Due to the fact that I have been playing guitar for a very long time it is often easy for me to forget just how difficult learning to play guitar feels when you are a raw beginner. In fact sometimes I will deliberately change my guitar around say that I am playing it left-handed instead of in my natural right-handed way. This serves as a great way to remind me of how impossible guitar can feel to someone who is picking it up for the very first time.
There are some rules which will help you to produce good sounding guitar chords which should be one of your first and highest priorities when you just start playing. Firstly you need to recognize that just because you may have memorized how to form a particular chord shape that in no way means that you will automatically be able to change from one chord shape to another with any form of fluency or reasonable speed. In fact this is where you will find yourself spending the vast majority of your practice time. Learning a scale or a chord shape is in fact very easy however the technical skill of being able to change between chords quickly or playing up and down the scale fluently is where the real challenge lies.
There are three main rules that you should obey in order to produce the best sounding chords you can. You can also use these 3 rules as barre chords help as they are universal.
1. You need to press down hard enough on the strings so that they make contact with a guitar frets. This may seem a very obvious thing however the number one reason why most beginners struggle to get full sounding chords is because they do not press down the strings hard enough. This is because it hurts to do so when you have not yet built up the tougher skin on the tops of your fingers.
2. Next you need to make sure that you place your fingertips directly behind the guitar frets. Wherever possible your fingers should be in this position as opposed to sitting in the middle or at the back of the frets.
3. Lastly you need to arch the first joint in each finger at a 90° angle in order to ensure that none of the flesh of any finger impeds upon the string immediately below or above it.
By following these three simple rules you should dramatically increase the quality of your chords which will in turn make you sounds like a far more accomplished guitar player.
About one year ago I started getting into country music and it’s something which I never thought I’d be remotely interested in but I guess what they say is true “never say never”. I started listening to artists like Dwight Yokam and earlier stars like George Jones and I was hooked. Since I’m also a guitar player it only make sense for me to learn how to play country guitar on my instrument right? So that’s exactly what I set about doing.
The first thing is to make sure that you have all the chords down. This is pretty easy as if you’ve playing guitar for even a few months then you almost certainly already know many of the chords you’ll need. They are the standard open chords all beginners learn no matter why kind of music you wish to end up playing.
You’ll also need however to know your dominant 7 chords. The most important ones to get down are
C7
D7
E7
G7
A7
B7
With those you’ll actually be able to incorporate them into 5 different keys – the most popular ones used in country music. Luckily.
Now the next thing to turn your attention to is strumming patterns and rhythm. This is actually the most important part. You see, even though we are using the same chords as many other kinds of music what makes country guitar get its distinctive sound is how you play through the chords i.e. the technique you apply to them.
Country guitar alternates the bass notes in the chords. This creates a lot of interest in the bass line and really helps to give the chord progressions a lot of strong definition as you can clearly hear the powerful movements in the bass between the I, IV and V chords.
It does take some getting used to however with some regular practice done nice and slowly to a metronome you should find that it won’t take too long before you’ve got it mastered.
With that you’ll be tempted to play your first songs and it’s best at this stage to stick to the easiest ones you can find. Go back and listen to the early country records from the 50′s and 60′s for some great examples. The songs are very simple in their chord structure and many times only use 3 chords with the one same strumming pattern all the way through. It really doesn’t get much easier than that.
There are other styles of country guitar you can choose to specialize in such as a technique like Travis picking for example. As with most things on guitar it’s a never ending story – you’ll never master it all but it’s a hell of a lot of fun trying.
I recently came across a pretty cool little product which teaches how to play that classic old fashioned Mexican movie guitar sound – you know the one where the film is in B&W and the guy is singing to his sweetheart underneath the window at night it’s called Aprender a Tocar la Guitarra.
The course comes with a total of 35 video lessons, a complete course book and a nice little bonus on how to practice guitar correctly just like pro musicians do. I found this to be a bit of an eye-opener if I’m honest and it immediately made me correct some bad habits which I was having in my practice routine.
Como Aprender A Tocar La Guitarra
That’s how you say “how to learn to play guitar” in Spanish
For ages I’ve had an old nylon string Spanish style guitar lying around the house (it used to belong to my father). After seeing a few of the old films I got inspired to pick it up again and learn how to play this romantic Latin-American signature sound. I really like the tonality of kind of romanticism mixed in with fire and passion.
