Thursday Tip
Here’s a few of the treasure trove of cool new innovative guitars & gadgets* I spotted at last week’s 2024 NAMM Show – check them out!
Gator Cases Someone Somewhere Collection
Martin Guitar Playable Art
Positive Grid Spark Link
Music Nomad Fret Care & Tune-it
Kyser Capos
G7th Capos
Play on…
Marlene
*To hear details about these products and more of my NAMM Show sightings, click here to listen to this week’s podcast episode!
Joining in a jam session* is fun and can help you improve your skills. Don’t know where to find one? Don’t fret (ha, ha,), here’s some websites to help you find a jam near you!
1. MeetUp
2. Eventbrite
3. NextDoor
4. Patch
Play on…
Marlene
*To find the best local jam session for you, click here to listen to this week’s podcast episode!
Time is precious, so when it comes to making the most of your guitar practice sessions* I suggest the following:
1. Tune your guitar (of course!)
2. Stretch your body/warm up
3. Play easy songs/skills first
4. Then move on to more difficult songs/skills
5. Next play the tough stuff
6. Lastly, at the end of your session cool down with easy songs/skills and stretching.
Optimize your session so you can take your practice to the max!
Play on…
Marlene
*To learn more about my practice session optimization ideas, click here to listen to this week’s podcast episode!
Want to be a better player? Then practice – on a regular basis – and here’s how to set up do-able guitar practice routine*!
1. Decide on time and frequency
2. Be specific and realistic
3. Decide when you’ll begin
4. Map out a practice plan
5. Do this routine for 30 days
6. After 30 days assess
The repetition of playing will help to entrain your brain and muscles, ultimately making you a better player!
Play on…
Marlene
*To hear more about how to set up your practice routine, click here to listen to this week’s podcast episode!
Now that you’ve (hopefully) set your guitar playing resolution, here’s how to set yourself up to reach your goal* – and the secret sauce is to keep it simple!
1. Set 1 goal, not 5
2. Be specific and realistic
3. Set a completion date that’s do-able
4. Create a reasonable plan of action
5. Re-assess halfway and make changes as necessary.
Before you know it your resolution will become a reality!
Play on…
Marlene
*To set yourself up for your guitar resolution success, click here to listen to this week’s podcast episode!
It’s the perfect time to think about and set a 2024 guitar New Year’s Resolution. To that end, please listen to today’s podcast episode* where I talk about 15 ideas to help ignite your creative resolution thinking, plus 4 steps to help you reach that goal.
Happy New Year and cheers to a guitar filled 2024!
Play on…
Marlene
*To inspire your guitar resolution thinking, click here to listen to this week’s podcast episode!
In honor of the release of my 200th Tips For Guitar Playing Success podcast episode I’m sharing the top 5 episodes* of all time. See if any are on your list of favorites!
#5 How to Play By Ear
#4 The Best Guitar Tuners for Acoustic Guitars
#3 Acoustic Guitar vs Electric Guitar
#2 4th of July Patriotic Songs
#1 – strum roll! – How to Learn to Play Guitar, in a Day!
Play on…
Marlene
*To hear about the inspirations for each of these 5 episodes, click here to listen to this week’s podcast episode!
All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey is an upbeat Christmas favorite, it’s fun to play and it’s a great one to share at your holiday gatherings! Here’s the chords and lyrics and here’s the tab intro – have fun!
Play on…
Marlene
*To hear more about this song and my playing recommendations, click here to listen to this week’s podcast episode!
Shelly Peiken’s prolific songs include Christina Aguilera’s #1 hit What a Girl Wants and Meredith Brooks’ smash hit Bitch, to name a few. I had a chance to chat with her about her songwriting journey, tips and more. Here’s an abbreviated list of just a couple of her songwriting tips, you definitely want to listen to her interview to learn more!*
#1 Move to Nashville
#2 It’s a competitive field, have a backup plan
#3 Learn to work DAW
Again, this is just a brief list, there’s so much more to learn from Shelly on this week’s podcast episode!*
Play on…
Marlene
*If you’d like to hear Shelly Peiken’s interview (and tips) in it’s entirety, click here to listen to this week’s podcast episode!
Carol of the Bells sounds fantastic on guitar, it’s really fun to play and it’s a great way to help you ‘ring in’ the holidays!
Here you go, Carol of the Bells* tablature
Play on…
Marlene
*If you’d like to learn more about how to play this tab click here to listen to this week’s podcast episode!