Teaching Style & Philosophy

Often guitarists forget that they are playing a “musical” instrument, and focus all their attention on just being “guitar players”.

That said, you choose to learn the guitar to be a guitar player and not a violinist or a cellist – yet I believe that musicianship should be the ultimate goal for any guitarist, and that the guitar becomes the medium through which you express yourself and your musicality.

Music is a potent form of expression, and it is natural for us to whistle when we’re happy, sing while we’re busy, or clap in time when we have just seen a performance that has moved us. This musicality happens unimpeded, and flows right through us with no hesitations. Musical instruments however, put a physical object between our natural musicality and our expression of it because we have to “learn” how to play it before we can use it as an expressive medium. Some instruments are naturally more challenging than others, and although every instrument has it’s own unique learning curve, I believe that the guitar probably sits somewhere in the middle.

So, yes, it does take a little bit of time to get to grips with guitar playing – sore fingertips, uncomfortable sitting position, two hands doing very different things at the same time along with many other strange and new sensations. It may even feel frustrating at first, but before long it starts to feel “normal” and you start extracting from the strings a sound that you find pleasant. Then you begin internalising the rhythm and being one with the pulse, and before long you are expressing yourself in a very musical way!

Music is one of life’s great pleasures, and as such should be enjoyed – not only listening to, but playing it as well. This means that music should be FUN… One thing I always tell my students is that you “play” the guitar, you don’t “work” it.

Practicing should be approached as something that you love to do and something that is a pleasure, one of life’s little luxuries and definitely not a slog. It won’t be easy, but just remember that some people have fun while paying chess, others have fun at the gym, and others love solving riddles. Whether you are a beginner working on how to fret the notes properly or advanced enough to work on the expression and articulation of a certain passage of music, the goal should be enjoyment and to have fun. To loosely quote John Lennon: “If you had fun wasting time, then it wasn’t a waste of time!”

Even though music may be performed together in groups and ensembles, it is an intrinsically personal endeavour and you should make your practice and playing time all about “me”… Dedicate half an hour, an hour or however much time you can afford, close your door, quiet your mind and focus on the sound you are producing. Let your fingers be aware of how the strings feel, notice how you are sitting, feel the vibration of the instrument as you pluck and strum the strings. Don’t rush anything, enjoy the journey and before long you will be reaching your goals. Celebrate the milestones and enjoy the kick of dopamine as your fingers magically do what you thought was impossible. THE JOY IS IN THE JOURNEY!

My philosophy on teaching guitar is to offer the student a structured path along which she can discover her musicality and train her fingers and mind to play this incredible instrument, the guitar. The focus should be on enjoyment and having fun, no matter what level the student is at, what piece, song or technical excercise they are working on. Set yourself goals, stick to a practicing routine and HAVE FUN! And in the process you will probably become a great guitar player.