"I've been teaching guitar for 25 years" Dude you literally don't even look 25

@CarpeDiem23

4 жыл бұрын

He's 43

@rickiesr_

4 жыл бұрын

@@CarpeDiem23 bruh how

@randomchanel012

4 жыл бұрын

Asians age incredibly well

@andreea-paulamarinescu5867

4 жыл бұрын

@@CarpeDiem23 whaaaaaaaaaat r u kidding? also, how come you know that?

@nigrebububub5654

4 жыл бұрын

@@CarpeDiem23 oh god oh fuck i thought he is 23yo or less, MINDBLOWING

I knew this kid that came to my house and picked up my guitar and fell in love after I showed him a few chords..that kid got a guitar and practiced 6 to 8 hours a day..in a year he could play anything he heard...nothing replaces the hard work of practice...

@isaacfawcett4646

4 жыл бұрын

i wish i had that kind of determination

@heisenbooger

4 жыл бұрын

@@isaacfawcett4646 If I did that when I was 14, Id probaly be better today, buttt, girls caught my attention

@jameskyle3466

4 жыл бұрын

@EastCoast Podcast Gotta get that healthy balance. I play bass, got my girl into guitar. With her determination, she'll probably overtake me. Women can be fun...

@Snaily

4 жыл бұрын

@Chris Russell When I pressed read more I expected that to be a really pessimistic comment about how a few chords doesn't count as learning or some other thing elitist scumbags say, so I'm glad it turned out as nice as it was.

@Nasalturtle

4 жыл бұрын

Thats just a passionate ass kid damn imagine in ten years

It’s good that the kid manned up and apologized. Proves he’s a good kid at heart.

@Rithvik2001

3 жыл бұрын

You spoiled the video for me

@foreseengust

3 жыл бұрын

I agree, it is a huge deal, very few people care to do that

@Selrisitai

2 жыл бұрын

@@Rithvik2001 Why are you reading comments while the video is playing?

@sirspongadoodle

11 ай бұрын

@@Rithvik2001 spoiled the video?? its not a fucking movie you dumbass.

Hi Mike, I used to be one of your students and I was a bassist. I didn't practice very much at all, but I felt like my parents were forcing me to go to lessons. I eventually stopped going to your studio and also stopped playing bass for a while. I stopped playing because I felt I wasn't good, and I wasn't good because I didn't practice enough. There was finally a moment where I thought about what you told me about practicing, and I started to play the bass again. I have improved since and it is because I practiced a lot more. Viewers, listen to Mike, PRACTICE!!!

@CJMarketman

4 жыл бұрын

Your great advice is cut-off by this "Read more" thingy.

@TheArtofGuitar

4 жыл бұрын

Who's this???

@TheEchelon

4 жыл бұрын

@@CJMarketman Then click on it...

@malcolmkyeremeh5444

4 жыл бұрын

@@TheEchelon LMFAO

@nckhed

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheEchelon People are really something, aren't they? 🤦‍♂️

Hey Mike The other day I had my first real opportunity to play guitar in front of an audience of my peers in University. We were performing live sound to accompany a short film we made earlier (Film Studies course) and I decided to try and play as part of the sound. I completely flubbed it. Hard to call it even music. Just noise and getting jumbled and out of time, super embarassing. But afterwards my mind immediately raced back to your video about almost quitting and crying after a bad gig, and I rewatched it when I got home. I haven't had that moment of wanting to quit now, and I attribute that to what I learned in the video. Immediately started practising again. Thank you for helping me keep a constructive mindset after a massive failure.

@TheArtofGuitar

4 жыл бұрын

Ah, nice that you know to carry on. Those moments will just inspire you or crush you, glad you chose the stronger route.

@Shadow-qn2hk

4 жыл бұрын

You are mega trooper

@davisworth5114

4 жыл бұрын

It happens to everyone and you can play pro for 40 years and still totally bomb and feel shame. Just never tell anyone you're great because when you're hot you're hot, and when you're not you're not. Also, instead of practising, try free playing in E minor. in the end, it's not how good you are but how much fun you have, and above all learn to sing simple country songs. Learn "Wildwood Flower" and "Keep on the Sunny Side". KEEP IT SIMPLE.

@KrustelLP

4 жыл бұрын

@@davisworth5114 the "Keep it simple" is really important I feel. When I started I wanted to go straight to metal songs and cool solos so whenever someone asked if I could play for them I'd always feel too bad for that. After doing slower songs and learning a bunch of those I had way more fun practising and learning new songs as I could usually play them in full fairly quick. Now I usually do a mix between learning challanging stuff and just learning chill stuff which keeps it fun and now I feel also confident to play around my relatives.

@mooreoutdoor9841

4 жыл бұрын

I had a really bad live performance that really backed me into the shadows and never wanting to ever do it again. I eventually got passed it but it also humbles you and that's what we all need at times. Best of luck next time you have an audience!

Lol that mentality.... “I gave you money... now make me a pro... what’s practice?

Wanna hear something stupid? Back in high school this kid said he played bass asked if I wanted to jam. I'd been playing guitar about 1 1/2 years and making some decent progress and he said he has been playing for 4 years. So I'm thinking that I'm going to look amateur to this guy but when we got together he couldn't play anything. It seemed that he'd barely picked up his bass ever. After a while, I said: after 4 years you should be way better than me why don't you practice more? His response: I'll practice more when I get better.

@Snavels

3 жыл бұрын

I hope you told him that's exactly how you're supposed to get better.

