Once you have begun to learn all of your beginner guitar chords, and basic guitar scales, you will want to make sure that you are utilizing the best right hand technique possible in order to play your guitar is accurately and as fast as possible.
In order to learn how to play guitar good you’ll need to learn the right hand guitar technique called alternate picking. Alternate picking is also a great way to learn how to play your guitar chords correctly, and introduce the concept of arpeggio playing.
The good news is that you can start applying these simple alternate picking techniques immediately to your guitar playing.
Let’s take a look at how to apply basic alternate picking to your guitar playing.
1. Hold your guitar pick correctly
2. Practice using up and down strokes
3. Alternate your guitar strokes
4. Apply alternate picking to your scales
5. Apply alternate picking to your chords
1. Hold your guitar pick correctly: You want to make sure that you’re holding your guitar pick correctly. If you play guitar only with your fingers this will be a great opportunity for you to learn how to play with a guitar pick.
2. Practice using up and down strokes: The basic concept of alternate picking is quite simple. With your guitar pick you will be picking each note and alternating between down and upstroke’s.
3. Alternate your guitar strokes: Once you have the basic concept of alternating your guitar strokes for each string, (up and down, one note at a time) you can now alternate your guitar strokes. For example instead of picking: up, down, up, down; you will be using the pattern of: up, up, down, down, etc. The possibilities of alternating your guitar strokes are limitless.
4. Apply alternate picking to your scales: On the first note that you play your guitar scale with, pick down. The next note you will pick up. When you have mastered going up and down on your guitar scales the next thing you want to do is to have your first note be plucked upwards first. The second note will now be a down stroke, and so forth.
5. Apply alternate picking to your chords: Alternate picking your guitar chords will do three things. The first thing alternate picking will do is ensure that you are playing correctly each of the guitar notes on the chord you are playing. The second thing alternate picking will do with your chords is introduce you to guitar chord picking patterns. The third thing alternate picking will do with your chords is introduce you to what is called arpeggio playing. Simple arpeggio playing is playing the guitar chord one note at a time. Arpeggio playing is also great for playing guitar chords with slow songs.
29.12.09
How To Play Guitar - The Mysteries of Alternate Picking Revealed
Learn Beginner Guitar - 6 Easy Steps To Finger Tap Like A Pro
There are some very fun and exciting things that are unique to the guitar. One of these unique items is called finger tapping. Although the theory behind finger tapping is nothing new, there is just something about guitar player finger tapping that sounds totally cool. Many other instruments such as the piano and saxophone have tried for years to emulate the sound of a guitar finger tapping. At the end of the day however, there’s nothing like a real guitar player finger tapping like pro.
Let’s take a look at 6 easy steps to learn beginner guitar finger tapping.
1. With your left hand, place your first finger on the second string, fifth fret.
2. With your right first finger pluck the second string on the ninth fret.
3. With your third finger strike the seventh fret
4. With your right first finger strike the ninth fret.
5. Quickly lift your third finger off of the seventh fret
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5
Let’s take a look at a longer explanation of what is occurring.
1. With your left hand, place your first finger on the second string, fifth fret: Remember to use proper left hand technique and place your left fingers just before the fret to get the best sound out of your guitar.
2. With your right first finger pluck the second string on the ninth fret: if you are holding the guitar pick you will want to place it somewhere else for right now. Later on as you improve your finger tapping technique you can place your guitar pick in between another set of fingers.
3. With your third finger strike the seventh fret: This is a technique called a hammer on, and will require practice in order to get the note sounding loud enough to be heard. If you have a guitar amplifier; turning up the volume will help you to hear your hammer on notes until your fingers are strong enough to not need extra volume.
4. With your right first finger strike the ninth fret: If you are having a hard time hammering on the note with your first finger try placing your middle finger over your first finger to give it some extra strength.
5. Quickly lift your third finger off of the seventh fret: You can either lift your left hand third finger as soon as your right hand first finger taps its first note, or you can quickly lift your left hand third finger away from the fret as you pluck the ninth fret with your right first finger.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5: You now have the basic foundation to begin finger tapping!
Master and Learn Guitar - Revealed: Introduction To 4 Kinds of Guitar Harmonics
Let’s take a look at 4 basic kinds of harmonics that will help you to master and learn guitar.
