Duncan Smith Guitars

Sydney Guitar Festival and the Value of Live Shows

Duncan Smith — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 02:30:33 +0000

Sydney Guitar Festival and the Value of Live Concerts It was a cold rainy night, but I forced myself to go out to the Mike Dawes Sydney guitar concert. It was worth it. Dawes is one of the world’s best acoustic guitarists, and he did not disappoint. We should realise it’s worth going to live […]

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Mining the Past for Good Music

Duncan Smith — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 23:48:46 +0000

The last few months has seen some new album releases I’ve been looking forward to for a while. One from the all-girl rock group The Beaches, the other from British singer Lola Young. But overall, there aren’t a lot of new albums that interest me these days. Fortunately, we still have the past, which is […]

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Guitar and Bass Lessons

Duncan Smith — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 01:31:37 +0000

Enrolment for guitar lessons in Term Four is now open. The same for bass and ukulele lessons. We’re coming up to the end of another good year for music. Some great new albums have come out in 2025 – from the Beaches, for example, an all-girl Canadian rock band, as well as from Lola Young. […]

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Guitar Lessons in Sydney

Duncan Smith — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 02:00:17 +0000

Guitar students like different types of music. So as a teacher, you have to know it all. It could be classic rock or country, punk or pop, folk or heavy metal. You may have to give guitar lessons in all these styles. I welcome that, as variety keeps it interesting. Ideally, I would like to […]

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One Hit, Two Billion Views

Duncan Smith — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 05:09:00 +0000

If you're only going to have one hit, make it a big one...

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Black Sabbath’s last show

Duncan Smith — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 02:03:35 +0000

The first Black Sabbath song I ever heard was called ‘Back Street Kids.’ Released in 1976, it contained the line “I’m a rock n roll soldier, gonna play it until I’m dead.” Almost fifty years later, the band members are nearly dead, and they’re playing their last ever show this weekend. I’ve been a fan […]

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What are the Best Guitar Songs to Learn?

Duncan Smith — Tue, 27 May 2025 01:47:19 +0000

What are the Best Guitar Songs to Learn? That’s easy to answer. The best guitar songs to learn are the ones you like. That’s why I take song requests. That means if you want to learn a particular song, I’ll write it out for you, guitar solo and all. I don’t mind doing this in […]

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Guitar Lessons in Sydney

Duncan Smith — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 05:45:20 +0000

It’s a great time to start bass and guitar lessons in Sydney. I’m kicking off for 2026, so let me tell you about some of the main styles and types of students I teach. Classic Rock – I have some adult students who were kids in the classic rock era. As I was too, that […]

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Learn Bass Guitar in Sydney

Duncan Smith — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 02:00:09 +0000

As a guitar teacher, I’d like to strongly urge you not to learn the guitar. Learn bass guitar instead! What’s the difference? The guitar has six strings, but the bass only has four so it’s easier for a start. The strings are thicker, have a lower sound, and you can really feel it when you’re […]

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What is the Best Age to Learn Guitar?

Duncan Smith — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 05:36:34 +0000

Some say the best time to start learning music is when you’re a young child. As someone who was kicked out of piano lessons at age seven, I say ‘not necessarily.’ For some reason, I wasn’t interested in piano at seven. In hindsight, it’s a bit embarrassing and I feel bad for my old piano […]

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