In The Shed:
A Personal guide to Practicing
“The shed” is a term used amongst musicians as a place where progress happens. “Woodshedding” ideas and concepts is the process of making oneself a better performer. Regardless of where one is in their music journey, the need or desire to improve is achieved through practice. Having a practice plan that’s relevant to how one plays or wants to play is essential. There are always looming questions of the what, why, and how much. This course aims to give suggestions specific to each student.
I work with you to get a sense of your music path….where you’ve been and where you want to get to. I aim to install a “practice how you play” mentality so practice time flows into playing time. What have your frustrations or challenges been along the way? I will show you some tools that aid you in your practice sessions that can make it more efficient and rewarding even if you don’t always have that much time each day. Equally important is learning ways to self evaluate the effectiveness of your practice time. I aim to work with you to make your practice time efficient, effective, and enjoyable.
Format: Online 1 On 1
Lesson Length: 30min, 45min, or 60min
Lesson Price: Starting at $27 USD
Topics Covered in this Course:
- What is practice vs playing mindset?
- Choosing what to practice
- Practicing resources
- Practice monitoring.. Is this working?
- Practicing motivation
- Setting goals
- Repetition
- Maintaining curiosity
- Maintaining discipline
FAQs
Who is this course for?
Anyone who has an idea of where they would like to be in their musical endeavours, but not sure how to get there or what components to focus on. Anyone who has been playing for a while but has stagnated in their progression and need suggestions and inspiration. Sometimes just having a solid plan is inspiration enough to put the time in.
What are the prerequisites?
Making a list of things you are working on or have worked on in the past, but struggle to improve upon, is helpful.
Do I need to know theory for this course?
All pertinent theory will be discussed throughout the course, but basic scale and chord knowledge will certainly help things go quicker.
Does it matter if I play electric or acoustic?
Not at all, use the type of guitar you play with most.
What styles of music will this course focus on?
Whatever style of music you play or want to play is the starting point. I might point in the direction of some musical offramps to hone in on some concepts, but the styles you’re interested are the main focus.
Can I record the lessons?
Yes, but I ask that you keep them for your own private viewing.
Can we play together during the lesson?
It is possible, but only if you have an account with JamKazam, a direct Ethernet cable to your router, talkback mic, and appropriate digital I/O. Jamkazm will run an automated test on your setup and let you know of any signal speed bottlenecks.
What do I need for this lesson?
All lessons are done through zoom. A reasonably fast, clear internet connection, a webcam, and your guitar are the basic requirements. If you wear headphones, make sure there is an onboard microphone to pickup the sound of your guitar. If you have an audio interface, that’s even better to separate your guitar signal and your headphone signal. A big monitor is also helpful to clearly see me, my guitar, and any written material I display on the screen
What materials do I need for this course?
I will provide any written material at the beginning, but will make suggestions along the way. I will give you ways to source relevant sheet music or etudes, and apps that can be good practice companions for various aspects of playing the guitar.
Will we be doing any performing in this class?
Absolutely, any example I use or tune you suggest, it’s beneficial to play through and hear these concepts in action and get them under your fingers.
How does this course work?
We start by getting a sense of where you are, and where you want to go. I try to get a sense of your learning style, your stylistic preferences and make suggestions. Over the course of the lessons throughout the course, we monitor how these suggestions are working for you and what needs to be modified.
Cancelled Lessons Policy
Students can cancel one lesson of the course provided there is 24hrs notification… in which case I will reschedule that lesson for you. Additional absences will not be refunded or rescheduled.