FAQ

Under the subscription or “Professional Membership” area, go to the category: Guitar Skills 101. These video lessons are for beginners and are to be viewed and practiced in numerical order. START WITH THE 1st VIDEO then continue, again, IN ORDER. Take note, the “Free” video LESSONS are not complete, the 1st three “Free,” informational videos are complete. To view lessons in their entirety sign up as a Professional Member. ***After you get started, go back and watch other “Must Watch” videos in the “Free Videos” section for more practice and general information. E-MAIL DAVID WITH ANY QUESTIONS.

No. Any interested musician will benefit from the concepts that teach how to accompany yourself or others on the guitar and play at a professional level. Because music therapists are required to play music as professionals, anyone learning to play at such a level can use the techniques and songs that are taught in any professional music situation including composing, entertaining, teaching, etc.

The video lessons that actually teach songs and styles are in the subscription or “Professional” membership section under the “Rhythm/Accompaniment” and “Artist Spotlight” categories.

For beginners view and practice lessons, IN NUMERICAL ORDER, under the category Guitar Skills 101. For more experienced players, lesson videos, particularly under categories “Chords/Harmony,” “Rhythm/Accompaniment,” “Artist Spotlight,” “Song Endings,” etc, apply the information to songs you already play or are learning. For one simple example, play happy birthday with open chords you know, then play it with barre chords (Chord Form Theory) that are taught here. For a second example, when you get to more of the advanced instruction such as “minor7b5 chords,” if you’ve never played them before or have avoided such chords or played simplified versions of songs, open a fake book or a book of richly written show tunes and again, apply these new chords to songs you’ve never played. ***YEARS BACK WHEN I LEARNED CHORD FORM THEORY (as taught here) I WENT FROM A VERY LIMITED ABILITY TO BEING ABLE TO PLAY ANY JAZZ PIECE, SHOW TUNE OR POPULAR SONG. After components of songs are taught, i.e., Chords, Rhythms, etc, songs will be taught to add to your repertoire.

Lessons are subscription based (see Lessons page). For the price of a private music lesson, for the duration of your subscription, you can have access to a comprehensive and ever growing guitar course. Watch and learn from short videos that are categorized by topic whenever you choose. Accessible on most devices. Also, learn songs that you can use in your music therapy practice and for many professional entertainment situations.

A 30-40 minute private lesson via SKYPE is available for $25. Email David to set up a private lesson. As a reminder, you can register for FREE as a Practicing Member allowing access to FREE videos, all announcements and select services. A Professional Membership for $19.95 gets you access to all of the site’s videos and services for 1 month. A Professional Membership for $39.95 gets you access to all of the site’s videos and services for 3 months. And a Professional Membership for $99.95 gets you access to all of the site’s videos and services for 1 year.

First, click the “SIGN UP” button to register. After you input your information “Agree” to the terms and conditions. Then click the blue “Register” button at the bottom. From there you can purchase a one month, three month or one year “PROFESSIONAL” membership to have access to all of the site’s videos, information and services OR you can simply register as a “PRACTICING” member to receive FREE site announcements and updates as well as gain access to all the “PRACTICING” member FREE videos, music therapy related blog posts, etc. THEN GO TO THE “VIDEOS“ BUTTON AT THE TOP TO ACCESS THE VIDEO CATEGORIES. Open a drop down category then choose a video.

Open the VIDEO button at the top. Even before you subscribe, there are “FREE” videos available that provide invaluable information and tips to help you understand David’s teaching philosophy and direction. Videos titled “Introduction,” “Site Details,” are a “must watch” before you get into the actual lesson instruction. Other videos under this section are helpful also.

Look for new videos and features every week. Simply register for free and receive regular emails with announcements of new videos and site updates.

Receive $5 off your next $19.95 membership, $10 off your next 39.95 membership and $20 off your next 99.95 membership when a new student mentions your name.

David has played guitar for his whole adult working career and since 1992 has been a full time clinical music therapist using guitar as his primary instrument. During this time, David has worked with various clinical populations (see ABOUT US page) that have required knowledge of all styles of music from the 1800s to present day. AND DURING MOST LESSONS SPECIFIC APPLIED GUITAR TECHNIQUES RELATED TO MUSIC THERAPY CLINICAL APPLICATIONS WILL BE DISCUSSED. Also, many anonymous case studies will be shared with instruction on how guitar techniques were used to enhance clinical applications. THROUGHOUT, SONGS WILL BE TAUGHT THAT CAN BE ADDED TO YOUR REPERTOIRE TO HAVE ON HAND FOR VARIOUS CLINICAL POPULATIONS AND NEEDS. And both free and subscribing members will have access to David’s blog that describe clinical MUSIC THERAPY sessions and related research.

Besides guitar lessons, David will periodically feature a famous artist’s song and teach how to interpret it effectively on the guitar. Also, from time to time, David will present a famous guitarist’s video clip and then talk about and teach one of their guitar techniques, teach a song of theirs, etc.

Again, besides guitar lessons, David will periodically interview a local accomplished guitarist or musician to get their perspective on learning and musicianship as well as ask them to give suggestions about how to progress and play music in a professional manner.

Each $39.95 membership entitles you to one video critique and each $99.95 membership entitles you to three video critiques. Any time during your subscription period you can video record yourself playing a song. Email David the YouTube or Vimeo URL (uploaded recording) and receive back direction and a written critique. Registration and payment required.

Videos are generally 13-15 minutes (a few might be longer). Most are between 5 and 10 minutes long and are designed to teach you concepts that you can apply to songs you already know or are learning. All the lesson concepts require the student to practice in a progressive, regimented manner and again, APPLY THE CONCEPTS TO SONGS. Like all skills, the more you practice the quicker you will be able to master guitar accompaniment. Remember that any PROFESSIONAL membership provides access to all the videos on the site, allowing you to watch them as often as you like for the duration of your subscription.

No worries, simply contact David by email and provide some constructive feedback to receive a full refund. We want the lessons to be beneficial to all. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!

The banner/buttons you see are for a company called Sheet Music Plus. Since the late 90s it has become one of the largest suppliers of sheet music and song books. Besides conventional music and song books, digital, single song sheet music is available for purchase and instant download. Often when David teaches a song he will suggest visiting Sheet Music Plus so the student can get the music that is being referenced. Click the banner/button to get to their site. ***FOR MAC USERS – IF ‘CAN NOT PRINT…’ MESSAGE APPEARS GO TO SYSTEM PREFERENCESS, THEN TO SECURITY & PRIVACY AND APPROVE Sheet Music Plus AS A SECURE SITE.

Don’t forget that 30-40min lessons via SKYPE are available for $25. Contact David by email to set up SKYPE lessons.

You’re not seeing things. David plays guitar left handed so the videos are “flipped” or reversed to look right handed because most guitarists are right handed. Seeing a “lefty” might be confusing or distracting to some.

No. Possibly some well known lead or single note parts to songs will be taught in the future. Music therapy clients sometime “get a kick” out of hearing a lead part to a famous song they know. Good for developing therapeutic rapport. Again, possibly in the future.