All Posts
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Learn the importance of taking breaks from playing guitar.
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Welcome to a clear, concise discussion that will light the path for you on “The Road to Modes.” I’m here to show you some important first steps towards claiming all 7 modes on your guitar.
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In this post I"m going to discuss 12 intentional strategies that lead to playing complete songs, which leads to a complete experience for you and your listeners and the expansion of your repertoire.
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In this blog I discuss the idea that we can always be teaching the guitar.
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Learning experiences abound for guitar…but only for those who see them.
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If you’re looking for a game-changing strategy for claiming the fretboard quickly and effectively – that most people don’t know about – this is the place to start.
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If you’re playing the guitar and you don’t want to fall out of love with it, please consider these eight “catalysts” I have for you today.
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If you’ve ever slaved away with your musical efforts and been relatively unnoticed, or poured your heart out before an audience that gave you their “divided” attention, or had someone (maybe even a co-laborer in Christ) take your work for granted, this episode is for you.
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I’m honored to welcome back a previous guest on Guitar Serious Fun. She was actually our first guest ever - and she’s got more to say today.
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If you’ve always wanted to experiment with fingerstyle guitar but you didn’t know where to start, you’re in the right place.
Fingerstyle guitar spans multiple genres, and can be applied beautifully to worship music, folk music, pop music, and more.
Today, I’m going to show you my approach to a “crash course” for fingerstyle guitar.
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It isn’t actually helpful to always be learning things on the guitar. Track with me as I walk you through some insights that could really bless you on your creative journey.
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I’m about to get real with you, so buckle up. Some of these episodes are practical, some are inspirational, and others are meant to challenge your character. This is one of those character-challenging episodes. But if you’re receptive to what I have to share today, this episode has the potential to sharpen you. It’s designed for followers of Christ who desire to “run the race in such a way as to get the prize” – as 1 Corinthians 9:24 commands us.
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My eldest daughter recently returned from her first international adventure. She went on a special trip with some of her schoolmates to England, Scotland and France. While in England, she had the privilege of visiting The Kilns, a beautiful house in Risinghurst, Oxford.
When she got home, she shared with me how profound of an impact this experience had on her.
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Today’s strategy will be super helpful in showing you key locations on the fretboard that you can use as marker points on your way to mentally owning your guitar. Memorizing the fretboard can be a confusing, frustrating process. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it can sometimes be sweet.
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If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that I’m very fond of analogies and their power to help illustrate a thought.
So, go here with me as we talk about SCUBA diving. That’s right, the Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus that many of us recall Jacques Cousteau using in his amazing undersea expeditions.
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Today, we’re going to talk briefly about what the implications are when a guitarist gets sick.
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I’m thrilled to welcome our second guest to Guitar Serious Fun. Today’s episode includes a discussion for what it means to embrace “Good Difficult” things, including aspects of our guitar journey.
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Did you know that syncopation, in addition to being one of the most effective tools of music to engage the ear, is also one of the most precarious when it comes to playing accurately?
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It could be argued that we live in an age of impatience.
We want our Amazon Prime delivery to arrive the day before we click the mouse. We want our restaurant food hot and ready as soon as we pay order it. We want “instant results” with less effort.
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Today, we’re going to talk about what to do when someone criticizes our guitar playing.
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Today, we’re going to talk about cultivating our awareness as guitarists, and why that matters.
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Let’s enhance our knowledge and skills a bit today with some fun fretboard memorization tactics. Today’s strategy will give us a much better grasp of just three specific rows of notes on our guitars, which will help us claim the fretboard faster.
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First of all, what’s a “win?” Well, in layman’s terms, it’s a small victory that gives us the courage to continue forward.
When we feel the “wins” of guitar and music, we get a sense of momentum and traction. It doesn’t take much, but when we experience a “win,” we feel invigorated, filled with hope, and it instills tremendous confidence.
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Today, we’re going to talk about the lasting impact of music, and how we can recognize and harness it.
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Today, I’m doing a little happy dance because we’ve just crossed the frontier of one year of Guitar Serious Fun. That’s one episode each week for 52 weeks. Definitely a reason to celebrate. It’s also a reason to pause and assess whether it’s wise to keep going. And that’s why I’m going to humbly invite you to trade the 5 to 10 minutes you might have spent receiving my thoughts here, for 5-10 minutes of your thoughts in a short 16-question survey.
