aashiq's Blog

Learning to play the ukulele, like learning any instrument, is a marathon rather than a sprint. No matter how much practice you do in the short term, it is long term dedication that will determine how well you play. But, how do you keep up your level of motivation in the long term?

Setting goals for yourself is a great way to keep yourself motivated. But it also does more than this. It allows you to monitor how your playing is improving. It is sometimes hard to recognise when we are improving. If you don't realise that you are improving, you may start to lose your motivation. Keeping track of your goals and when you reach them will reassure you that your playing is getting better and that the practicing you are doing does pay off.

Setting Speed Goals

Find, or invent, as short practice exercise. This could be a scale, a sequence of chords or a musical phrase. Set a metronome at a slow speed - slow enough that you can play it comfortably without making any mistakes. Once you've found that speed, turn the metronome up very slightly. Keep doing this until mistakes start to creep in. As soon as you start making mistakes, make a note of that speed. This is your new goal.

Go back down slightly (to a speed at which you can play without making mistakes) and practice the phrase over and over. This will get your fingers used to making these certain movements. Eventually, making these moves will become second nature.

After practicing like this for a few days. Go back to the slightly higher speed. Can you play it at this speed now? If you can, keep increasing the speed again until mistakes start to creep in again.

The big advantage of keeping track of how fast you can play is that it is very easy to measure. On the down side, playing the same exercise over and over again can become a little boring.

Setting Repertoire Goals

Adding new songs and tunes to your repertoire is a much more fun way of practicing. However, since it is less vigorous, it is not always as effective as speed practice. It is also much harder to gauge how well your playing along as there isn't any concrete measurement.

Ideally, your practice should be well balanced between both repertoire goals and speed goals to make sure that it doesn't become too boring.

There are many, many, different reasons why individuals decide to learn to play the guitar. What's your purpose? Is it because you just want to play a few songs for your friends? If so, then I commend you for your honesty and wish you the very best in your song-playing adventure. Playing the guitar should always be fun. If you're a beginner, it's important that you don't become overwhelmed or intimidated by those who seem to be able to shred the guitar fingerboard at will. This should be the least of your worries. Especially in the beginning stages of learning to play the guitar. The fundamentals are essential for every beginner. For example, learning to hold the guitar pick correctly is essential in the beginning. Learning right-hand and left-hand finger control is very important. Further, merely feeling comfortable holding the guitar will actually take some work and practice. Once again, the fundamentals of guitar playing are very, very important.

It seems that we're living in a society (musicians included) where instant gratification seems to be the way-of-life for many. We want what we want, and we want it now. When attempting to learn how to play the guitar, this type of approach will leave fatal flaws in one's over all understanding of the guitar. Without an authentic understanding of the guitar, limitations are inevitable. A solid foundation on the guitar (theory and application) will allow one to progress beyond their own expectations. One should strive to become a well-rounded guitarist. In other words, learn guitar chords, rhythm, and guitar solo techniques. So many guitarists today are mainly concerned with soloing. They seem to overlook all of the other aspects of guitar playing. Many beginning guitarists get hung up on issues such as speed playing. In today's musical environment, it's much more important to become an accurate player rather than a flash player. The days of the twenty minute guitar solos, are over (for the most part). Oh yes, in a concert environment it's good to let it all hang out and to blow out the carbon, as they say. However, nothing will top a well constructed melodic guitar solo. A well constructed guitar solo is a far cry from someone just mindlessly sweeping arpeggios.

Is speed important? Yes, in situations that call for speed. However, not all guitar solos consist of playing 128th notes at 160 BPM (beats per minute). Techniques, such as speed picking, sweeping, and tapping result from practicing good habits, not in lieu of them. Further, speed without soul equals nothingness. Why so much dissertation regarding speed? Let me explain.For most beginners, there is generally an event which occurs, that inspires an individual to learn how to play the guitar. For example, desiring to learn the guitar could result from one hearing a song that has a special emotional impact on his/her life. However, it is more than likely that one of the great contemporary concert guitarist (a fire-breathing, neck-shredding Dragon) is the inspiration for most of today's beginners. This is great however, was the inspiration the guitar itself or the fire-breathing, blazing speed, that the notes on the guitar were played at? More than likely, the answer would be speed. Inspiration is inspiration, right? Understand that a speed player is very skilled and has taken the time to build a solid foundation; fundamentals.

