Good Music Academy

10/06/2023

Boring Business-y update: 18 months ago, I was excited to see my "11 Apps to Learn to Read Notes" blog post getting 200 views a month.

Over the past month, that page (now "12 apps to Learn to Read Notes") has gotten 1,200 views. And I've got a few new-ish pages that are currently floating around the 200 views/month mark. Here's hoping they have the same growth curve.

10/03/2023

Using this App has been a fantastic way to get my students to REALLY slow down and play more accurately.

10/02/2023

After months of struggles practicing with my own daughter, Chris Mincer reminded me to use “de-personalized language” in practice. “Have your brain tell your finger to…” rather than “You need to”. At the end of practice, she said “I wish everyone in the world had a guitar”

10/02/2023

Practice with my own daughter has been a struggle. After chatting with fellow Suzuki teacher Chris Mincer (who has no online presence, otherwise I'd link him), he reminded me of the importance of using what I call "Depersonalizing Language".

There's many ways to do it. My favorite is saying "Have your brain tell your finger to go there" rather than "You need to put your finger there".

After practice, my kiddo said "I wish everyone in the world had a guitar!" So that was a major win.

(now, will it work again tomorrow? we'll see)

09/28/2023

Here's something I haven't done in... 10 years? Post on craigslist.

The Best Kid's Guitar Lessons in Philly Parent Testimonials Emily C: "Our older kid has been taking guitar lessons with Kale Good for 3 years now, and our younger could not be more excited to start...

12/21/2022

I’ve had a weekly “dad joke” that I share with kids at the start of the lesson. It’s only fitting that one of my students got me Chocolate Moose for Christmas.

12/05/2022

It's that time of year again; Practice Bingo!

12/02/2022

December's Review: Rounding out the year. Always grateful for the reviews!

Prior to taking lessons with Kale, I was more or less self-taught, having taken only a few lessons from other guitar teachers over the years, and could string a few chords together and play the songs of some of my favorite artists. I've been working with Kale for less than a year and have seen significant improvement in my playing, musical rhythm, and understanding of music theory. Kale's classically trained background coupled with his enthusiasm to share his musical passion are unparalleled. Highly recommended.

11/21/2022

Turkey Trotting Whole Step Exercise!

11/04/2022

November's Review: I still remember some of the breakthroughs we had together (and I use the stories with my current students!):

After years of guitar lessons, I have found a teacher that will guide me to my fullest potential on the guitar. In my other lessons I always felt that there was no long-term plan for what I was going to learn. There was no system, just "Bring in a song you want to learn". The songs I wanted to learn were WAY too hard for a beginner to learn. I would struggle to learn the song; sometimes I would get it but more often I would not. Frustration would follow and the guitar would sit un-played for days.Now, I know where we are headed. The songs that I learn are challenging but not so far over my head that I put down the guitar. The lessons build on the skill that you have learned. Kale makes you feel comfortable from the first lesson. He watches you play and then gives immediate feed back on how you can improve. It is all-positive. My playing has improved so much in three months it is incredible.

Always grateful for the reviews.