Counting on Guitar - triplets with pointer finger - 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a ...

In this counting exercise, we use the pointer finger to pluck the low E and A string

1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a ...

1 e and 2 e and 3 e and 4 e and ...

This exercise should be practiced with all fingers, on all strings, on all frets and everywhere else...

This exercise is also with your pointer finger,

a finger which, when used during an upstroke, feels fundamentally different than a downstroke, not just in your finger, but in your hand, your arm, and your whole body.

So practice upstrokes all by themselves for several hours, to develop a good feel for them,

Before moving on and trying to integrate your downstroke-upstroke

We could add up the many different ways there could be to practice different combinations of time signatures, counts, strings, frets, fingers upstroke-downstroke and it would be a very big number...

So it is up to the beginner guitar player, to put forth the effort, to put in the time, to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

It is up to the beginning guitar student to put forth the effort, to spend countless hours, practicing with their instrument, getting familiar with every string, every note, with every finger, with every chord shape, with every time signature...

In my personal experience as a music student, i didn’t ever ‘get’ the time signature intuitively,

Probably because it was taught to us in the context of a melody...

In my opinion, every music student, and every other student, should get a 4 hour drum kit lesson as the very first music lesson.

The lesson would start with how to experiment with holding drumsticks,

And it would fully explore time counting on every drum and cymbal combination.

The main idea of the lesson would be to feel the movement of all parts of your body, from head to toe.

Both hands, and both feet.

This is critical to later music practice,

Especially the foot-tapping toe-tapping habit that is so hard to get beginners to do.

Once you have developed a toe-tap foot-tap heel-tap kind of kickity-klak

Then you can segue that habit or skill into learning other instruments,

Such as the guitar...

The last half of the first drum kit lesson would be a free form jam session over good songs of the students choosing or by teacher suggestions.

This lesson is about 4 hours long, with short breaks.

When you are done with the lesson, you will never ‘hear’ music the same way.

You will feel it in your bones.

Music will animate you. Get your heart beating faster. The quickening.

Some people play music by sight

Some people play music by heart

Some people play music by ear

Some people play music by emotion

Some people play music in their bones

The motion of your own unique skeleton leaves a unique, distinct trail as your body moves thru space.

Nobody can dance like you.

And you can’t dance like anyone else.

So practice ‘dancing’ up and down the guitar fingerboard, until you are as smooth as a fish in water.

This is how to learn guitar,

learning to play an instrument. The whole instrument, from front to back, top to bottom, left to right, upside down, backwards, alt tuned, etc ...

As opposed to learning the individual guitar notes, of individual guitar songs, on your individual guitar.

Give a man a fish: teach him how to play one whole song

Teach a man to fish: teach him how to play one whole guitar