math skills and auditory skills, so it exercises many areas of the brain at the same time. It's also a  wonderful way to make friends and have opportunities to socialize with others. My e-mail box always has some messages about get-togethers with other musicians. I enjoy playing in three or four different groups and when I retire, I'm looking forward to adding more. Musical performance is a good buffer against loneliness and 

depression, as it provides an opportunity to give to others. (Altruism is helpful in dealing with depression.) Much of my music is donated to the community through free concerts; and I have performed with groups at nursing homes, retirement communities, Oktoberfest and more. I will be able to contribute joy to my community long after I've retired from private practice.

If you've ever thought of learning to play an instrument, there's no time like the present to start. It's a pretty inexpensive way to help you stay mentally healthy and happy!

Musical note: Stroke victims, who cannot communicate verbally, sometimes retain the ability to communicate through pitch.  I.e., a high pitched sound means "yes" and a low pitched sound means "no."

Anne is John's sister and a life-long fan of music. She has been a therapist in Michigan for over 30 years.

Practice Tips for Beginners on Guitar

1. Left-hand finger placement

An issue of debate is that of the thumb. While some will say the

thumb should remain behind the neck directly in line with your fingers, others argue that you can accomplish more by allowing it to wrap around the top of the neck.

Certainly there are some types of playing, such as classical guitar, that require the thumb to always remain behind the neck. But with electric guitar and most acoustic guitar the truth is that a combination of both is the right answer, depending on what you are playing.

For example, playing barre chords will require the thumb to stay behind the neck while playing bends will require the thumb to wrap around for more support.

But these aren't absolute rules. Hendrix, for example, played everything with his thumb wrapped around the neck. He even used it to fret the root notes of chords!

 There are a couple important things to remember in regard to the picking hand.

watch how you are striking the string.

The pick should hit the string parallel and then come to rest on the next string without causing it to vibrate. Another issue of debate is whether you should rest your right hand pinky finger on the face of the guitar. Like the left hand thumb issue, the truth is that there is no right answer.

Some players prefer keeping their right hand in a fist shape while others will let the pinky finger rest on the face of the guitar or the bridge.

There are also subtle differences in the way different players pick that add to their unique style and are not necessarily incorrect. The only thing you have to keep in mind is if the notes are coming out clear and you are not spending too much energy to get the same result.

This leads me to the next point, which applies to both hands. The idea is based on conserving energy. When you play you want to see if you are spending too much energy (in the form of motion) to accomplish something that you could do easier if you did it another way. With the right hand this means you should keep your hand close to the strings and don't get carried away when you're strumming. The more you move your hand the more energy you have to put in to playing. Try to keep your hand completely still when playing parts that are only on one or two strings. When you have to move across strings, move your wrist only, not your whole arm. With your left hand, this principle means you should try to think ahead about where you are going to play something. The same note appears at different places on

the guitar so if you can play something without having to move your left hand up or down the neck, or at least with very little movement, then you are conserving your energy and you will be able to play more efficiently.

Example 2 shows an inconvenient way to play a melodic line and a more motion-efficient way of playing the same line. 4. Keep it in time

From the very beginning of your guitar playing you should be playing along to a metronome. Yes, it can be tedious and boring but it will pay off when you have developed a good sense of timing and rhythm. Also the metronome allows you to put a number on how fast you can play something so you can get a good sense of your progress as far as being able to play faster. Always make sure you can play something comfortably and without mistakes before increasing the speed, and only increase it a little bit at a time. Otherwise you will be practicing bad habits and your playing will be unpleasant sounding. An even better way to practice would be to play along to a drum machine. Although they are more expensive, it will make practicing in time a lot more fun. Eventually you will want to start playing with other musicians, too. A real drummer is even better than the drum machine! Take advantage of any opportunity you get to play with other people, it will dramatically increase your skills and your confidence!
I hope these suggestions and tips have helped you tackle the challenge of learning to play guitar. Keep these points in mind when practicing and good luck!

By Ian Medhurst

Hi! This article will discuss four different examples of how to practice your advanced guitar skills. They focus on increasing finger strength, dexterity, and ultimately speed. But keep in mind that all these examples should be practiced slowly at first. Increasing the speed before you can play the part without any mistakes will only lead to sloppy and unpleasant-sounding guitar playing. Enjoy!

Example1: Diminished trills

This example concentrates primarily on finger strength and stamina. On a technical level it involves performing minor third trills up 3 strings at a time in a diminished scale pattern. Although you may play this exercise anywhere on the fretboard, for the sake of this example we will start on the C located on the 5^th string, 3^rd fret. Perform the trill so that you alternate between C and D# two times and then do the same with F# and A on the 4^th string and then C and D# on the 3^rd string. Then move the whole

 pattern up one fret and continue with C# and E on the 5^th string, G and A# on the 4^th string, and C# and E on the 3^rd string.

 Repeat the same pattern all the way up the fretboard and see if you can make it to the C at the 15^th fret, an octave above where you began. Also, make sure you are only using your first and fourth fingers. This really gives you a great left hand workout! You can try some variations too, like starting on different strings or going across all six strings instead of just three!

Example 2: Synth inspired arpeggios

I actually enjoy a lot of electronic and dance-inspired music and sometimes it's fun to take ideas from other genres and try them out on a guitar. Specifically, here I will show you an arpeggio that I took straight from a preset on a Korg Triton keyboard. This example will really help out with your string-skipping coordination. It is based loosely around an Em chord and can be played entirely at the 12^th fret position with the exception of the one high E note at the 24^th fret. If you really want to get adventurous or just look flashy when you play, try tapping that high E note with your right hand instead of reaching for it with your left hand 4^th finger.

When you get used to it you might actually find that it is easier.

Example 3: Improvising on two strings at a time

notes down so that they ring out. The reason for the sweep picking is that it is economical in motion so the arpeggios can be played very fast.

The example here illustrates one way to do a C major and an Am arpeggio. Keep in mind that there are other ways to do these, and for any other kind of chord (7^th, diminished, suspended 4, etc) all you have to do is play them as an arpeggio and try to sweep pick across the strings. When you are starting out the hardest part is coordinating your left and right hands to act together. Start slow but don't be afraid to increase your speed on this one. It is a technique that actually gets easier when you can do it faster.

Another thing to try when you are starting out is to use only your left hand to hammer on the notes. Leave your right hand on the neck behind your left hand to mute the strings. This will get your left hand used to the motion and then all you have to do is match up the picking with what your left hand is doing.   

I hope these examples have given you some exciting and challenging things to work on, good luck and keep practicing!