@8troll9

2 жыл бұрын

'I'll practice more when i get better" i cant believe these type of people exist holy shit lmao

A few years back, a buddy of mine wanted me to teach his 13 year old daughter how to play. I'm not a pro teacher or anything like that, but he told me that she already has an idea of what she is doing, and that she can jam some Metallica riffs. So I obliged. When they came by for the lesson, I expected her to be a little better than she actually was, based on what he had told me. I asked her if she knew the major scale or the pentatonic, and she said no. So I tried showing her, but her fingers couldn't do it at all, no matter the tempo. Turns out, she didn't know any Metallica riffs, or anything at all for that matter. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought she never picked up the instrument in her entire life. So I had to completely readjust how I thought the lesson would go and stripped everything down to the basics by showing her a 5th chord. Even though she could barely do that either, I figured with a week or 2 worth of practice, she should be able to strum some power chords at least. So she came back a couple weeks later with absolutely no improvement at all. I asked if she practiced, and she shrugged her shoulders. Obviously not. So I tried telling her that she should try giving the instrument about 15 minutes a day. The way I figure it, everyone has 15 minutes they can spare. Sure 15 minutes isn't that much time, but I didn't want to overwhelm her. The following week, there was still absolutely zero improvement. I asked if she practiced. She said "yeah." I asked how much, and she hesitantly replied, "15 minutes." I knew that was a lie. Not only were her fingers capable of doing much, but she couldn't even remember the progression I showed her. Had she have practiced, she would have at the very least remembered the progression (all it was was a simple E5 D5 A5 progression in 4/4, all in the open positions). I even wrote out all the tabs for her and everything. I also tried showing her the G major chord, as well as the C major chord. Then I told her if she can strum those 2 chords, she can play "Every rose has it's thorn." But all she said was, "I hate that song." I tried telling her that whether or not she likes the song is irrelevant, because it is mandatory to learn these extremely basic chord progressions before we can progress any further. At this point, I really didn't know how much more easy I could make it. So my friend asked if I can show her some songs by a band that she liked, with a link to a KZread video of the song. I wasn't sure how I could get her to learn an actual song when I couldn't even get her to play a basic E5 A5 progression, but I told him I would try. Luckily the song didn't sound too difficult. It took a while, but I was able to get her to play a couple licks from the song. It took about a half hour of constant repetition to get her to remember 1 or 2 of the progressions. It was slow and sloppy, but at least she kind of got it down. I told her again to practice it for about 15 minutes a day, hoping that the following week she would have it a little cleaner and maybe even up to speed. As I did every time they came by, I had always written out all the tabs for her to bring home and use as a guide. Naturally, she came back the following week sounding worse than she did the previous week, almost as if I never even showed it to her in the first place. Clearly she was allergic to practice. There was literally nothing more I could do. I think what it all boils down to is that some people just want immediate gratification, and think they can become experts by simply picking up the guitar once or twice a month for 5 minutes. As a teacher, you cannot do the practicing FOR them. All you can do is point them in the right direction. If they would rather play around on their phone and talk to their friends on social media all day rather than putting some time into an instrument, than they were never meant for the instrument in the first place. Sorry for the long rant.

@gumbly4174

Жыл бұрын

I’m so sorry you went through that. Yeah, personally I enjoy the challenge and slowly building up your skill but I get it’s not for everyone.

I used to teach electric bass guitar. My best lesson was to a kid who had no feel. He mentioned he was always getting into trouble at school for tapping his pencil. I told him he needed to put that feeling he got from it into his bass playing. Not a very 'musical' lesson, but it made a big difference in his playing.

@nickb8507

3 жыл бұрын

It’s funny how so many music lessons turn out to be life lessons.

I’ve been taking lessons for about three years but I’m not progressing as fast as I want to. I’m not practicing as much as I want to and my hands are not great. I’m nearly 70 years old and am still enthusiastic but life seems to get in my way. I don’t think I’ll ever be Eric Clapton or , insert name of great guitarist here, but I love music and am still having fun. I used to get frustrated but realized that, as long as I’m having fun, and still love music, I’m blessed to be able to try. I’m old enough to have lived through 50s, 60s, 70s rock . I got to see all the cool bands.

@nuberiffic

4 жыл бұрын

I have a few students around your age, and usually, they're the most fun to teach. Kids are too focused on showing off and being the best. The oldies just wanna have some fun :)

@chrism2198

4 жыл бұрын

My wife's grandfather is 87 and still plays out at a weekly jam session held at the library. I don't know what you have learned in your lessons or your goals, but try to play everyday. There are thousands of songs that are only four chords. Make sure you can play your open chords, and major and minor bar chords. To me, it's all about playing songs. So I will search on KZread for the song name with the word guitar after it. I have an effects processor with a built in drum machine and play the songs along with that. There are videos on here that are nothing but drum tracks at whatever beat per minute you want to play along with. When you built up your speed and endurance you will be able to play with the original artist's tracks. Get a tuner. Do this and see how much fun and how good you will get in no time.

@2triggered2comment55

4 жыл бұрын

I play metal and have played for 15 years. Clapton gives me trouble lol

@richardthompson5436

3 жыл бұрын

Life does get in the way, my guitar sits in the corner and mocks me, should have kept practicing.

@derekm2684

3 жыл бұрын

Apparently Clapton locked himself in a hotel room until he was I guess good enough to leave idk if that story is true or not but he practiced alot

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."

"I've been playing for a couple of months and I'm not very good yet" Yeah, that's why you're coming to lessons mate ;)

Did your eyes change colour? It's freaking me out, dude.

@flamingpheonix9890

4 жыл бұрын

Eye contacts.

@b.r2715

4 жыл бұрын

Ikr, I knew something was different

@kalebbauerlein294

4 жыл бұрын

Freaked me out too lol

@MagicalCritical

4 жыл бұрын

Interview With The Vampire

@malcolmkyeremeh5444

4 жыл бұрын

I knew it wasnt just me

“I’ve been teaching guitar lessons for 25 years.” You’re good. Don’t gotta lie, dawg.

@sazza0736

4 жыл бұрын

He's definitely older than I thought!

I still can't wrap my head around the fact that people don't practice their instrument. Like what? How do you expect to get better, you can't buy skill....

