Keep Playing!!

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in Uncategorized

To quote my West Linn (Oregon) friend, classical guitarist/educator Peter Zisa: “History reminds us that many of the world’s greatest thinkers—Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Einstein, and others—were also musicians. Music cultivates creativity, discipline and imagination, qualities that enrich every field of study and strengthen community bonds.”      So keep playing! Learn new tunes and arrangements. Share your accomplishments with others. Studies have shown that playing music involves 90% of your brain! Music participation enhances brain health and, no doubt, is good for our souls.

Mark’s ‘Guitar Safety’ Tip

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in Announcements, Stories, Tips from Mark, Uncategorized

A tip for the guitarist who hopes to keep a guitar pristine: Never bend over an open guitar case on the floor if you have something in your shirt pocket — like glasses, a pen, a capo or tuner. I’ve more than once had to quickly swat something away to keep it from landing on my guitar as it fell out of my shirt pocket! That’s my 2025 Collings C-100 in the photo. No dings yet, as of November, ’25!

Beginning Fingerstyle  Improvisation

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in Stories, Tips from Mark, Uncategorized

By Mark Hanson January 8, 2025 Fingerstyle improvisation is a multi-faceted undertaking. Improvising on a wind instrument (saxophone for instance) requires you to play a new melody, one note at a time. In fingerstyle guitar, you need to do that plus keep the chord and rhythm going underneath. It’s a workout for the brain! A way to get started: First, memorize the chord progression of the tune you want to use. Do this by writing (by hand!) a chord chart of the tune. Early on I discovered that writing by hand has a special connection to the brain; plus you […]

Develop a “Babe Ruth” Thumb!

Posted on 1 CommentPosted in Uncategorized

Tip From Mark Hanson As a fingerpicker, if you are having any trouble producing good, consistent tone and accurate string selection with your thumb, consider this: Think of your picking-hand thumb as a baseball bat. It is powerful and accurate when it’s straight, in its natural relaxed position. If you find that you bend your thumb’s first knuckle when you pick, visualize a baseball bat with a hinge in it a foot from the end: You have no power and no control! (Babe Ruth and Shohei Ohtani would refrain from having a hinge in their bats, of course!) For maximum power and accuracy, your thumb […]