Aren't music lessons supposed to be fun? One of the hardest parts of learning (or teaching!) an instrument is getting past the initial learning curve. Once students develop skills on an instrument, playing the instrument well becomes the reward. It's fun to learn new songs and challenge yourself. But, it's a hard road when you begin learning an instrument. 

Piano teachers are great. There are websites, blogs, books, and conferences all dedicated to how to be a better piano teacher, how to incorporate new ideas, how to make old things fun, and how to work games into the curriculum. While the drum education world has made a few strides in this direction I have yet to find any guitar educators that are doing anything like what was previously mentioned. 

In all my years of teaching, I have never incorporated games. I have always believed that learning to play an instrument well should be reward in itself. While I still think this is true for older students (teenagers and older), younger students can definitely benefit from some extra motivation. Beginner lessons for students under 10 can be pretty boring for the student and the teacher while working on a lot of the foundational material. With this in mind, I have started incorporating games into my guitar lessons, and will work them into piano lessons in the fall. 

There are endless resources for piano games and activities, so I won't go into detail here but my favorite websites thus far are: Susan Paradis' website, Discoveries Piano Studio, and probably my favorite so far, MusicMatters. Some have great resources and other times it's just really good to hear someone else sharing the same experiences that you are. 

Here are two guitar games that I have begun using with my students. I need help naming them!

Game 1

1. Benefit: Learning treble clef note names, note types and symbols
   
2. Items Needed: Flash Cards with notes on treble clef and note types/symbols    (quarter note, treble clef, etc)
   
3. Setup: Mix up flash cards and spread them on a table on one side of the room. 
   
4. Game Play: Stand on the other side of the room (opposite the flash card table) with your student. Call out a note name or note symbol. They have to run to the table find it and bring it to you. If they get it right, give them a new note/symbol to find. If they get it wrong, they have to go back and try again. When they get to the last card they have to tell you the name of the note/symbol. I time this game so that it's a race. Students compete against each other and their previous times. 
   

Game 2 (pictured above)

1. Benefit: Learning notes on the fretboard
   
2. Items Needed: Paper Plates, Paper, Marker, Tiled floor
   
3. Setup: Write note names on paper plates.  Write fret numbers on small sheets of paper. Use tiled floor  (like a grid) as fretboard and place fret numbers accordingly. Scatter plates across the room. 
   
4. Student has to grab the paper plates and put them in the correct location on the 'fretboard'. Time them so that they can compete against each other and themselves. 

So, what do you think? I have found that these games (though they seem simplistic) really help students to grasp the ideas, give us a few minutes out of our chairs (great exercise running around the room!), and have a fun new way to look at the instrument. I'll post more of these as I think of them and use them. 

Now I need YOUR help! What do I name these games? Fellow teachers, what are games that you use? I've seen that a lot of games work for all instruments, or can be adapted to fit. 

P.S. Stay tuned for an awesome iPad game that I have gotten the privilege to beta test. Coming soon!

*** PREFACE*** 
As I maintain this website and blog, I have thought long and hard about what it should represent. I am a Christian (though an admittedly struggling one) and the purpose of my life is to bring glory to God. But this is a website devoted to guitar and drums. My goal (in an effort to be professional) was to check my Christianity at the door and let this website be about what it is about: music lessons. 

I have not shunned away from Jesus and do not deny Him (on this website or in life), but have tried to separate that from what I do here. But I cannot do it anymore. I'm not here to force anyone to believe anything, to become preachy, or anything like that. On a practical level for this website, it just means that I will be sharing my thoughts about life, the church, and God more frequently. This will probably take the form of blogs and discussions in the forums.  I cannot divorce what I do and what I teach from who I am, so you will begin to see more of me around stickandstrum in addition to general information and tips. 