1. Open string harmonics
2. Pick harmonics
3. Tap harmonics
4. Thumb pick harmonics
1. Open string harmonics: By far the easiest kind of guitar harmonics that you can learn how to play are what are called open string harmonics. Open string harmonics are when you lightly place your finger over your guitar strings. You can play all of your guitar strings at once, or, you can play individual open string harmonics. The best open string harmonics are found on the 12th fret, seventh fret, and the fifth fret. There are other open strings harmonics all throughout the guitar, however, these three fret areas are by far the easiest to find and play on your guitar.
2. Pinch harmonics: Pinch harmonics are individually pinched notes on the guitar. You can choose either your open strings, or any note found throughout the guitar fretboard. With your right hand holding the guitar pick, you will take the tip of the guitar pick and pinch your guitar strings. This pinching action will produce a harmonic. For starters, practice your pinch harmonics on Strings 6, 5, and 4.
3. Tap harmonics: Tap harmonics are the hardest of all harmonic guitar styles to play. Played correctly and you will have a very sonically rich sounding guitar. The great thing with tap harmonics is that you can play individual notes or full fingered chords. With your left hand place your fingers on the note or chord that you want to play. With your right hand first finger you will be tapping individual notes or striking the guitar fretboard with all of your first finger like a long flat stretched out hammer. With your first finger you will be tapping an octave higher from where your left hand finger placement is located. For example, if the note you are playing is on the six string, third fret, you’re right first finger will strike the 15th fret, sixth string.
4. Thumb pick harmonics: Another single note harmonic style that you can utilize is a combination of your right thumb and first finger. Choose your single note or chord with your left hand. Next, place your right finger an octave higher lightly on top of the string, above the fret board. Use your right thumb as a pick. Pluck the note keeping your right hand fingering position. Thumb pick harmonics are an expansion of open string harmonic technique.
25.12.09
Learn to Play Guitar - How to Read Tablature
Knowing how to read guitar tabs is as important as your fretting exercises. For beginners, it will look complex but to be able to learn to play guitar it is necessary to understand tabs. Some may comment that this is not significant but expert guitarists and those who are serious about their career view reading tabs a very essential part of music. It may sound difficult but don't worry because in due time you will learn to play guitar effortlessly and thanks to many online contributors there are now varying forms available to learn how to study tablature the easiest way. So here are some concepts to take note in understanding the guitar tablature.
The staff of the guitar tab is composed of six horizontal lines where the bottom line is represented by lowest "E" and the next to the bottom is the "A" string. There are also number representations in each line which tells you what tab to fret. An example is the number "0" meaning you should play an open string. Now, this is only the basic of reading guitar tab.
When a guitar tab is showing vertically stacked numbers, this means that all the notes should be played at once or in guitarist term strung all the strings at the same time. But when the notes are shown diagonally, chords will be played one at a time or strung the string individually. Usually, a chord name is also shown in the tab to identify it easily.
There also a few symbols that you will notice on a guitar tablature. Here are the most common ones that you should be familiar of. The "h" symbol meaning hammer on, "p" for full off or the "^" symbol which means you can either hammer on or pull off. Another set of symbols are "b" for bent to, "r" for return of bent. A "/" symbol is for an ascending slide while "\" means descending slide. Some other miscellaneous signs include "v" for vibrato but it can also be noted as "~" or "~~~". String mute is noted as "x". The "t" meant tapping with right hand. Lastly, the symbols "<>" are used for harmonics.
These are only the basic concepts of reading a tablature. In order to learn to play guitar, you must know these and apply in your guitar lessons. As mentioned above, serious guitarists do not take reading guitar tablature for granted.
By doing so, you do not only enhance your guitar skills but you will also be able write notes.
HOME :: Arts-and-Entertainment / Performing-Arts Acoustic Guitar Care - Transporting Your Guitar - What to Watch Out For By GK Eckert Platinum Quali
Transporting your guitar from one place to another can be tricky. You want to always make sure that your guitar is safe and secure. But it is not just theft that you need to think about, or even something falling on your guitar. There are some things that, particularly new owners, should know!
