reviews

A Guitar Teacher’s Recommendation for the Best Method Book

I have been using FJH’s method books for years. The authors do a great job of gradually introducing material and giving plenty of musical examples. I have only recently begun using their guitar tablature method, and it is a better approach for most students.

Most guitar students do not need to learn to read music at the beginning of their journey. Learning to read music can be difficult even on the piano where the instrument much more sensibly reflects how music is traditionally written. The guitar is much more convoluted instrument, and it is far more difficult to make connection between the notes on the guitar and the notes on the page.

Of course, there is simply no substitute for the development of the musical mind that occurs when one learns to read music. Ultimately, you will be a far better musician if you learn to read music than if you don’t. However, for the guitar this is simply not a high priority early in the process. So unless you’re a thoroughgoing Classicist, and/or you are exceedingly disciplined and prefer a more scholastic approach, I think the tablature method is your best option.

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Wes Freeman is a private guitar lesson teacher in the Atlanta metro area of Georgia. He teaches lessons primarily in the cities of Lilburn, Snellville, Marietta, Decatur, and Brookhaven. Learn more about taking lessons with Wes on his Lessons page.

A little over a year ago, I added ukulele to my portfolio of  instruments for which I offer lessons. I’ve discovered that it is a great instrument for a beginner musician of any age. There is far less adversity to deal with in order to reach a point where you feel like you’re “making music,” and for kids, it can provide a good way to begin learning the fundamentals of music before transitioning to guitar (more to come on that subject in an upcoming blog post!).

In my search for the best ukulele method book for beginners, I ran across this one and have found it to be very valuable for students who are interested in more than simply strumming some chords: Everybody’s Ukulele Method I by Mike Lynch.

First, this book does a good job of teaching the fundamentals of music. Second, I like that it is progressive because it presents things in an orderly fashion (hence the name method book). Perhaps most distinctively from other books, it helps you to use the ukulele to learn music instead of simply strum chords, for those who want to do more. Finally, I find it to be ideal for kids who are learning ukulele as their first instrument.

It takes a bit of discipline to benefit from a book like this, but those who are consistent with practice will reap an informed musical mind. It not only helps you play better, but multiplies your enjoyment of music.

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Wes Freeman is private guitar lesson teacher in the Atlanta metro area of Georgia. He teaches lessons primarily in the cities of Lilburn, Snellville, Marietta, Decatur, and Brookhaven. Learn more about taking lessons with Wes on his Lessons page.

Recently, I misplaced my Shubb capo (read my review here), and I decided to take this opportunity to try something different. The Shubb has a couple of disadvantages compared to some other capos:

• It requires two hands to affix it to the guitar, and
• You can’t clip it to the headstock. This makes it easy to lose, hence my dilemma.

So, I stopped by Guitar Center and picked up the Planet Waves NS Tri-Action Guitar Capo.

There is a lot to recommend this capo. It tries to have the best of all worlds. There is a trigger mechanism that allows you to clamp it to your headstock and use it one-handed. If needed, there is also a screw that will allow you to adjust the tension.

However, I have a couple of issues with it:

• For some reason I get more ringing and fret buzz with this capo. I’m not sure why; I’ve tried multiple tension settings, but none of them seem to provide the clear tone that my Shubb did.
• This capo is pretty bulky and I find that it can be a bit of an obstacle on certain chords.

This guitar capo might be the right one for many people, particularly if you don’t notice any ringing when you use a capo (once I lay down the cash to have my guitar re-fretted, I’m hoping many of these issues will go away regardless of which capo I use). However, for me, now that I’ve located my Shubb (hooray!), it has returned to it’s position as my default capo of choice.

What do you think? Leave your opinion of the Planet Waves NS Tri-Action Capo in the comments below.

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Wes Freeman is private guitar lesson teacher in the Atlanta metro area of Georgia. He teaches lessons primarily in the cities of Lilburn, Snellville, Marietta, Decatur, and Brookhaven. Learn more about taking lessons with Wes on his Lessons page.

These ear plugs are a must-have for anyone who practices regularly with a band. Hearos High Fidelity Ear Plugs cut the frequencies hitting your ears in such a way as to save your hearing and keep you comfortable, but with minimal loss of sound quality. This is the best thing that I’ve found short of in-ear monitors (which are WAY more expensive!). I’ve found in band practice that there are times I would have to take them out in order to hear the needed detail for something that needed work, but most of the time they worked very well.

They’re also helpful for other things besides music. As someone who lives with a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), these can really be helpful. HSPs seem to experience the world at a much higher volume than others and often find themselves overstimulated and overwhelmed. So if your roommate or partner watches the TV too loudly, or you have some construction going on near your home or office, these can take the edge off of the background noise without sacrificing the foreground noise that noise cancelling headphones would cut out. In other words, if you want ear plugs that eliminate as much noise as possible, get regular foam ones. These, on the other hand, are fantastic for blocking out background noise so that you can hear direct conversation, band practice, or whatever is at hand.