@princealmighty5391

2 ай бұрын

Ask that to Kim khardesian who is a millionare

My story was worse , the angry student started talking crap about my teaching because he couldnt magically touch his instrument and play his favorite songs because he wouldnt practice or would skip lessons so the easy thing was to blame the teacher which his parents did as well. He was a spoiled brat whose first guitar was a les paul complete with Marshall and a pedal board. I finally got a hold of the parents and we set down and talked without junior present and I straightened them out , and I asked them to listen to several of the bands whose members were students of mine ( both bass and guitar) and after doing so we all set down and cooled this kids jets and his mouth . I heard he got into drugs real bad and the primo rig was sold to feed his habit .I moved away from there and never heard much about him after that. I hope got cleaned up....I lost a daughter to drugs and I wouldnt wish that pain on anyone.

He probably had an unstable home life and his frustration with himself came out and he probably didn’t even know it.

@kingloser4198

3 жыл бұрын

Yep. Sometimes practice isn't possible in that environment.

@nckhed

3 жыл бұрын

To assume the kid had an unstable home life is a pretty far reach. Pseudo-psychology. 🤦‍♂️

@bradleyaustin4001

3 жыл бұрын

For sure. No way that kid came up with the stuff about money on his own. That defenitely came from his parents.

@marmota7615

2 жыл бұрын

@@nckhed of course it is, no one said it wasn't

@hazelisaacs2201

Жыл бұрын

@@bradleyaustin4001 it sounded familiar- when a kid suddenly starts mentioning “petrol money” or “value” you can bet it’s because they’ve had a harsh scolding (or even a beating) from a parent or teacher trying to wise up the kid about the harsh truths of adult life and that nothing comes for free …. But depending on the age / maturity of the kid, it can backfire and all they hear is “you are talentless & ungrateful, you will never amount to anything worthwhile and we resent wasting our money on you” If even one teacher says “you are capable of doing well here, just practice every day and I know you can improve because I see potential in you” can make all the difference.

personal responsibility is the greatest virtue you'll ever learn..

@icareg

4 жыл бұрын

cain and abel

When I 1st started learning(way back in 85' haha) I tried pulling that on my teacher, he cut me off real quick & said "ok, well let's spend 5 minutes on this, if it's me, this lesson is free" The 1st question, do you practice daily? Then, in 7 days, how many hours. He said, this week practice everyday, 10 minutes, then next week 20. If you can commit to that for a month & we still have an issue, i'll give you your money back...

@geovaniraffaelli4508

4 жыл бұрын

Your teacher was a savage

@soujiroyoshizawa6655

4 жыл бұрын

@@geovaniraffaelli4508 That's how ALL teachers were back then. Teachers coddling students is a very recent phenomenon.

@TheEchelon

4 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't call that being a savage, if anything that's being very generous and kind. If he told him to fuck off there and then, that'd be savage. This was the complete opposite.

@procrastinator6902

3 жыл бұрын

So he said you were gonna spend 5 minutes and if it was him the lesson was free, but then immediately changed the timeframe to a month?

I've now watched 10 of your videos, and I'm not a rockstar yet. Dang you, Art-of-Guitar guy !!!111!!

@Paul-gf6kp

4 жыл бұрын

Lol

I've never had a guitar teacher, sorry that happened. everyone who hears me play say "wow you are really good!" But not knowing many scales or how to start learning things on my own put me down, I could never afford a teacher but I felt like a good teacher could really help me unlock my full potential. I love the guitar and play everyday but some times I feel like I should be further and I should know more. Feels like I get stuck in a rut for a bit then I unlock more of the guitar by just experimenting. It makes me wonder what I could do with a focused lesson plan and some guidance. I always get kind of jealous when I hear stories about kids parents paying for them to learn like this kid and then they throw it away, when I never got that opportunity to.

@natashab8110

4 жыл бұрын

same here omg..

@differentbutsimilar7893

3 жыл бұрын

Did you ever figure it out? You had a good idea seeking guidance. A good teacher will motivate you with the things they introduce you to and you will progress if you take it up. FWIW, I am mostly self-taught on guitar, with... I'd say a good sense of musicality that generally pleases people to hear, but MASSIVE technique gaps. I'm not as worried about my skill though. More than anything it is an extension of my enjoyment of music in general. If that wasn't the case, I would probably take some lessons. I don't think it's ever too late for that. I've gone in on them just to learn certain techniques over the years. Experimentation is an interesting thing. I found myself learning to audiate pretty early... getting bored in class and trying to mime out music in my head and jot it down. Take it home, record it, and see how close I got. That was almost two decades ago. At this point, the music in my head gets sort of overwhelming if I go to far. I have ideas I can't always play. I can clearly make out notes from instruments I've never played, using techniques I've only heard. But if they're really good, I write them down and practice them until I can. And by then my playing has widened a little bit more. Pretty good motivator... the thing you can't play, but really just gotta. So I say, if your own creativity can coax you to improve, that's worth pursuing! Maybe try diving more into songwriting... listen in your head for the things that are cool, but out of your comfort zone and try to hone-in. At any rate, cheers. I can understand how you feel, but I think you can probably sort this out, and I hope you have already!

Part of growing up and maturing is being able to understand your insecurities and fears, and reach out for help. I had more than that at that kid's age, and I realized that I gave up doing things I loved, because I was neurotic about doing badly in public (even before a guitar teacher). Instead of working and getting better (which I couldn't because I didn't believe in myself), I quit. That's the lesson to take away from this: To get better, you have to have faith that you will. If you don't have faith, if you denigrate yourself each time you make a mistake, you won't progress. Sad to say, but it's always on you to do better.

And this is why...your such a great teacher....your changing the lives of many...including me on my journey...