Guitars are very sensitive to cold
Just this week, I spent some time, explaining to some new students about the potential danger of "cold" upon their guitar. If you don't live in a cold climate, then you don't need to worry about this one, but many of us do. I have found many new students, just not thinking at all about their guitar. Results can be disastrous
In a winter climate, you cannot leave your guitar in the car, without the heat on! For instance, you cannot put the guitar in the trunk, stop at the local mall, go shopping and then proceed to your guitar lesson. I would never do that to my guitar! I would go home and get my guitar. I have taken my guitar into a restaurant, rather than leave it in a cold car.
Strings contract with extreme cold and extreme cold can cause some very serious damage to your guitar.
Guitars are very sensitive to heat
If you live in a warm climate, you're not off the hook. You cannot leave your guitar in a warm car, or trunk. Left in a trunk, that might be in the sun, you might as well put your guitar in the oven!
In my climate, I have to deal with both extremes. My simple rule of thumb is to never leave my guitar alone in the car. Never. It always goes with me. You'll never run into trouble with that rule.
Trains, planes and buses
Gig bags, those handy light nylon, zipper bags are wonderful things to have. They are particularly handy for children because they are so light. I would always consider a gig bag, a second case for convenience. For traveling, you want a hard shell case. They are more expensive and well worth the investment.
Gig bags, are however, better than the "soft shell" case. The soft shell case is merely cardboard and does not even stand up to water that well. But, if you are serious about your guitar, protect it with a hard shell case.
Be a bit of a pest, when it comes to baggage handling and always supervise the handling of your guitar whenever you can. Don't allow it come down the luggage chute. Luggage handlers should bring it out by hand. And for planes, it might be an idea to insure it, depending on the value.
Now you can travel with your guitar and know how to better care for your acoustic guitar. Your guitar can last a lifetime, but they are sensitive and need special care when transporting them.
Learn Guitar Easy With Classical Music Notes
The guitar is probably the easiest musical instrument to learn. It is also one of the most beloved musical instruments that man has ever known. It's a very compact musical instrument and it is also a very versatile one. There is one thing about guitars that tells you why any person, who has an appreciation for music deeply values its form and composition. That is the fact that you can never be lonely if you have a guitar and if you know how to play a tune on it.
Learn guitar easy with a few pointers to remember. First of all, you really need to have your own guitar. It is one thing not to own one's personal musical keyboard when one wants to learn how to play the piano or the organ, but a person will find it very hard to learn guitar easy if this person does not have his own instrument to practice on or to learn with. You can always borrow your friend's guitar or a relative's guitar if you can't afford to have your own guitar, at present. So this first tip shouldn't really be a problem for beginners. The next thing that you have to do is to determine if you want to learn classical guitar or modern guitar.
With classical guitar, you will have to learn how to read formal music sheets as the guitar techniques that you will encounter will be presented to you in a rather formal way. For modern guitar methods, you will be learning how to play a tune on a guitar through the help of chords and these musical chords are also known as musical chord progressions. For many reasons, people tend to learn guitar easy when they use instructional books and manuals which teach you to play guitar using the different types of guitar chords and the types of guitar chord progressions. One of the reasons behind this can be attributed to the eagerness of people to learn how to strum on the guitar. Whereas for people who would really like to learn how to play this instrument because they would like to distinctly make use of most of the guitar notes, these people are more comfortable with formal classical lessons.
You see, it is often a misconception that the world's greatest composers did not create classical music for guitars. Well, it is not true that the world of guitar belongs to this world's rock bands. Some great composers like Mozart and Handel created music for guitars and if you are someone who would like to learn Mozart for guitar, you can say that you are interested in classical guitar lessons.
Here is a tip for those of you who would like to learn guitar easy or those who want to play classical guitar. You need to familiarize yourself with formal musical notation first. Ask someone to teach you how to locate these notes on the fingerboard of a guitar. Afterwords, you'll have no trouble, as a beginning guitarist. You'll see; you'll have no trouble at all.
Easy Country Guitar Lessons For Beginners
Many of us might not know it, but country music is fast becoming a formidable force in the world of commercial music. The likes of Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, and the most recent, Taylor Swift, have taken the music industry by storm and have styles that remain 'in the now' even after decades have passed. If you're not a fan of bouncy pop music or don't really appreciate the loudness of rock or metal, why not develop an appreciation for the country sound by getting some country guitar lessons?
