You bet I did! And still do!
When you are learning and working to learn, you will reach a point where you feel you have hit a "road block".  I've had that feeling many times and even still from time to time. When I'm trying to develop a particular skill in which I feel like I just wasn't built to be able to acquire, there are a couple of approaches I take to get me through. Well, there are a number of options from which you can utilize to find what works best for you. The one option that is NOT an option for me is quitting. You will never develop it if you quit. Time will go by and by the time you could have overcome the problem and become fluent in the skill, you will regret the lack of effort.
So what do I do?
Number 1..... If I'm trying to learn a riff that just seems to allude me, I try reshaping it into something that fits into my comfort zone. If this works acceptably, problem solved. If not, then what?
Number 2..... Sometimes, I just have to get something outside my comfort zone ""into" my comfort zone by repping it 3,000 times. (or so it seems)
Number 3..... If I'm still frustrated after a while, I lay the guitar down for a few hours (or even the rest of the day), then pick it up and continue repping it. I just REFUSE to give up.

Reps are your best friend. You will overcome the issue. It just takes time and reps to get it into your muscle memory.

If you need help working through issues or want to take guitar lessons from an instructor who caters your lessons individually for your needs. Reach out to us. Your guitar goals are our priority and personally, I would love to work with you in developing your skills.
Keep Picking
​Mike

 Why should you enroll at Strings Attached? Just as the Summer Blowout is coming in this week, I am already in the planning stages for this coming fall. Good News for returning clients! For you, my loyal pickers, there will be no need to sign a contract, we will continue without one and you can still take advantage of some upcoming opportunities that are new and will be announced soon. These changes are intended to establish more flexibility for your schedule. For new and upcoming guitarists as well as those yet to become my clients, the good news for you is that you can easily enroll and take advantage of those changes as well. Sooooooo, why should you enroll at Strings Attached? Well, I'm going to challenge you to do 3 things to find out. You see, it is my belief that if you want to learn guitar and are willing to put in the daily practice time, can count to 7 and know your ABC's all the way to the letter G, I can teach you and give you the opportunity to play like Eric Clapton or whoever you so desire. So what are these three challenges? Well, here they are.
Challenge number 1) Read this......
        Can I just teach myself to play through Youtube videos? Well, yeah, sort of and sort of not. Let me explain. Videos are an excellent resource for learning new material, songs, and even advanced technique. But what you don't get, is the what and the why. What are you doing? Why are you doing it? How does it apply to other songs than just the one you are trying to learn? For example, you learned a new chord to play a specific song, but how does it relate to the key and music theory so that you can apply it to any other song out there and ones you may write in the future? 
Challenge number 2) Read this too............
       What about online internet classes? Online internet classes are designed for you to work over the internet with prepaid videos, maybe some live video conferences and yes, at your own pace; however, keep three things in mind. They are typically very expensive, without anyone holding you accountable, and "your own pace" means "real Slow" more times than not, and the instructor doesn't know you and certainly doesn't design each lesson to meet your current individual needs.
Challenge number 3) Read this and click below......
OK, so I admit, I need an up close, person to person instructor? Why should I trust Strings Attached?
You should choose an instructor you trust and believe in whether it is us or someone else. I can't make promises for any other instructor. All I can do is vouch for myself. I will be prepared for each lesson, design each lesson for your specific needs, and challenge you to become your best. I also have expectations of you to practice daily, intentionally exactly what I assign you for the week. If you meet your part, and I meet mind (and I will), you will certainly get more than your money's worth.
So please click below and examine my full website to learn more about my background, who I am, why I do this. Please view all the pages and even read previous posts on this blog. THEN, if you decide to set up a consultation, just click on that button, send me an email or call. I will get you set up and we will get started on your journey.  Website starts HERE
Thanks Mike

It feels unreal that we are winding down our 2nd year at the GAB. Upon my retirement from 37 years in Education in 2020, I began chasing this dream of having a Guitar school. Now, I am literally "living this dream" and having so much fun doing it. Albeit, I started smaller than I envisioned to start; yet, GAB has grown. Even still, there is more room to grow. 
What's so cool about all of this is that I have clients who have been with me since inception who are progressing beautifully, I have clients who joined later who are also doing beautifully. I have adult clients, youth clients, beginner clients and experienced clients and each and every one has his/her own unique approach to guitar that make teaching them a pleasure.
As this spring semester winds down, we are getting ready to have our 2nd annual Summer Blowout in which we squeeze 10 lessons into 5 weeks. Emphasis are client focused and full of enrichment to allow thought provoking techniques for advanced players as well as intermediate players. If you are a beginner, there is no better time than now to get your feet wet and get started than this 5 week intersession before Fall semester kicks off.. For more detail and information for this once a year opportunity, click on Summer Blowout Information or reach out to me directly at 256-238-3596 or [email protected]. Also, please check out this entire webpage to learn more about who we are and WHY we are. Just click the different buttons  above to easily navigate to the individual pages. 
I'd love to hear from you, even more so, I'd love to teach you guitar.
Mike

