Turn It Up Guitar Lessons

Lesson Focus: Learning Systems

“There is only one way to eat an elephant; one bite at a time.” Desmond Tutu

As much as I don’t like thinking of eating an elephant, this message gets the point across.

When we want to do big things we need a plan, a way to get it done; a system.

Learning the guitar and music is a lot to take in. It’s not just one thing you have to learn but an interconnected group of things that all affect one another.

It always amazes me that there’s always something to work on and get better at, that you’re never done.

The goal that most of us have is to get better, and not just that, to do so as fast as we can so that we can get to the fun part of playing the music we want to play and expressing ourselves without limitation.

A great way to fast track this growth is to have a plan, to have systems set up to help us make sense of all the information coming at us. To show us what to do with it and where to place it so that we know how to use it.

Over time musicians have developed many systems or ways of understanding the things we learn. We can benefit from these systems to help us be a better musician.

One thing that is great about these systems is that they usually cover a wide area of things to improve on. They don’t just work on one thing, they work on many things. They help develop our understanding, skill and application of the information.

One of these systems we will be going over this Lesson Focus is the CAGED system.

The CAGED system is a way of connecting all the notes on our fretboard into groups of chords and scales that we can learn to easily access when playing.

It covers:
-The 5 basic chord shapes
-Theory around chords, scales and their application
-Knowing your fretboard notes
-Ear training
-Building technique
-and more!

The CAGED system. Let’s do this one bite at a time. 😊🐘

You have a sound that is unique to you. The journey is to figure it out. Much of what we learn is built on the styles and creativity of others. That’s great, that’s how we learn and develop. But remember there’s more, there’s you. There’s your voice, your approach, your interpretation, your sound. The greats, like Jimi Hendrix have a sound that’s unique to them. It’s not about what they played, it’s that THEY played it. Put yourself into what you play. Follow what inspires you. Get out and play. Sometimes you find your sound and sometimes it finds you. Miles Davis said, “Sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself.” Here’s to the journey.

Rock Band 2026 was a blast! 7 bands took the stage this year to put on fun, energetic and moving performances. The students put in the work, met each day to rehearse, connected with their bands and put on 2 great shows for friends, family and the Redding community. I’m super proud of each of them. They get better each year. Thanks to the parents for your support in creating these opportunities for the students. Thanks to the teachers @serenakarisemusic @jesse.ajamian.music @__dan.t @ryderhaasmusic for your care, experience and expertise in helping the bands to do their best, there would be no Rock Band without you. Thanks to Chris and Brandon @reddingpac for an awesome facility for camp. Thanks to Todd at @theparkredding for a great venue and performance experience. Thanks to @kmarks_136r for getting everything sounding good at camp. Thanks to Tim and Nate @netsoundpro for running sound and making the bands sound great at the Park, I get compliments every year. Thanks to @lmrossy for designing the cool band posters. Thanks to @shasta_pizza_co for the yummy pizzas. Thanks to teachers @weinstockcurrie @katotanto @music.nalakathleen for helping your vocal and drum students prepare for their songs. Thanks to everyone who came out to see and support the students. They are the future and from what I see, the future’s gonna rock. Till’ next year, play your heart out and keep rockin’. @turnitupguitar

Get ready for Rock Band 2026! *Bands are already near capacity!* Join a band with local musicians, make music, put on an epic show for the community. Looking forward to an amazing show this year! DM for more info!

Lesson Focus: Scales

As we come to the 4th week of focusing on learning music by ear, here are Four Tips for Learning Music by Ear! You can do this!