The Basics
Country sound is a lot easier to digest because it has a calmer, more soothing vibe. In addition, a country guitar lesson doesn't require you to plug into electricity to get yourself going. For most part, country music is accompanied by an acoustic guitar -- and, for many, this is both nice to the ears and the budget.
Easy guitar lessons can be obtained online or by going through guitar lessons DVD courses. Either way, country guitar lessons are a dream to have -- your parents and neighbors will also love you for it.
Learning how to strum country music on your acoustic guitar is similar to simply learning how to play this instrument. Of course, executing it successfully is dependent on how much you feel it, as the heart of country sound rests a lot on feeling and emotion. It wouldn't do you any good, or your listeners, to play country music that has no emotion to it, at all.
Practice
Whether you want country guitar lessons in preparation for a career or do it just as a hobby, it's not likely you'll get anything with your guitar if you don't practice to mastery. Listen to the songs you want to play, feel them, and do this everyday. Study the styles of your favorite artists and try to emulate them; better yet, try to develop your own style from what you've learned from them.
Don't stop practicing until you feel like you've finally made the song your own. Remember, country music is all about heart -- without it, the sound wouldn't mean anything, at all. You will find a lot of resources on easy guitar lessons online, as well as tips and advice on creating new styles with the guitar. Find your niche and practice. If you find that country guitar lessons are what you need, then, by all means, develop the love and start playing.
Easiest Song to Play on Guitar - Finally Learn the Easiest Song to Play on Guitar and Many Easy Ones
If you have just bought a guitar and are simply dying to play it, pick some of the easiest songs to play on guitar. Mastering the art of even playing one or two simple songs will make life thrilling and you will be eager to learn more.
Before you start to learn songs make sure that you know the fundamentals. You should be able to hold the guitar properly and strum the strings. Many teachers recommend that a beginner should master the basic chords before moving on to songs.
However one of the best ways to learn the basic chords is through a song. How can you find out which song is easy to play? The easiest song to play on the guitar should have 2-3 chords only. You can go for a slow love song as most of them have the three basic chords - A major, C major, and D. Before venturing on your first musical adventure choose a song you are familiar with. It should be one of your favorite songs which is pleasing to the ear. Carefully hear the recording of the song and read the sheet music before you begin to play.
One of the easiest song to play on guitar is the hit 90s tune Breakfast at Tiffany's. It comprises of three simple chords, D, A and G. These are some of the most used chords.
Once you are able to play D, A and G with confidence you will get this song right. The songs churned out by pop pioneers Beetles are generally easy to play. Love me Do is one of the easiest songs to play. It makes use of G, C and C7. If you get bogged down by C7 do not worry. It is very similar to C but has one extra note. It is easy to switch from C to C7.Another song you can begin with is Semi- Charmed Life. G, D and C chords are used in this song. The pattern of strumming this song is very easy to learn as it's rapid and continuous. You can even try singing it while you are playing.
Another good song for a beginner to start with is Wild Thing which makes use of A D E D, chords. One of the easiest songs to play on the guitar is the popular Yellow Submarine.
Once you begin playing your fingers will become familiar with shifting chords with ease. But remember success comes with repeated practice. In order to be a good musician you need tremendous amount of patience and dedication.
Even if one of the easiest songs to play on guitar did not come right, don't feel frustrated but try again. The next time will yield better results.
12.12.09
Guitar Practice - Secrets Revealed Here: 4 Uplifting Methods To Relieve Depression By Practicing Guitar
There are many newspaper and psychology reports that claim the benefits of listening to music in order to relieve depression. There’s just something about music that can soothe the savaged soul.
Another great way two relieve depression is by going beyond listening to music, and learning how to play an instrument. Guitar is just one of those instruments that you can learn how to play very quickly and easily with proper guidance and instruction.
Depending on how much guitar practice is accomplished by the depressed individual, you can quite literally learn all of the basics of beginner guitar within 3 to 6 months of practicing your six string instrument.
At first glance you might think that practicing your guitar is depressing. With the right attitude, and the right practice techniques, guitar practice is a major key to supporting the relief of depression.
Let’s take a look at 4 ways that guitar practice can relieve depression.
