One of the first things John Mayer did after creating a TikTok account this year was a sign of the pandemic times: He taught a virtual guitar lesson. He showed his followers precisely how to play his song “Neon.”
From Guthrie Trapp, a session guitarist and live sideman to John Oates:
I never set out to be a music teacher. I’m a professional player first and foremost.
[Teaching] helped me survive covid. I did better in 2020 than I did in 20 years in Nashville. Now a bunch of guys are calling me, ‘How do I get into this online teaching thing?’
Instead of yesterday’s VHS tapes or DVDs, today you can find them uncovering the endless permutations of alternate tunings and fingerpicking techniques on instructional websites such as Homespun and TrueFire.