Glad You Asked…Could you explain the BGS Fast-Track System? David responds:

The new BGS Fast-Track System is an overall teaching philosophy. It refines and puts a name to how I have taught guitar for over thirty years. The five system components are Great Music, Strategic Exercises, Practice Goals, Technique/Musicianship, and Theory/Improvisation. It is essentially what each of our instructors keep in mind as we teach guitar lessons, regardless of the level or style. In other words, we like to balance our lessons to include a variety of important elements.

Is is hard? By no means. In fact, most students don’t realize they are on the FTS. They only see the quick results and rapid progress in their playing.

Here is an example of how FTS works in a lesson. Let’s say we are teaching Eric Clapton’s Layla. Learning fun music promotes quick progress, whatever the style (Great Music). If we find the student is having difficulty with the first lick, we create a brief study of it to help master the move (Strategic Exercise). We suggest unique ways to practice the song during the week (Practice Goals). We might adjust a hand position, suggest an alternate fingering, or fine tune a strum pattern (Technique/Musicianship). We also examine the differences between the straight 8ths electric version with Derek and the Dominos and the swing 8ths Unplugged acoustic version. We explain how Clapton uses the octave principle to derive his lead lick from the rhythm riff. We even have the students jam over the Verse in C# minor and the Chorus in D minor, creating their own solo (Theory/Improvisation).

All of this happens very naturally as the student enjoys learning the song. Students not only have fun playing great music, but they come away with a deeper understanding of the mechanics behind the music as well. Once learned, all of the techniques can easily be applied to other songs for even quicker progress.

Glad You Asked…How did you record the audio samples found on the Teaching Program page? David responds:

I recorded those one Friday morning in August with the amazing help of my son, Jared. He set up Garage Band on his Mac, and I recorded through the Line 6 POD X3 Live. I used the Line 6 Variax guitar to achieve multiple guitar emulations. The Line 6 Variax/POD X3 Live combination is great for quick studio use without having to bring a lot of equipment to a session. It’s also fascinating to play with all the digital technology. I used a Strat emulation for the blues, Gibson hollow-body for the Jazz, Telecaster for the Country, Resonator for the Bluegrass, and Acoustics for the Folk and Praise/Worship (which also used a partial capo on the 2nd fret to emulate an altered tuning). I did use a real Petrucci Music Man guitar for the Rock, since it needed a whammy-bar. The Classical and Flamenco (more like Flamenco Nouveau) tracks were from my Legacy CD. The Electric Bass was recorded on our faithful standby Studio Fender bass. The samples were a lot of fun to sit down and record and represent only a small portion of the styles and techniques we teach. There is nothing like getting to play with guitar toys!