Grab a pair on Amazon and see what you’ve been missing!

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Wes Freeman is private guitar lesson teacher in the Atlanta metro area of Georgia. He teaches lessons primarily in the cities of Lilburn, Snellville, Marietta, Decatur, and Brookhaven. Learn more about taking lessons with Wes on his Lessons page.

View this item on Amazon

The adjustable tension is a big selling point. Most other capos are spring loaded and apply the same amount of pressure on the strings on whatever fret they are placed. This can create some problems that you don’t even realize you have until you try a Shubb. The biggest problem with other capos is that they tend to pull the strings slightly out of tune and can make for some extra “buzziness” and other unwanted noise.

An unanticipated benefit I found when I switched to Shubb was just the way the strings felt under my fingers. This is hard to describe, but the strings just felt more like there was no capo on the guitar with the Shubb, making it subtly more enjoyable to play.

The Cons
The only (minimal) drawbacks of a Shubb are that it is a little bit more of a hassle to get onto the neck of your guitar, and you can’t really just clip it onto the headstock when you’re not using it (which makes it a little easier to misplace). However, what you get is a very durable product with adjustable tension — so to me, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

Many professional guitarists swear by the Shubb capo, and now I see why.

Other than being a customer, I have no relationship with the Shubb company. I recommend simply because I’m a fan of their product.

Purchase a Shubb capo GC-30 deluxe on Amazon.com — at the time of this review, it has 5 stars based on 257 reviews, so clearly I am not the only one who finds them to be the best!

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Wes Freeman is private guitar lesson teacher in the Atlanta metro area of Georgia. He teaches lessons primarily in the cities of Lilburn, Snellville, Marietta, Decatur, and Brookhaven. Learn more about taking lessons with Wes on his Lessons page.

Download this app on the iTunes store

My review: 5 stars. Tempo Advance is probably my most-used practice tool. It is not for the beginning student, but rather for students who are looking to go deep in their practice. If you have an iPhone and are an intermediate-to-advanced player, this is the metronome to buy. At $3.99, it is more expensive than most metronome apps, but if you really use it, it is worth every penny.

What do I love about it?

The Interface
The interface is intuitive without being over-simplified. For students who are uncomfortable with anything beyond a simple click or 4 beat, it might require some experimentation, but once you understand the layout on the main screen of the app, it becomes easy to operate. Short of having physical buttons, this is as good as it gets.

The Sounds
Multiple beat sounds are available, including a collection that sounds believably close to a drum set. This comes in handy if you’re working on a phrase that you have to really slow down so that sounds for the 8th and 16th subdivisions are required. Additionally, I’ve found removing the sound entirely on some beats helps me hone my sense of timing.

Automatic Acceleration/Deceleration of Tempo
Want to loop a four-measure phrase and go up by 5 beats per minute on each repetition? This app can do that. Or perhaps you want to gradually slow down by 1 beat per minute every 5 seconds — that can be done as well. No one gets good at an instrument without some repetition; this app allows you to be that much more strategic with your practice technique.

As I implied above, this is not the best app for beginners and/or students who don’t have a fairly firm grasp on rhythm concepts — but the maker of this app (Frozen Ape) does make a metronome app for beginners: Tempo Light. It has a similar style, but is simpler to operate without some of the more mind-boggling features. It would serve as a good stepping stone to the more professional app reviewed here.

Download this app on the iTunes store

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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Wes Freeman is private guitar lesson teacher in the Atlanta metro area of Georgia. He teaches lessons primarily in the cities of Lilburn, Snellville, Marietta, Decatur, and Brookhaven. Learn more about taking lessons with Wes on his Lessons page.

View more about this Yamaha beginner guitar

My review: 5 stars. This is the best beginner acoustic guitar I typically recommend for students under 12. Having taught hundreds of students using this model, I can say unreservedly that it is worth the money. It sounds good and holds up well to the abuse that tends to be inflicted by younger students (though caution is still best advised). One of the best things about Yamaha is the consistency of what they produce; a major consideration for a starter guitar is ease of play and Yamaha can be relied on to give you that every time. It makes a great guitar for young new students or an upgrade from a cheap starter guitar.

What do you think of this guitar? Leave your thoughts in a reply below.

Purchase this Yamaha FG JR1 acoustic  guitar on Amazon

Check out more of my reviews here

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Wes Freeman is private guitar lesson teacher in the Atlanta metro area of Georgia. He teaches lessons primarily in the cities of Lilburn, Snellville, Marietta, Decatur, and Brookhaven. Learn more about taking lessons with Wes on his Lessons page.