1. Choose to Practice Guitar: The choice to practice guitar is quite important when you consider that many times the foundational key to life change is determined by choosing to make a right choice. Making the right choice to practice guitar is the first step in the support of relieving depression.
2. Actually Practice: The next step to relieve depression by guitar practice is to actually sit down and practice your guitar. Actually implementing what you have learned on guitar will enable you to know that if you can practice one time, then you can practice again and again. By actually practicing what you have learned on guitar, you will be able to quickly reap the soothing musical benefits that come from playing and practicing music on the guitar.
3. Always look back from where you came from: As you practice your guitar you will look back upon where you came from and be amazed at what you can do on guitar. Compared this to what you are unable to do when you first started. Music therapy aside, recognizing improvement in your own personal abilities is a great way to help support and defeat any depression that you may be dealing with. It is very important to not get frustrated depending how fast or slow you learn on your six string instrument.
4. Frustrating opportunities: Frustration will always occur when learning a new instrument. By choosing to have the right attitude, you can take your frustration as an opportunity to look back where you came from and where you are now. For example, if you have been practicing your guitar for three months, it is important to look back and recognize that 2 months ago you were further behind than where you are now on your instrument. Instead of getting depressed, you can actually rejoice and use your frustration as an opportunity to increase your skills on the guitar. By letting frustration be an opportunity to increase your skills on the guitar, you will be helping yourself by getting rid of depression through guitar practice.
20 Easy Tips That Will Put You on the Path to Being a Guitar Hero
20 easy tips that will put you on the path to being a guitar hero
By Justin Sours
http://www.guitarmadeez.com
Practice how you play
When you practice guitar chords, scales, songs, etc., make sure that you focus on quality and not quantity. The guitar sounds a lot better if all the notes in a chord ring or you hit every note in that scale with perfect timing instead of rushing through a scale or playing a chord and having some notes be muffled. Just remember to focus on playing things slow and with good technique (This is Key!). Learn whatever you are trying to learn slow and then increase the speed little by little until you get where you want to be. That's how you guitarists learn to shred or solo extremely fast. They start playing a scale or riff slow and then gradually speed it up with a metronome.
Keep your guitar out of the closet or storage
This is probably one of the biggest mistakes that a person learning guitar could make. KEEP YOUR GUITAR OUT IN THE OPEN!!! Keep it next to your bed or in your family room on a stand or anywhere where it is out of the closet or out from under the bed. If it’s out in the open, this will force you to play it and force you to mess around and practice.
Memorize the fret board of the guitar
Memorizing the fret board of the guitar can turn out to be an interesting task. There are little tips and tricks that allow you to find notes really fast. The reason why all guitarist who would like to get good should memorize the fret board is because it allows you to play create chords in different shapes, find notes in different areas of the neck and allows the guitarist to familiarize and open up to playing in different parts of the neck. Memorization of the fret board is also very beneficial in soloing and improvising.
Jam with other people with different styles and techniques
You will not believe how much your guitar playing will improve when you jam with other people. If you ever feel like you are reaching a "plateau" (you feel like you're not getting any better) in your playing, jamming with other people will definitely open you up to new tips and tricks. There's always something to learn from someone else that plays guitar no matter how good or bad they are. Also, everyone's individual style is different and the more open minded you are to other styles, the better player you will become.
Listen to new types music and try to play it
I know it’s hard, just force yourself to do it. When all else fails go back to the basics of music. A great way to do this is to listen to some classical music for inspiration. Elton John is an amazing musician and he says whenever he reaches a dull moment or block in his playing, he refers back to church hymns that he learned when he was younger.
Read guitar magazines
Guitar magazines have allot of cool stuff, but they also have allot of filler. The one thing I hate about guitar mags is that they are extremely complex (not for beginners). The articles, stories and advice are cool but some of the lessons are intense! The advanced guitar lingo having to do with intervals of certain modes and technical guitar talk gets to me sometimes. It's nice to know that stuff but ehhhhhhh..... It can be boring.
Go to concerts
Nothings more inspiring then going to a concert and seeing someone rock out on stage and totally impress the crowd. I remember a couple of years ago; I went to Vans Warped Tour. Immediately after the show, as soon as I got home, I ran to my room and tried learning allot of the songs I had heard. When I saw The Eagles back in October of 06', I couldn’t stop learning all their songs. It's amazing to be extremely inspired and motivated once again about playing guitar and going to concerts definitely rejuvenates my interest in playing guitar.
