I love when students walk in for a lesson who have never played guitar before. Usually, they have a mix of wonder, confusion, excitement and apprehension. Some of them have wanted to play guitar for a long time and some are transitioning over from another instrument. Whatever the case, learning the guitar can be a daunting task.

Unlike, the piano (and I chose piano because it is a chordal instrument), the guitar doesn’t immediately sound “good.” This is always the first thing that I go over in my lessons (and something that is continually revisited….even with advanced students). “Let’s get a good sound on that string”…..almost all students can discriminate between a good sound (clear, ringing) and a bad sound (muted, buzzing) on an open string. The next challenge is keeping that “good” sound when playing fretted notes and eventually chords. When you press any key on a piano, it’s going to sound “good” without any extra effort. On the guitar, finger placement and pressure are two of the main factors in initially getting a good sound. Students are often amazed at how tough it can be for this first step to occur.

The challenge is to guide students so that they quickly progress on their instrument without losing interest or giving up. Fortunately, as long as you are picking up the guitar outside of lessons, things move FAST. Then it is my job to guide students on the path that best suits their individual goals.

I have two vivid memories from when I first picked up a guitar. One of them was in elementary school and a friend brought in a guitar (probably for show and tell). He couldn’t play much, but he showed me how to slide my fingers along the strings and make the COOLEST sound. I was hooked. The second memory was from when I was allowed some alone time with an acoustic guitar a few years later. First order of business was to turn all of those knobs at the end of the guitar. I wasn’t concerned with how it sounded, but I was interested in how the instrument worked. For the record… it sounded terrible. But again, I was curious and wanted to know more. Fast forward 20 years and I am still curious and I still want to know more. The beauty of playing an instrument is that there is always more to learn and the journey never ends. Most people can get to a point where they feel accomplished on the guitar, but the real work comes in later…Derek Trucks said it best in an interview from earlier this year:

“You think you know it and understand it early on, but it is something you find over time. The more you play and the more situations you’re in, you’re fine-tuning it. You’re sanding it and making it finer. But then there’s what’s next. The first 80 to even 90 percent of getting really good as a player, it happens quick. That first chunk is something a lot of people get to as they get good. But it’s the later 10 percent and five percent…not that it ever stops going, but when you keep going you get into really tiny margins that separate good players from great players and great players from next-level players. That’s what you’re working on. It’s the super subtle things. People may not know them, but they do feel them.”

In the meantime, I’m going to keep working on that last 10%…

We opened our doors here at Guitar Shed about a month ago, but have “officially” been open one week. The Grand Opening Party last week was a huge success and it was great to see so many old and new friends in the store. A couple of thank yous are in order….

Thanks to everyone who came out and showed their support at the party, you are a lively bunch. Thanks to Michael Chesin from the Elegant Bachelors for providing an acoustic sonic backdrop for the party. Thanks to our raffle sponsors, Iron Root Studio, Trophy Room Barbershop and Savor Wine Boutique. Thanks to our talented (and beautiful) photographers Christina Zummo and Cindy Wnek. Thanks to my mom for providing some delicious munchies. And last, but not least thanks to our hostesses Natalie Winston and my fiancee Emily Kramer for putting everything together. Emily and I have been hard at work bringing her interior design vision to life and we hope we have created a comfortable and creative atmosphere for all of the musicians that walk through our doors. I also want to thank all of the students at Guitar Shed and our piano instructor Christopher Case. Without you all, none of this would be possible. Keep on shedding!

Click here to see some more pictures from the Grand Opening.

Grand Opening

As summer comes to a close, with it comes a renewal of energy, motivation and excitement. School has started back up in some neighborhoods earlier than expected and students everywhere are scrambling to dust out the cobwebs from their “dormant minds.” However, let me take this opportunity to mention that learning is constantly taking place even when grades and standardized tests are absent. There are no grades at Guitar Shed, but there is accountability. Students are pushed to perform at their highest level and encouraged to constantly be looking for opportunities to grow in new directions…. but how do we have accountability if there are no grades?

Fostering intrinsic motivation and showing students how rewarding playing their instrument can be holds both student and teacher accountable. If the teacher does not share the joy of playing music, how will they be able to motivate students to play at home?