There are a range of ways to learn guitar. Check out each idea to see what suits you. Group lessons: If you feel uncomfortable learning by yourself you can take group lessons. The advantages of group lessons are that you have a teacher to help you through tough times and you can see the other students progress and compare yourself to them. The disadvantage is that you won't get as much attention from the teacher as it will be divided. Private Lessons: If you have the right teacher this is the perfect way to learn guitar. Your tutor can monitor you progress each lesson and slow down his lessons to your learning standard. Your teacher will never be caught up with another student because there aren't any - so he can attend to your needs. CD Lessons: There is almost every style of instruction CDs you can think of. The benefit of CD lessons is that you can replay everything said on the CD. If you don't understand a part, you can replay it as many times as needed. The bad thing about CD lessons is that you may not be so enthused to learn the songs on the CD by yourself, and the instructions tend to be more general. This can leave you not knowing where you are in your musical journey

DVD Lessons: DVD lessons includes the good and bad points of CD lessons. The best reason to learn guitar by watching a DVD is that you can see what the tutor is doing. DVD learning goes far in answering those questions boiling in your head. Music Books: if you don't have much time on your hands then music books are for you. There are a range of styles of music books. If you haven't payed much attention to music at school then you will have a hard time reading the music that you don't know. Most people take a long time getting a song they don't know. Internet: The internet is a great way to learn guitar. There are so many links to good sites that can teach you to play those notes that your role model guitarist plays. Membership sites are usually more trustworthy because you are giving money to them for their time in putting togethor good music.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - The prestigious LA Music Awards has nominated Kris Searle for Best Record of the Year and Best Male Vocal. London recording artist Kris Searle's new Album Slowly Diabolical has been receiving rave reviews and accolades from music professionals worldwide. "L.A Music Awards double nomination is a real sign of Kris' musical accomplishment and true recognition of his 'Super Star Talent'. The fact that it is all happening in such a short period of time has amazed me, I'm really thrilled by the response and the growing momentum that is happening for Kris" says Richard Williams Executive Producer of the newly released album Slowly Diabolical. This is "Brit-Pop/Rock at its finest", "Blasting tracks with enormous melodies and shout-out-loud lyrics" played by Kris and his incredible star studded band of musicians. This is Indie music at its finest, featuring some of the most talented musicians in the business, and this album truly has platinum potential. This exceptional album of originally composed music by the artist was produced by Dino Maddalone of Dino M 4 Recording Studios of Torrance, California and is available now online through iTunes, CD Baby, Music Dock, mp3, amazon, Rhapsody and other music outlets.

About Kris Searle: Media from the UK to LA are raving! "His music draws from life experiences and projects raw emotion, a refreshing break from all the futile pap that fills much of today's pop charts."Jay Clarke of Attitude Magazine. "Sensitive and engaging", is how BBC Radio describes British-born singer-songwriter Kris Searle's music as UK audiences would like to claim the fast-rising talent as theirs alone. Kris, now promoting his new album 'Slowly Diabolical' and showcasing in Southern California, is rapidly building a career that's also attracting the interests of Los Angeles' own music industry heavyweights. Bob Leggett of Music Connection says "Searle's music touches the heart and stimulates the Soul, and deserves industry support and placement in a myriad of shows and movies. Searle is ready for the big time now!" "Kris Searle is something of a phenomenon here at ROCKWIRED, this U.K. crooner, having released his Indie CD 'Slowly Diabolical' has taken his music and his life into his own hands and is making it happen" - Brian Lush, Rockwired. "Honest and introspective songs from the heart, a voice from the soul, and a sound that appeals to a broad audience." Greg Bennett, premier designer Samick/Greg Bennett Guitars. To book Kris Searle, arrange guest appearances or interviews please forward requests to management.