Why do you teachTechnical Exercises.

     While the title may seem pretty straight forward, most teachers do not place emphasis on this subject.  We have our students play these exercises over and over... but why?  What is the point of these exercises and how will they benefit the student must first be asked.
     I do a few exercises as warm-ups with my students.  You wouldn't play football or run track without warming up, so then why would you play your guitar without a short intro.  Studies have proven that getting the fingers loose before playing can help efficiency and precision.  But how do you choose the approach?
     I remember one teacher who would say, "Play all the major and minor scales as fast as you can, and see if you can beat your previous time."  WHY, I want to ask him.  What is the point of this?  Choose exercises for specific reasons, not just internal bragging rights that lead to poor technique.
     So, I would like to talk about a few of the many exercises I focus on with my students.  For the right hand we have speed bursts, taken from Scott Tennant's book.  This exercise increases speed and technical precision.  But more importantly, we change the fingers we work with.  So many students do well when they are working with only the I and M fingers, and fall apart when the A finger is included.  This little exercise forces the student to make all fingers competent, and to be able to access them when needed.
    For the left hand, we have "contrary motion," from John Petrucci's book.  This exercise forces the left hand fingers to work independently of each other, in arrangements that are pretty common but rarely practiced.
    These are only two of the many exercises that come up during my lessons, and new ones are constantly being integrated as faults are identified.  In addition, make sure to express to students the point of these exercises.   This will help them grow as both a student and eventually as a teacher.

Thank you to the UTPB and PBG ensembles

     On July 2nd, the UTPB guitar ensemble, and the PBG guitar students paired up to perform the National Anthem and God Bless America for the Midland Rock-hounds.  These guitarists took time out of their personal lives to both practice new music, and meet at the music building to work with the ensemble.  So this post is dedicated to them.
     So, to my students:
Isaac- is my longest active student.  Been with me for more than a year, and I have seen tremendous improvements in his playing.
Jackson- We have had several talks over the past couple of months.  Has a lot of drive and determination to help spread the Classical Guitar. 
Philip- Parents once gave me a compliment on how much improvement they have seen since he started studying with me.  Had to partially disagree... I just gave him the tools, he is the artist.  So much potential.
Charles- Reminds me a little of myself.  Loves playing instruments, and wants to play every instrument in front of him.  He is one of my newest students, and has already been invited to play because of his dedication to learning the classical guitar technique.
Angel-  Yes, Really (lol).
George-  Turning into my sidekick... my right hand man.  Comes from the electric guitar world and did not realize what he was getting into.  Amazing that in a few months, has been able to pick up level 1 pieces.  Did an amazing job harmonizing the chords for God Bless America.
   If it wasn't for these students... my friends, then this show would not have been possible.  To take time out of their personal lives to help spread the Classical Guitar...
THANK YOU!!!

It never happened (The limited range of the Classical Guitar)

     A lot of times, a student will finish playing a piece for me, and we will start to analyze the music.  One of the most common things I bring up is the dynamics.  What does the P mean?  Piano or soft.  What does the F mean?  Forte or loud.  So I ask, why didn't you play that, and they will usually respond with "I thought I did."
     The Classical guitar is unlike most of the other instruments in their dynamic range.  Talking with a trumpet player, I asked him if he could play real soft.  Yes.  Can you play so loud you can make my ears hurt?  Yes (with a chuckle).  We don't have that advantage on our guitar.  Our instrument has a very (comparatively) narrow range from soft to loud with out destroying our tone.  So we have to adjust for this when we play.
     Therefore, exaggerate the dynamics and work on the balance from a relative, not decibel standpoint.  Leave no doubt to the listeners about the crescendos and decrescendos, and emphasize all the dynamics   After all, no matter how well you did the dynamics, if the audience did not hear them, then it never happened.