Practicing a difficult passage by yourself (intrinsic) and finally nailing it can give students all the motivation they need to pick up their instrument. I strive to create situations where students can experience the satisfaction of playing music on their own. In a culture that is becoming increasingly dependent on extrinsic motivation (to the point that we pay for “likes” and “followers”) intrinsic motivation is all the more valuable. Who knows…. maybe your child’s lessons could even transfer to the desire to get better grades in school?

Guitar Shed is having a grand opening celebration on Friday, August 28 at their new studio located in Kirkwood. Acoustic music will be provided by Elegant Bachelors along with a raffle, hors d’oeuvres and libations from 8-11 pm. Click here to RSVP to the Facebook event.

Read below for the press release…

Atlanta native Parker Smith has announced the opening of a modern, innovative music lesson studio in the historic Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta, GA. Guitar Shed provides instruction on guitar, piano, bass and ukulele with plans to offer more instruments. 

Smith has long been a fixture in the local music scene and educational community. The 29-year-old musician/entrepreneur, who recently completed his Masters in Music at the University of Texas in Austin, decided to found Guitar Shed as a collaborative and educational space for musicians of all ages.

Shedding is musician slang for practicing but Smith puts a double emphasis on the word “Shed” as a “…comfortable low-key place to come and be yourself. There are no grades here and this is not a stuffy music school. Each student learns at their own pace.”

I have been a fan of Spotify since it was some far off Swedish musical myth in 2008. Almost 10 years later and it seems more and more that streaming music seems to be the way of the future these days. Despite Neil Young’s criticism of sound quality and my roughly 1/2 cent that I get from royalties from each play on my albums, it’s still my primary source of listening to music. Tidal, Neil Young’s Pono, and Apple Music are all getting in on a piece of the pie, making everyone up their game. The other day I got the following notification from one of my favorite artists, Jason Isbell.

“With Something More Than Free coming out next Friday, July 17, here are some of Jason’s favorite songs created in his hometown of Muscle Shoals, AL. Listen to the singles “24 Frames” and “Something More Than Free” on Spotify now.

What’s better than having every song at your fingertips and being able to share them instantly with whomever you want?…. Having your favorite artists share their favorite songs with you! Listening to this playlist you realize why everyone from The Rolling Stones to Etta James wanted to record at Muscle Shoals. For those of you who think that Muscle Shoals is some type of clam, do yourself a favor and watch the 2013 documentary of the same name. There certainly was magic in those walls and equipment.

In addition to the well known classics, “Still Crazy After All These Years”, “Wild Horses”, “Hey Jude” (featuring Duane Allman on guitar)…. Isbell included some deeper cuts that I hadn’t heard before (selections from Percy Sledge and Aretha Franklin). And you can’t leave out “I’ll Take You There” by the Staple Singers. From the first note, that songs plasters a smile across my face that doesn’t leave for 3 minutes. Every instrument and part is full of feeling and in the right place. I listened to Jason Isbell’s album last week on NPR’s first listen and I ensure you he is in the right place too. Keep an eye out for this album that drops tomorrow, July 17 and this triple threat guitar player/singer/songwriter. Looks like he’s playing a new festival in Piedmont Park on October 18th in Atlanta. Might want to put that one on the calendar.

 

 

I am very excited to announce that we will be opening in August in Atlanta! This has been in the works for a while and I can’t wait to share the new space with all of you. Guitar Shed will be located in the historic Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta (est. 1899). The official start date is August 1, but I am pre-enrolling students for lessons now. REGISTER HERE to guarantee a lesson time. The address is:

1610 Hosea L Williams Dr NE (Suite E)
Atlanta, GA. 30317

 

Kirkwood is centrally located and bordered by the neighborhoods of Candler Park, Lake Claire, Edgewood, Oakhurst and East Lake. The neighborhood has a rich history and the studio is directly across the street from Coan Park. Below are some pictures of the space, but I will be posting some more pictures once we move in and get things up and running. Stay tuned for more information about the grand opening party!

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First look at the space

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Interior view from the lobby

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Exterior view from the lobby

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View of the back room

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Coan Park is directly across the street!

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Mural across the street

Check out this video of Parker discussing dominant hand technique…

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I had the pleasure of working with these talented high school students all year for UT’s String Project. Here’s our arrangement of “Blue Bossa” by Joe Henderson. Enjoy!

 

I just added a new section to the website full of educational resources. Head on over to the “Library” to get your shedding on. Most of these materials will also be available in the student portal and I will be posting more goodies soon.