If you have any questions about Christianity, theology, the church, or life or want to discuss anything please feel free to post in the forums or contact me. 
*************

It is Easter Morning. I woke up around 4am and could not go back to sleep. I tossed and turned and got something to drink, but ultimately I found myself sitting on this futon in our home office at 5am with a copy of Francis Chan's Crazy Love. While reading a book isn't incredibly unusual for me, anyone that knows me well knows that I only see 5am once or twice a year...and rarely on purpose. You see, I have been running from God for a while now. Life looks great superficially, but it is easy to find yourself going through the motions with nothing to show for it inside. 

I read the first half of the book and went back to bed for a few hours before waking up again to finish it. I don't want to write a review the book (though I highly recommend reading it), but instead look at what reading, thinking, and praying can do to draw you closer to God. I have not been actively running from God, but passively letting my life pass by me. To borrow an illustration, life is much like a flowing river. There is no standing still. You either have to  swim upstream or lie back and be taken wherever the river flows. The funny thing is that the river moves so slowly that you don't even realize that you've drifted from where you've started until you are miles downstream. It's like going to the beach and playing in the ocean only to realize after a few minutes that you are a hundred yards away from where you began. You didn't try to move. You just passively go along with the flow. 

This is no way to live life. Life must be intentional. That is, you must choose to live it on purpose. You must decide to swim upstream to something better. As I read through the gospels I cannot help but see that Jesus was extremely intentional. Everything He did was on purpose. He didn't just happen to find Himself in situations and decide to perform a miracle or deliver a quick sermon while He was there. There always seems to be a particular person or purpose in his meetings. I will likely write more on this later but, for now, suffice it to say that Jesus lived his life on purpose and that I aspire to do the same. 

I have been overweight my entire life. At 5'10'' I ballooned to 275 pounds. Over the last few months I have managed to lose 50 pounds and I am in the best shape of my life. How did I weigh so much in the first place? By passively living my life and packing on pound after pound without realizing it. How did I lose weight? I did it. Everyone always sits around waiting for the best methodologies, whether it be for weight loss, business, or living the Christian life. The truth is, that everyone is different and every situation is different. What makes one successful? Perseverance. I have managed to lose weight because I have been eating better and I'm in the gym or running 4-5 days each week. There is no secret to it. Find something that works for you and do it. Do it relentlessly until you achieve your goals. I have long believed that theology and philosophy may be overcomplicating the basics of life. Nike sums it up pretty well: Just Do It. 

So, I have been waiting to feel like following God or getting into shape. Though there may be some decisive moments in your life, chances are you will never continually feel like making the change. But it only takes one stroke. You merely have to stand in the river, realize that you have been drifting and start swimming. 

I remember hearing someone say that if you feel like you've lost God, you should check the last place you left Him. A little cheesy, I admit, but after studying my life it becomes apparent where the problem lies. At some point I stopped pursuing God entirely. I stopped reading, praying, talking...everything. 

With me it starts simply. Sitting on an old futon in a dark office in the wee hours of the morning. Reading forgotten truths about God and His handiwork. Talking openly to a God that I thought had forgotten me. Feeling like for the first time in a while that my life has purpose and meaning again. Turns out that God had not forgotten me. I had drifted away, moment by moment, without even realizing what was happening until I was miles downstream. But it is never too late. Get up and take that first stroke.
-shane

I am VERY excited to announce that I have joined the Vic Firth Education Team. Truth be told, this happened over a month ago but I wanted to wait until it was released on their website to put it out there. Not only does Vic Firth make the best sticks out there, but they are committed to drum education in a huge way.  

So, what does this mean? First, I am part of a great community of drummers and educators. Secondly, I (and my students) get to try out new products like books, sticks, etc. 

This is a great company and I am humbled and thrilled to partner with them. You can check out my page on their website here. 

I LOVE this book. Vic Firth sent me a bunch of books, sticks, and other fun goodies last week and this was in the pack. To be honest, this book has been on my radar for a while and I'm really glad that Vic Firth sent a copy over for me to check out. I've been looking for a new general lesson book for my drum students for that past year or so. I've been using Andy Griffith's Progressive Rock Drumming since I started teaching drums. It is a great text, but it is a little dated (1986) and therefore some of it's subject material doesn't apply as much as it did when it was written and they miss out on some more modern examples and techniques. As much as I love massive 80s rock drum fills, it's time to bid this book adieu. 

