Mark Lincoln teaches his original song "Jeni Lani." He also throws in a good deal of useful music knowledge.
Taught by Mark Lincoln in Songs with Mark seriesLength: 31:57Difficulty: 2.5 of 5
1) Make sure to warm-up your voice properly. Take a look at my voice and performance series for more on this (found on the site in the Phase 2 section). It is extremely important to make sure and warm up before singing to avoid any harm to your vocal chords and to reach your maximum potential as a singer as well.Please open up the lyrics and chords sheet in the supplemental content and try to play the song!
2) Take it slowly at first and hum the melody of the song while playing the chords. If you are a beginner you may want to spend some substantial time just getting the rhythm down first before attempting to sing just to make sure that you're not taking too much on at once. If you're struggling with the chords and with the vocal parts as well it can make learning a song more difficult than it needs to be.
3) "Acquire" the rhythm- this is an extremely important facet of singing and playing and what I mean by "acquire" is this: singing and playing at the same time can require a certain degree of autopilot, when it comes to playing the rhythm of the song. In other words, you need to be able to focus less on the rhythm and more on the singing in order to put the piece together effectively. Consequently, you'll need to master the rhythm portion of the song so that you can, in a sense, forget about it while you are singing. That's not to say that you will play the rhythm parts poorly (we hope not, right?) but rather that you have "acquired" the rhythm, digested it, mastered it so well that you no longer have to focus upon it like you did when you first began learning it. This skill can take some time and the more complex the rhythm becomes whether it's off-beat or having an anomalous time-signature, the more difficult it can be to "acquire" it. Please make sure and "acquire" the rhythm portions of Jeni Lani so that you will be able to play it with the poise and confidence that you are capable, and that the piece deserves.
Learning to play songs is a rewarding and enjoyable way to put your guitar skills to the test. This series is all about learning great songs.
Lesson 3
Mark Lincoln teaches his original song "Jeni Lani." He also throws in a good deal of useful music knowledge.
Length: 31:57 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 4
Mark Lincoln teaches his original song "Zero Hour."
Length: 23:59 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 5
Mark brings us one of his original songs with a punch. Here Mark teaches "That's What She Told Me."
Length: 33:31 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 6
Yet again, Mark brings his unique songwriting style to JamPlay with an original song. "A Song For You" is a more difficult song that features a Latin feel and a strong punctuated chorus line. This one...
Length: 28:16 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 7
Mark Lincoln teaches an original song of his entitled "The Story of Me."
Length: 17:16 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 8
Mark Lincoln just does not stop writing great originals! Here he teaches a rather complex song called "Hope Springs Eternal." This song will test your ability to play arpeggios and chord transitions.
Length: 30:22 Difficulty: 3.5 Members OnlyLesson 9
In this lesson Mark Lincoln teaches the famous Goo Goo Dolls song, "Iris."
Length: 37:52 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
About Mark Lincoln
View Full Biography
Mark Lincoln was born in S. California but was raised near Portland Oregon in a town called Beaverton. When he was twelve years old, he began his journey into the realm of the creative by composing poetry and was later published in a journal called "In Dappled Sunlight." He wrote for four years until his older sister blessed him with his first guitar, an old beat-up nylon stringed classical guitar. Mark played that guitar for five years, continuing to compose his own lyrics and starting the process of matching his own words with chords that he was learning on the guitar. He learned to play chords from his friends and from music books that he both bought and borrowed. Mark cited his four biggest influences, at that point at least, as The Who, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, The Rolling Stones.
Mark cites his most current influences as Radiohead, U2, older music by REM, and Peter Gabriel amongst others. He performs with two acoustic guitars, one being a six-string M-36 Martin with a three-pieced back for increased bass response, and a Guild Twelve-string which is his most recent acquisition. Mark is fond of saying that the twelve-string guitar is better because you get two guitars for the price of one, but he still plays his Martin equally as much and with the same passion.
Mark ended up in Fort Collins Colorado where he currently lives, works as a Marriage and Family Therapist, and continues to write, teach and perform music. He currently performs with a group called "Black Nelson" as well as with a number of other seasoned professional musicians including his cousin David, a virtuoso lead-guitar player. Mark has performed in many of the smaller venues in Denver and Boulder, as well as some of the larger ones including the Fox Theatre, The Boulder Theatre, Herman's Hideaway, and also at The Soiled Dove where he opened for Jefferson Starship as a soloist. Some of Mark's originals are also available for your listening pleasure on MySpace.
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
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Mike H.
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I'm a fifty eight year old newbie who owns a guitar which has been sitting untouched in a corner for about seven years now. Last weekend I got inspired to pick it up and finally learn how to play after watching an amazing Spanish guitarist on TV. So, here I am. I'm starting at the beginning with Steve Eulberg and I couldn't be happier (except for the sore fingers :) Some day I'm going to play like Steve! I'm self employed with a hectic schedule. With Jamplay I can fit in a random session when I have time and I can go at my own pace, rewinding and replaying the videos until I get it. This is a very enjoyable diversion from my work yet I still feel like I'm accomplishing something worthwhile. Thanks a lot, Greg
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Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Great song Mark..will be adding this to my repertoire.
Thanks Coffee I'm glad you're enjoying it, just please don't play it better than me, ok? Mark
Great lesson Mark. I did not realize this song was so simple. Well....the chords are simple. I love this song, thanks.
Amazing song. I hope Mark's label doesn't pull it. :)
Copyrite Mark Lincoln all rights pending etc etc etc....no worries! Mark
Very nice Mark! I love your intro! :-)
Hey David what's up? Thanks for the feedback I appreciate it, see ya soon my friend! Mark
Coo!
Hey Kevin nice to hear from you...Happy holidays! Mark
Thanks so much Mark--this is my favorite song of yours on your MySpace page and I'm glad you decided to give a lesson it. Great song!
Thanks for your support Sean I really appreciate it my friend! Mark
great lesson! great song! thanks mark for sharing this with us..cant wait to get started
Thanks Tammy I really hope you enjoy this one! Mark
Great lesson! I would like to know more about using digital recording at home; during practice sessions. I am considering buying a intro digital recorder EX Tascam or Zoom. Can Jamplay post a lesson to help me and others on how to effectively use a recorder. Thanks
Hey Jaybird how are you? Thanks for the great feedback on the lesson and yes, Tascams can be great tools even for simply recording your own stuff for your own enjoyment. We'll see about doing some recording based lessons in the future, we've yet to explore those areas on the site. Mark
don't be tellin kids to gorge them selves with spagetti O's!! Dang It!
But Jay, spaghetti-os is chock full o' vita-mins!
ha ha ha...Jay, you should know by now..."no pain, no gain", even if that requires gorging on Spaghetti-Os
Mark, this song grabbed me from the first time I heard it. I am so glad you did a lesson on it.
Thank you Strat that means a great deal to me coming from you, thanks! See ya soon! Mark