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Craig Smith is a Guitarist, Teacher, and Writer living in Sanford, Florida. Craig has taught guitar lessons, performed 200+ gigs per year (for over 30 years), and published 4 guitar instructional books. When he’s not gigging, writing, or helping other guitarists, you may find him at the beach with his wife Celeste, 4 Chihuahuas, and a drink. https://lifein12keys.com
HelloReader, When I started playing guitar in 1988 (yikes!), one of the many big influences that guided my own guitar journey was Greg Howe. What makes Greg’s solos sound so colourful, fluid, and harmonically advanced? The secret lies in his groundbreaking use of superimposed arpeggios, inventive scale shapes, and rhythmic phrasing. Greg's new book covers ALL of these concepts and more. Now, if you're totally new to arpeggios, fear not... there are a few great free lessons on my website to...
Hello Reader, How's your guitar progress going? During my own practice this morning I was thinking about progress and how it ebbs and flows in small increments over time. I happened to be reading a new book "Atomic Habits" on this exact topic. I pulled a quote that I think applies quite well to music and specifically guitar progress in general. “We often expect progress to be linear. At the very least, we hope it will come quickly. In reality, the results of our efforts are often delayed. It...
Hello Reader, How has your guitar practice been going? Learning anything new?Let's talk alternate picking! The J-Curve The J-curve describes the typical path of a corrective technique or action from initial loss to dramatic gain over time. Essentially.. Things might get worse before they get better. You could apply the J-Curve concept to all kinds of things in everyday life… but let’s apply to it alternate picking. Phase 1: Where you might be now… You can alternate pick at slow tempos....