FORWARD MOMENTUM MUSIC SCHOOL

hey everyone, new blog spot at forwardmomentummusic.tumblr.com

check it out, it's fun and frolicky... 

...and onto the street!

We are super-pleased, incredibly stoked, out of our minds happy to be announcing the near arrival of our new location. We will be moving the school to a street level space at 10570 109 St in beautiful downtown Edmonton.

We will be able to offer lesson in 5 rooms simultaneously and will be able to offer our expertise to a vestly larger number of students.

Feel free to drop by starting anytime after about the 9th of September; I am hoping to have all lessons moved over to the new space by then, so come by, walk in, enjoy the natural light and have a coffee or a tea on us and we'll show you around.

Have a great fall everyone and we hope to see you soon!

sincerely,

Lane Arndt and Forward Momentum Music 

It should be stated, in big bold and inviting letters at the beginning of every guitar method book and by the salesmen and women in guitar stores around the world and from teacher to student that the guitar is...wait for it...a difficult instrument to play. It presents challenges and obstacles at most every step of the way, from simply holding the thing--not to mention holding the pick--to placing the hand, moving the fingers, pressing the strings--OUCH!--to strumming, playing scales, melodies and solos, learning chords, rhythm, songs, singing while playing, and then maybe the idea of learning a bit about theory, chord construction etc etc etc.

Now put it all together and be creative!

The guitar is not difficult in the way that some instruments are difficult, the French Horn for example, which is generally thought to be the most difficult instrument in the Western European tradition, or the Indian Santoor, the technique for which involves using the left-hand cuticles to 'fret' the notes!  The guitar is not quite so difficult as these but it is many times more complex.

The guitar is one of the only non-keyboard instruments that is capable of creating melody and harmony, to be at the front of the pack or the back of the stage, to play rhythm and then solo like a spirit possessed! Not to mention the myriad stylistic and sonic options that tempt us into so many shale-thin splinters; it can be hard to remember sometimes if we need our acoustic or electric guitar for that bluegrass gig, or was it a Jazz gig, maybe a bit of both, oh yeah and then don't forget to learn that heavy metal tune for the jam party next week!

But before we get to any of that fun stuff we must put fingers to wire and embrace the darned thing like a lover--or maybe at first more like an injured bird. But embrace it we must. It demands attention and due dilligence; let two days slip past without some investment of time and energy and it will punish you, guaranteed.

And here's where I get a combined buzz and bust every time I see a new aspiring Stevie Ray or Vai or John Prine or Denver take home their first guitar, whether it be a cheap acoustic, a beginner Strat pack, or a nice new expensive guitar. We have all seen a great number of guitar players and with few exceptions, it has never appeared to be all that difficult. Am I wrong? When was the last time you saw anyone on stage or screen playing the guitar at a professional level who appeared to be struggling with it? Probably never.

Why is that? It's because they worked their buts off for years and years before ever stepping onto a stage. They mastered the thing and then went out into the real world and said very loudly and with not so many words: hey everybody I disappeared for 4-6-10-12 years and now look at what I can do! We don't see the struggle, well unless you're a guitar teacher like me, then you see the struggle weekly, daily, every hour or half hour is spent with someone just like you who is trying to make the most out of a difficult endeavor.

There is a secret though!

Want to know what it is?

Come in close...

Persistence!

This is the only way! do it every day, even if you only have ten minutes. Leave your guitar on a stand if you can so that maybe instead of turning on the TV you might pick up the guitar. It is a struggle and the rewards initially are very slow to come and can be very far apart but it picks up, the rewards hasten, the little victories become big victories and before you know, you find it hard to think of a time when you didn't have it to look forward to at the beginning, middle or end of the day.

Happy Practicing Everybody!

sincerely, lane 

I have just done up this new poster in Macs Pages program, a beautifully elegant and intuitive page layout program for under a hundred bucks, hope you like it.

later,

lane arndt