I’ve been teaching guitar for about 10 years now and I can relate. A few years in I decided to not care about how much they practice. Now for every new student I get, I tell them outright “I’ll give you stuff to practice every week. If you don’t practice, I’ll never get on your case about it. I’m not your parents so discipline isn’t my job. However, if you don’t practice you’ll never get anywhere on this instrument. So it’s all on you.” Most of my students don’t practice, but they always come in with smiles and at least enjoy the lesson time. Peace!

me: everybody: him: holding an amazing guitar without playing it once

Thank you Mike for sharing that story with us. I'm so glad you didn't quit cuz you're one of my favorite teachers and guitar heroes on KZread without a doubt love your content love your channel very thankful for everything that you share with us your students and fans!

Thanks for your course. I signed up and have been learning from you for a few weeks and it's amazing! Practice is the key to success.

Wow, how amazing that the student contacted you later on. Good on him. As an instructor as well (dance), I have seen stressed students look for reasons beyond themselves to explain why they are struggling. I have found that relating to them as to the difficulty of learning a new skill (we all started at the beginning), while bumping up their ego (“I’m so proud of you for taking on this task of continued learning”), and reminding them how far they’ve come, really goes a long way. 💜 The fact that this bothered you for so long just goes to show what a dedicated and caring instructor you are. It is so important for us as instructors to continue our own learning, not only of the skill we teach, but how to relate that skill to new students. Sounds like you are rocking it. 🎸

I'm also a long time guitar teacher and have experienced this a couple of times. My response is " You need to think about this as I'm your coach and you are the player. My job is to teach you the proper techniques to put you in the best position to be successful but you're the one who has to take the shot, I can't shoot the shot for you. Practice is the only key to success." It usually gets through to them.

Oh my gosh! Thank you so so mutch for uploading this! I really felt your pain. I had these feelings as well. And I had them several times, mostly due to my own expectations on the quality of my teaching. It's a real pain and it can make you wish to quit. But looking at the fact that I can inspire nearly all of my students (37/40 regularly) in 14 years I can assume that it's their lack of practise that's holding them back. Now I can tell them: "the more you forget, the less you practise, the better for the business" ;) and you can hear the click in their heads.

It's easy to feel guilty when you put someone's progress in your hands, but 9 times out of 10 it really does come down to them wanting to put the work in to get better. On the other hand though, I remember when I was a few years into learning, I had a teacher that for some reason had his heart set on making me learn to read music. Like we couldn't do anything else until I did my reading. If I came into the lesson without practicing it, he would freak out and we'd spend the entire time grinding through a reading piece. This ultimately killed my drive to practice for a while because it wasn't what I was interested in learning. When I ultimately fell back in love with guitar, it was because I discovered jazz and got a great teacher who shaped lessons around what I wanted to practice and pushed me every week. I got so much better and have been playing nonstop ever since. Yet, I still don't really know how to read music very well despite my improvements. Moral of the story, it's hard as a teacher to figure out how much to push your students but generally push them on the things they're most excited about and if they care enough, progress will follow,

I love this guys content (especially the technique videos, literally all I want to know at this point). That being said, i also agree with everything he said until he got to the part where the kid/ guy apologized to him later... and he kinda poo-poo's it like it's to little to late. Just guessing, he was like 15 at the time, and in just 4 years later(still cognitively a child essentially) that kid had dealt with his shìt enough to recognize his own short comings. I give him props for such progress on his own journey. Mike is the man but I think he's being a little insensitive on this one Life can be tough af. Especially when your a confused kid who thinks they know it all. Totally agree with his ending too. No matter who you are, ya gotta practice P.S. we need a Duane Allman technique video!!! Please please please!!!!!!

Guitar was a huge help for me when I had my own mental issues (I was suicidal at a couple points...) and it became my #1 focus in life and something I am *extremely* dedicated to. I can’t imagine life without it. So hey, if you’re in this student’s position don’t give up.

I have just watched your beginner guitar lesson and must say its really helped me ,probably one o the best if not the best I've watched and believe me I've watched a few

Its his fault , he didnt practice... LingLing practices 40hrs/day , 15 notes/second

That was a great story for teacher and student alike! Thanks for sharing, Mike.

Mike i have been watching you for over two months I haven’t joined any of your programs. One thing I have to say i have been listening a lot i started playing when I was 12 years old i am 67 years old and retired and I still want to play i remember what you said about guys like me don’t blame your self. I never took it seriously enough i wasn’t good i didn’t work well with people every thing you said that day was me and I appreciate what you said but you are a very good teacher if I don’t become a better guitar player it’s not your fault about me not getting better I just have to start working more about getting better just was wanted to tell you what you said about a week ago that was me very very negative not willing to do the work i am very thankful i met up with you . Keep doing what you’re doing.John

I wish I could go back to my 15 year old self to tell him, "You know why you struggle with guitar? Because you don't practice!"

I had a student once who came in on the first day and told me "I want to play like Eddie Van Halen but I don't want to have to learn scales or arpeggios". He didn't make it past that lesson, because there is NO way to do that. And if you're NOT Eddie you won't sound like Eddie, sorry. It's the way life is. Besides, why bother to become someone who already exists? You won't be Eddie, there already IS one. Guys like that are why I no longer teach. That and the kids who don't REALLY want to learn how to play, but Mommy wants an hour off a week and you've been chosen. Just couldn't take it anymore.

@thesenate7942

3 жыл бұрын

There is no Eddie anymore

@differentbutsimilar7893

3 жыл бұрын

Funnily enough, when I first started learning and taking lessons, one of the very first things I was taught was that little tapping lick from Eruption. Turns out it's pretty easy and it got me super excited to play. It got me in that mindset of actually knowing I can progress to cool stuff fast if I try. 17 years later, I'm still playing. Maybe not spectacularly well, but I really appreciated that my instructor thought to toss that into the lesson. I was never thinking I was gonna not learn things and somehow still play well, though. I knew it would be a lot. My parents made sure I really understood that before they ever got me an instrument. I had to really want to play the thing. They were of course investing their own time and money if that's what was to happen. Their concern was that I would think it was cool for a while and drop it.