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Sometimes we need to take a break from talking about music to attend to the details that help us play the music we want to play.
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Today, we’re going to talk about the process of unearthing and cultivating our hidden talents – and spoiler alert – they don’t all have to do with the guitar, or even music.
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The 10 Fears we Face as Guitarists (Part 2 of 2)
Today, we’re going to conclude our discussion about the fears we face as guitarists.
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The 10 Fears we Face as Guitarists (Part 1 of 2)
Today, we’re going to talk about fear. Really? Fear? Yep. Fear falls on the serious side of Guitar Serious Fun.
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Strumming: Sloppy or Skillful?
As followers of Christ, we are called to play skillfully (Psalm 33:3). But are we doing that?
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Pray Before You Play
I believe that sometimes it’s important to pause and talk about the spiritual aspect of our guitar offerings, which we are called to present as acts of worship (on and off the platform).
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Reduce it to the Ridiculous - with Dawn Jones
I’m super excited to welcome our first guest on Guitar Serious Fun. Today’s episode includes a discussion for what it means to “Reduce it to the Ridiculous.” Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. Please listen to it wherever you get your podcasts (see hyperlinks above).
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Glancing Back, Looking Forward
I believe stories are a wonderful way to convey a perspective, or to shed light on an important truth. And if you’re new to Guitar Serious Fun, welcome to story time.
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Clean Chords
If you play open chords on the guitar, do you want those chords to sound clean? Sure! We all do.
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The Cute Little Baby Guitarist
I remember the second week I learned to drive a stick shift. The first week was in a parking lot, and there wasn’t much about that experience that was very memorable...just learning the basics.
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When Less is More
As I string these words together, I’ve just come from a musical rehearsal I’ve been leading, where I simply tried to do too much with the limited time I had.
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A Tale of Two Guitarists
I love a good story. Sometimes, true stories are the ones that are the most compelling, because someone out there actually lived out what is being described.
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Finding a Song's Ideal Key
How do we choose the best key for a song, especially one that has a vocal melody? There’s a common misconception out there that basically states that melodies in the key of D are higher than melodies in the key of C. Let’s dispel that myth today.
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The Voice of Experience
When I was about 11 years old, my parents purchased a beautiful grandfather clock for our family. It became a constant presence in three different homes where we lived, over the course of almost four decades.
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The Power of a Gear Checklist
Today, I want to talk briefly about an administrative element that can benefit guitar players who lead worship, play concerts, serve at weddings or memorials, festivals, school chapels, conferences, or just about any venue where someone might wield a guitar..
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Your Journey is Your Journey
I was driving home one evening after teaching a guitar clinic to some eager learners.
As I was driving, I came to a long section of bumper-to-bumper traffic on northbound I-5. The lanes narrowed to where I was in the “fast” lane next to the HOV lane. But I wasn’t going very fast.
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Closely-Related Keys for Guitar
Today, we’re going to talk about how to leverage the Circle of Fifths to move seamlessly between keys.
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Let the Confident Congregant Cue You
Today, we’re going to depart a bit from a guitar focus to talking more about worship leading, as we consider the unexpected team player who is standing out in the congregation, ready to help us…along with several other helpful strategies for leading well from your guitar.
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Can Practicing the Guitar be Harmful?
Today, we’re going to consider the idea that practicing the guitar can sometimes be harmful. Don’t worry – this isn’t meant to discourage or scare you – it’s actually meant to free you up to enjoy your guitar in a more intentional way.
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Tough Crowd or Appreciative Audience?
Today we’re going to talk about how to serve and play our best, regardless of what our audience does.
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Changing Time Signatures Mid Song
Are you the kind of guitar player who can sense when the time signature changes in a song? Do you know specifically what’s happening in that moment? If you’re not sure, grab a few minutes with me to widen your gaze a bit.
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Called Up or Settled Down?
