Local and Online Resources

I truly believe that it is vital to support and keep local shops open. To that end I've added this page to promote local music and musical instrument shops and individuals. The listing below does not imply any preferences and is by no means a complete list. They are local to me shops in the Northern Virginia area.

NOVA Guitar Setups - NOVA Guitar Setups - for repairs, custom builds, maintenance and modifications. Eric is super responsive and his weekly newsletter is entertaining.
Foxes Music Company - Foxes Music for sheet music, instrument rental and musical instrument purchase. Locally owned since 1953.
Wolf Instruments - Thomas Andres Wolf is a local luthier. He did some great work on my double bass to lower the action and plained the fingerboard. He does phenomenal work.
Action Music is right around the corner with a great array of instruments and a helpful staff. If you're looking for a guitar, bass or accessories stop in from Tuesday to Saturday.

Online Resources

Guitar Scientist is a super nifty tool for creating finger and chord diagrams. There is a library of diagrams if you're looking to learn, a music theory lab in beta, and the diagram editor for creating your own. Check out Guitar Scientist - https://www.editor.guitarscientist.com/
Reverb.com has become my solution to doom scrolling; it's much more fun to look at all the cool instruments, amps and accessories. I've gotten some killer deals on pedals and gear too. You can too at Reverb.com

Preludio Music Lessons

Music has been a long time passion for me, and nothing brings more joy than seeing an aspiring musician achieve success. I provide beginning music lessons for people of all ages on acoustic guitar, electric bass, double bass and voice. My goal is to share music and music theory to help the student easily learn, play and memorize music. Let's connect for a free first lesson. Contact Info: Chris Dugmore Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justbassbeat Email: justbassbeat@gmail.com Text or VM: 703-996-9290 I began playing guitar at age 13. I could barely reach the E string to make a G chord. Starting young allowed me to develop muscle memory for chord changes and it seemed easy. But I know I spent hours working through chords like kids today on YouTube. Seeing my continued interest, my dad recommended I pick up the double bass because there were good music programs in college. I played my double bass in my high school band .. it was like a throw back to the early "Rockabilly&quo

The Metronome

Most students initially react to the metronome the way Captain Hook reacts to tick-tock crocodile. First, they look around to see where the imminent attack is coming from, and then run in fear of the constant ticking. Working with the metronome is really a requirement if you want to take your playing to the next level. And, when you make it big, recording in a studio, you’ll have a click track to keep everyone playing together. So it’s better to start working with the metronome when you start playing an instrument. Just make it part of your routine. I ask my students to get a metronome (I use TE Tuner -It really is much more than a tuner and metronome) to help them make chord changes in sync with time. I’d been saying, you don’t need to set the time fast, just set it to 40bpm and do four beats per chord. WHOOPS, this was a big mistake. At 40bpm, the space between the beats is, speaking figuratively, infinite and makes it really hard to learn and feel the rhythm. The 40 bpm setting ca

Preludio Music Lessons

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