From time to time, we all are faced with situations that either don't go our way or at least frustrate us to a point of dejection. I am not immune to that and neither are you. Intuitively, we know the correct response; however, emotionally, we impulsively choose a behavior which not only is wrong, but can be detrimental to our overall best interests. This can be embarrassing to say the least. In today's post, I wish to present to you a train of thought that not only can help you overcome adversity when learning to play guitar, but more importantly, will help you overcome the many obstacles in front of you either through no fault of our own, or are the consequences of previous choices you have made, that will improve your life.
1) Ask yourself this question, "What is it I want that I am not getting?"
    Take your time and actually write the answer truthfully of what you really want or wanted that did not go your way. 
2) " What behavior or choices did I make to help me achieve this goal?"
   Again, physically write it down.
3) "How did it come about to work against me?"
   Be careful not to ask the question "Why", because this could easily lead you into the role of "victim" from which you completely need to stay away. Focusing on things which were beyond your control is not an option here. Sure, some things you cannot control but remember, you need only address issues pertaining to your choices and not those of others or outside circumstances.  For example, " I haven't been successful here because the quality of my practice time wasn't intentional or target specific enough to overcome the problem", or " I didn't get that promotion at work because I have an issue of being late for work twice each week." These are examples in which you are taking responsibility for your actions that can directly affect your desired goal. Stay away from the blame game such as, " I didn't get the promotion because they knew exactly who they wanted before they opened the job." My question to you becomes, " What are you doing to become that person they knew they wanted before they posted the job?" or "What are you doing to blow them away from the person they "thought" they wanted for the job to make them want you instead?" Write your answers.
4) If what I was doing, didn't get me what I wanted, what can I change to improve my chances?
 Write the changes down and begin implementing them immediately
and finally ask yourself this question....
5) Is what I want worth having or even attainable?
 If it is, then work positively to get it, if not, find something else to want.

For clarification purposes and to give credit where credit is due, I didn't come up with this stuff on my own. A man named "William Glasser" taught me.
Keep picking:
​Mike

Last time, I wrote about how we as educators are consistently seeking new ways to close the "Knowing/Doing" gap for our students. Are they performing at or above "grade level"? For those who are not, we seek to think out of the box to reveal new strategies to help close that gap. My belief as a guitar instructor is that many guitar learners sell themselves short and fail to realize their true potential as a player. For most players (myself included) our capabilities far exceed our performance. We often settle for "good enough". We tell ourselves, our mistakes are acceptable because most people other than ourselves will not even realize a mistake has been made. My question to you oh "learners of the strings", can you look yourself in  the mirror everyday and feel good that you may be only half as good as you could be? If not, then read on, for I have a plan. What can we do to close that gap and realize our true potential?

1. Be selfish with your practice time: ​Allot a set practice time daily. It doesn't have to be the same time everyday but at least have a dedicated time in each day set aside for serious guitar practice. Be selfish with that time and try not to let anything interfere. This time is set aside for you to practice new skills your instructor has presented you that will expand your playing to a whole new level.
2. Seek others who play better than you: Play with as many people as you can find as often as possible. When you see them do something you don't yet know. Make them show you, then practice it over and over until you can comfortably "noodle" while sitting around.
3. Become obsessed:  Notice I said "obsessed" and not "possessed" There is a difference. My wife often tells me I have an obsessive personality. She says I am constantly competing with myself whether it is counting calories, academics when I was in grad school, construction projects on our home or playing guitar. I tell her that I am so afraid of failure that I feel as though I have to be obsessed to be successed. That's an exaggerated analogy I know; however, in reality, that's kind of true. If you want something in life, whether it is to be the best guitar player you can be or the best construction worker you can be, the best and most sure way of accomplishing it, is to become competitive with yourself. Can you go to bed each night and truthfully say, I'm better tonight than I was this morning. Can you look yourself in the mirror the next morning and truthfully say. " I will be better today than I was last night? Am I playing up to my capability? 

