A Well-Rounded Musician

When I first started taking guitar lessons, my instructor suggested that I learn a bluegrass song, just for the fun of it.

I looked at him like he was crazy. I didn’t sign up to learn the guitar so that I could play Alison Krauss; I wanted to play Green Day!

His persistence won me over, however, and soon I was learning a bluegrass song – and having more fun on the guitar than I could have imagined.

Being a well-rounded musician includes listening to many different genres of music, from many different time periods. We live in a time where you can listen to the best musicians in the world, for free – so take advantage of it! Listen to flamenco, Americana, and more to get some variety in your musical diet.

Here are a couple of new albums I suggest to start expanding your scope. Parents: the content of some of the songs on these albums may not be suitable for your younger kids to be listening to, so use your best judgement.

Gungor: Ghosts Upon The Earth

This album is rich with a variety of genres and content subjects. Michael Gungor and his wife exhibit a creative style that mixes modern music styles with older playing techniques – the guitar playing is very advanced, and would challenge any student that wanted to learn one of their songs.

While listening to this album, take mental notes about the rhythm of their arrangements – see if you can replicate, play along, or write your own song inspired by their techniques!

Ryan Adams: Ashes & Fire

Ryan Adams’ relaxed acoustic style is the kind of music that makes you feel good when you play it. A bit of a modern-day Bob Dylan, Adams writes more songs than most of us have the time to listen to.

Don’t be afraid to give this a listen.