These pages will be used as an educational site for instrumentalists interested in building their overall musicianship, technique and improving their understanding of improvisational concepts. The kind of learning presented here is essential. By learning the building blocks of music and music theory you will open up whole new worlds for your artistic fulfillment. For many of my students it sparks great ideas and helps them get closer to the music inside them.

It goes without saying that to become a great musician it is equally important to develop your creativity--But that does not mean waiting for the muse to pay a visit! Matisse said that creativity comes through work. Don't wait for inspiration before you practice, inspiration will come; just start practicing. To help you understand this process check out the books: "Matisse on Art" by Jack Fram, "Giacometti Portrait" by James Lord, "Letter to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke, and "The Courage to Create" by Rollo May. These excellent books will help you understand the process of being a creative person.

Always try to apply each of the exercises presented to a musical situation. For example, if you are learning a scale, memorize the notes and degrees but then apply it to a progression, or use it while you play along with your favorite CD. It is easy to lose yourself in theory and technique, so balance your practicing with being creative.

I also must mention that being sensitive and having a good sense of musical interaction is a very big part of becoming a great musician. I have known many great players who could improvise incredible solos endlessly--but no-one would play with them, because they never interacted with the other musicians, and hogged the solo time! That kind of musical self-involvement will eventually cut you off from the contributions that your fellow musicians can give you--remember, having a musical community that you are a member of is key to the free flow of ideas and inspiration!

I currently teach at New York University and Princeton University along with doing clinician work around the country. The exercises presented here are excerpts from my books and are the exact exercises my students use to develop their musicianship. If you would like to learn more about the many books I have written for guitar and instrumentalists in general please check of my publishers website at http://www.muse-eek.com/.

Certain sections of this workshop are dedicated to any instrumentalist while others are specifically for the guitarist. The following sections are for any instrumentalist.

The Rhythm section will give you excerpts from my series of books on rhythms. This unique series of books helps a student learn their rhythms by playing along with audio examples that they can download from this site. I have included some free downloadable exercises so a student can check out this approach. If you want more information about my rhythm books please check out the Books section of this website.