Lessons Music lessons for players of various levels, from volunteer teachers at the Zen Guitar Dojo. (To volunteer as a teacher, send your lesson to zen_gtr@maui.net, subject heading: ZG Teach.) Also, make your contribution to "Guitar Lesson #1"

Guitar Lesson #1, ZG membership We asked ZG members, "Suppose someone came to you and said, 'I just bought my first guitar, how should I begin?'" Here's how they answered. Level: Beginner. A Zen Guitar Exercise, Tobias Hurwitz Is there a way to practice for those rare moments of inspired improvisation when the music seems to just pour out of us? Here's an exercise to try. Level: Intermediate to advanced. Learn to Listen, Matt Caranante Keep your ears open--wide open--says ZG contributor Caranante, for what goes in them can come out through your guitar. Level: Beginner to advanced. Moods in Music, Nick Tozier If a musical note is the equivalent of a word, a song is a story. Here's how to make yours spell-binding, says ZGer Tozier. Level: Beginner to advanced. Four Steps to Improvisation, Louis Greene Learning to improvise with scales and arpeggios, in four steps proffered by ZG contributor Greene. Level: Intermediate. Really Useful Guitar Stuff, Jason Sandercoe A London-based teacher offers a website with, as the title says, really useful guitar stuff. Level: Beginner to advanced. How to Play Sexy, Peter Blue A ZG reader from Denmark offers thoughts on how to get that extra umph into your playing. Level: Beginner to advanced. Zen Guitar Tips to Tuning, Philip Toshio Sudo "Dear Phil: My wife got me a guitar for Christmas. Do you have any tips on tuning? I have always found that the most daunting part of it all--I have such a tin ear." Level: Absolute beginner. In Tune With Yourself, Rod Jackson A more conventional approach to tuning. Level: Beginner. Flamenco Guitar, Norman Paul Kliman Guitar exercises that develop scale and arpeggio patterns for single note lines, plus a collection of 231 transcriptions of soleares falsetas from the 1900's to the 1990's in standard notation and tablature. Level: Intermediate to advanced. Slide Guitar, Dave Tarnowski This blues-playing ZG reader serves up the monthly column "InSlideOut" at the site Guitarists.net (which has lessons galore for all levels of players). Level: Beginner to intermediate. Alternative Guitar, Steve Vai ZG reader Ben Edwards writes, "Steve Vai has some lessons on his web page that deal with alternative ways of playing guitar. Kind of like a Westernized version of Zen Guitar." Level: Beginner to advanced. Claissical Indian Theory, Anand Bhatt ZG reader Anand Bhatt writes, "I have written an article in this month's Virtual Guitar Magazine on eliciting mood via classical Indian theory. You may be interested in reading it. Click on Guest editorials, and click on the title next to the name, Anand Bhatt. Please enjoy." Level: Beginner to advanced. Playing More Rhythmically, Velma the Fischwire Exercises to develop the picking hand. Level: Beginner Including the Other Hand, Velma the Fischwire Exercises to develop the fretboard hand, plus tips on dealing with the frustration of slow learning. Level: Beginner Building Confidence Through the Subconscious, Velma the Fischwire One of the main problems with learning the guitar, or anything new, is a lack of confidence. Here's one way to attack the problem. Level: Beginner to intermediate Preparing the Mind, Philip Toshio Sudo What and how to think before you play. Level: Beginner to advanced   zenguitar.com Welcome | Philosophy | ZG Plan | What's New ZG'zine | ZG Radio | ZG-TV | ZG Jam Dojo Bookstore | Record Review | Lessons | Phil's ZG Band | What You Can Do Shop | Links | Email / Guest Book