As a guitarist, you should always look for ways to expand your chord vocabulary. The more, the better. Every time that you learn a new one, you should not only practice switching back and forth from that chord to all of the others that you know, but you should attempt to discover all of the possible ways to use it.The first part of this is self-explanatory -- you definitely need to keep learning as many new chords as you can. But the second part...more
You have a few options when it comes to finding advanced guitar lessons to take your skill to the next level.* Group Classes--Many people steer away from group classes offered by schools and organizations in the local area because they deliver slow progress. You will not be able to learn at your own pace as the guitar tutors usually preset the speed of the classes. In addition to that, advanced guitar lessons with guitar masters are usually...more
Rhythm guitar is an art form. Doing it well takes a lot of patience and practice.Fortunately, all of the more sophisticated techniques that you hear in recorded music (or live), has simple beginnings. What we're going to do here is to show you a simple foundational technique that in and of itself is used a lot. Mostly you will hear this on an acoustic guitar, but you will also hear this played on an electric on occasion.This little "trick" involves playing the root note (the letter name) of the chord followed by a partial version of the chord itself. We are going to use this root note as a bass note, so we will play the lowest possible available note of the chord. Let's use 8 basic open position chords to illustrate this:A [ x 0 2 2 2 0 ]C [ x 3 2 0 1 0 ]D [ x 0 0 2 3 2 ]E [ 0 2 2 1 0 0 ]G [ 3 2 0 0 0 3 ]Am [ 0 0 2 2 1 0 ]Dm [ x 0 0 2 3 1 ]Em [ 0 2 2 0 0 0 ]Use all down picks. Play slowly and evenly 1 beat per note or chord. Concentrate on accuracy. Gradually increase your tempo as you get comfortable.The A...more
As mentioned in part 1 of this series, there are several basic tricks that are used a lot in rhythm guitar. Here is another one. It involves alternating a root bass note with the 5th of the chord. As you might guess, this technique is called the "alternating bass note" technique.You will hear this technique a lot on acoustic music and occasionally...more
Music keys are actually organized in a very precise, mathematical way. This organization is called the Circle of Fifths -- Also called the Circle of Fifths and Fourths.We can't draw a circle here, but let's show it this way:Gb Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F# C#We are going to start with the key of C. The key of C has no sharps or flats.We know this...more
For those who would like to find out how to play guitar chord, the process could not be easier. Most people won't be able to learn to process by ear, but with a good program you will certainly be able to obtain fast results.When you are looking at how to play guitar chord and are researching on the different online programs that are available, you need to keep some important things in mind. Not every program is going to be one that is of actual use to you. Some programs do not take you through the whole process or technique required to master guitar.** A good instruction program should include--* Information on Alternate Picking* Arpeggios* Proper Bending* Finger Picking Techniques* Hammer-ons* Legato* Palm Muting Process* How to do Pull-offs* Slide Instructions* Strumming Basics* The Importance of VibratoIf the program you are looking at does not cover these basics then it might not be the best choice for you to learn to play guitar online. The method used for the delivery of the guitar lessons is much more important.** Delivery of program--Sometimes information is presented in a vague and difficult to understand fashion. When you are left to learning how to play guitar chord...more
The Pentatonic Scale is a 5 note (penta meaning 5) scale commonly used when playing guitar leads in popular music. There are lots of other techniques and scales used when playing lead, but you hear this a lot.Like all scales, a pentatonic scale has a...more
Do you regard your self a good 70's music aficionado, yet simpley can't manage to discover what people mean as soon as they speak about northern soul? For those who live outside the uk, it is reasonable to sumise that you simply could have been...more
Didja ever think about wanting to be one of them thar guitar players that you see on MTV and VH1 or even on Disney?Don't we all?It is a bit of a journey to get to that high place - that holy of holies for a guitarist.Being good at "Guitar Hero" is...more
Are you planning to take guitar lessons because you want to play your favorite songs on the instrument? Well, you might have to practice a lot because your favorite list might include some of the toughest songs to be played on guitar. However, that...more
Another choice that you have down the road as a possible career path is that of becoming a studio musician, or what's called a "session player".Or is it?Actually, this is not a career choice all by itself. There just isn't enough out there to make...more
Have ya ever been to the theater and seen shows like "The Lion King", or "Riverdance", or "Wicked" or "Phantom of the Opera"?Have you seen where the orchestra or band usually sets up and plays for these shows?It's called an orchestra pit.Is this...more