You can't teach someone who doesn't want to learn. I've tried to teach a few beginners and alot of them think a couple of lessons and they are Eddie Van Halen. When they find out just how much is involved with actually learning to be an actual musician it's called " sounds too much like work". I've managed to steer a couple in the right direction though. It's a proud moment when the student exceeds the Master. ( Not that I'm any kind of Master in anyway)

@geovaniraffaelli4508

4 жыл бұрын

I have a bunch of students, and despite my efforts one of them just doesn't practice very much. In the beginning I also blamed myself but now I realized it's on them if they don't practice. As long as you pay me I'm good

To be fair, its also the job of a teacher to convey to the student the necessity of practicing, and inspire them to practice and move forward. Its not just about "teaching" them the details of how to play.

I'm a teacher too, so I wanna thank you for posting this video as it made me feel better about my past/present experiences. And I just wanna say - your method is perfect, man!! (I don't even know you personally but I would give anything to have you as my guitar teacher) :) Best of luck!

Man, love your stories so much!

I’m surprised he apologized. Some people go through life with poor relationship skills and poor maturity and end up lonely as they get older, they never change, and continue to blame the world, neighborhood, and most anyone around them for the toxic situation they are in with their neighbors and or family. Its best to spend little time trying to fix them and their negative outlook or worse getting angry at their actions, but better to spend more time loving those around you and accentuate the positive things in life.

I cant imagine having the balls to speak to an adult like that at 15. My parents just didnt raise me that way, and had they KNOWN that I was that disrespectful, I probably would have gotten my ass kicked or grounded.

@andthoseotherguys

3 жыл бұрын

Yup. These kids today need more @$$whippings like we use to get.

Really appreciated this video and the message! I wish I had followed my heart and and after my dreams to be a musician and a music teacher...I was strongly discouraged and coming from a broken family, didn't had the strength to go out on my own without that support from family...but I'm doing it now! It's never too late and I'm happy to know I've inspired many others to take on their passion for music...as a hobby or a profession! 😎🎸🎹

I had a kids mum ask me to teach him ‘Every day bro’ by Jake Paul. I no longer teach that kid

@ohyeahisthatwhatyouthink6088

4 жыл бұрын

Oh christ, Gandalf please teach me everything you know

That was VERY insightful. Thanks so much for sharing!!

i also teach guitar so thank you for the story. I 've had doubts about my teaching though the years and I've come to realize that you have to believe in your self and develop a strong inner confidence despite what other people may say . it's really about the teaching, that is the transfer of information from one person to another. doing it in away that is easily digestible. the best teachers i think are the ones who are humble, love people and love teaching.

I "technically" started playing guitar at 12...I took about three lessons before I couldn't anymore because of school (they were midday Thursdays and they didn't have any other available times). I didn't really pick it up again until almost a year ago (I'm 18 now) and just constant practice in my room watching KZread and stuff basically taught me what I know. I feel like a majority of guitar is the player's own desire to want to play, because it can be a very emotional instrument and won't sound good if you aren't putting emotion into it, even if you are playing every note and every chord spot on. Anywho, I enjoyed this video because it reminded me of my own guitar playing journey, and I'm glad you shared it with us.

@joetroutt7425

4 жыл бұрын

Yes you can know tons of technically complex riffs and progressions​and leads but if you aren't putting you soul in to it it might as well be compressor head playing.

@JewelsFromVenus

4 жыл бұрын

Bingo! You have to really want it!

Klicked on the video because I saw my guitar Stayed because i actually wanted to hear the story Subscribed because of the intelligent thoughts i could take away from that story! You seem like a very good teacher :)

It spills over into life. It happens alot now in every aspect of it. It's far easier to blame an external for your own faults. I am glad you were able to use this experience only over a few weeks to better yourself.

It is nice that he grew enough to admit that he was the cause. You can not follow him home and set up shop in his bedroom in order to insure he is actually practicing. Skateboarding is great when you are 15 but not so useful when you are 45. The guitar is something that will enrich life for the long run.

@diab_soule06

4 жыл бұрын

The Hound Damn straight. I used to skateboard and play guitar until I broke my wrist skateboarding. So, I just switched over to guitar instead of both. One of the best decisions I made in my life.

It’s not your fault. I started when I was 9 and it’s hard for kids and especially him when he was depressed. My depression made my guitar classes tiring. It just takes practice and that’s what i tell my friends. I got some to play guitar with encouragement and they’re doing well with practice.

I had a student storm in the room one day, throw his expensive Les Paul on the ground and sit next to me fuming with his arms crossed. After the shock wore off I asked what was up and he had some story about his mom being mad at him for being late and not waking him up sooner - his mom who I’m sure paid for that guitar and his lessons. Teenage boys are the worst 😂. I did have the pleasure of playing music with him after he had grown up some. He’s a cool guy now.

I'm new to teaching and have been playing guitar my whole life, but my students are young busy kids with a lot going on in their lives and many come to me after a long day and sometimes seem tired and cranky and don't have time to practice much so I don't worry about it too much. I do what I can to learn to be a good teacher, which includes watching your videos and doing research.

Hi Mike Ive watched your videos for a couple of years now. And after watching tons of KZread videos of you teaching. I decided to subscribe to your The Art Of Guitar site for a year and see how it goes. Ive been learning from you OFFICIALLY for a month now and already i know 19 chords and can switch them effortlessly, my muscle memory is getting quite good and my dexterity is coming along quite nicely. This is all within a month which for me is amazing, which in turn means your amazing for being able to come across good and actually teach an old 50 something git like myself.. Ive also decided to renew my sub in a year for a second year because if you can teach me all this in a month, then by my calculations i could be teaching in 3 years or signing a major record deal with EMI lol. . Your doing an amazing job on me, and for that ill keep learning from you and Thank you, Eddy Jennings

I'm thinking about starting to teach guitar. That was a great share, thanks

I just got access to a free college class about music theory through Berklee (not to be confused with Berkley?) college, free because I have a reverb account. And honestly I was thinking about what I've learned from your channel vs. this normally really expensive college course - you are pretty clearly extremely well educated about music, and most especially guitar. I know this story is from a long time ago and you've learned that a student who isn't committed isn't a reflection on you but I just wanted to compliment you as a teacher, you not only know your content but you convey it in very clear, helpful ways and that's pretty cool!

