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.

Community Guitar Performance

     I would like to take this time to congratulate some of my students.  They signed up for the group lessons a few months ago, and have been working like crazy to get some music prepared.  On June 12, they were able to put together all the music and do a performance at the local church.  I'm not going to post their names, but I will describe the concert.
     We first started with Baby Bumblebee.  This piece worked out perfectly because each guitarist was able to a capella the "cute" parts at the end... three verses, three students.  All of the students really amazed me at how much they worked on their music at home.  I had given them shortcuts to help them out, and to my surprise, they all went home and learned the chords properly.
     Next, we broke off into solos and duets.  The girl in pink played her acoustic guitar and sang "Mary had a Little Lamb."  Anyone who has ever played the guitar knows how hard it is to sing and play at the same time, and she did amazing.
     This was followed by a classical guitar duet between myself and the girl in the purple.  We played the traditional song, "El noi de la Mare."  The skill we worked on here was how to play with your fingers and without a pick.
     The last duet was between myself and the boy.  He played a swinging I IV blues progression, while I played a solo based off of the minor pentatonics... a skill that he will be learning soon.
     The final piece was another group song, "Jesus Loves Me."  However, we learned some power chords and were able to add a little twist of rock into this normally traditional song.  All three of students amazed me so much, and I am so proud to be teaching them how to play the guitar, and for welcoming them as part of my family.

Playing the Wrong Note the Right Way

     This post is not specific to the guitar, and originates back in my saxophone/band days.  When beginner musicians learn new songs, they have a tendency to play real soft or quiet, rather than with full tone.  Maybe because they are not confident in there reading abilities, or because they are scared of hitting the wrong note.
     I tell my students, "would you rather hear the wrong note played with a weak tone, or a wrong note played with a full tone?"  The point is that a wrong note is a wrong note, and they happen.  However, if you play the wrong note with a full tone, at least the note will sound full, wrong pitch but full.  And in the music world of complex chords, sometimes the wrong notes can be hidden within complex chords.  No one would have even noticed if you acted like you meant to play that note.  
     So, would you rather hear a wrong note played weak or full?

The Recorder, a gateway instrument?

     Remember during your elementary years, and you had to learn that ridiculous instrument called a recorder?  I do.  This small piece of plastic that looked like a toy.  Having to sanitize it in that bucket after we used the mouthpiece.  Placing my fingers over the small little holes.  Can anyone even name a professional recorder player (I know there are some out there)?
     So why am I bringing up this random instrument.  Simple, because of the number of guitar students I have that when I interview them, they say they have no musical background.  All of a sudden, I put some music theory reference charts in front of them, and they are sightreading accurately on there first lesson.  I could go on and on about the importance of music in the public school system, but that is a can of worms that I don't want to deal with.  However, this little instrument helps to provide the basic music fundamentals needed in order to play more advanced and complex instruments.
    So this makes me wonder, how many professional musicians, had it not been for this "elementary" instrument, would not have gone off to play and create some absolutely amazing music... even on recorders.

Sitting in the "Other" Chair

     I was working with a student on a Villa-Lobos' Prelude #1, a piece that I had learned years ago when I was an undergraduate.  We were at one of the measures and she looks at me and says that I played that wrong.  I looked at the music and sure enough, she was correct.  I felt a little embarrassed at first, worked out the new fingerings, and finished out the piece.  This really bothered me at first, and the thought ran through my head for days. 

     What I finally came to realize is the reason why I had learned this measure wrong was because when I first learned the piece, I was in the "other" chair... the student chair. As a student, you are trying to learn so many pieces each semester, and our teachers are trying to fix as much as they can.  However, they sometimes may not notice a misplayed measure for multiple reasons, especially in a piece as complex and intricate as Prelude #3.  

     So, regardless of where we are at in our professional levels, we need to go back and look at some of the older pieces that have been in our repertoire for years. What we may find is that we may have made mistakes on these pieces, and can fix them.

     Conversely, we might be surprised to see how we analyze the music much different now.  For example, on Villa-Lobo's Prelude #3, I found some areas that I could utilize my increasingly-efficient legato abilities to create some absolutely beautifully flowing melodic lines that I was not capable of years ago, which made me really excited to relearn and play the piece.

Summer Time, what to practice?

     For most students, summer means taking a break from school and having a little bit of fun.  Hopefully, most of you are still maintaining a regular practice schedule (which is a whole different set of problems).  As for teachers, we are giving advice as to what to work on, and hopefully setting goals.
      My view is that summer is like the "off-season" of sports.  You don't have the responsibilities of putting together a solid program, and/or constantly learning music.  My suggestion, take this opportunity to clean up your technique.  You have probably identified a few major/minor flaws in your technique that were exposed in some of the pieces that you have been playing.  You did not want to take the time out to clean that section up because that recital was nearing in on you, and memorizing the music was taking up a bulk of the time. 
     Now is your chance.  Whether the use of the A-finger, or the pinkie doing pull-offs/hammer-ons, find some technical exercises to help with the deficiency.  Ask for advice from your teacher, or read one of the several books published that cover guitar pedagogy.  When the fall starts back up, you yourself will be a better player, and might be surprised how some of the more difficult passages have become easier.