drive a car fast comes after learning to drive slowly. The ability to play guitar fast comes after learning to play slow.

Brian Turner

Use a metronome or better yet, a drum machine when practicing. A drum machine usually has many different styles programmed in the presets and are excellent for practicing your rhythm. Also, try to emulate your favorite guitarist by playing along while listening to their CD. Play with other musicians whenever you can. Try to play with musicians that have more experience than you. When practicing, play at a slow tempo until you feel you can move to a faster tempo. Playing too fast is the most common mistake that student makes. Always practice your exercises slow. Band-in-a-Box by PG Music is software that simulates a background band. It can create any genre of music you desire. I love this program. I use it all the time for teaching and practicing. Also, many instruction books come with CD’s. Be sure to use the CD.

1930s

Charlie Christian (Benny Goodman Sextet)

Django Reinhardt (Quintette du Hot Club de France)

Oscar Aleman

Robert Johnson

1940s

Freddie Green (The Count Basie Band)

Oscar Moore (Nat King Cole Trio)

Herb Ellis

T Bone Walker

1950s

Les Paul

Chet Atkins

Joe Maphis

Muddy Waters

1960s

The Beatles

Jimi Hendrix

Joe Pass

Nokie Edwards (The Ventures)

1970s

Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)

David Gilmore (Pink Floyd)

Steve Howe (Yes)

Doc Watson

1980s

Steve Morse

Eric Johnson

Phil Keaggy

Stevie Ray Vaughn

1990s

Danny Gatton

Michael Hedges

John Jorgenson

Bucky Pizzarelli

2000s

Tommy Emmanuel

Howard Alden

Richard Bennett

John Pizzarelli

Andy Rodriguez and friends host open mic on Thursday nights at Zachery’s. Always good music and good food. Zac’s is on Kinwood Dr. One block past the rail road tracks.

The Ren fest in Plantersville was great this year. I highly recomend it.

Allen Rich is a luthier (guitar builder) in Huffman Texas. I have had the pleasure of playing some of his guitars. The newest are made from Brazilian Purple Heart wood. The wood actually is purple. The tops are spruce. They are  beautiful guitars and sound great. If you are looking for a hand built guitar you would be wise to check them out. You could get one for a reasonable price before the word gets out how good they are.

This is strictly a matter of personal preference. If your favorite entertainers play acoustic guitars and you love the sound, then you probably would want an acoustic guitar. An electric guitar is easier to play but your endurance and finger strength is improved with the acoustic. Electrics generally are more expensive at the beginner level but when you get into pro-line guitars the cost is about the same.

Developing good practice habits is very important in developing skill. The main objective is to be consistent. Practicing a little each day is better than skipping a few days and then practicing several hours trying to catch up. Practicing is a discipline that you will need to work at. There are many distractions that compete for our time. TV and the internet are huge time hogs. I know some one that leaves the remote to his TV at his workplace so he won’t be tempted to waste time on silly TV shows. If there is something he thinks is worth seeing he’ll bring it home for a night and take it back the next day. Always remember that time is the most precious asset we have and none of us knows how much of it we have. I tell my students that are small children to practice at least thirty minutes per day but teens and adults should try to practice an hour per day.

This book is fun, fun, fun. Anything by Dix Bruce is good. The chord progressions in the tunes are the same progressions you find in standard swing tunes such as Sweet Georgia Brown, Honey Suckle Rose, and How High the Moon. The melodies are changed but they sound great. The book has everything: notation, tab for guitar and mandolin, and chord diagrams. The CD plays the tunes fast and slow with the melody and without.  This book is great for anyone that likes classic swing music.
By Bruce Nix, Published by Mel Bay Publishing Corporation, stock # MB94344bcd, ISBN 7866-2344-6
Notation? yes,  tab? yes, chords? yes, chord diagrams? yes, CD normal speed? yes, CD slow speed? yes, level? intermediate to advanced. cost? $17.95.

I like this book because it teaches you to play the blues as a soloist. Unlike countless books on the market that just show you riffs. The tunes sound really good. Any one interested in roots delta blues should have this in their collection. If you are acquainted with pentatonic scales and moveable chords you should pick up on these tunes reasonably quick. Many of my students have worked through this one and they all have been pleased.
By Kenny Sultan, Published by Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, stock # HL00000157, ISBN 0-931759-73-0
Notation? yes,  tab? yes, chords? yes, chord diagrams? no, CD normal speed? yes, CD slow speed? yes, level? intermediate to advanced, cost? $18.95.