Guitar Hero

I, personally, have never played Guitar Hero or Rock Band. But, it seems that most of my students do and I've been asked by many people whether or not I think Guitar Hero helpful at all for learning to play the real guitar.

Guitar Hero probably helps with rhythm, and it definitely introduces kids to bands like The Police, Scorpions, and Cream that they would probably think were lame otherwise.

Other than that, the only thing that's helpful about it is that it has sparked an interest in guitar playing and I'm sure I've taught a ton of kids that I wouldn't have otherwise.

Maybe if it keeps up there will be a guitar renaissance in this country. In that case, maybe someone needs to come up with 'Real Estate Hero', and 'Stock Market Hero'. Possibly, 'Social Skills Hero'...

Every Guitarist is Self Taught

Andres Segovia, one of the finest classical guitarists of all time and a master instructor, once said that "every guitarist is self taught". It would not seem to be in the interest of an instructor to tell people that they are not going to be successful unless they teach themselves, but it's true. To each individual music is a unique universe. Instructors are great for showing the way in a confusing world of methods and techniques by helping to put exercises in the proper order and context, and also matching the right methods with the right person.

The best musicians are the ones that take the information that they gather from instructors, professors, books, the internet, etc and properly apply it in a way that allows them to achieve their personal goals.

So if you're an aspiring musician with a lot of motivation and drive don't be apprehensive about taking some lessons, and if you don't have any motivation or drive don't expect an instructor to provide it for you :)

Worst & Funniest Songs to Teach

I would like to know what some of the worst and/or funniest songs were that people have requested to learn.

I'm a 32-year-old man and I've had to teach a lot of Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers, and even some High School Musical. But that stuff isn't too bad. It comes with the territory...

I did have a young boy tell be that he wanted to learn anything by the B52s, which I thought was a little strange. I also had a kid ask me teach him the theme song to Spaceballs, which was understandable because it was his favorite movie, but the theme is very orchestral and not something that easily translates to a simple guitar part.