Welcome to my free instruction page!
My long range plan is to have a well rounded basic music education curriculum (not just guitar) that is appropriate for absolute beginners. One problem that beginners often run into is that they are educated in one area, but not another important area. The neglected area will cause problems. We have some basic music theory lessons here and some supplements for guitar lessons I have on YouTube. I’m focusing mostly on guitar lessons for now, but once I get my beginning guitarists rolling, I want to make more courses that are helpful for all musicians. Most links and PDFs are listed here from most recent at the top to older at the bottom. So, if you scroll all the way down, you’ll find the music theory lessons (Music Language Basics) that are for all musicians…of almost any age: you can even do these lessons together as a family with young children.
Become a Natural at Guitar
My newsletters will let you know when registration is open for my guitar course: Become a Natural. Become a Natural is my very effective, very different course to help you to develop basic skills, knowledge and insights that will make it easier for you to learn and enjoy playing the guitar…like A Natural! Here’s the link:
Become a Natural information page
GUITAR:
You may have already seen these videos if you found me on YouTube, but here are the PDF’s that go with them. These lessons are in no particular order at this time, but tend to be newest posts on top and older at the bottom.
The Guitarist’s Safety Manual:
Some of the new public YouTube postings are about The Guitarist’s Safety Manual and we often refer to the Safety Rules for Playing Guitar. Here’s that PDF:
PDF for Safety Rules for Playing Guitar
Live YouTube workshops spring series 2021:
PDF for Planning Effective Practice
PDF for 3M and 4M (to use with May 1st YouTube Live workshop)
Visual aids for seeing where half steps and whole steps are (to use with May 1st YouTube Live workshop)
How to use the Well-Tempered book independently without reading music
This series is designed for intermediate to advanced.
You may want to watch some of the lessons here before you buy the book, so you can make an informed decision. Know that I am creating some lessons to help absolute beginners and beyond beginners to develop basic skills and knowledge that will make books like these and other lessons more accessible. Those lessons, which will be quite different and I think really fun, will be available in my guitar school which opens in January of 2021.
YouTube playlist for How to use the Well Tempered book independently
PDF for How to use the Well-Tempered book independently - Part 1 and 2
How to make chords sound good on guitar
This is a series that covers a LOT: techniques for physically making better sounds, and loads of things to do that are NOT chords that WILL make your chords start sounding better.
YouTube playlist for How to make chords sound good on guitar series
PDF for DON’T MEMORIZE NOTES on guitar: GO FIND THEM. Then you will know them. This is lesson 6 in the How to make chords sound better series. Here’s the link to that lesson: link to YouTube lesson DON’T MEMORIZE…
PDF for Absolute beginners: Basic chord shapes with roots. This is lesson 7 in the How to make chords sound good series. and here’s the link to that video: link to YouTube lesson Absolute beginners: Basic chord shapes with roots
The PDF for Beyond Beginner: More ROOTS and how they help you is the same as the absolute beginner’s lesson.
PDF for Lay a SOLID foundation for your rhythm
How to transpose (3 parts: Why you want to, How, What key am I in when I capo?)
YouTube playlist about transposition
PDF for part 2 (How to transpose)
When I use a capo what key am I in? The paper I use here that shows the C scale is in the above PDF for part 2.
Well-Tempered work
YouTube playlist for the Well- Tempered lessons (This is a private link. You will need this link to get there) I am starting the Well-Tempered work over again with a new format.
PDFs for Well-Tempered lessons:
Lesson 1 PDF for absolute beginners who wish to simplify as shown in the preface for absolute beginners. (Please attempt to play it without simplifying and if you decide to simplify, come back later and play it as written without removing anything. ) (Also: I will soon be posting a lesson about how to read Tablature ; )
Circle of Fourths Part 1 and 2
Basic Theory to help understand the Well-Tempered exercises
YouTube lesson: Beginner Guitar | Some EASY theory to make learning easier (Pt. 1)
How to make Everything EASIER on Guitar (Well-Tempered Work)
How to make Everything EASIER on Guitar (Well-Tempered Work)
How to make Everything EASIER on Guitar - Lesson 2 PDF
How to make Everything EASIER on Guitar - Lesson 3 PDF
How to make Everything EASIER on Guitar - Lesson 4 PDF
How to make everything EASIER on Guitar - Lesson 5 PDF
Developing Good Guitar Technique:
How to Make Your Fingers Reach Chord Shapes on the Guitar:
Fingerpicking 101:
If your left hand gives you any trouble here, watch the above lessons first.
link to fingerpicking 101 YouTube lesson 1.1
PDF for Fingerpicking 101 lesson 1.4 and 1.4s
PDF for Fingerpicking 101 lesson 1.5
PDFs that go with other YouTube videos:
PDF for Fun stuff you can do with A chord
PDF for Gateway chords: (A) How to understand your guitar fretboard
PDF for Gateway Chords: (F) “We Have Lift Off”
PDF for Gateway chords: (D) How to understand your guitar fretboard
PDF for Practice Plan shown in “How to play guitar without pain and injury: relax often part 1”
PDF for Gateway chords: (E) How to understand your guitar fretboard
PDF for Gateway chords: (F) How to understand your guitar fretboard
PDF for Gateway Chords: C and G and why
PDF for Gateway Theory for guitar Lesson 1
FYI…
Magic Music Map
If you are looking for the Magic Music Map, (3M) it is below in the PDF for Music Language Basics
MUSIC COURSES:
(disclaimer: These videos are so old, its embarrassing, but I’m leaving them up, because the content is good and they are helpful, and I’m too busy making new lessons to redo these.
Music Language Basics:
Trust me; this is easy. You don’t have to figure anything out….just follow along.
Before you learn some music basics, there are a lot of things about music that seem random, and nonsensical. It's a mystery how anyone knows what to do or when. When people play music, especially if they are improvising, it seems like magic. You can be magic too. You can learn a few basics of music language that are no harder than learning how to spell CAT in kindergarten. Then you'll understand how they are doing it. Then you practice; then you can do it too. There will be some unanswered questions at first. When you are in Kindergarten, you're ok with that. When you are an adult, you are not. Try to be ok with that.
Unit 1 Lessons 1 through 5:
Download PDF for music Language Basics.
Lessons 1, 2, and 3, will be easy for anyone. You could even do this as a family activity with young children. You will make important connections. Here are the YouTube links for lessons 1, 2, and 3:
Unit 1 Lesson 1 (C major and G major)
Unit 1 Lesson 2 ( D, A, and E major)
Unit 1 Lesson 3 (The Magical Music Map)
When I started recording Unit 1, I thought there would be three lessons. Then I decided to make lesson 4: how to apply this to your music making....and lesson 5: how to transpose a melody. Lessons 4 and 5 are good for people who already play some music. I still have to record lesson 5, but here is lesson 4:
Unit 1 Lesson 4 (Why lessons 1-3 matter and how to use it)
Unit 1 Lesson 5: In production (How to transpose a melody)
UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS OF LEARNING MUSIC (Metacognition):
This blog is also a work in progress, but it can help a lot to understand how the brain learns music: