Notepad Corner

The earlier bad guitar playing habits are nipped in the bud the better for beginner guitarists – it’s all too easy for mistakes to become ingrained in one’s playing techniques which makes them extremely difficult to break out of later on. Some bad guitar playing habits are caused by laziness, for instance failing to tune the guitar before playing, whilst others are the result of simply not knowing that one is going about things the wrong way, like incorrectly positioning one’s left hand thumb on the back of the guitar neck. It’s advantageous to understand that playing the guitar is a physical activity, and like any physical activity, you need to get the fundamentals down pat before you move onto something more complex. Adopting the wrong attitude to practice This is the number one bad habit of beginner guitarists, particularly those raised on ‘Guitar Hero’ for some reason – too much rocking out before learning the fundamentals perhaps? Adopting the wrong atti...

My youngest son’s summer music lessons have been a successful fulfillment in his desire to learn how to play the guitar. A recital after a month’s session has proven that his skill in taking on this musical instrument has dramatically improved, as he does not only learn how to strum the guitar but also can read notes and chords. Because he wants to learn more, he asked me and his dad’s permission if we will allow him to continue with his guitar lessons on a weekend basis as school year is about to begin by first week of June. Naturally, we said yes, we want him to hone his talent and skill in guitar playing but in one condition that he will also make good in his academic performance as well. Automatically, he answered it’s a deal so we enrolled him again for another set of guitar sessions and made arrangements with his weekend schedule. Earl’s Music Learning Center is the music school wherein my son, Yahmir took his summer guitar lessons. It is administrated by two young entreprene...