Guitar Insights
How much should I spend, How long does it take, How do I pick the right whatever, Can I earn enough, and how do I play this or that? These are a few common questions asked of a guitar player, or by a guitar player.
These questions are insights into anything and everything dealing with guitar. Site content is sub divided into 5 basic categories.
*Guitar Gear Questions
* Playing Guitar Questions
* Music Business Questions
* Guitar Player Lifestyle Questions
*Guitar Resources.
Answers to the most asked guitar questions will be found in these categories
Guitar Gear Questions
Guitar Gear Questions will look at differences between similar gear as well as how things work. Answer questions about what you might need for a gig, a home studio, or a practice space. It’s tough to sound good if your equipment is crummy or sub standard. It is also difficult for a listener to enjoy the cool piece of music you just wrote if they are distracted by the horrendous buzz your guitar is making.
What’s causing the buzz? The guitar, the cable, the amp, all of that or is it something else? How do you know if your guitar is any good? What’s the difference between a $500 guitar and a $150 guitar? Understanding your gear and knowing what you can expect out of the gear you have, is helpful. I once had a Paul Reed Smith guitar. It was a great guitar, but I spent a long time trying to get it to sound like a Fender Stratocaster.
Being raised on a Stratocaster, I was familiar and comfortable with that sound, and in the long run it was really the sound I wanted. Even though the Paul Reed was an excellent guitar, it wasn’t right for me as my main guitar. I still have that axe and I use it for recording when I am looking for the sound that it naturally has.
Playing Guitar Questions
Playing Guitar Questions will cover every thing from the very basic questions how do you teach a 7-year-old how to play guitar, to questions a professional might have such as how do you use a diminished scale. Playing guitar questions is a broad topic. I have a great deal of experience in performing, writing, and teaching. I love all of those disciplines and they all have questions that are unique. So, how do you teach a 7-year- old how to play guitar? First of all……how much patience do you have? I once had a kid come in for his afternoon guitar lesson. He was very upset with his mom for not allowing him to have a soda, or something like that. My waiting room is just a few feet away from my teaching studio so parents can listen in to how the lesson is going. This little boy spent a half hour angrily strumming his guitar while singing “I hate Mommy, I hate Mommy, I hate Mommy.” Even as I tried to distract him, he would not give up. He just continued relentlessly to strum and sing his chant “I hate mommy”. The lesson time was finally over and I said, “That’s a pretty cool song…..Have you thought about what are you going to call it?” His mom just started cracking up with laughter.
Professionals and guitar enthusiasts will have questions about technique, styles, chops, scales and things like that. Timing is a big issue. Reading and Ear Training are big issues. What are good Heavy Metal Rhythms, what are latin grooves, how do you just strum rhythm are fascinating questions and answers. How do I know when to use a Phrygian mode? That’s a great question, let’s find out.
Music Business Questions
Music Business Questions will look at the now, and the future, and the nuts and bolts of how the different factions in the music industry works. This will answer questions like what does an agent do, what does a manager do, how much should I charge, how do I get a gig, and so on.
What has happened to the music business over the past few decades? Now that we have social media and Artificial Intelligence, the industry seems to be changing at a rate that makes it difficult to stay up with the latest wave. You can certainly get yourself out there on platforms to be seen, but is anybody watching? It can be like putting up your store in the middle of the desert. The store is out there, but nobody is dropping by. How much time should you take to promote yourself, or your band? If you are spending all of your time promoting, when do you get time to actually practice and write? How do I go about making a living in this industry?
It can be a catch 22 scenario where if you do this one thing, than you don’t have the time or the money to do the other. Understanding how the business works can help you manage your efforts. If you have financial stability, than you have more time. If you don’t have financial stability, then what are you going to do?
Do you need a manager and how much do you pay an agent? How does the business of music work? Through it all, you have got to keep in mind why you want to be involved in this industry in the first place. What motivates you? Where’s your heart?
Guitar Player Lifestyle
The Guitar Player Lifestyle will offer up some personal stories as well as what to expect as a working guitar player. Obviously, there is not a one size fits all lifestyle story. That again can be attributed to your peers, your support system or lack of support system, your age, your location, your style, and a number of other variables.
Dealing in an artistic field, many of your friends and band members will be wearing their emotions on their sleeve. Creative types are putting every thing they have into their art and putting it out on display. They can be very sensitive to criticism or suggestion. You as well might be extremely sensitive to critique.
Drugs are around. That doesn’t mean that you have to do them or participate. You can make it a thing that you don’t want to partner with anybody that has anything to do with drugs. In other words, exclude that from your inner circle. Even so, you are going to encounter people and players using them.
Money can be up and down. At times it can be really good, and at other times it can be very scarce if the gigs don’t roll in. How well a player manages their money is important, unless they have a support system that allows them to be a little bit freer with their cash flow and still have their fundamental expenses covered. Knowing how to budget can determine whether you are sleeping in your own apartment or on your drummers couch. When I started out, we had a band house. I thought it was great! We shared expenses, we had a band room, we could practice and write all day, and then the band would get together and rehearse at night. That environment also helped us all stay focused as a band. Loved that group. Loved that time and experience.
Guitar Resources
The Guitar Resource Pages will offer links to good videos, good music schools, and good quality instruction and information as it deals with the broad scope of anything dealing with guitar playing. On this page particularly, if you have any suggestions of great resources, please contact me. jimsuttonisg@gmail.com
I am looking for videos that really exhibit great players playing at their absolute best. I am excited about “flow”. That time when I hear and see a player that is in the moment and everything is just right. You can tell that they are in an internal space that is amazing. That “zone” where all of us like to perform. Those kind of videos are the kind that I find inspirational. Those are the kind of videos I am looking for to populate the video section of the Guitar Resource Page.
Good quality instruction is sometimes difficult to find as well. There are a lot of YouTube videos, but they are not all created equal. Some of the instructional videos are much easier to understand and follow. A great player doesn’t necessarily make a great instructor. I am compiling the best of both. These are instructors that know their stuff and know how to communicate the information in a way that makes sense.
You can navigate through the site using this page, or use the site map. Have fun! If you have any questions, or insights you would like to see, or things you think should be added, please contact me. I am interested in making this site as complete as possible. Jim
Guitar Gear Questions
How Do I Know Which Guitar is Best For Me
How To Shop For A Guitar
What Are The Most Important Guitar Pedals
Can Guitar Strings Be Reused
Guitar Player Lifestyle Questions
How Do I Find Musicians Like Me to Play With
How To Run a Band Rehearsal
What Is An Intermediate Guitar Player
Music Business Questions
What Do Band Managers Do
How To Get Gigs. 10 Tips
Playing Guitar Questions
How To Get Children To Practice Guitar
Memorize Notes On Your Guitar Neck. 10 Useful tips
Lead Guitar Verses Rhythm Guitar. What’s the Difference
How Do You Read and Write Timing For Guitar
How Do You Read Guitar Tablature
How Do Guitarists Read Notation
Is Guitar Easy To Learn
How to Play Gallop Rhythm On Guitar
How To Improvise Jazz Guitar
How To Play Barre Chords On Guitar
What Is The CAGED System
How Do You Play Arpeggios On Guitar
How To Play An Altered Blues Scale On Guitar
Guitar Resources
Site is updated frequently.