The Blog

Yesterday, my student Wesley’s little “Folsom Prison Blues” video got almost 100,000 views on YouTube, and his parents and I were flooded with attention from the media. It’s been exciting, disorienting, and a little worrisome.

The internet, especially, is such a brutal force—and by the internet, I mean the way people act on the internet. The general public, from the anonymity of their offices and bedrooms, would just as soon rip someone to shreds as shower them with affection.

Getting all this press is like cuddling with a tiger. It’s licking my face! It loves me!

Or is it just tasting me?

More footage from this Spring’s Coffee Shop Jam: Wesley, who just turned five, performed “Folsom Prison Blues” with a soulfulness that would have made Johnny Cash weep.

Many people, including my mom, are unsettled by a kid this young performing such grim material. But I don’t see it as a problem. For one thing, you can’t keep water from running downhill. Wesley LOVES Johnny Cash, and it would be pointless to try to change his tastes.

Also, I don’t think material like this hurts kids. On the contrary, engaging with adults in scary subjects like violence and death—which are on most kids’ minds anyway—is an opportunity for us to teach and support them.

Anyway, Wesley is a wonderful kid who has never been to Reno.

More videos of my students here.

I hate flying with my guitar. Approaching the ticket-taker at the gate with my Martin in hand always feels like I’m leading it to its death, dreading this: “Oh, I’m sorry sir, it’s a very full flight, but we can hand-check that for you.”

Thankfully, so far I’ve always been able to shoehorn it into a coat closet or once, incredibly, into the captain’s cabin. This was post-9/11, folks. The stewardess who made that happen will be strumming a 1934 Martin OM in heaven some day.

Anyway, this guy wasn’t so lucky. Hilarious video. Hey, at least it wasn’t a Martin:

Thanks to Farida for turning me on to this.

The coffee shop jam is the most awesome thing I do as a guitar teacher, and this past Jam, on May 30th, was even more awesome than usual.

This was partly due to the venue. The Columbia City Theater, a mid-sized music club in southern Seattle, has a glorious sound system and a three broadcast-quality video cameras. We’ve come quite a long way from our days of performing in the corner of Caffe Bella coffee shop, through one PA speaker, which barely competed with the noise of the espresso machine.

But there was also some inexplicable mojo in the air. My students performed with skill and energy that I hadn’t seen before. Usually, the pressure of performing for a big audience (we had 60-70 people at both shows) mutes inexperienced students’ performances, but sometimes the crowd’s energy can elevate the performer. I can’t tell you why, but most of my students practically levitated on the audience’s enthusiasm.

Over the next week, I’ll highlight some of my favorite performances. I’ll start with Emma’s song, “Snow Day.” She wrote it in January after a storm dumped a foot of snow in Seattle and canceled school. Emma blows me away with her stage presence and talent for writing super-catchy pop hooks.

Here are all the videos and photos from the Jam.

Up all night editing videos of this past spring’s Coffee Shop Jam. As I’ve waited for the videos to upload, I’ve been looking at some old videos and reminiscing.

Here’s one of my favorites, from 2007. It’s gorgeous singing, and I like the unusual pairing of Mike, a snowboard builder and Starbucks employee, and Paul, a retired professor from a small coal mining town in Virginia.

Mike has a hiccup at the bridge but perseveres. This magical moment is what the Jam is all about: My students putting themselves on the line.

The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming how-to book on running a successful guitar teaching business. I thought it would inspire an interesting discussion. What do you think?

I can hear the legions of Standard Notation Defenders sharpening their swords even as I write this. I’m sorry—I think it’s crazy how militant some teachers are about starting their students with note reading, as if tablature were some gateway drug that starts guitarists on a path of laziness and stupidity. The opposite is true. Tablature is a fantastic tool for making guitar music accessible to beginners.

Granted, being able to read standard music notation opens many doors. It’s essential for jazz, orchestral, classical, or studio guitarists. In the same way, understanding basic algebra is essential for anyone who wants to manage their business’ finances. So do you teach algebra in kindergarten?

Your primary goal in teaching most beginners is to get them hooked on playing guitar. Every once in a while you’ll get a beginner who’s so psyched on guitar that they’re hungry for the challenge of learning note reading. But the vast majority are wary, and rightfully so. The guitar is a tough instrument at first. It’s much harder to get a guitar to sound good than, say, a piano. Why compound the challenges of buzzing strings, tuning difficulties, sore fingertips, and the dreaded F chord, with the epic task of learning note reading?

