Archives: January 2012

January 31, 2012

“The True Teacher”

by jim — Categories: General Music — Tags: , , — 2 Comments

Jamie Andreas of Guitar Principles

“The true teacher strives with his or her whole being to give the student everything they need to reach their highest potential as a guitar player. They never stop trying to communicate knowledge, and ultimately, transform the student.”

Lately I’ve been using the word “empowered” quite a bit in guitar lessons and in speaking with prospective students. Truth is, it’s a pretty standard word in my guitar teaching vocabulary, but for the past few days it seems to be cropping up left and right.

As synchronicity would have it – thanks Carl Jung and Sting! – a reprise of Jamie Andreas’s 2010 article, “The True Teacher”, appeared in my inbox today. And it’s all about empowerment. Continue reading ““The True Teacher”” »

January 26, 2012

The Only Theory Lesson You’ll Ever Need, Part 2

by jim — Categories: Guitar Lessons, Six String Theory — Tags: , , , , — 5 Comments

Math professor

In Part 1 of The Only Theory Lesson You’ll Ever Need, we covered the foundational elements of music theory: the musical alphabet, the concepts of whole steps and half steps, and the use of accidentals (sharps and flats) to fill in the blanks between natural notes.

In Part 2, we’ll use that information to take the next step forward: constructing major scales and understanding keys.

Major scale construction is one of the most important things you could ever learn in music theory, since EVERYTHING else is built upon this foundational concept. And gaining insight into scales and keys teaches us how notes are related within a musical “family”, and what notes tend to complement each other in melodies, riffs and solos. Let’s get it on! Continue reading “The Only Theory Lesson You’ll Ever Need, Part 2” »

January 9, 2012

Songs From the Guitar Studio, Vol. 4

by jim — Categories: General Music, Songs From the Guitar Studio — Tags: , , , — 1 Comment

guitar student

Welcome to Songs from the Guitar Studio, Volume 4!

As you might remember from earlier volumes, this series is dedicated to songs featured in my guitar lessons. Instead of picking a technique or concept and finding a song to match it, we’ll sometimes pick a song first and see what we can learn from it.

Listed below are some of the songs my students have worked on through the holiday season. I’ve outlined some of the main elements and takeaway points from each one. Hopefully you’ll see something here that may inspire you.

Let’s check out some tunes! Continue reading “Songs From the Guitar Studio, Vol. 4” »

Jim Bowley is a well-known Bel Air, Maryland based guitar instructor. Jim is respected throughout Harford County, and the MD/DC/PA region, for his guitar teaching technique of tailoring instruction for each student’s skill level — he gives lessons to beginner, intermediate and advanced adults and children.

© 2012 Jim Bowley All rights reserved.
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