East Cobb Guitar Lessons

Howdy All-It’s been awhile since I’ve hit the blog spot here and maybe that’s a good thing because it’s given me some momentum as far as putting some meat and potatoes into something here.  Somebody recently sent me an e-mail that I think contained one of the most powerful and  concise messages I’ve ever heard concerning the guitar and addressing some people’s misconceptions about how to spend their time with the instrument and where they truly are at in their playing.  So, like all good writers, I’m going to rip it off and rephrase it and pass it off as mine!  I’m kidding but the message was something I’ve thought a million times but I’ve never seen it worded so concisely and transparent.  He addressed two main problems most people have with the guitar and how to solve them.  I could’nt agree more so I’m going to present them, outline them and explain the solutions.  There’s only 2 so I think you can handle this.                                                                                                                                            1.  Mis diagnosis of your playing and or level/mis prioritizing what you need to be working on versus what you are working on.                                                              A simple example of this is the person who has been told they need to be working on scales when they can’t play simple four-chord folk or pop songs from start to finish.  If you can’t strum a 1/8 beat rhythm with some standard open chords around a campfire you do not need to be concerning yourself with g Mixolydian scales right now.  You are not ready and although you may feel this best prioritizes your practice time it does not if you don’t have your basics down.  I know everybody want’s to be the guitar god ripping a solo in the spotlight but remember this:  In the average 3 minute song the solo lasts about 10-15 seconds.  Guess what the guitarist is doing the rest of the time?  You got it-playing rhythm.    Got a good chord vocabulary?  O.k…now make sure you are playing them in time and making your changes at the right times…usually on the “1″ for more beginner stuff.  Don’t have a good chord vocabulary?  Then it’s time to back up and deal with that first.  I’ve met so many guys that come in ripping stuff they learned off youtube that can’t play rhythm to save their lives.  Prioritize your practice time and honestly assess yourself!  You can be your own best friend or your own worse enemy.  Trying to study advanced theory when you don’t have your basics is an extreme waste of your time.  Trust me,  it will be there when you’re ready.  And if you read the next point, that will come sooner than you think!                                                                                2.  Making the most of your practice time                                                                        I don’ think this one could be over- discussed.  The biggest problem I hear from all my students(even the kids-I always have to laugh right in front of them) is the lack of time people have to practice.  So I’ve been racking my brain trying to become people’s life coach or something and figure out how the guitar does indeed and can indeed fit into their busy schedule despite what they may believe.  Here’s how this works.  If you’ve got 30 minutes a day you can progress on guitar at a very steady and noticeable rate.  First off, if you are already playing I bet you do these things:  Play stuff you can play in your sleep over and over again.  Noodle.  Play stuff you can play in your sleep over and over again some more.  Noodle.  Before you know it, an hour has gone by and guess what?  You’ve made ZERO progress in your playing.  There is a big difference between playing and practicing.  The first 20 minutes, at least, should be  dedicated to working on something new or ironing out something you’ve just learned recently but still don’t have the kinks out or have it up to speed or both.  After that, reward yourself by playing something you already know.  If you’re a rocker, work on that passage with no gain until it’s ironed out and then reward yourself with some crunch.  AND, last but not least, don’t forget…that time you spend in front of the T.V?  It could be spent in front of the T.V. with a guitar in your hands while you work on finger exercises or just holding down chords to help memorize them and build up callouses.  That right there would probably put 15 hours or more to your guitar time per week if you are like the average American. Oh, but the T.V. time does not count as your practice time wise guy!  That’s on top of your practice schedule!  Work first then reward.                                                                                         Well, there ya have it.  I think something in there is guaranteed to help anybody from newbie to advanced.  Oh, and if you came to this website thinking about your kid taking lessons and now I got all heavy on you, worry not.  I use the “teach ‘em enough simple chords to get ‘em playin’ simple songs and then trick ‘em into learning new stuff by baiting ‘em with cooler songs method”.  You laugh but it works!  Hey, I’m a phone call or an e-mail away so don’t be shy if you’ve got questions!  I love talkin’ guitar and I love teaching it too so I’ll have an extra guitar stand and and a warm chair waiting for ya if you decide to go that route as well.  Happy picking!  Shane