The best thing is that its not nearly as hard as Flamenco guitar to do. I have tried flamenco a few times on guitar but just could never find lessons easy enough to follow along to. Some of those techniques really do take years to master and it’s doubly difficult if you are only starting to learn guitar as an adult instead of being introduced to it as a child.
Well anyway there’s a free trial course you can take on that site to see if it’s for you, I recommend you give it a go as I think you’ll enjoy it a lot. It’s great sounding and easy to do! Always a great combination on guitar.
Put it this way; if you are a beginner who is willing to learn and master the guitar, whatever it takes, let me tell you one thing; there is a way to do it and it is perhaps one of the most essential parts of learning the guitar. This is no other than learning guitar techniques. Guitar techniques are like skills to enhance your guitar soloing skills and other skills as well. That is why if you are really willing to do whatever it takes to master the guitar, you could start from here, learning guitar techniques.
Guitar Techniques – Bend | doing the bends
But my friend, you should kill the motor first. I know you are now aching to get your hands on this but you can’t simply learn it all at once. Guitar techniques are not something that you could take lightly. They are not for beginners, if you really look at it. but if you really want to learn it, you would do well to start with a single technique and move on to the next one once you have learned it well enough in which you could say to yourself that the you have master it.
Guitar Techniques – Bend | How to do bends
Now, to start right away, here’s something that you could try. The bend technique is a technique that would guarantee your notes life and spice every time you execute it. All you have to do is pluck a single note and bend the string until you reach the next note that you are supposed to play. Do it slowly at first, and gradually gain pace when you are used to it. Experiment with different notes and different methods of doing the bends. This is the proper way of learning guitar techniques.
I’m not advertising this product. I’m just going to write something about it since I’ve been using it. I have the Guitar Rig 3 on my PC and it has helped me a lot on my practice, recording and even in my live sessions, I used it ever since I got back on the stage. Right now, I will write about my experience with it and how it shaped the sound of our album. So stay right there and read through the post and I suggest that you also get yourself the software and try it out for yourself.
Guitar Rig Review – Tones
The Guitar Rig 3 has lots of different preset rigs that are obviously ripped off from popular artists such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and other famous artists. However, the method of ripping it off was so superb that it actually sounded like the real thing. The software is capable of dishing out amp, stomps and cabinet tones that are really, really close to the tone and sound of the real thing. Sometimes, it is much more convenient to use it because you don’t have to bother about bringing in different amps because it’s all in one place.
Guitar Rig Review – Recording and Live
I have used the Guitar Rig in some of our recordings and no one could tell that I was using software. All the comments that I had was about what amp did I used or what stomp boxes did I use. It really does sound good. And on live sessions, I bring my laptop with me and my midi foot controller and the tonal quality that I produce on stage is superb as well. Many popular artists also uses guitar rig so why not try it. That’s all for this Guitar rig review.
After long hours of practicing guitar, it would be a great thing to do to rest between practices. Sometimes, giving yourself a time – off for a while gives you more focus. Practicing guitar, as we all know is something that is required. It is not something that you do when you feel like it. That is why if you really want to excel in what you are doing, you must definitely do what it takes to improve your guitar playing and that is to dedicate a certain amount of time to practice and guitar playing alone. Do nothing else but that on that certain moment.
Rests Between Guitar Practice – Continuation
However, practicing all day without breaks is actually not a good practice at all. Besides, you are only human. That alone is enough to explain why should take rests or breaks after a practice session. Not only that but practicing non – stop could lead to injuries such as repetitive – motion injury which is no good news at all. Better avoid it. To avoid it, all you have to do is have a break after every session, don’t kill yourself. Practicing hard doesn’t necessarily mean practice until you die no. that is a wrong impression or wrong interpretation of that sentence.
Rests between Guitar Practice – Conclusion
It’s a proven fact. You have to rest between your hardcore practices to avoid unnecessary injuries. This is very important if you want to be successful. You can’t succeed with an injured hand, you know. So better follow this advice, practice hard, and take it easy at the same time, if you know what I mean. The important thing is that you are focused, you know where you are heading and you know what you are doing. Done overdo things, get some rests between Guitar Practice and everything would be alright.
You think it’s difficult? Everything is difficult when you are just starting especially with guitar playing. When I was just starting out, I had troubles too. I also thought it wasn’t normal. I also thought that I was the only person in the world having that trouble. But the thing is that this experience is normal. Of course, it is normal for us to have difficulties with what we are learning because we are still not used to it. Learning is simply the process of getting used to a certain procedure, method, action or whatever it is. That is just it. That is pretty much the same with learning guitar.
Learning Guitar Chords – why is it difficult?
It’s only because you are not used to it, like what I have said earlier. It’s only a matter of getting used to things. Even Hendrix, Vaughn and Van Halen started out like this. They thought they were sucky guitar players. But the difference between them and us is that they were so determined that they would actually bet their lives with it. They were so motivated to learn that they never let a moment pass without being productive in learning the guitar.
Proper Method of Learning Guitar Chords
The proper method is to start with the basics. Start with the easy major and minor chords and do it everyday. Switch them and go from one chord to another. Here’s a tip: if you really want to learn chords the quick way, try learning a song that has some simple chords in it like “When you say nothing at all” by Alisson Krauss which has the D – G – A – D chord progression if I am not mistaken. Do this over and over and you will find yourself learning the chords. Magic ain’t it? Learning guitar chords is magic in the making.
How do you create a guitar riff? This is probably one of the problems most guitar players who are creating original stuff come across with. I mean it isn’t that difficult however, it’s very difficult to come up with an original riff. Most of the riffs that we produced are like rip offs from an original. That is normal however, because our heads are saturated with the music that we are currently listening in to. Riffs are needed to come up with an original song because rock music is usually riff – based meaning a rock song usually starts with a riff they have came up with and transformed it into a full song.
Most guitar players attempt to place everything they know on a single riff. Their main purpose is to impress people with what they could do. That is okay, nothing wrong about it, but MUSIC should be the main focus here and not something else. Making music is different from making sounds. Music is the goal of guitars. Besides, it is an art form, an instrument to materialize and make art form audible. If you could only see the miracle in the transformation of thoughts into audible form, you would really appreciate it.
This was popularized by no other than Eddie van Halen during the 70’s. He literally blew the minds of everyone who were watching and listening all around the world by his right hand tapping skills that were epic. So if you want to know more about this subject matter, you are in the right place and at the right time. I have just the right information the you need to know about this topic that we would be discussing now. This would really save you a lot of trouble, save you from the headache of searching for it elsewhere. So sit back, relax and read this while you can.
Right hand tapping is popularized by Eddie van Halen. This involves taping the stings using both the left hand and the right hand. This creates and epic effect. And since you can use both hands, you can hit more notes than picking. It’s more like fretting notes with both hands. Also, you must learn a lot of scales since it is still considered as guitar soloing. Knowing the scales allows you to know where to tap to make sure that you are still playing it in tune.
Pickups are considered the heart of the electrical guitar. This is the reason why we hear the sound of the electric guitar. Different pickups produce different types of tones. The tone of the guitar usually relies on the pickup and the of course the type of wood that was used to create the guitar. So if you want to know more about guitar pickups, I have just the right information that you need to know about it. This would save you the trouble of searching for it elsewhere. If you really want to learn more about how to control the pickups, this is the place to be. All you have to do now is to read this article.
Pickups can be controlled through using the:
Pickup selector – chooses which pickups you are going to use when you are playing the guitar. In most guitars like the Stratocaster, you could choose up to five pickup combinations. Some only offers three positions like the Gibson Les Paul.
Tone Control – it is used to modify audio signals before it is release thru an output medium such as the amplifier or simply directly to the PA system. This is used to get that exact tone that you want.
In playing the guitar, there could be many factors that affect you producing a good sound. It maybe that you are not playing the chords right, or you are plucking it wrong or simply maybe because your guitar is out of tune. To know more about how to tune your guitar, you should really read this article. I have the information that you need to know about this subject matter to fill you in on the lowdown on tuning the guitar. This would perhaps save you the trouble of humiliating yourself because you’re playing on an out of tune guitar. By the time you finish reading this article, you would be totally informed and you would be able to tune your guitar properly. Just read and follow what I am going to say.
First, if you really want to do it the easy way, buy an electronic tuner. All you have to do is plug in your guitar and tune and watch the dial go to the middle and that’s it, you are in tune. Or you could base the strings on these following notes:
The slide is another addition to the techniques that could bring life to your lead guitar playing. Slide is done by going up directly to a note through sliding your way up, this technique helps you accent your guitar solos, especially in blues. Phrasings would be blazing with slides. So if you want to know more about it, I got the right type of information that you need about this type of technique that could help you in your quest to that ultimate guitar dream. This would definitely save you from the headache of searching elsewhere when you can never be sure if things are reliable. We tell you right now, this ticket to learning because by the moment you finish reading this article, you would definitely have an idea about it. So sit back, relax and enjoy reading.
Slides can be done up the fret or down the fret. For example, your initial note is A on the 2nd fret of the third string and the nest note you will hit is the note on the same string. What you shall do is slide it up the D note. And that’s it; you have done a slide technique.
If you have an acoustic guitar, most probably, it has no pickups or pre – amps where you could plug in a ¼ inch jack. If that is the case, you can’t tune using an electronic tuner. So what would you do now? Don’t worry, you are not screwed. There is a method which was widely used ever since the beginning of time. However, to do this properly, you should have the 6th string tuned already to a standard E.
Play the harmonic (slightly touch the 12th fret) on the low E string then based the pitch of the E note on the 5th string on that octave.
Once you got it relatively similar, play again the harmonic on the 12th fret on the 5th string.
Base the A note of the 4th string to the pitch of the A harmonic on the 5th string.
Do the same method on the rest of the strings.
Now, to get the standard E on the 6th string, you could base it on a piano, keyboard or a song that you know plays on the standard E root chord.
The number of internet users all around the world is close to a billion, and most of them are connected to some sort of “social website” thing, connecting them to other people, regardless of the location, race or time. This is the magic of technology and you could also use this to promote your band and get more fans. Yes, getting more fans nowadays are not that difficult, and you can also do it without going out of your house. But of course, nothing beats the traditional way of doing things but why do it the hard way when there is an easy shortcut?
Facebook – it is today’s leading social networking site with millions of users logged in everyday. Connects people from all over the world with its innovative features. It has a group page in which you could create your band’s page and share your music, pictures and videos to all of your followers.
YouTube – a video hosting site that has millions of members. You can upload videos of your performance here and share it to virtually anywhere as long as it is connected to the internet.
The next difficult step of being in a band is promoting you to make a name. This is perhaps the most important part of being in a band because the key to having people listen to you is to be known. That is next to having great music, and there is nothing more effective than promoting the name of your band through different ways and means. Let me give you an idea about how to promote your group.
- First, you must have an established band. Established in the sense of having original songs, or an album that isn’t released yet. You must have solid band and a catchy band name or image.
- You could try doing a press release. Just make sure that you have something that would interest the crowd and the press like for example, a new album or an upcoming concert.
- You could also try teeing up with local products or establishments, free endorsement deals just for a start. For example, if you have a local barbecue grill, try to talk to them about you endorsing their grill in return for promoting your band as well in their grill. They could also name an item on their menu after you. Extra promotion.
The Euro tour of the big four has been recently completed. The big four bands are the biggest names in trash metal from the eighties up until now. The bands Megadeth, Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer. After concluding that tour, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth says that he is ready for more. He says that if opportunity knocks once again, they would certainly all agree with it and go for it. Mustaine was a farmer and Metallica member before he was kicked out and that was way before Metallica was basking in global success. He also thinks that it would also be weighed cooler if it was only Megadeth and Metallica, because he considers it as a great fun for both the fans and there’s career. And also people are aware that Mustaine and Hetfield had this disagreement in the past but they prove that it was long gone when they hugged in front of the people.
The whole tour was likened the biggest show in the trash metal world and fans from all over Europe enjoyed it. So let us just hope that there would be another one coming for us.
Anyway, Mustaine has also released his own autobiography entitled Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir which was released last week in the United States.
another common problem for performers, guitar players to be exact is an out of tune guitar. okay, this is elementary guitar preparation. You should be in tune when you perform and it is your initiative to tune your guitar before you use it. But there are some factors that de tune the guitar like bumping it on solid surface or other people (i.e. band mates) so you should always bring a tuner with you, an extra guitar and some common sense.
Prevention is the thing here. Prevent it from happening but when these things are inevitable, try not to tune in front of the crowd out loud. The best thing to do is have an extra axe or tune it between breaks in a song, like if there is a part where your guitar wouldn’t do anything, tune it there. Turn off the volume first and use your tuner. That is in fact the purpose of the guitar tuner, to tune it without being obvious. Or if you don’t have that you could just play with it and when the song is over, you tune your guitar. but don’t let the crowd wait too long or they might smite you.
it’s called 
