July 26, 2024
About the Author: Stefan Joubert
Stefan Joubert: How did you get into playing the guitar? What age did you start at?
Jonathan Osterling: My journey into music began in high school with the mandolin. I had an excellent teacher who, even though I didn’t fully grasp what I was playing initially, helped me develop solid techniques and a keen musical ear. This experience laid a strong foundation for my future in music. I eventually formed a band with friends, where we mainly played punk music and occasionally dabbled in Iron Maiden riffs. I got serious about playing guitar at the age of 18.
Stefan Joubert: What is your approach to teaching the guitar?
Jonathan Osterling: I believe my biggest approach to teaching comes from my students’ experiences. The guitar is such a friendly instrument to start with, and most of the students I encounter take it up as a hobby or something they enjoy but don’t pursue professionally. This means they don’t have eight hours a day to practice. The best approach for these students, who are the most common ones I teach, is to help them open up their fretboard knowledge and understand basic functional harmony. This way, they can see progress in a shorter period.
Stefan Joubert: Your neck knowledge is very broad, how did you develop your neck knowledge?
Jonathan Osterling: I’ve had great teachers throughout my musical journey. In 2009, I had the opportunity to attend the Los Angeles College of Music (LACM) and learn from some of the best in the industry. I remember on my first day at school, my private teacher Bill Fowler asked me, “How many ways can you play C major?” I proudly showed him a few ways, and then he said, “C major has three notes, meaning you just need three strings to play the chord. You can divide the guitar into four different sets of strings: 123, 234, 345, and 456, and play them in all the different inversions.” This was a game-changer moment in my career.
Stefan Joubert: How would you approach teaching a student who have never touched the guitar before?
Jonathan Osterling: Expectations versus reality can hit hard when learning something for the first time, and playing the guitar can be physically challenging too. My approach involves talking about music, analyzing the student’s favorite bands, and introducing music theory in an engaging way. I aim to create “wow” moments that help students understand music a bit better and, consequently, improve their guitar skills.
Stefan Joubert: What do you enjoy most about teaching the guitar?
Jonathan Osterling: Jammin! I really enjoy reaching this point with my students, where we can play some chords and improvise together. Beyond that, hanging out with them is great too. Most of my students become friends. They spend an hour with me, so there’s a lot of talking as well.
Stefan Joubert: Can you tell me about your Instagram channel?
Jonathan Osterling: I started getting serious with my Instagram channel about a year ago. It all began with buying a camera and temporarily putting music aside to learn a new craft. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. For two months, I learned how to operate a camera, understand the importance of lighting, and use video editing software (Final Cut Pro X) as well as my audio editing software (Logic Pro X). I learned how to edit and, of course, the hardest part was learning how to talk to a camera. Once I acquired these skills, creating the lessons wasn’t difficult because I’ve been teaching guitar for more than 15 years, so the ideas were always flowing. From there, it was all about being consistent and uploading lessons once or twice a week. Organically, the channel started growing little by little.
Stefan Joubert: How do you inspire students who have lost their guitar inspiration and feel that they are stuck in a rut?
Jonathan Osterling: This is a hard question. I think losing guitar inspiration goes beyond the instrument and the music. Most of the time, it’s external factors away from the guitar. The best thing to do is let it go, give yourself time, and find other things apart from music that inspire you. Go for a walk, climb that mountain, travel, learn how to surf, and then come back home and play the guitar.
Stefan Joubert: How do you help a student drastically improve their improvisation skills?
Jonathan Osterling: As Bill once told me, it was a game-changer moment: “Divide the guitar into different sets of strings—123, 234, 345, and 456—and learn how to play all the major and minor triads within these sets, in all their inversions.” This approach allows you to see the fretboard in a new way. Once you master these triads, you start to connect scales more effectively and understand the relationships between different chord shapes. This method not only improves your technical skills but also enhances your improvisation and overall musicality. By visualizing the fretboard in this way, you’ll find it easier to navigate and create more seamless transitions in your playing.
Stefan Joubert: Fascinating! When I studied guitar in Pretoria under the legendary master jazz guitarist Johnny Fourie he also introduced me to exactly the same method… It was an amazing eye-opening moment for me as I learned chords by rote before and now I could just make them up and learn them all over the fretboard! Wonderful stuff!
Stefan Joubert: Do you think in the modern world with AI we will lose the art of guitar playing?
Jonathan Osterling: I think live music is always going to prevail. While it may seem that in popular music we are losing the art of guitar playing, with the guitar no longer being the main instrument in many songs, technology has shown us that the art of guitar playing has actually evolved. We no longer have to rely on guitar heroes whose records we needed to buy or whose interviews we needed to read in magazines. Now, we have YouTube, a platform where we can discover raw talent like Matheus Asato, Chris Buck, and Jacob Collier. These amazing artists might have remained unknown without social media and technology. YouTube and other online platforms have democratized music, allowing guitarists to share their skills and innovations with a global audience, ensuring that the guitar continues to inspire and evolve in new and exciting ways.
Stefan Joubert: What are your musical and life goals going forward?
Jonathan Osterling: Have a comfortable life and play the guitar. It’s as simple as that. What makes me happy as a musician is playing the guitar—having the fretboard under my fingers and making music.
Stefan Joubert: How do you help an advanced player get more from their guitar playing?
Jonathan Osterling: Once you learn all your major and minor triads in all their inversions across different sets of strings, learn how to spread them out. Take the 2nd note of the chord and move it an 8ve higher. Now you have more options for playing the chord. From there, create as much movement as you can with a single chord. Try to relate all the information of the major scale to one chord. For example, if I’m playing over an Amin chord, I can use an Emin/A voicing to incorporate some interesting notes like the 5th, the b7, and the 9th. This approach takes your fretboard knowledge to the next level.
Stefan Joubert: How do you help your students develop their technique and speed on the guitar?
Jonathan Osterling: I’m not a fast guitar player, so I’ve had to focus on my rhythm and my ability to understand the fretboard to improve as a guitarist. But the best way to get faster on the guitar is by playing slowly and practicing consistently. The younger you are, the better it is, as you have more time and can spend more hours each day working on your speed.
Stefan Joubert: Thank you for sharing your wisdom and guitar knowledge with us. If you had to give students a paragraph of encouragement what would that be?
Jonathan Osterling: Remember, every great guitarist started as a beginner. Don’t compare yourself to others; instead, focus on your own progress and enjoy the journey. Every practice session, no matter how small, is a step forward. Embrace the challenges and celebrate the victories along the way. With patience and dedication, you will see improvement. Keep exploring, stay curious, and let your passion for music guide you. You have the potential to achieve amazing things, so keep playing and have fun!
