In March 2020 the lockdowns shut every teaching studio I knew. A lot of players were suddenly at home with an instrument, no lesson to turn up for, and no one to tell them what to work on next. So I opened my diary and taught for free.

Free guitar lessons through the 2020 lockdowns

I had spoken to friends across the profession and reached out to a few of you here at CGRocks, and the same thing came back every time. People wanted to keep playing. What they had lost was the structure that kept them at it — the weekly slot, the thing to prepare, the person who would notice.

So I gave the time to whoever needed it, for as long as the lockdowns ran. No fee and no catch.

It mattered more than I expected it to. Inspirational lessons gave people something solid to hold on to when very little else was, and it kept a good number of players moving forward instead of quietly stopping.

That offer closed with the lockdowns. The reason it worked did not: structure is what keeps you playing when motivation runs out. That is exactly what the micro study method is built to give you, and every one of those lessons is here on the site.