When was the last time you saw a movie where there was an underdog who, against all odds, prevailed in the face of difficulty, and overcame incredible obstacles? Maybe the underdog was a single person, or perhaps it was a small group of warriors, athletes, or even a high school debate team. I’ll bet you’ve seen several movies like that…perhaps even recently.
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What Gratitude Does for Our Guitar Playing
I can’t complain. But sometimes I do. Philippians chapter 2, verse 14 starts off with the command to “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” That’s a tall order to try to attempt without the Lord’s guidance and strength. But if He commands it, that means that with His help, it’s possible.
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Breaking the Curse of Knowledge
Ok, so I’m about to embark on a subject that may be a little controversial, because I’ll be making some claims that are not necessarily flattering about other musicians. It’s not my intent to be hurtful in my remarks, but rather objective, with a view to enhancing the learning experience from both sides.
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How to Borrow Chords
Let’s first discuss how to access, and then how to use relative and parallel minor keys.
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Unlocked with Fresh Insights
A lock and a key. This pairing has protected precious contents for ages. It has also kept things or people in captivity. When something is locked, it’s sealed up, or perhaps held prisoner. And typically, only a person with a key and the will and knowledge to use it, can gain access.
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Don't Get Caught in a Speed Trap
I remember the first time I did a ride-along with a police officer buddy of mine. It was later in the evening as I rode in the passenger seat for a few hours. We drove through town, making sure the city streets and the neighborhoods were quiet and safe.
My friend had briefed and prepped me for what to do should things get exciting. But we mostly did traffic stops.
One particular speed trap he had discovered was exceptionally strategic..
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Is the Guitar Future-Proof?
As someone who has served for multiple years on staff in a worship setting for churches, I’ve interfaced with a lot of technically-minded people. At one of those churches, I overheard a conversation between a couple sound technicians, and I heard one of them drop the term “future proof.”
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6 Things Your Guitar is Trying to Tell You
Did you know your guitar is calling out to you?
Think about it. You have a relationship with this instrument. You may be on excellent terms, or perhaps you haven’t connected in a while. But I’m here to tell you, if you take time to listen for your guitar’s voice, you two will have a much stronger bond.
Here are six things your guitar is trying to tell you…
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Don't Stop Playing Your Guitar
There are many different seasons of our guitar playing. In the early seasons of my guitar playing, whenever I got up onstage to play, whether as a performer or a worship leader, I experienced varying levels of nervousness. And I was easily distracted or thrown off when something unexpected happened.
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I Don't Know...But Let's Find Out
As guitarists who love the Lord, we are always learning, or at least we always can be. The reality is that even after a full life of exploring music, when we play our final notes on the guitar, there will still be a lot about music that we have not yet learned.
And that’s perfectly fine – music is a gift from the Lord, and it’s my belief that the music that awaits us in heaven will be far greater than the music of earth.
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Sittin' on Go with Guitar
In the years before I settled down and had a family, I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I jumped out of an airplane (with a parachute on, of course,) went whitewater rafting, scuba diving, bungee jumping, and I even swung on vines in the jungle. And once in a while, I’d go bridge jumping. One thing I’ll say that was very important to me, and I think should be important to anyone who goes bridge jumping...
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Unleashing the CAGED Beast
Today I’m providing another short practical guitar lesson that gives you a window into my creative and fun teaching style inside GuitarSuccess4U. This time, we’ll be exploring the CAGED System.
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Finding a New Way
Recently, one of our kitchen drawers came off the rails. To be more specific, one of the rails fell down inside the cupboard, and was no longer supporting the drawer. It was fixable. But not the way it used to be fixed.
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Guitar Through the Seasons (Part 2 of 2)
Today, I want to welcome you back as we continue with part 2 of 2 of “Guitar Through the Seasons.” If you haven’t had a chance to experience part 1, I do encourage you to do that, because we’ll be building our discussion on what we talked about last week. Let’s get started.
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Guitar Through the Seasons (Part 1 of 2)
Welcome to a two-part discussion as we talk about a rather unique topic: guitar through the seasons of life. This is a good, rich discussion that I believe warrants breaking up my thoughts into two separate episodes, so although you’ll experience some closure at the end of today, I will leave you wanting just a bit more, for which I’ll supply the rest of the story next week. Let’s get started..
