Author: Jonathan Kehew

In my 20-something years of teaching guitar, one of the funniest things a student ever said was, “I didn’t practice because I couldn’t find where my cleaning lady put my guitar!” Somehow, I don’t think the kid really tore apart his house looking for it. But it’s an original excuse, I’ll say that!

What I hear more often is, “I didn’t get as much practice time as I would have liked.” We can all relate. The days shoot by, especially when you’re “adulting.” You really want to pick up the guitar but, but, but….

Continue reading Adulting

I’m self-taught as a guitarist. Which means I wasted a lot of “practice time” repeating the few things I sort of knew, with no idea how to improve. Sound familiar? Back in 1988 I had strummed for a few years when I heard my buddy finger-pick a Mississippi John Hurt song. That was humbling ! I realized I didn’t really know much about the guitar. And it’s fair to say my practicing sure didn’t have structure. Oh, well. I guess I’ve become the guitar player I set out to be. Kinda. But, boy, do I wish I could go back in time!

Continue reading Got Structure?

Did you ever see that ad for a guitar with lights on the fret board?

Let’s use that image here. Can you look at your neck and picture where your fingers would land for a C major chord? For a G blues scale? What you see depends on what you know, right?

How you perceive the guitar today will surely evolve, so let’s give that evolution some structure: Songs, Skills & Smarts.

Continue reading Songs, Skills & Smarts