Howdy!  Hope this new year finds you and yours off to a nice start.  It finds me the most passionate about guitar as I’ve ever been in my 26 years of playing.  Which means it finds me wanting to run my baby, East Cobb Guitar Lessons, with the same passion.  So, the questions that burn in my mind as an impassioned musician first and a business man second is how can I share this passion with the masses?  What can I do to convince the non-believer that he or she to can play the guitar?  What can I do to help the person that has been playing for a while now, saw great progress in the beginning and now seems to have hit a wall in their playing?  How can I properly advise the person who really wants to play but just does’nt think they have the time to fit it into their schedule?  How can I properly advise and assist the person who needs guidance in the purchase of their child’s guitar?  In todays economy how I can I remain competitive?  Well, fortunately these were the same burning questions I had last year and the year before.  I had the answers for all of them then too.  I just have to recheck the list to make sure I’m not overlooking anything.  Self-imposed quality control if you will.  I’m going to A. Let them know I exist.  B. Answer any and all questions they have until they have no more to ask(and let them know emphatically that they are NOT bugging me-the only thing I love better than playing guitar is TALKING guitar). C.  Offer people a risk-free lesson to see if the East Cobb Guitar Lessons curriculum is a fit. And last but not least these days, match ANY reputable schooled and legitimate teacher within a 20 mile radius who is verifiable.  I find it disheartening to see so many kids with a guitar collecting dust in the corner deciding to post a craigslist ad and call themselves a guitar teacher. Get a buddy to throw a website together and teach people the few chords they personally know for gas money.  I guess that’s why East Cobb Guitar Lessons has been around for years and newbie lesson sites come and go weekly.  I digress.  The guitar and you…a longtime curiosity?  A frustrating current endeavor that used to be fun?  Something little Johnny or Jane seems really interested in and you want to see if it’s more than just Guitar Hero?  Call me.  E-mail me.  I don’t bite.  There are no stupid questions around here EVER.  I’ll be here, guitar in hand as I’ve been for years now!  Happy picking!

Happy holidays all!  Are you waiting in anticipation to see if your not so subtle hints about that new guitar you’ve been pining over will come to fruition on Christmas day?  Or, maybe you can’t wait to see a loved ones eyes light up when they see that case with a bow on it. Well, then what?  A few chord books and 6 months later “Mary Had A Little Lamb?”.  Noooo.  Let’s dig in and play some music from this century!  This aint no “stuff em in an expensive cubicle and string em along with a Jimmy Buffet tune” operation here.  My main teaching goal is to teach folks how the guitar works and to understand the instrument.  I know nobody is going to be around here taking lessons forever.  I wish they all were but thats not real life. So, what we have to focus on is understanding the guitar so that in future musical endevors the student learns to teach themselves.  We’ve all heard of “self-taught” musicians.  The truth is NOBODY is completely self taught BUT anybody can be brought to a level of understanding that enables them to self teach going forward.  Make sense?  Somebody taught you the skills needed to read this right?  But now you can self-educate by reading with that skill no?  The exact same concept.  Anyway, enought of all that heavy stuff.  Wherever you or your loved one is at on the guitar journey I’ve got you covered.  Call or shoot me an e-mail if you want to talk about what you would like to achieve with the guitar and I think we can get you there.  The first lesson, as always, is on me if someone besides me does’nt sound musical at the end of it. Beginners included. Happy Holidays to you and yours!  Shane

Hello All- Man..I don’t think it get’s much more fun than this!  We are at year 3 and East Cobb Guitar Lessons continues to achieve what I originally had conceived….guitar that makes sense!  As I have progressed now having literally thousands of lessons under my belt I’ve learned to adjust my guitar skills with my educational skills and I think they are aligning flawlessly.  East Cobb Guitar Lessons was a concept I had to combine alot of the curriculum from The Atlanta Institute Of Music (which I attended in the mid 90s) to alot of the guitar ideas I had retained from years of private lessons, music book study and also from the great guitar players that I had encountered and still encounter.  Guitar is a lifelong  journey…the concept of a destination is laughable.  I have students that started in high school and have since went on to form college bands to students that are now 9 or 10 and are playing their first elementary school talent shows to students with college age kids that are just now having time to re-visit the guitar passion they had before their college experience, kids and career.  It does’nt matter where you are at music is good for the soul!  And for me, well, my musical soul gets some filling with my family (i.e. the East Cobb Guitar Lessons family) every week and when that’s not enough you will find me studying music charts and writing and recording my own music by late night.  You might even catch me on stage in some smoky blues bar on open jam night around Marietta on the weekend if you look hard enough.  Who knows?  One place you can ALWAYS find me is in the studio of East Cobb Guitar Lessons and I’ve always got an extra amp on and a cord ready for ya!  Or a stool and a pic if ya lost yours if your an acoustic guitar kinda person but you get my point…the light is on.  Let’s hit some campfire singalongs or some garage jams this summer!!  Happy picking!!  Shane Prentice

