The solution is teamwork and great communication between student and teacher
I am George Pjevach, a professional guitarist of over 40 years. At 12 years old I started practicing guitar on my own with a guitar store music. Not learning properly, I wanted to stop being a frustrated guitarist but had no one to show me how to do it right. Experience, trial, and error have taught me that true solution is teamwork and great communication between student and teacher. I wish someone would have explained that when I was 12.
Anyway, I signed up for guitar lessons at a music store. The teacher was a nice guy. He showed me some bar chords and a few songs. Trusting him I just memorizing what he taught. I later found out he knew very little about music and could only pass on his limited ability to me.
I went for years like this; from teacher to teacher, picking up lics, chords, learning songs. Although my playing sounded fine, I still did not know what I was doing. Music was a mystery. I was limited and frustrated. Who do I ask for help? Where do I go for help?
Inexperienced and trying to find your way without a good leader
Local music stores hire local players to teach what they know. Some have an education in music and some don’t. How will you know if they are teaching you correctly?
Music store books contain correct information but are incomplete in and of themselves. One book teaches reading, another teaches theory and harmony, while another is a dictionary of chords.
If you do not know which books to buy, and the order in which to learn the information, you will be lost in a sea of information with no land in site. This will, most likely, lead you to frustration, falling back on picking up tunes from your friends, receiving bad information from people who think they know but in reality do not.
How will you know when you found quality instruction?
A wise, proven, quality curriculum with a caring instructor will give you information in manageable, bite-size pieces and in a logical, systematic order. The instructor will guide you, lead you, making sure you keep on track to your destination and arrive safely. Maestro Melody is quality instruction.
Learn from Experience
There are so many different things to think about and going on simultaneously when learning guitar. You need to think about them all at the same time! Sight reading, tablature, left hand, right hand, fingers, picking, finger picking, intricacies, brain to finger processing, technique, coordination, synchronization, feel, strength and so much more.
Your success is up to you
A teacher will pass on information and offer guidance. The student’s job is to embrace and absorb the information, practice, create muscle memory, and make the information and skills their own.
If you don’t practice you won’t become a guitarist. But, what you choose to practice is imperative to your success. Your ability as a guitarist will be limited by the information you receive. One’s work is only as good as their teacher.
You have the Opportunity to learn from my mistakes, education, experience, and wisdom
If you don’t have a mentor to guide you, then you are walking with a blindfold on as I did years ago.
I finally attended Belmont College in Nashville TN for music and WOW, what an eye-opener! I finally learned music! Then, I had the unique opportunity to take private lessons from Joe Lano, a master of the jazz guitar in Las Vegas. If only I had this good instruction as a young person how much farther I could have gone in a fraction of the time! But, hindsight is 20/20. My life and experience will benefit you when you attend Maestro Melody Music School for Guitar and start practicing.
The mystery of guitar
The guitar neck is made up of frets and strings. From a visual perspective to a non-guitarist or beginner, it simply looks like wires stretched over a narrow board with wire pieces embedded in the wood.
However, the educated guitarist sees an instrument, a tool and vehicle to create music by recognizing the keys, scales, chords, melodies, and runs on the neck. The artist’s intangible ideas are made tangible once the guitarist begins to play and the ideas from their mind become a reality of sound as they use the guitar to create music.
Music is an art-form
A master painter creates art with paint. In order to be effective, they need to understand and master complementary and contrasting color, shading, shadowing, highlighting, perspective, dimension and more. They have to have a great eye. Great Artists typically attend art school or can be mentored. Then they practice, practice, practice.
A master woodworker creates art with wood. They build tables, chairs, furniture, and frames. Woodworkers need to own the proper tools, understand different woods. Craftspeople have to not only have a creative and great eye for a new piece but own the skills necessary to make it become a reality. Master Woodworkers typically learn from a great mentor. Then they practice, practice, practice.
A master musician creates art with sound. The musician’s palette is sound, silence, scales, modes, knowing how a melody relates to a background chord and harmony, speed, the weaving of sounds to create and enable listeners to hear our message and emotion. The musician needs to learn and master the tools of their trade in order to bring their art to the world. Master Musicians typically attend a music school or can be mentored. Advanced musicians typically have a relationship with a great coach. Then they practice, practice, practice.
A master guitarist utilizes all of the same skills as a master musician choosing guitar as their main instrument.
Stop being a frustrated guitarist
Maestro Melody has designed a wise, thoughtful, organized and logical approach to learning and understanding music as it relates to the guitar. Our curriculum was created utilizing over 40 years of good and deficient instruction and experience. The result, for you, is a refined method and curriculum which will unlock the magic of music and help you to become the guitarist and musician that you want to be.
Regarding commitment
This curriculum is not for everyone. Maestro Melody Music School is beautifully suited for a student desiring to become a craftsperson and an artist If you just want to strum a few songs with friends, your local music store teacher, a friend or YouTube should provide what you want.
One thing experience and wisdom have taught me is that if you stick with the guitar for years and take shortcuts you will become frustrated because your understanding of music will still a mystery.
The shortest distance
Absorb the curriculum and studies and become a happy, confident player in 2-4 years. At completion, you will hear a song on the radio and play it with relative ease. You will be able to communicate on a higher level with other musicians, write original songs and teach and lead yourself down the musical road of your choice.
Follow your dream
From here you can pursue a career in music, go on to college being fully prepared, begin to perform live as a solo or with a group. Call us. We can help.
