Whenever I practice, I start with my “Hello Guitar.” I don’t actually say hi to the instrument, though there would be nothing wrong with that. Hello Guitar is a term coined by my teacher, Scott Pemberton, to describe the quick, initial series of scales or pentatonic exercises he plays through “greet” his guitar each day.

Emphasis on quick. You run a pentatonic shape up the neck, combined with some corresponding chord shapes and maybe a scale. It should take no more than five minutes. Don’t overthink it. At Scott’s suggestion, I keep a timer on my music stand to help me keep it short.

The reason for that extra safeguard is that the Hello Guitar can be hungry. If you let it, it’ll eat an entire practice session. I’ll start by running some pentatonics, but I’ll get stuck on one of them. I’ll slow down and repeat the exercise. I’ll keep focusing on it, gradually speeding it up. I’ll wander over into a related scale and begin working on that. Then I’ll realize I’m getting sidetracked and start the whole Hello Guitar over.

Before I know it, I’ll have been playing fundamentals—scales, chords, etc.—for the entire practice session. No songs, no transcriptions. No improvisation exercises, no expanding my riff repertoire. Just patterns, scales, arpeggios. If that happens once, no big deal. But I’ve fallen into patterns where for weeks, the only thing I practiced every day was my Hello Guitar.

Of course, learning fundamentals like scales and arpeggios is an important part of mastering an instrument. That’s especially true on an instrument like guitar, where even knowing the names of every note on the fretboard requires an additional layer of literacy.

But in part because of that added complexity, it’s easy for a guitarist to fall into practicing fundamentals to the exclusion of everything else. And while that sounds productive, I find that if I just run shapes and patterns and scales day after day… it’s not very sticky. My conception of the instrument isn’t expanding. At some point it kinda just becomes a series of interlocking shapes. You know what really makes you grow as a musician? Using all those fundamentals to make actual music!

This is not a fresh observation. Indeed, if you spend much time on Guitar YouTube, you will likely see videos with titles like “STOP Practicing Like THIS,” or “CAGED is a TRAP.” Those videos are common because they’re about a real thing.

Guitar YouTube is filled with excellent players explaining their own particular way of breaking the fretboard into digestible chunks. Presumably that’s because people tend to click videos with titles like “MASTER the FRETBOARD in 5 MINUTES.” But GuitarTube is equally filled with those same guitarists realizing that the algorithm has overweighted that type of video and reminding beginners that they shouldn’t forget to also just… play the guitar.

This past month, as I got ready to actually go perform for the first time in a while, I noticed how different my practice regimen became. I had to keep my Hello Guitar short, because I needed to nail down a bunch of specific guitar parts in time for a specific show. Out of necessity, I was spending the bulk of my practice time on actual music. Now, with that show behind me, I’ve tried to keep the same mentality. I’m still starting with my Hello Guitar, but I quickly transition to working on new songs, approaching them as though I’m actually going to perform them. (I am, fwiw!) As a result, I’ve been making huge strides on the instrument.

A “Hello Guitar” is a wonderful thing to incorporate into your practice routine, but Scott calls it that for a reason. It’s just a greeting. The real conversation is what comes after.

As I begin work on Strong Songs Season Eight, I’ll be running a series of interviews and other specials to pass the time. The first of those is live today in Patreon early access, and will hit the main feed next Friday. After that, I’ll be back to my regular every-other-week cadence.

That new episode is a pretty special one. It’s all about my dad, and the band he played in back in the 60s. It’s an episode I’ve wanted to make for a long time—since before he died, really—and I’m glad to have finally finished it and put it out into the world. I’ll write more about it in a couple weeks when everyone can listen, but for now, if you want to hear it (and support Strong Songs), join the Patreon.

Today is Bandcamp Friday, which means the music store doesn’t take a cut from any sales I make. Just as a reminder, I have a couple new things for sale over there, so if you were thinking about buying em, today’s a good day.

Ty Seagall - Possession - The latest from Seagall, an artist I only recently got around to checking out. I’m a fan, surprising no one. This is a cool record, with ambitions that often stretch further. He’s wildly prolific, so I’ve got a hell of a back catalog to catch up on.

Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend - I can’t remember where I heard about these guys, but they’re good! That’s all I got.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Phantom Island - These guys do not quit. A wildly entertaining orchestral effort, both unlike and in line with their most recent work. What even is this band lol.

Yuck - Glow and Behold - Straightforward 2010s alt-rock, but man I like this record. It was a pick from someone in the Strong Songs Discord listening club, which is currently in the midst of a new rotation.

Bognar Szilvia - Semmicske Énekek - Another Discord listening pick, and just a wonderful record. Szilvia is a Hungarian musicologist and musician, and I love the ensemble she’s assembled, how she’s arranged them, and how they’re mixed. Nothing not to like here.

The Sinners Original Soundtrack - I’ve read a few great pieces about the music of Sinners lately, and really want to rewatch that movie. My first viewing was pretty overwhelming. I think that, now that I know what to expect, I’ll be able to keep track of everything better.

Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend - I’ve known of Matthew Sweet for a long time, but had never really sat down and listened to him. Or gone for a run and listened to him, as the case may be. This is a great album! “Thought I Knew You” is a standout for me; one of those songs that does everything exactly right and nothing else.

Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks - I’ve been on a Dylan kick lately, for reasons that will soon become clear to Strong Songs listeners. Of all of Dylan’s eras, his mid-70s heartbreak era was pretty peak. Though I’m also growing partial to his polished 80s stuff. There’s a lot of Dylan eras, man.

Will Epstein & High Water - Crush - I learned about Epstein’s music by hearing it on the Know Your Enemy podcast - a rare instance of a podcast having intro music so good that I went and checked out the artist’s other stuff. It’s all pretty great!

Gene Clark - No Other - I non-answered a listener question about an instrument on this album, then got a bunch of emails about it and went back and actually answered the question. (The answer: Richard Greene on electric violin!) But man what an album! One of those cult favorites that’s as good as anything better-known from the same era.

Bonny Light Horseman - Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free - This was a pick from an upcoming guest on the show, and I’ve been listening non-stop. Methodically assembled, beautifully performed, and so patient.

That’ll do it for this week. Hope you’re all taking care out there. As usual, you can find me on Instagram and Bluesky, at least in the sense that I have accounts there.

I’ll leave you with this pic of Appa, whose fur really pops up against the turquoise couch, despite the fact that, going by her expression here, we have never fed her.

Take care, and keep listening-
~KH
8/1/2025