So, what's so great about Wessels' book? Here's a quick breakdown of a few points that I like thus far:

1. Diversity. Many styles are covered in an easy to use, overview-style format. 
2. Backing Tracks. There are over 40 songs to play along with in this book!
3. Stick Control. The attention to rudiments and stick control is a great addition to a lesson book. 
4. Layout. The layout of the book is visually appealing, and makes for a fun play along. 
5. Modern. Published a couple of years ago, this book contains pertinent examples to modern drumming. 

Let me elaborate on a few. Books with backing tracks (songs without drum parts) are nothing new. But the tracks here are great! Not cheesy, elevator music but good, solid tracks for each genre. I am going to enjoy playing these and I know my students will too. One of the downsides of learning grooves in the Progressive Rock Drumming book is that after you learn the groove, what do you do next? This book takes almost every groove and example and gives a play along track to let the student play the groove with a band. Great concept! The tracks are perfect and never boring. You know it is a great track when the student plays and sounds better on a groove just by getting the chance to play with the track. These tracks take exercises and turn them into music!

Most lesson books give a lesson or two on basic stick control and examples at the beginning of the book and then move on to 'practical matters'. If you don't continually revisit and build upon your sticking, you won't be able to play more complex material later. I really like this about Wessels' book. Not only does he give some great sticking exercises and rudiments early in the book (including singles, double strokes, and paradiddles in THE FIRST LESSON in an example that reminds me of this awesome Joe Morello exercise), but he continues to build on these throughout the book by introducing more sticking exercises and rudiments! Great concept that is easily overlooked by most drum lesson books.

There also some small patterns, grooves, and fills that I haven't seen very often in other books. There's an entire section on upbeat ride cymbal patterns. This is a (somewhat) simple concept that can add a lot of diversity to a groove and give the student lots of ideas to play with, but this is the first time I have seen it laid out this well in a lesson book. The approach to jazz and world styles is also fantastic. They are easy enough to play (with some dedicated practice), but still approachable for the novice. 

There is something in here for everyone, from the earliest beginner through the advanced intermediate. I will be sure to post a more thorough review once I've used the book for a semester or two with some students, but I look forward to seeing what my students will do with this book and hopefully using some of the playalong tracks for the recital this year! 

You can buy this book and/or download a FREE sample with over 20 pages of the book and 7 play along samples here. 

I stumbled upon this today and had to share it. First, watch these videos and I'll discuss my ideas below!

One aspect that has been lacking in my students is the ability to play with others. This is largely due to the fact that they take private lessons so they don't often get the opportunity to play with others. This year I am excited to have some of my drum students, guitar students, and (hopefully) bass guitar students play together in bands for the recital. They will be performing a range of songs from Switchfoot to Kutless to Los Lonely Boys. I think it will be a great addition and a fantastic opportunity for students to experience playing together.  

But there are many different facets to guitar playing! One that (for some reason) I had never really considered was guitar ensembles. As you can see from the videos, there is a wide range of music (from classical to pop) that can be covered and it is definitely more exciting than playing alone! I am still gathering material, but I am looking forward to starting to work with a few students this week and hope to have something worked out for the recital in May. If this sounds like something you or your child may be interested in, please let me know!

I leave you with one final video. Enjoy!

So, I stumbled across this new tab site a few months ago and forgot about it until recently. Guitar Tab suffers from the same greatness and tragedy as Wikipedia: it is user submitted. So, you may get a completely accurate assessment of the original song. You may get complete garbage. It can be a pain to sift through the garbage to find the real gems. 

The other major complaint I have had with guitar tab is that it doesn't dictate rhythm. If students bring in Tab it is normally just a bunch of numbers across six lines. This version of tab is only helpful if you are very familiar with the song. With no rhythm indicated there is no way to know how long to hold each note. 