This was interesting to listen to. I want to share my own thoughts from the perspective of a teacher. I have been teaching for, not 25 years, but 7. I'm a physicist so for the most part I only teach physics nowadays and maybe math sometimes. Anyway, just a few months ago I had the worst experience as a teacher and the feeling was exactly as you described. I felt like they kicked me in the stomach and left. I was teaching a physics lab for premed students. Essentially, I would guide them through simple experiments and help them out writing a report. I would then grade the report and give detailed comments so that they could do better on the next one. Generally the scores at the start of the semester range from 16/20 to a 19/20. One student received a 13/20, and it is true that they did a particularly poor job. So, she contacted me saying that she wanted to do better. This is totally ok! We set up an individual meeting so we could go through everything in the lab report and figure out exactly what could be done better. I was also ready to let her know that this one bad grade could be dropped if she showed improvement on future lab reports. I'm personally not a fan of grades, so I'm always happy to adjust the grading scheme if I feel like the student demonstrates that they are better than what the numbers show. But, once we got onto the zoom call, it was clear she was not really interested in learning how to do better. She spent the full half hour yelling at me about how I graded her. She claimed that I set up my students for failure, that I had something personal against her, and that I was unqualified to be a teacher and a physicist. As much as I wanted to answer her ridiculous claims back, I attempted to take deep breathes and bring the focus back to the individual issues in the paper, but we could never move past the first few points. After the call ended, I was both extremely angry and extremely sad. I was never told any of that before and I really did end up questioning my own teaching methods and the like. After a few months, the student contacted me again and set up another meeting where she formally apologized and explained how she was having a rough time. And this was well appreciated. Looking back though, I think I see it a little bit differently than you. Both of our students were going through a rough time. And they took it out on us. We were to blame and we were the enemy. But, the fundamental issue wasn't us and that was hard to see. The fundamental issue was something else in their life that made it difficult for them to focus and succeed. I wouldn't say it was just the student's fault there, even if it is true that at the end of the day it is their responsibility to do well. I think, looking back, what I should have done was to trust myself and have confidence in the hundreds (maybe even over a thousand) students that I've taught and have done well with and then turn around and figure out what was _really_ going on. I should have talked to other professors to see if this student was having a hard time elsewhere. I should have maybe set up a second meeting to try and focus on these issues again. I didn't though and it was because I was truly hurt and the student was wrong to hurt me. So, I don't blame you or myself for turning inward as opposed to being focused on a goal, but I do think it might be good as a teacher to figure out a way to do that in the future. Happy to hear thoughts! Teachers occupy a truly thankless job sometimes but it's one I'm happy to embrace!

As a teacher myself, all you can do is put the information out... they have to study... present the info a few different ways which is what you do: in person and in a video, fun podcasts and videos which motivate... You clearly give the why and how... You demonstrate and teach so they know it's doable..... Great job! You have a huge talent for teaching and that's something a lot of people don't have.... later on, your soul searching was rewarded: Karma at the end which is good when it comes back around. Mike, you are a star 🌟

In every video I watched so far on this channel, the guy is holding a different gorgeous guitar (and even holding a pick like he will play something) and doesn`t play a single note, hahaha. Not complaining. Loved the video!

@TheArtofGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

I spent 25 years talking with students like this so it’s how I feel most comfortable. 🤣

I've been practising for 2 years straight and I'm happy with my playing, there's no replacement for actual practice.

I started learning music late in life at the age 43 . I started with violin I had a great teacher , he turned me on to the cello because it just fit my hands better and he was so right . he still gave me violin class one day a weak and cello two days a weak . I learned so much my first year .he was a great motivator real nice guy . but it got to the point he ran out of new things to teach and found me a teacher that could push me further and she did . nice she wasn't but her students learned out of fear , she got me to a point where I got all the work I wanted . wedding , parties pit work for plays and so on , the problem was the fun I had the first year was gone . not all music teachers are the same , just do what you think the student needs and do what you think is right . at some point it all works out . I have been trying to semi self teach myself guitar and bass . I have watched some of your videos and I think you do real well and manage to do the most important part ,you keep the fun in this weird journey we call music .

At least he had the decency and courage to apologize

Hahaha I love the picture to go along with the story - the little Snot!

I have been through this too and got to be a better teacher after. Made me revise everything I did and the way I did it and it ended up by letting go of much effort and also of my expectations. Who would say that "not giving a shit" has such practicaly possitive results? It is a paradox.

He is young He still much to learn Specially about life... Not only practising with guitar (if he practises...) You are a good musician, a good teacher , and a nice person .

Great story, great life lesson here. Thanks for sharing!!!

I like that that was really cool and it was really good common ground Lifedon't get nothing out of it just like life do appreciate all your videos thanks man ☺️

My little brother wanted to learn guitar when I was away at university. I wasn't a very good player but wrote out abut eight pages of open and barre chords, basic scales and odd bits of random advice. He went away and practised like a maniac. Soon he was playing Van Halen songs, 40 years of practice later he's an awesome guitarist.

Thank you so much for sharing this, I had a really bad experience teaching guitar today (for the first time too!) to a middle school girl who id never met before, but she seemed like she hated me and didn’t want to be there, and I felt like such a failure after 😞 glad to know I’m not alone lol

You've been teaching for 25+ years??? You look like you're 25!

Mike, when I first started out I took lessons for a little while and then quit as I didn't have the time to practice as I should have (it was in between leaving school and doing tertiary studies). No point paying for lessons when I'm not all there. But I did still practice myself when I had the chance and the initial lessons were good to get me playing correctly. Then when I was in my mid 20's, there were things I wanted to learn specifically. So I started taking lessons again with a recommended teacher who was a good player, but wasn't punctual, couldn't really teach and was more busy showing off then teaching. I'm paying to learn, not stuff around. So I asked for another teacher. He wasn't the most creative player but sure knew his theory and could convey it. Which was exactly what I was after at the time. There's good and bad teachers out there too.