Honestly, I don't think any of us, not even the great blues guitarist Eric Clapton, plays up to his ability; however, we do get as good as we are willing to work to become until one day you say to yourself, "my level of playing is acceptable to me. I don't want to get any better than I am currently". Really? You don't want to get better? Hogwash! Of course you do 

Let me show you how. Register for your free consultation here and let's get started.
Make it happen
Mike

In Education, you often hear the phrase "Closing the Knowing/Doing Gap". That refers to the distance between what a student should know in a particular grade and what they actually know based on testing and performance. The wider the gap, the further away a student is from what he/she needs to know. As educators we are always searching for methods to improve teaching that will effectively close this gap to bring the student's "doing" closer to the "knowing". Whether or not the gap is measured in academics or fine arts, the same method applies. As owner and founder of "Strings Attached", and an educator for 37 years, I apply the same concept in my guitar instruction. I'm constantly seeking new approaches, self-evaluating and adjusting my approach individually to every client. Each client has different needs and are at different levels of playing and I go into each lesson prepared to accomplish a particular goal on that particular day with that particular client. With this said, this is indeed a two way street. Taking that same thought process, my clients are encouraged to evaluate their "Capability/Doing Gap". What are their capabilities and are they meeting them each day? Most clients have a "ceiling" higher than they're personal goal. How good of a guitarist can you actually become? Well, it is my belief you can pretty much become as good as your dream. Many however, think they're dream is unreachable and sell their capabilities short. I argue that point for it is my belief  you can become as good as your ability will allow you and your ability is greater than your goal.
Stay tuned; my next update will show you HOW  clients can close their "Capability/Doing Gap" and even exceed their believed capabilities.

I am now accepting enrollment for the Spring 2022 semester. Click "here" for a Free Consultation and let's get you started to become the guitarist of your dream.

Any time you pick up your guitar, you are getting better, right? Well, not necessarily. Let me explain. If I'm setting around with my guitar and "noodling", I'm probably noodling around on things I'm already comfortable playing, this riff, that riff, this chord or that one. If I do it all the time. I don't even have to think about it, it is already in my muscle memory. Practice, on the other hand is intentional. You are focused to learn something NEW so well it gets embedded into your muscle memory and then you can "noodle" it. So what do I mean by "intentional"? I mean you must focus on it and do it over and over again. Repetitions are the only way to get something into your "muscle memory". Practice is not necessarily fun but becomes worthwhile when what you practice becomes natural. So what is practice verses rehearsing? Well, you know what practice is and now you are preparing a performance. You rehearse for the performance by playing your songs over and over until THEY become muscle memory. Practice your songs to learn them, rehearse those songs to perform them. So how should you practice? Every day for a set amount of time working on exactly what your instructor tells you to practice. This time should be independent of the amount of time you spend practicing, noodling, or rehearsing things you've learned previously to keep them in your muscle memory. How much time each day? As much as it takes. It is impossible to practice too much.
Make it Happen!
Mike

It seriously doesn't seem like one year ago I was in the final preparations for the inaugural  year of "Strings Attached".  I've seen many successes of my clients and at the same time have seen growth in myself as an instructor. So what do I do in between semesters? Well, I do a lot of preparing and self improvement. I review what worked last year and reconsider some things I prefer to have gone better. Then, I research to  see how these can be taught better to improve upon the successes we had. I even take time to improve upon my own skills as there is much room for improvement there. In other words, there is not a lot of down time. That being said, I am looking forward to the upcoming semester which begins in just a couple of weeks. There are seats available so don't miss the opportunity to develop a skill that will stay with you a lifetime.  Do you have any questions? Just click the link below, scroll down and submit your question, I will see it and answer very quickly.  Keep picking guys.
Mike
Ask your question Here

In Mid August we will "Pick Off" our 2nd year of Strings Attached. I am stoked about this in particular due to the fact of my returning clients from last August are already starting Level C of the curriculum. This is exciting why? Because I see the monster I am creating :) and yet, I still foresee the finished product in my head. I feel like Frankenstein as he anxiously readies his project for the bolts of lightening to give his creation LIFE. OK, a little stretch of the imagination; however, it is exciting to see one come from the very start and already begin to develop personal styles within their own playing. You too can become my monster in just a few weeks. Just click here and let's talk about it. It's Free!
You gotta learn how to play guitar!
​Mike

As summer is in swing, attention is now focused on this coming Fall Semester here at Strings Attached. I am excited as enrollment is up and I look forward to meeting new clients this fall and getting started making their "guitar dreams" come true. DO NOT let the opportunity to check us out if you are even remotely considering to learn guitar. Maybe you are an intermediate player already, maybe even advanced and you just want to hone in your skills. We can take you just as you are and help you get to a higher level of playing than you have ever imagined. As enrollment continues to increase, the number of seats available get limited. Get in for your Free Consultation and get signed up NOW.  Just click below for your no obligatory consultation. It's FREE!

FREE CONSULTATION <click here