4/4 School of Music

With our biannual student concert just around the corner, some tips to help combat stage fright are in order!  Ah, stage fright – that dreaded onslaught of fear so many of us experience before (and sometimes while) we perform.  The pulse quickens.  Breathing becomes short, shallow and unsupported.  Hands become sweaty and shaky.  Sound familiar?

Stage fright is completely normal — and yes, there are several things you can do to help ease stage fright immediately.  The best solution over time?  Perform often!  Sounds counterintuitive, but the more often you get up there and perform, the easier it becomes over time. Here are some pointers to help make your struggle with stage fright a little easier:

1. Know your material.  Practice, practice, practice.  A lot of the fear of performing is centered around making a mistake — hitting a wrong note, forgetting a line.  The more you know your song, the more confidence you’ll feel!
2. Breathe!  (And keep breathing!)  Challenge yourself to breathe slowly and deeply — 10 seconds in, 10 seconds out; repeat.  Also, try yawning and stretching.  Relaxing your body and your breath will ease the uncomfortable feelings associated with stage fright.
3. Fake it.  If you’re scared, that’s ok.  Smile anyway.  Walk with confidence.  Give it all you’ve got.  Chances are, the audience won’t know you were nervous, and will be wowed by your stellar performance!
4. Think of the performance as a reward.  You’re here because you’ve worked hard, had a blast, learned a lot — and now you want to share that joy with others!  Performing is an awesome way to stay motivated, meet other musicians, and celebrate what you have accomplished!
5. Use a mantra.  Sounds a little cheesy, but some folks find a phrase ("I can do it/I am strong/Share your joy"….) and repeat it in their heads while prepping for a performance.  For many folks, using a mantra provides a sense of comfort, and helps focus the mind.
6. Think ahead: for most of us, the hardest part of stage fright hits us BEFORE we perform, and usually eases up within the minute or so of our performance.  After performing, lots of us feel a rush of excitement and relief — no matter how scared we were beforehand, lots of us finish the performance with a huge smile on their face and a rush of excitement — performing feels great, and we want to relive the experience!
7. Come prepared: be a few minutes early.  Have a light snack.  Avoid caffeine and lots of sugar.  If you’re a singer, warm up your voice. Bring a water bottle.
8. Think positive thoughts:  you’re here because you’ve worked hard and had a lot of fun, and you want to share that with others!  Always remember, the audience is on your side.  We WANT you to have fun and rock your performance! 

Guitar Lessons in Beaverton, Oregon
Piano Lessons in Beaverton, Oregon
Singing Lessons in Beaverton, Oregon

As a beginner, or someone shopping for their first electric or acoustic guitar, there are several different categories to pick from.

Which ever guitar you choose, make sure that…

The strings aren’t really high off the fret board.  This is good. Twice this much space would be difficult to play.

It is comfortable to hold.  This Stratocaster design electric guitar is usually the most comfortable for beginners.

$70 – $100

Usually these guitars are smaller sized for smaller players. These guitars generally aren’t crafted to last for a lifetime. But if you aren’t sure whether or not you want to play for a lifetime, they can be a good way to test the waters. The Squire Mini Strat is a good entry level model that gives the Fender feel without the Fender price. If you are looking for an acoustic guitar in this price range, Epiphone and Jasmine by Takamine have several quality instruments for the price. If you are confident that you (or who you are buying for) will play guitar longer than a few months, this range is generally not recommended.

$100 – $200 – TOP PICK if you are NOT sure you will stick with it.

In this category, Squire, Epiphone and Ibanez offer the best value. Most of these are full sized and can last the typical beginning student one to two years. The major factor to consider with this range is whether you want the Les Paul feel of the Epiphone Junior, the Stratocaster touch of the Squire Bullet or the rocker appeal of the Ibanez GRX20Z. For younger girls, Daisy Rocks offers surprisingly good quality guitars in shades of pink. For acoustic guitars, Epiphone and Yamaha have the best options for these prices.

$350 to $750 – TOP PICK if you ARE SURE you will stick with it.

These are are top recommendations for beginning students. It can be frustrating for a new player to practice hard and still not be able to get a good sound because their instrument is holding them back. Fender offers their "Made in Mexico" models in this range and what you get is a quality guitar that can last a lifetime if you want them to. (I have an MiM Strat that I’ve owned for 17years and still play!) Epiphone Les Pauls offer high quality instruments and feel extremely similar to their Gibson counterparts. Ibanez has become a very reliable brand and offers many guitars that have hard rockability and looks.  Fender, Epiphone and Takamine are the most popular in this range for acoustic guitars but if you are looking for something a bit more unique, Breedlove Guitars (Made in Oregon) offer high quality acoustic guitars at a great value!

$750 and Up!!

At this point, the world is limitless with options. You can spend thousands of dollars on high end guitars with premier tone and playability but aren’t necessary at all for learning the instrument. Once you’ve been playing for a while, you will get a sense for what your dream guitar is. You don’t need to start with the best. When you are ready to rock stadiums, you’ll know what to get.

Please call us at 425-485-8310 if you have any other questions about purchasing a keyboard or digital piano for yourself or your child.

Guitar tablature (sheet music for guitarists in a simple and easy to learn diagram system).

Check these sites for more info on how to read guitar tabs and also to find thousands of songs written in this easy to learn system!

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/
http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/tab.html

For most beginners, starting on an electric guitar gives you the best odds of success!

We know this from decades of experience. Electric guitars have smaller strings that are easier to press down on.  The strings are also closer to the fingerboard so you don’t have to press as hard. The body of an electric guitar is smaller and thinner so that you can more easily see your fingers.  The neck is usually smaller in diameter so that makes it a little easier to play chords.

There are times when starting on an acoustic guitar is the best choice.

1. If you already own an acoustic guitar, go ahead and start lessons on it to make sure that guitar is the “right” instrument for you. Then if you stick with it you can reward yourself with an electric guitar after a few months of lessons.
2. If you are an adult or large teen and you know you want to play acoustic guitar
   (because that is the sound you like).

I have often heard concerns from students that they aren’t sure if they can play the guitar because their fingers are either too wide or too narrow.  The good news is that either can be a benefit to a guitar player!

Students with wider fingers have the advantage of being able to press down on more than one string at a time with a single finger.  This can be a big advantage!

Students with narrow fingers can easily position one finger between 2 others while chording and that is also a nice advantage!

So whether you have normal, narrow, or wide fingers, don’t worry… be happy and quit making excuses!

You can do it!