I had some similar experiences when I first started teaching... I started making a habit of regularly reminding students (and parents) that if they do not practice a lot, they will not keep learning and advancing...placing the responsibility on the student has eliminated such situations...now when they quit lessons they usually admit that they cannot practice enough to justify spending money on lessons, and will often return when they have more time and energy to pursue music. Failure to practice is usually they only thing that can hold a person back from success...

Thanks, Man, I am a language teacher teaching English in France, and I also refound my guitar bug after a long time… Anyway, this lesson is super true for me working with my students as it is for myself working with my new guitar teacher. Thanks for the perspective! By the way, I watch your Smashing Pumpkins technique video like once a month!

It was a good thing you were reconsidering your teaching methods. Even if they were perfectly correct and proper. We doing things right, but every now and then it's a good thing to check ourselves out, when you do it - you gain extra confidence which is desirable everywhere, but especially when teaching. BTW, teaching is much more than being an expert on the subject. Being an expert is probably the most important, but knowing how to overcome various difficulties the students have is a challenge too.

I don't teach guitar, and I drifted away from playing too... I still watch Mike's channel, as I always learn from this guy. Much of his story/ advice applies to other areas of life... people who really disappoint you, having unrealistic notions etc. I actually think, if I'd been blessed to have had Mike as a teacher, I might have improved quite quickly. Thanks Mike you, are a very wise guy!

That’s the thing about lessons, you can teach them the right technique and what to do and what not to do...but ultimately it’s up to the student to put in the time and work into getting better.

Mike I love your videos, I've been a guitar and piano teacher for 20 years. I can really relate to so many of your videos abourt teaching, plus i love your other videos about deep dives into guitarists. Weird question though - are your eyes a different color in this video?? Haha keep up the awesome work

I'd love to have lessons with you Mike 👌👌👌

When I was like ten I took lessons and I never practiced, I had no passion for guitar I was just doing it because I had one and my parents paid for lessons. I used to think my teacher was the worst because he always tell me to practice and I found it so annoying. When I turned thirteen I picked up the guitar again and taught myself online, I love it now and looking back man I can't imagine how frustrated my teacher must have been.

Had a similar situation myself a year ago. In the day of an upcoming lesson I had too much self-blaming stuff on my mind and felt quite depressed. After my arrival at the guitar tutor's office, I chose to complain as well. (Yes, I wasn't practising daily, and, what's worse, it was not me who paid for the lessons, so it gave them a right to demand regular reports on my progress, which stressed me even further) So I said it upset me that many great musicians at my age have already started their bands and played awesome music, meanwhile me not being able to stroke a string with a pick properly. Well, I was not that bad at that moment, however, it was self-reject that made my mind then, generally. The answer was like: "As an adult, I cannot comprehend your problem. When I give you the technique, you are free to play whatever shit you fancy" No need to say that I lost trust in him as a mentor immediately. My teacher still remains a great musician with brilliant technique and well-developed improvising thought. Although, since then I started to realize we cannot communicate without a struggle. One day, before the lesson started, I found him resent no one wanting to take up his class and showing off his university grade in music opposed to the tutors who don't have confirmed basics and still teach guitar. Frankly, I felt bad as fuck. It was not only myself, but also him transferring his own complex onto me. Soon I left him without any feedback, just cutting relations with him. Since then I practice alone and, sometimes, in a student guitar community, which obviously doesn't provide you with mad skill, but gives the idea of where to go and how you keep up. By the way, I never wanted to quit since that break-up.

Amen to that! I'm glad you learned from it. Good or bad, everything is a lesson to help us grow.. albeit... some are much more painful 😉

yes i think this is a common experience in my professions! thanks for sharing!!!

Something I've learned is people need to have that motivation and most importantly passion, if they dont have it youre never going to get anywhere. It you really care about it youll spend countless hours cracking away and sometimes it seems like you are getting nowhere but if you make it through that disencouragment that shows how much you really care.

I started learning guitar when I was like 8 and hated it. I barely practiced and yeah I ended up blaming the teacher (though I still think his teaching style wasn’t very good). I quit obviously. Fast forward to me at 15, I never thought I’d play again but a friend taught me the old 0-3-5 on his guitar and a couple other simple songs and before I knew it, I had my old guitar out and was practicing like 6 hours a day and just learning songs from online and enjoying the hell out of it. Now a year later I’m still as obsessed and absolutely loving it. I guess you have to really enjoy what you’re playing to get better.

I want to learn guitar but the teacher i have my dad doesnt like because he only teaches me songs right now and no theory yet. But he is nice and i feel he knows what hes doing he has been in bands and owns a music store (that i work at) he offerd me the job so that i could get his old carvin that i said i really liked.

@ShadyRealRap96

4 жыл бұрын

as someone who taught himself the guitar thru the internet and also learned music theory with the internet, id advice you really aprecciate your dads point of view on music. You should and CAN learn music theory, because all the information can be found online, but having somebody like your dad around could be one of your biggest advantages all around. Really playing music is one of the most important things about learning music, and having him as a Jam Partner, a teacher or someone who could maybe even organise some gigs for you because he maybe has some connections is VERY valuable. When i learned guitar i knew absolutly no one that also played guitar and i got stuck in the complete opposite way. I learned nothing but theory and had no real experience with actually playing or musically interacting with other people. Thats not a good thing. So i guess the right mixture is the right way, but often when i hear interviews of really good players, they very often have parents that also played an instrument or made music, so see that as something positive.

I can usually tell if someone is gonna stick with it by that first month.And it's by how someone is practicing.My guitar was an extension of myself from 11 to 17,never more than 5 feet away.lol When I see that excitement/dedication in someone I can just feel it. It's really cool watching a person start to have a personal relationship with there guitar.👍🤘

As a guitar tutor I am the same way- you can’t force anyone to play Love your channel take care

I taught some college courses and I learned that students often have a hard time seeing a teacher as a human. You're a roadblock or gatekeeper in their mind. Sometimes you have to break that down directly

@eddierayvanlynch6133

3 жыл бұрын

True, a student needs to decide whether they show up to learn the material or learn the teacher. If the can do both consistently, even better. But sometimes it depends on whether they've been raised to "listen to the teacher" or they've been encouraged to learn.

Kid had you in your feelings bro

I was going to comment that I hope the kid is in a better place in life now, and am glad he seems to be based on the email.

When you practice alone, I feel there's a lot less pressure than with lessons. I can relate to him. Used to blame my maths teacher, when in reality, I was only mad at myself.

It sounds like this kid really affected you. I THINK there may be more story to tell here around your self doubt than only the words of a 15 year old kid. True confidence means that we can receive criticism and keep going. Maybe you were unsure because you knew you were letting him off the hook with his practice while you collected payment knowing he wasn't getting results? Maybe you felt you could do better?

Literally 10 seconds in and a Guitar Center ad cut in. 10 seconds!

He was probably not all that interested in playing but his parents pushed him to do it. I see that a LOT. There are bad teachers out there though, but in my opinion if you care, you put in the time, but you also want to help the student, youre a good teacher. I had a terrible teacher in middle school, i was in orchestra from 4th-7th grade, and my first teacher was great except he didn't teach me a lot of things, i didnt learn time signatures or how to count in my head or anything like that. But then i hit middle school and had this newer orchestra teacher and she was so mean to me. Because i wasnt taught how to count to music ever I didn't know what counting was, and so when we had this very slow piece of music with whole notes/rests all over it, i didnt know how to stay in sync or how long to hold the note or rest, but i ALSO didn't know why i couldnt play it, I didnt understand why i couldnt get it right. And so i raised my hand and just said "I dont know how to play this, its so slow? Like I cant play it because it isnt fast enough?" And she FLIPPED OUT and embarassed me in front of the entire class, and ahe was so mean about it, she said "oh! Its not FAST enough for you? If youre so GOOD, here, play it with me!" And she just started shredding it on violin and kept asking why I wasnt joining in, and it was truly the worst thing I had experienced from a teacher. Now looking back that could be a big reason why playing in front of people is so hard to me. I didnt tell my parents about it but i just quit going to orchestra, it was every Tuesday and Thursday 45 minutes before school started, and so i would just walk to school and not go to orchestra but went to the lunch room instead. I picked up guitar 2 years later and just taught myself because I didnt really want to deal with a teacher after that. But it sucks, I didnt know counting was a thing so its not like i could have known why I couldn't play it properly, and she just flipped out about it. She made it sound like i was trying to be cocky but if someone can't play a slow song its OBVIOUSLY going to be about the fact they cant count and dont know how to time the notes. Thr song was at such a low BPM that i didnt understand how to adjust myself to the music, because we'd always had normal paced stuff and when youre playing quarter notes, eighth notes or 16th notes, its way easier to time it because every note is basically counting and it's easy to get used to even if you never count. But a few habbits I picked up while playing violin were good though, I began learning songs by ear, I loved the SNES game Chrono Trigger and I taught myself 2 or 3 songs from it by ear on my spare time, and I think doing that really helped me out when I began to play guitar a few years later.

I don’t normally comment on videos, but something here struck a chord with me (pardon the pun). I’ve been a gigging guitarist since I was 15 and been a Hi School teacher for around 20 years. One of the main things I have realised through hard life lessons is that you can’t do the learning for others. Every student deserves to receive the best tools to improve, but it is ultimately up to them to engage with the material. Don’t ever beat yourself up and second guess yourself - you will only end up having a negative impact on your other students. Take care and keep doing what you are brother.

We sent my daughter to piano lessons when is was in grade school and we could not get her to practice despite our best efforts, it was a team effort too, me my wife and the teacher, the piano teacher finally kicked her out and told that there was a line of people that wanted to learn. It was a hard lessons that is only recently starting to manifest because she is now in high school and a lot of her peers are very accomplished and she wishes she was.

Practice does make perfect, I agree with this. However I also think there is such a thing as too much practice. The mistake I made with teaching myself was trying to do something that was not easy the first time for many hours, I had to learn that when I get frustrated that I needed to take a break or stop playing for the day and revisit it. This comes double when it came to me creating something and recording a riff, where I'd mess up on my recording and felt the frustration sink in, not because of the gear or anything, but because of my inability at that moment to get the output I was trying to achieve with it. I know self taught guitar is not the best option for most people, but if I were to find a guitar teacher, I need to find one that has an open mind and is willing to be flexible. I mean I will learn what I need to learn and practice scales if I have to, heck I still do scales sometimes to warm up, just not as often because I tend to get into the meat and potatoes of wanting to be creative, and maybe I'm learning a lot of stuff wrong right now, but as long as I keep learning and I get a 2nd opinion that isn't talking me down, I am confident that I can make improvements. The right guitar teacher however is everything, and unfortunately I never had that luck as a kid. I didn't take lessons from a music teacher back at that time because they only taught traditional guitar with either a nylon string or a steel string acoustic, and was told the myth that the electric guitar was for advanced players only, so I never took the lessons then because I didn't want to learn traditional songs and I felt like I was going to be forced into that. I also did have an incredibly cheap steel string acoustic guitar that someone gave to me for free, but it was unplayable because the action was too high and my fingers would hurt. My nephew borrowed that guitar one day later on in life, he left it unattended for a couple of minutes to use the bathroom, it fell down and broke into 2 pieces on its own. That's how cheap it was. I never had that problem with my Strat, and the action on that is adjusted just right. I'm glad I'm an adult now.