Enter Songsterr. It seems to be more accurate than many tabs I've come across and there is only one tab per song (unlike Ultimate Guitar and others that can have 20+ tabs per song!). This makes it easier to find what you are looking for. 

What I like about Songsterr:
-Mostly Accurate Guitar Tabs
-Guitar Tabs with Rhythm
-Multiple Guitar Parts for each song (electric 1, electric 2, acoustic, bass, etc..)
-Online Lessons available through Tab
-The ability to hear the tab as you read it 

The last one is worth its weight in gold, especially for beginner and intermediate students. If you can hear the tab as you read it (the curser moves through the tab as it is played) it makes it MUCH easier to play. 

Through the free program, you can read any tab and listen to it. If you pay for a subscription to Songsterr Plus ($9/month..cheaper if you buy multiple months) you open up a new world of possibilities including the ability to print, zoom, go full screen, slow down the track, focus mode, solo mode, and looping to work on specific parts. 

Do I recommend Songsterr Plus? There are worse places that you could spend money to help your student succeed. I recommend trying it for a month, and seeing how much it is used. Check it out and let me know what you think!

I stumbled across these this week. One of my students has them on her guitar and her husband raved to me about them. I got a chance to play them this week and they are phenomenal...and cheap! I still don't know very much about them, but they are Martin M130 Silk and Steel strings. It seems that there is a bit of silk woven into the string and it makes for a light, almost pressure-free playing experience.

If you are just starting out, are a young student, or have sensitive fingers I can definitely recommend these strings. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Check them out in my new Amazon Store.

Two exciting new things happening this semester for my drum and guitar students. For Drum Students, we'll be working on rudiments and using Vic Firth's worksheets. Rudiments are rehearsed stick patterns. You can think of them like lay up drills in basketball or practicing catching pop flies for baseball. We practice rudiments (rehearsed sticking patterns) so that when we have to use them in a real life situation (in a piece of music or song) they flow naturally and easily. Musically, they are the equivalent of practicing scales. These Vic Firth worksheets break down each rudiment and give several level for students to achieve: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond based on BPM (beats per minute). These give students a tangible goal to shoot for and, frankly, make learning rudiments a lot more fun. In the near future I hope to have a place on my website to keep track of student's progress through the rudiments and through each level. The link above has the online version of the worksheets I printed for my students, an audio file of each rudiment at different tempos for students to play along, and a video demonstrating the rudiment at multiple tempos. Check it frequently and use it for practice throughout the week!

I stumbled across this today and I really like it. It is a refreshing reminder of what originally brings a student to the instrument and what it takes to live up to the expectations that were in his mind when he originally choose to pursue it. 

"If a student takes up an instrument it is because he is interested in playing it. It is because he has knowledge of how it is performed, and desires to do that. The only obstacle, if he has a good teacher, is practice and work. When confronted with the work, and the knowledge that he cannot perform adequately without doing this work over a long period of time, he may wish to quit. This does not change his desire to perform, it is only an adverse reaction to work put in versus tangible results in the short term. 

If the student is forced to do the work then he will then reach a level of performing where he can do what originally drew him to the instrument. At this time many students experience the ‘rush’ of being able to perform well for themselves and others. The student now enjoys the great gratification that any musician feels from being able to perform. There is no other way to provide this sense of accomplishment and pride without putting in the practice time. When the student experiences this level of playing he can make an informed decision about whether he wants to go on and pursue it further. If this happens you have given a great gift to that student that he would otherwise never have had." 
                                                                                                 -Adapted from Gregg Goodhart. 

After a few weeks of tweaking mic placement, recording technique, and video editing I think I've finally got the hang of it! I have one more week of teaching (two at Pelham!) this semester and I plan to start recording video lessons over the month of December and have some featured at the start of our new semester in January. 


Here's what the first few will likely be:


1. Subdivision Warmup for Drums
2. Basic Strum Pattern for Guitar
3. Basic Fill Ideas for Drums


What do YOU want to see? Leave me a comment!
-shane