John Tuggle
In this post I have an exclusive and interesting interview with John Tuggle who’s an expert blues and slide guitarist, owner of popular guitar learning site – learningguitarnow.com and above all a renowned guitar tutor who has been recommended by the popular guitar maker – Gibson.
In this interview John has answered some of the critical guitar related queries that will benefit all aspiring guitar players.
So let’s check out what John has to say !
Deepak : At what age did you start learning guitar?
John: 17
Deepak : Any inspirations in your life for learning guitar?
John: I watched a televison show called Quantum Leap and in one of the episodes, the main character Sam, sits down and plays Imagine on an acoustic guitar. I immediately wanted to be able to do that someday. Also, Led Zeppelin III was great, and I used to listen to it when I was a kid in Gulf Shores Al while the waves came in.
Deepak : Who are your favorite guitarists?
John: Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, Duane Allman, Jimmy Page, SRV, Dickey Betts, Wes Montgomery, BB King, Hendrix, Mike Campbell, Jon Brion, The Edge, Les Paul. Chet Atkins, Brad Paisley to name some.
Deepak : How did you learn guitar? Self taught or from a tutor?
John: I started with 6 months of private lessons from Mark Habib a classical guitar major at University of South Alabama, then took another year from a great blues guy in Mobile Al named Michael Ferrington. I then started taking music theory in college as well as jazz improvisations, and classical guitar lessons. I was also part of a classical guitar ensemble for a couple of years. The classical lessons were great and Mark Middleton showed me how to be a musician. I had an excellent music theory teacher as well who had us banging on our desks to learn 16th note subdivisons! It was fun. He gave out candy as well. It was a 9:00am course 5 days a week!
Deepak: Did you start learning on an acoustic or an electric guitar? I started on an electric guitar.
John: A Kay.
Deepak: Which type of guitar is the best for beginners to start learning with? Acoustic or electric? Any specific guitar or equipments that you would recommend for beginners?
John: Any beginner needs to feel comfortable when starting out on a guitar. Most of the time an electric is far easier for most beginners. A Fender Squier is a great inexpensive guitar for most beginners.
Deepak: Which was your first guitar?
John: A red Kay electric.
Deepak: Can you tell us more about the guitars and equipments you use? Any favorite guitars and equipments?
John: Today I use a 1966 Fender Vibroulux. Guitars – Gibson 61 SG reissue, Gibson 335, Gibson Hummingbird, Fender 79 Strat, Classic Vibe Tele, Classic Vibe Jazz Bass, Goldtone roundneck dobro. Pedals – Ibanez Tubescreamer, OCD Fulltone, VL Effects Vintage Fat Boost, Wave Cannon Each piece gives me something that the other doesn’t. I use all the guitars for different things. SG is in open e, and the Tele and Dobro is in open g. All the pedals I use sound completely different as well. The VL Effectx boost is m favorite right now though. It’s killer!
Deepak:How long have you been teaching guitar?
John: 17 years
Deepak: Is there any specific reason why you chose to go online and launch your guitar website?
John: In 2006 I decided that to promote my Guitar Method Book, I would start a website and sell it there as well as in stores. I didn’t sell hardly any on the website then. I think I sold maybe 3 in a year and a half. I didn’t know much about selling or marketing back then. It was very hard. The site received about 1-5 visitors maybe a day. Today it gets about 1,000 per day. In 2007 after many failures I decided to give it one more go, except this time I spend about 9 months learning about marketing, finances, spiritual matters, video recording, and what it really took to become successful with a website. I hired a web designer as well and took time to learn about Google, keywords, podcasting, and sales. After 9 months of this, the site went live and I made $100 the first day . That’s when I knew I had something special and should put a lot of effort into it. I think the first month I made about $400 which was really amazing. Things have kept going up and up since that day in February of 2007. It has been really exciting. Although I can tell you that there have been times of a lot of frustration, which have led to some amazing occurrences. I think the only way to get further in anything you are doing is to reach some sort of brick wall which will cause you to re-think and start looking for new ideas. This can be applied to guitar playing as well. If you’re not hitting obstacles, then you’re not headed down the right path.
Deepak: What are the different types of guitar courses that you offer through your site? Are they all paid ones?
John: All the courses are paid ones. There are many free lessons on the site, but they don’t contain the amount of content as the paid lessons. The courses are structured so you move in a step by step manner. The free lessons are just random tips and licks to give you an insight on how to do one small thing.
Deepak: Are there specific courses for beginners and advanced players?
John: All the courses I have made are for the intermediate to slightly advanced guitarist.
Deepak: Do you have any genre specific courses?
John: All the courses I have are for blues and slide guitar.
Deepak: If you don’t mind can you tell how many people have already benefited from your guitar courses?
John: I don’t have a specific number off hand but I’ve had close to 10,000 orders in about 4 years.
Deepak: Is there any age limit for learning guitar?
John: No. I believe anyone with the will to learn can do so.
Deepak: Which is the right age to start?
John: The younger the better. When you get older, you have more responsibilities. When you’re a kid, you have so much more free time to practice.
Deepak: Do you conduct private tuitions?
John: Not at the moment. Right now I’m devoting all my time to the website. New lessons and marketing them.
Deepak: Do you play any other musical instruments apart from guitar?
John: Bass guitar, and piano.
Deepak: Are you part of any band right now?
John: Not at the moment. I play random gigs here and there but as I said I have made the website my full time commitment. It’s the most successful thing I have ever been a part of and I am determined to make it last a lifetime. It takes a lot of work and thought.
Deepak:What kind of learning method would you recommend for beginners? Online or private? And why?
John: For total beginners, you really need to sit down with someone and let them show you some things. Why? Because the student will have a lot of questions or will simply do something wrong and won’t know it. That’s where a teacher can jump in and correct it.
Deepak: Any exciting future plans?
John: My future plans are to keep making guitar courses as long as I can come up with good material. Complete a studio where I can make albums out of my house, and spend my time teaching and helping as many people as I can with guitar as well as other things in this world. I’m really excited about the future and see how many amazing things will be possible in the future.
Deepak: Last but not the least, do you have any specific advise for aspiring guitar players around the world?
John: Do it for the right reasons, and write down goals about what you would like to accomplish with guitar playing. As Ziglar said, “Aim for nothing and you’ll hit it every time.”
Deepak: Thanks a lot John for taking out your valuable time for this long interview. I really appreciate it. I wish you all the success in your future endeavors.
John: Thanks
I hope you enjoyed this interview with John Tuggle and I am sure you will be able to draw many good points from this that will surely benefit you as an aspiring guitarist.
You may check out his website at www.learningguitarnow.com.
“Struggling with guitar? Then start right away with my Beginner Guitar Course to learn the basics and build a rock solid foundation on GUITAR or Grab my Beginner Guitar Course eBook by Signing Up on the Form to the Right!”
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