Irving Berlin, White Christmas and Me
IIn the fall of 1999, I began my journey as a general music teacher in a few different Catholic schools, mainly in the city of Boston. The principal of my first Catholic school, Sister Katherine, was delighted to hire me as long as I was comfortable being a nice Jewish …
How To Practice
If you’re like me, an over-scheduled New Englander, then you may be wondering how you’ll ever have the time to learn to play the guitar. No problem. I have a simple, manageable practice regimen that works even for us crazy busy people. I like to call it, Scale, Song, DONE!! Over …
Tuning By Ear
Electronic tuners are awesome in many situations but I think it’s a good idea to also practice tuning by ear. What you’re doing is taking your ears to the “tuning gym” and “toning” your listening muscles. Like anything else, the more you do it the easier it gets.
Singing And Playing At The Same Time
Most of us learn how to play the guitar so we can play the songs we love most. It feels awesome to listen to songs that make us “feel right” and even better to play them. In this lesson I show several different simple things you can practice so you …
Play Barre Chords and Live to Tell the Tale
Last spring, a group of students at The Passim School of Music who had just taken my Guitar 4 class said to me, “Whaddya mean there’s no Guitar 5?!?” So I created the class and we’ve continued to meet each semester since then. Many of them began studying with me as rank beginners and with …
Tuning With An Electronic Tuner
Like so many things about playing the guitar, tuning with an electronic tuner isn’t hard, it’s just really nice to have someone show you how to do it. Let me know how it goes!
Football or Music, It’s Really About Community
I actually do give a crap about football, especially when the Patriots are playing. I can’t watch a whole game though when I care who’s going to win, it’s too stressful. If I were home for the Superbowl, I would turn it on for the half time show (I LOVE …
Club Passim on Super Bowl Sunday
I went to the Kerrville Folk Festival for the first time in 1989 to sing with my friend David Holmes in their annual songwriting contest. I had never been to Texas before and had no idea what to expect but had been a Nanci Griffith fan for several years and knew that she’d been …
Productive Struggle: Finding The Magic Outside Our Comfort Zone
For the last couple of months I’ve been studying guitar with my Passim School of Music colleague, Avi Salloway. He’s helping me realize a long time dream of being able to play lead guitar. I’ve long been able to write a guitar solo in advance but haven’t had the skills or confidence to …
Failure or Regret: Which Would You Rather Deal With?
So here’s the thing: if you come to one of my classes at The Passim School of Music, the worst thing that will happen is that your playing will sound like…….. you’re a beginner. My friend Ksenia Mack always tells her students, “Don’t worry, you’ll never sound this bad again.” ;-) You have great …