Buy concert DVDs
If you've never seen any ACDC music video or concert DVD.... then we definitely need to talk. Angus Young is an amazing guitarist and It's just amazing to see that this scrawny little Australian guy can play like he does and with such attitude and soul. Seeing that guy rip up the fret board definitely shows us that anyone can play guitar... all it takes is practice, discipline, motivation and commitment. Concert DVDs are great because they show you up close and in really good quality what exactly a guitarist is playing, unlike music videos where bands just dance around and they add in the music later. Concert DVDs are filled with raw footage of guitar playing at its best.
Always use your guitar strap
This is another biggie. When first learning how to play guitar, I never wore my guitar strap. I ended up paying for it later and basically having to relearn guitar standing up instead of sitting down. If you always play with your guitar strap on, there will be no difference to you while playing either sitting or standing. Playing with your guitar strap will also allow you to get to the "show-off" level so you can impress all your friends earlier.
A lot of people who use guitar straps find that they fall off very easy or tend to drop the guitar. There are many different types of locking mechanisms out there (I currently have two guitars that use the DiMarzio locking mechanism and it works very well)). Go to your local guitar shop and check all of them out and see which one fits you best.
Play with passion (slash)
Have you ever heard a guitar player who is a great player, but you feel that there is something missing...... THERE'S NO SOUL!!! Soul is the emotion, the love, the purpose behind guitar playing. Listen to that same talented yet boring guitar player and then compare him to Gun's and Roses guitarist or Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash. Every solo that Slash plays has so much soul, so much emotion, and so much purpose. What I want you to do is Google "Slash - Godfather theme video" or get on Napster, iTunes, kazaa, etc. and download it. This video is nuts!! Slash plays with such a great amount of solo that it's amazing. I really don't know how to explain exactly how to add soul into your playing, however I will tell you that you will understand if you choose to stick with guitar and stay committed to the instrument. It's basically playing to express yourself and not to just play because you have to or don't want to but feel you should.
Watch the clips of legendary guitar scenes or solos
Here's some instant inspiration.... Go to yahoo or Google and click on the "video" tab above the search bar and type in anything having to do with guitar solos. You will find some amazing solos along with amazing guitar tricks. One really cool guitar clip I remember is of this Asian guy playing the super Mario brothers theme for Nintendo. That guy can play that song like you wouldn’t believe. There's so much inspiring guitar playing footage out there. It's everywhere and anywhere you look, especially online. Also, checkout the movie with Ralph Maccio from the 1980's called "Crossroads"... there’s some amazing guitar playing in it.
Try tabbing out songs by ear
This is extremely helpful. Tabbing songs by ear develops your musical ear very quickly. Choose one of your favorite songs and sit next to your cd player with a guitar and a piece of paper and try to figure out the chords in the song first, and then try to figure out the riffs within the chords. Once you find out the overall "key" of the song it's easy to figure out all the riffs and chords.
Take a college music course (Beatles, history of rock and roll)
While I was at community college for two years studying to get my Associates Degree, I had taken a "History of Rock & Roll course". This course was extremely interesting. There was so much music that this class opened my eyes up to. I gained so much more appreciation for the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who and many more bands of that era. Those bands really did change music forever. I definitely recommend taking a class like this anywhere you can; it will definitely open up your eyes to some great music out there and help you grow as a musician.
Read biographies of guitarists you appreciate
Some musicians out there have led incredible lives. The majority of them come from nothing and in the end, become legendary guitar gods. Look at Johnny Cash; he was a rural country boy that grew up almost penniless and turned into an amazing musician through inspiration and practice. There are so many interesting stories behind bands and musicians. Here's some that I find interesting (off the top of my head): The Beach Boys, Def Leppard, Metallica, Van Halen, The Beatles and Thin Lizzy. Do some research online and try to mirror yourself with these artists. It will give you a whole new thought process to playing their songs and guitar in general.
