Music Educator
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Technique"... if what you are doing is hard, you are probably doing it the wrong way..." As a Music Educator, Doug's specialty is focusing on people with technique problems– meaning the physicality of playing the guitar– and he helps them overcome these problems.
Everyone has limitations that need to be overcome and technique that can be improved upon. Through the years of working and on self-teaching, Doug has figured out what works and what doesn't work based on how the human body does certain things. Everyone plays the guitar a little differently, because everyone physically differs from everyone else. But the one thing that is always true is if what you are doing is hard, you are probably doing it the wrong way. |
"The really good guitar players never really do anything “hard” on the guitar, they just do things that are “easy” really well..."
Harmony & Theory
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This subject is sensitive for many people. Most of us have heard musicians that have a lot of “head knowledge,” but that knowledge does not translate into playing great or even well. The reason? They don't actually know harmony completely, and as such, have to slow down and think while they play. This process slows down their ability to play music “in the moment," which is where all music is played.
"I utilize my own "self-taught" technique to teach the student how to play "in the moment" without thinking. It’s the application of learning techniques used by the ancient Greeks - a lesson I learned in the 5th grade..." Doug teaches harmony starting with a very strong foundation in major scales. He can teach you how to spell any scale and know what every chord in the scale is out of sequence- what the 3rd, b7th, #9 or anything else is on any chord- and know it so well that you can play it when you want to. You can be “in the moment" without thinking about it.
He utilizes his own self-taught technique to teach the student how to play "in the moment" without thinking. It’s the application of learning techniques that used by the ancient Greeks. These learning techniques apply to every facet of life, but can be applied with great effectiveness to harmony and theory. |
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Once music theory is completely understood, it gives the musician an incredibly powerful tool that can be used in any musical genre. It can help the musician to know what does and does not work in any genre of music. Knowing Harmony and Technique is the key to playing every genre convincingly and in the moment.
Recent blog for
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Here’s a blog Doug wrote on learning music on the guitar for GuitarCoach magazine online. "I am very into music education and have spent a lot of time studying how we learn, and that’s what this short blog touches upon."
Read Doug's blog contribution, "The Best Way To Learn Guitar" for Guitar Coach Magazine, HERE.
Read Doug's blog contribution, "The Best Way To Learn Guitar" for Guitar Coach Magazine, HERE.
Some Blog Comments
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Ronnie says:
April 10, 2015 at 3:38 am This is some good advice, and I learned them long ago. ya’ll are right about the human ways of learning the guitar, if you learn anything by the wrong way, then it will take you a long time to re-learn it the right way, and you’re right, it is a waste of time. Clayton Phelps says: April 9, 2015 at 2:34 pm I really like this advice. I realize now that I spend way too much time on one thing. Thank you .This is exactly what I needed to hear. |
