a song and , because I ’ ve trained my ear , be able to play it on my guitar right away . Secondly - it helps me with songwriting and writing guitar parts . I ’ m quickly able to apply the melodies I hear in my head onto the guitar neck without hunting and pecking around the fretboard . If I could recommend one way to spend your practice time as a lead guitarist , it would be to work on your ear training . It will serve you in more ways than you could even imagine .
[ WM ] Amazing . You founded The Guitar Institute . I see you do some “ guitar tips ” type teaching snippets on Instragram that are really helpful . What are your plans for the future in training opportunities ?
[ Jeffrey ] I love being a resource to the guitar community . I was fortunate enough to learn what I know about tone , technique , part writing , engineering , and producing by working in a professional studio as a studio musician for about 10 years ( every day that I wasn ’ t on tour with Jesus Culture ). But most guitarists don ’ t have the opportunity to learn from world class mentors in world class studios like I did . That ’ s why I started The Guitar Institute . It ’ s a place where guitarists can receive the same quality mentorship that I had , even if they live in a small town or don ’ t necessarily have access to great instruction or professional environments .
My goal with The Guitar Institute has always been to give guitarists a road to becoming pro level players - in every sense of the word . That means not just learning how to shred , but learning ( like you said ) the importance of ear training , or crafting your tone , or how to write guitar parts quickly and effectively , or how to engineer guitars in the studio . It ’ s a place where you learn everything it takes to be a pro level player .
In the past we ’ ve used a subscription-based model where guitarists pay monthly for online video instruction . We ’ ve since moved to focusing more on physical books and course packages , as well as digital downloads . I ’ m super excited for the future of the company , as we have big things planned for even the rest of 2023 ! You can always keep an eye on www . theguitarinstitute . co to check out our latest resources . This summer specifically we ’ re releasing physical book bundles on a variety of different guitar related themes ( tone , technique , theory , etc ).
[ WM ] Let ’ s talk about your guitars . What are you using the most for electric and acoustic these days ?
[ Jeffrey ] I almost exclusively play Gretsch guitars . I ’ m just a big fan of the quality of builds they are putting out , from tone , to feel , to the way they look . For our latest Jesus Culture album recording in the spring , I only used two
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