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What in the wide world of sports is a skipping scale? A skipping scale is actually something I invented out of necessity. And you know what they say about necessity, right? Today, I’ll show you how I came up with the skipping scale, and how it can be applied in multiple scenarios for learning chords in Major and minor keys, and even modes. Keep reading...
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Ok, let’s be real. When you saw the title of this episode, did it make you just a little bit curious? If you know me, you know that I like to be a good steward of my music equipment.My dad has always taught me to buy good tools, and to take good care of them. So why would I encourage you to do something like put dents in your guitar? I’ll explain. Keep reading...
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I remember my first full-length concert. I had been playing the guitar for four years...long enough to develop some solid guitar chops, and to write some of my first songs. Keep Reading...
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A few years ago, I helped a friend with a house project that involved taking a fair amount of junk to the dump. As we pulled up to get rid of the stuff we brought, a man pulled up in a large pickup truck next to us. I did a double take as I realized that the bed of his pickup was chock-full of huge trophies. There must have been at least three dozen of them piled high in the back of his pickup, and these trophies were between two and three feet tall. Keep reading...
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How do we effectively navigate our way around the entire guitar fretboard? Let me share an analogy with you. In the mid-1980s, when I was about 10 years old, I discovered computer adventure games. Remember the 5¼” floppy disk? That was my ticket to becoming a digital hero for the first time. Keep reading...
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How many guitars does a guitar player need? The answer is – just one more.Now, with respect to all the manufacturers out there, who make their living by making the wonderful instruments that we enjoy playing, I think it’s important to start with a fundamental question. Will another guitar make me a better guitar player? Keep reading...
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It’s a critical point in every story, and it happens throughout all genres of film and literature. After we are introduced to the hero, the hero meets…the villain. Keep reading...
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Music is a fair and glorious gift from God. Do you agree? Whether we’re on the giving end as we play, or the receiving end as we listen, an environment is created where there’s an exchange. Someone plays the music, and someone listens.Now, as guitarists, we have the opportunity to play music in a variety of settings from practice room, to living room, to worship platform, to stage, to studio. Keep reading...
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What is palm muting, when it comes to guitar? Well, first of all, don’t let the term “muting” confuse you – it’s not like the mute button on your TV remote. We aren’t silencing our strings. We’re just making them ring for a shorter amount of time. Plus, if we’re playing the acoustic guitar, we’re adding a low “thump” that adds a fun additional percussive sound. Keep reading...
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Have you ever broken a guitar string? Has it ever happened in front of a group of people? Breaking a string onstage is what I would call “just shy of helpful.” I restring my guitar regularly, often enough that I can tell which string will likely break first. But we’ve all been surprised by a string going “snap” at a very inopportune moment. Keep reading...
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Did you know that our availability can sometimes be even more important than our ability? Here’s a story from very early on in my guitar journey that illustrates this. Keep reading...
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When I was a kid, I was on the receiving end of a couple bully encounters on the elementary school playground that I can clearly remember. One kid walked up to me, put his arm around me and asked me if we could be friends. “Sure,” I said, innocently. The next thing I knew...Keep reading...
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People have asked me, “What’s the first guitar scale I should learn?” My opinion? A scale you can remember the names of the notes for, and one that you can play in open position, with the fewest fingers possible. Keep reading...
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One of my absolute favorite two-word phrases is “Yeah buddy!” To me, it’s sort of a triumphant battle cry that says, “I’m all in,” or “Let’s do this,” or “We were victorious.” It’s the kind of thing you say when you’re presented with a seriously fun challenge that you know can be overcome with some hard work. You also might say it when you’ve tackled said challenge, perhaps in a team setting. Keep reading...
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It’s happened to all of us. We hop on YouTube and watch some virtuoso just dominate on his guitar strings, using creative techniques to play a crazy fun cover, maybe even adding some rhythm on the guitar body as well. We smile, laugh, shake our heads, but then when the video is over, we think, “I should go apologize to my guitar for being so neglectful.”. Keep reading...
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Here in this blog/podcast, I’m offering encouragement, stories, and tips on how to grow in your musicianship. I’ve been blessed to play and record guitar music for about three decades in a variety of settings from stage to studio. Keep reading...
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