Update: The Handbook is now available for purchase here.

My cousin Steve died unexpectedly a couple weeks ago, and I just returned from his memorial service in California. I was asked to organize and lead the service, and one of the challenges planning it this past week was choosing a song to sing. I eventually found a couple “church” songs—“One Eagle’s Wings” and “Be Not Afraid”—that were sung at Steve’s mom’s service years ago. But I also wanted to do a song closer to Steve’s tastes.

Steve was a hardcore classic rock fan. He loved “Freebird” by Lynard Skynard, for example. He’d sing along with it on the radio, and said once that he’d like it played at his funeral. So I considered playing a recording of it, but like most other rock songs I looked at, “Freebird” just isn’t right for a memorial service. It starts off OK, but the long, frenetic solo at the end would have given grieving loved ones no space to mourn. As I shot down “Freebird,” as well as several AC/DC, Creed, and even a Sarah McLachlan song (“Angel”–it was just too dark), I realized the song I was looking for needed to

• be something he would have liked
• have a peaceful energy level
• offer some comfort

While sifting through Google’s search results for “Rock Funeral Songs,” I finally found it: “Long as I Can See the Light” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. CCR’s a band most classic rockers love, but John Fogerty’s gritty voice, heavy drums, and crunchy guitar are tempered by smart lyrics that don’t follow the rock’s typical “I’m a bad-ass and I don’t need you” formula.

Steve led a troubled life, in and out of love, addiction, the police station, and contact with his family. The lyrics of “Long as I Can See the Light” matched Steve’s not fitting in with his family or society. And the symbol of the candle gives the song a spiritual element:

Put a candle in the window
‘Cause I feel I’ve got to move
I’m going, I’m going–I’ll be coming home soon
Long as I can see the light.

Pack my bag and let’s get moving
‘Cause I’m bound to drift a while.
I’m going, I’m going—You won’t have to worry no more
Long as I can see the light.

Guess I got that old travelin’ bone
‘Cause this feeling won’t leave me alone
But I won’t, I won’t lose my way
Long as I can see the light.

In addition to the CCR song, the service included the participation of many family and friends telling stories, reading prayers, and a gorgeous sax performance of “Amazing Grace.” On the whole, it was a profoundly moving outpouring of love for a man who, despite his troubles, will be deeply missed.

At the reception, an 8-year-old relative who I hadn’t met strode up to me and asked if I was famous. It turns out she’s enamoured with guitar and, by association, me. I told her I wasn’t famous, but that there were lots of other reasons to learn to play music besides being famous—making parties and holidays more fun, making friends in high school, etc.

What I didn’t say, but what I was thinking, was that it had helped me give my cousin a proper burial.

For their past few albums, the awesome children’s music band Recess Monkey has invited me to record as a “guest artist.” On their new album “Field Trip,” I played guitar on their infectious ska-influenced song “Haven’t Got a Pet Yet.” Apparently it’s a hit on the kid’s channel on Sirius XM radio. I’d like to thank my producer….

On Saturday we performed “Pet” for a packed show at Seattle’s Town Hall. Whoever said people in Seattle don’t dance at concerts doesn’t know anyone under the age of eight.

And here’s the video of our album version.

Sorry, there’s no cure for the worm that has now infected your ear. Sooooozy’s got a pet! Jaaaaaahnny’s got a pet!

For the past couple days my girlfriend Meg and I have been rehearsing in my little backyard studio, she on my keyboard, me on guitar, both of us singing under my Japanese lantern lights. We’re preparing the song “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, for my students’ Coffee Shop Jam next month. This is the first time I’ve made music with Meg. It’s exciting and a little scary.

The song’s written by the duo Glen Hansard (also of The Frames), and Marketa Irglova, who perform under the name Swell Season, and who were featured in the wonderful movie Once. “Falling Slowly” won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2007.

I’ve never played like this–just guitar and piano. I’m struck by how well the timbres of the two instruments complement each other. They blend without fighting, even when we’re playing in unison. The piano’s powerful low notes and delicate highs fill out the edges of the sonic spectrum, and I think the guitar adds some nice grit to the middle.

Meg and I are also harmonizing through most of the songs, and I’m loving that too. This must be what great dancers feel.

Here’s a live performance of “Falling Slowly”: