Hey everyone!

Some of you may know that I have taken a teaching position in rural Victoria as a Teach For Australia Associate.

I am currently studying in Warrnambool for 2 more weeks, before returning to Melbourne for the break.

The journey so far is fantastic, but I miss you guys!

Term 4 was hands down the best term of the year.

I saw more heart poured into strumming those strings than ever.

A big congratulations to all 8 of our performers who performed on stage at our End of Year Concert. Special mention must go to Josh Stagias for winning Student of The Year, and Samantha Bramich for winning Student of the Term!

After teaching over 40 people this year, and extending our team to 4 people, I can say it’s been a great year in 2015.

Here are 4 lessons I learned when teaching guitar lessons to beginner guitarists. The first two lessons are mechanical, and the last two lessons are more personal:

Right hand strumming* – remember to strum the correct amount of strings of each chord – too many strings per chord leads to muddy tone, and the chord is harder to be heard in a full band

Left hand fingering* – the fretting hand should fret the notes close the fret, with an arc similar to a row of standing teeth. This grip ensures that the underside of the finger does not mute any strings.

Performing is a great feeling, but the practices beforehand can get a bit stressful. Make sure to stop when it hurts too much, get plenty of sleep, and drink water before you go on stage.

Failure is an option – it’s ok not to play well the first time you are on stage, or that lesson where you learned something really hard. Just don’t give up on the end result, which is to completely be yourself, and play freely and expressively.

*For those guitarists who play left-handed, the hands would be switched around.

I would love to thank all the students I have taught so far, be they young or old.

Lastly I would love to thank you for your ongoing support.

We did this together.

See you next year :D

Justin