Guess what I just heard about capos!!

It goes right. I’ve been playing and teaching guitar for over 20 years—and pushing myself seriously as a player for 30. I first picked it up as a teenager, and a lifetime later one thing has become clear: most of us are only truly satisfied with our playing about 10–15% of the time. That’s because guitar isn’t about perfection—it’s about rolling with it. You’d be surprised how often a performer you think is flawless actually lands on the wrong chord, catches it, and adjusts instantly. To the audience it sounds intentional—artistry, a passing chord—or it slips by unnoticed. I was reminded of this the other night. The band’s set list had a couple of typos—wrong key, wrong chords—and as lead guitarist, I found out in real time. Within a few drum beats I heard the dissonance, palms sweaty, head spinning—my telltale signs. To make it worse, the rhythm guitarist’s truck had broken down, so there was no backup. It was my very first gig with the band, we hadn’t rehearsed most of the songs, and the set list was 25 songs long. Perfect storm. So I acted. I turned my guitar volume all the way down, hands still moving on the neck like nothing was wrong, and listened for the reset point in the lyrics. Then I caught a glimpse of the bassist’s hands—he was on an A. Thank goodness. Volume up, in I went. Off to the races. I think I’m still sweating just thinking about it. And live in front of a crowd, you don’t get to hunt around for the key—you either sink or swim. That night reinforced something I’ve learned over decades: playing guitar is not about never making mistakes. It’s about learning to be at peace with them, noting what happened, and moving forward better next time. Strings will break, gear will fail, capos will be forgotten, and chord changes will fall flat. That never goes away. Professionalism isn’t about perfection. It’s about letting go of perfectionism—recovering gracefully, correcting yourself in the moment, and keeping the music going as if nothing happened.

Simple is good. My student, Sammie, has made it all the way through “Mama I’m Coming Home” by Ozzy Osbourne except for the solo. I’ve been kinda dragging my feet on recording it because I knew it would mean some extra time and attention to technology/recording gear. I was just so inspired to get this right! Well here’s the funny part….your ear can advance faster than your brain and fingers 😂 I found the desired tone so quickly with my gear (A Marshall “drivemaster” pedal into my computer) and, the right delay and reverb in garageband. It just felt right. It sounded right. I also just set up my pawn-shop les paul with slightly thicker strings at Eb standard tuning. When your instrument starts out FEELING comfortable and SOUNDING great, honestly, it gets easy. I had just finished teaching Sammie her lesson, had a last-minute cancellation, and used that time to record in 1 hour’s time what I would call the quickest, cleanest and best solo of my 30 years playing. The perfect storm: quick, clean and comfortable (ok, and coffee). It’s an easy solo. Wanna know why it wins? 1. It’s simple 2. It’s recognizable 3. It’s melodic (you can hum it) 4. Clear rhythm 5. Short and sweet (radio-friendly!) Here’s the video. I hope you like it. A fitting tribute to Ozzy. PS if you’d like to REALLY improve your soloing chops - and all of your playing (including string gauge, guitar setup, and comfort aspect), message me! Happy to chat.

Hi All! I’ve been working tirelessly over the past 30 days uploading content to our new platform and community here. Whew!! It’s a LOT of work! I’m also identifying how to improve our courses. What is the most pressing issue you have in your playing right now that you’d like to see a course for ?