Howdy all!  Man..what a fun year!  I’m excited about the new studio and the move my wife and I made.  The audio and design work took me a few months to tighten up in the studio but I think it all pays off in the end.  Contractor white walls in a cubicle being treated like a number is NOT how we operate around here.  Some things haven’t changed.  My competitors(Draisen Edwards,Jennings Music,Music And Arts) still try to hire me.  I still refuse.  Still will refuse.  I’m not going to drag people along hoping to retire teaching them a few chords every few months.  When I attended Atlanta Institute Of Music with the intention of teaching guitar I had already taken my fair share of private lessons in the expensive cubicle in the retail music store.  I always found myself lighter in the wallet with not much to show for it talent wise.  I was somehow convinced that you had to pay $30 for a half hour of someones time to learn a new chord.  I will never subject my students to that “drag ‘em along so you don’t lose ‘em” mentality.  I always have and always will promise you this:  if you come out for your first lesson and don’t walk away sounding musical on guitar it’s on me.  Period.  That’s how confident I am about what I do.  That being said,  I’m excited to announce that I’m going to be holding music theory classes on Saturdays at 1P.M.  Don’t get nervous about words like “theory” and “music” being mixed.  This is painless and I’m offering these guys for $10 to exsisting students and $15 for non-existing so you can’t beat it.  And those who are already in the East Cobb Guitar Lessons family will attest…I can get long winded about things I’m passionate about.  These will go for an hour on a short day!  Anyhoo, I hope this blog finds you and yours well and Santa is coming soon so if you know someone(or you yourself) who seems to want to dig into that musical hole in their soul and fill the sucker up I hope this gives you a good place to start.  The holiday guitar sales are coming up by the way and PLEASE by all means do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions about making a purchase.  I’m very approachable:)  Hope to talk to you soon!  Love to you ECGL’ers!  You know who you are!  Shane

Well, summers almost over.  Or for those of you who have kids its just begun since you can now relax again with somewhat of a normal schedule to rely on with school back in.  Speaking of schedules,  its now an excellent time of year to schedule in some guitar for yourself or a loved one.  I personally really love hitting the campsite or the backyard with my trusty acoustic watching the leaves change and getting a little low humidity moderate temperature strumming in.  It’s been a great summer for me.  I’ve had the opportunity to watch my students grow in their musical journey and I’ve done a good bit of no pressure just because I want to studying of my own to add to my own versitility as a player.  As I’ve said before,  this is the most fun life long journey I think one could take.  Also got to take in some great concerts and meet a few of my personal guitar heros and thats always inspiring.  Hope this blog finds you and yours well and if you arent currently part of the East Cobb Guitar Lessons family what are you waiting for??!!  Heh…I kid.  Seriously,  I will leave the light on for ya if you are new to guitar and looking for guidance and to all of you currently in the family much love.  Look forward to seeing you all this fall.  Cheers!  Shane

Hello All -

This is an exciting time of year for us guitarists. For many of us it is that time of year when we are still fresh with excitement about that shiny new guitar Santa just brought a loved one that’s been begging to play. Or maybe it’s the time of year a certain loved one brought YOU that piece of musical artwork you have been pining over hoping to replace that beater your cousin gave you 15 years ago. For some of us it could be that we’ve HAD that piece of musical artwork for a few Christmases now and it’s time to dust it off and give Jimmy Buffett a rest and add to the musical grabbag we have to work with. Whatever the case we all have one thing exactly in common. Spring is around the corner and the backyard cookouts and camping trips, beach vacations and runs to the lake, family reunions and mixers with friends aren’t too far off. And neither is the time to take those opportunities to show off how your baby doesn’t just look pretty but you can make her sound pretty darn good too, thank you very much. And we don’t have to tell them you got help getting there either. I’ll keep the secret. We’ll tell em it came to you the way it comes to all the greats: in a “vision”. Or we’ll tell ‘em little Johnny or Jane must’ve been born with it or something but its the darndest thing.

In all seriousness, whether you have a loved one that’s just starting or you yourself have been playing for years but never took it as seriously as you wanted to I’ve got your solutions. I founded East Cobb Guitar Lessons with the intention of creating a different experience than what I knew existed in most of the learning environments: a personal, comfortable experience and atmosphere wrapped in a solid STRUCTURED musical curriculum that, while being very serious does not feel like anything but alot of fun. In laymans terms you have a lot of fun playing good music FAST while I trick you into learning music theory and understanding WHY you are doing what you are doing unbeknownst to you. I learned it from a Chinaman. I’m kidding. There’s a good bit of kidding that goes on around here as well. You’re not gonna be popular in musician circles if you can’t cut up. Seriously, the East Cobb Guitar Lessons curriculum is a combination of years of private lessons, my formal musical education (Atlanta Institute Of Music Master Guitar Program alumni and the best of what THEIR curriculum has to offer) and 27 years of jamming, gigging, recording, writing and studying. (And yes, I STILL study nightly when I’m done teaching and always will.)

Oh, and don’t let the photo fool you. I AM that old. Photoshop ROCKS. Anyway, your first lesson is on me if you don’t like it. Your child’s first lesson is FREE even if you do like it if they cant play music before they leave in that hour. They may not be playing Hendrix but I’ll have ‘em playing that guitar. I’ve got an award I’m gonna give to the first kid that leaves out of their first lesson not playing music on their guitar that’s collecting dust around here somewhere. Again, in all seriousness, I’ve got references a plenty and I’m pretty approachable so don’t hesitate to call me in person with any questions this site may not answer or write me here on the Google machine. It’s all good my friend.

Happy picking!

Shane Prentice