The Heartwood Beat, Issue 14: Strange and Interesting Rhythms
Dear Heartwood Beat Readers, Sometimes I come across a rhythm that’s so complicated, or weird, or fantabulishously funky, that I can’t stand it. I’m at the gym on the hamster wheel, listening to this cool groove on my iPod, and I want to grab the poor guy on the machine next to me and yell, “You gotta hear this!” Thankfully, there are other people I can turn to, like the great drummer and teacher Mark DiFlorio (that’s him on the right). Here are Mark’s reactions to

Chameleon Guitar

We Have eBook Liftoff
Yesterday I launched Rob’s Totally Awesome Guitar Teaching Handbook, my guide for running a successful guitar teaching business. It’s been two years in the making. I summed up my feelings in the Conclusion, written during yesterday’s marathon of last-minute writing, editing, and battling Microsoft Word: “If teaching guitar is about spreading joy, writing this book has been like collecting joy in a giant container. Today I finally get to tip it over.” Writing this book t

Teaching About Teaching
I’m spending the morning revising Rob’s Totally Awesome Guitar Teaching Handbook, still on track for an October 3 release. Writing a first draft can be a slog, but I love revising. I just turned a terrible paragraph in the book—my introduction to my Teaching 101 chapter—into one of favorites: Old: Teaching is a complex art, and it takes a lot of practice to be really good a

Redesigned Site Live
I hope you find the new site easier to navigate and easier on the eyes. Let me know what you think, especially if you find any bugs. Thanks!