Greg and Vin recently had the chance to chat with the fabulous Beth Marlis, professor in the guitar department at Musicians Institute (M.I.) in Los Angeles, CA since 1987 and the Vice President of M.I. since 2010.
She has decades of experience teaching thousands of guitar students and was very kind to share her best insights and tips for students!
Audio Version:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14:38 — 136.7MB)
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Key Highlights:
- Joe Pass and Joe D’Orio were important mentors for Beth. They emphasized learning melodies and breaking down chords/harmony.
- Having a background in martial arts and Aikido informed Beth’s teaching approach – focused practice, being present, transforming through diligent work.
- Beth has taught thousands of students over 37 years at M.I. She tries to be conversational and meet each student where they are.
- Common mistakes Beth sees in students: practicing non-musical exercises, getting distracted collecting information, being self-judgmental, only practicing what you already know.
- Beth advocates focused, deep practice rather than broad shallow learning. Suggests establishing a practice routine, learning melodies/phrases you love, singing/transcribing, breaking chords down into fragments to see musical possibilities.
- Though still male-dominated, Beth is seeing more accomplished female jazz guitarists emerging. She leads by example and supports dialogue on this issue.
- Access to online learning and global connectivity is expanding jazz education worldwide. Beth is optimistic about the future of jazz guitar.
- Key is avoiding distractions, going deep into the music with discipline, being part of a community of fellow musicians. Finding great teachers/mentors is still very important.
Listen to Beth’s fantastic version of Sonny Rollins’ ‘Oleo’ below!
Where to find out more:
Beth’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bethmarlis
Beth’s Website: https://www.bethmarlis.com/
What are your thoughts? Do you resonate with Beth’s teaching tips and tricks or thinking learning to play jazz guitar requires martial arts discipline to learning the guitar?
Leave your comments below!
