lesson summary
Lesson 19 of 19 in our Basic Guitar Series: Completing Lessons
Steve answers the popular question, "When should I move on to the next lesson?" by sharing his personal goals and some important advice.
Chapter 1: (06:18) Completing Lessons
Because JamPlay is such a big source of instructional material, it is natural to ask ourselves how much time must be spent on each lesson before being able to move on to the next one. Steve Eulberg has some very interesting thoughts on the subject involving three different aspects of comprehension.
1. Understanding
First, understanding what is being taught will help you assimilate what is being given to you. If you can play something without really understanding the reason and use of your accomplishment, you are missing something. Making sure that you are well familiar with the vocabulary used in the lesson and that you can follow the instructor's train of thoughts will help you in that first step. If anything is unclear, make sure to ask questions. Once you understand what is being said and it makes sense to you, you are ready to move on to the next step.
2. Playing
Once you understand the purpose and use of the lesson you are studying, you need to be able to play it. This step is made easier because of your understanding of the studied subject. Strive for a clean and precise technique and always keep in mind the reason why you are doing things the way they are shown to you.
3. Teaching
Finally, once you have a clear understanding of what is being said to you and can apply it on your instrument, ask yourself if you could explain it to someone else. Teaching what you have learned is an amazing way to organize your thoughts and to solidify your knowledge. This step is quite important as it will really help you tie your technique to the musical concepts you are working with.
A very useful way to keep track of your progress here at JamPlay is to use your progress slide bar according to these previous three steps. Moving your slide bar in increments of thirds will help you focus on the areas of the learning progress you have not yet quite mastered.
These three elements are meant to help you in your learning. They should not hinder your progress. As you may know, it is sometimes beneficial to explore new musical concepts that in the end will help you master a previous lesson. Using your progress bar will help you keep track of your progress. Just don’t let it stop you from working on other material.
As you work towards mastering the guitar, don't limit yourself to a particular genre. Acoustic guitar players can learn a lot from electric guitar players and vice versa. The biggest difference behind these instruments are the tones you get from them. Keep an open mind when you are learning.
Finally, as you are going through these lessons, keep in mind the following five points:
1. Tune up. (Playing out of tune won't help your ears.)
2. Warm up. (This will ensure an effective practice session.)
3. Jump into the hard things. (While your brain is fresh, start with what you are struggling with.)
4. Play something familiar. (This will build up your confidence.)
5. Play something you have memorized. (This will help you move forward.)
about Steve Eulberg
Steve Eulberg: Award-Winning Songwriter & Instrumentalist
An Award-winning multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, Steve Eulberg weaves mountain and hammered dulcimers with a variety of unusual instruments to create thought-provoking, smile-inducing, toe-tapping acoustic experiences.
He has sung and composed for religious communities, union halls, picket lines, inter-faith retreats, mountain-top youth camps, as well as the more familiar venues: clubs, coffeehouses, bookstores, festivals, charity benefits and showcase concerts.
Born and raised in the German-heritage town of Pemberville, Ohio, Steve was exposed to a variety of music in his home. Early piano lessons were followed by trumpet in school band, and he became self-taught on ukelele and guitar and harmonica. Mandolin was added at Capital University where, while majoring in History, he studied Ear Training, Voice and took Arranging lessons from the Conservatory of Music.
While at college, he first heard hammered and mountain dulcimers, building his first mountain dulcimer just before his final year. Seminary training took him the west side of Denver where he built his first hammered dulcimer. With these instruments, he was able to give voice to the Scottish, English and Irish traditions to which he is also heir.
Following marriage in 1985 to Connie Winter-Eulberg he settled in Kansas City, Missouri. There he worked cross-culturally in a church of African-Americans, Latinos and European Americans, with music being a primary organizing tool. He moved with his family in 1997 to be nestled beside the Rocky Mountains in Fort Coillins, Colorado.
Founder of Owl Mountain Music, Inc. he teaches and performs extensively in Colorado and Wyoming with tours across the US and the UK. He delights in introducing the “sweet music” of dulcimers to people in diverse settings and in addition to his own recordings, has included dulcimers in a variety of session work for other musicians.
In 2000 he was commissioned to create a choral composition featuring dulcimers for the Rainbow Chorus in Fort Collins. It was recorded in the same year (BEGINNINGS). He is currently at work on a commissioned symphony that will feature hammered dulcimer and Australian didjeridu.
Eulberg passionately believes that music crosses cultural and language barriers because music builds community. Influenced by a variety of ethnic styles, his music weaves vital lyric with rap, rock, folk, gospel and blues. Audiences of all ages respond well to his presentation and to his warm sense of humor.
Steve is a member of Local 1000 (AFM), The Folk Alliance, BMI and BWAAG (Better World Artists and Activist's Guild).
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