"Steal" riffs and ideas from other guitarists
I know it sounds bad but every great guitarist does it. Clapton stole the "crossroad blues" from Robert Johnson and the Beatles used some of Elvis' ideas and expanded upon them. Every musical generation steals ideas, riffs, chord progressions from the generation before and when it comes to music... its ok. I find this to help guitar players progress a lot, especially if you reach a plateau. One of the biggest things that helped me expand as a guitarist is to learn all my favorite solos by my favorite artists. Once I had learned them, I would play the same solo over different progressions in the same key and then play the same solos in different keys all around the neck and in different scale positions. Once I did this, I had "unlocked" all of the licks in the solo and I'm now able to use them in whatever I play. Just like how in video games you unlock new characters, levels and secrets throughout the game... you do the same in music. From there you can constantly expand upon your lick directory.
Play in front of others
This is one of the hardest parts about performing music. Playing in front of others is something that just takes time. Remember to relax and don't think about everyone watching you. Just focus on you and the instrument. The more you play in front of others, the better you will get. Everyone's first time playing in front of others can be pretty gut wrenching. Just remember that it gets easier every time and that you'll get through it just fine. What you can also do is videotape yourself playing and then put it on the internet. Lots of people including myself put videos on Youtube.com or other online video sites and its up to the viewers to judge. Some people will rip your playing apart but most will applaud you for trying and really like it. The way I look at it... "Led Zeppelin didn't write songs that everyone liked... they left that to the Bee Gees" - Wayne Campbell (Wayne's World)
"What if I screw up"? Who cares?! In music, everyone screws up while playing music. When big bands record in studios they spend days, sometimes even weeks recording tracks so that they turn out absolutely perfect. What really creative people do when they screw up is to elaborate on the screw up. If you hit a wrong note, maybe trying hitting the note again within the rhythm of the song and maybe it will sound good.
The Internet and Youtube are valuable tools...
Eric Clapton learned guitar by listening to old Robert Johnson, BB King and many other great blues records on a turntable and then trying to mimick the same sounds on guitar. Eddie Van Halen would be in his room with his door closed for days just messing around with different sounds that a guitar can make just by moving his fingers around in different shapes and seeing what they sound like. Alex Van Halen (Eddies brother and drummer for Van Halen) would go on dates and leave the house listening to Eddie whale away at 5:00pm and then come home to Eddie still whaling away at 2:00am. These artists didn't have the internet! They had a cassette player or record player and plenty of time on their hands. We're incredibly lucky today to have such great resources like youtube.com and the internet in general. Youtube.com is great for learning how to play guitar. You can find lessons, people covering songs, tips and tricks and just about anything that you need to get off on the right foot when it comes to playing guitar. The great thing about Youtube guitar lessons is that "they get to the point". No BS. Each lesson is usually under 5 minutes and they give you great info very fast, because who wants to watch a 30 minute video. Guitarists attention spans aren't that long, I know mine isn't. And Finally, you have the internet. The internet has absolutely everything you could ever possibly need, including Youtube.com, lessons, information, ultimate-guitar.com (for tabs), guitars101.com (for any other type of help that you may need), etc. The possibilities are endless. The point is that learning guitar today is and should be way easier than learning guitar in the past due to the great resources we have.
You can learn any riff from any song no matter how crazy or how fast.... just slow it down
Any riff is learnable, you just have to slow it down to a pace that you feel comfortable with, learn it, and then gradually speed it up. There are numerous programs out there that allow you to do this. One very popular one is called Transcribe. You can import any .mp3 file and then control the speed of the song. Practice the riff over and over and gradually raise the speed. If you can't play the at a given speed, then slow it down 1%, if you can play it and feel comfortable with how you played it, raise it by 2%. Doing this will allow you to master any riff, any song, anything!
Try learning the difficult songs or riffs that you've always wanted to learn, no matter what level you are at and no matter how hard the song is...
This is what makes guitar fun, seeing your improvement (ie. Quick Results). I remember trying to play songs that were at my level when I first started playing guitar. Stuff like : The Animals - House of the Rising Son, and Don Mclean - American Pie. I could play them ok, but they weren't really songs that I had started playing guitar for. I wanted to play Metallica's fade to black and Eric Clapton's Crossroads. I put the other two songs aside and started working on the new ones that had inspired me to play guitar. I had spent weeks and months on them even though they were outside my playing level. I was determined to learn them. I kind of wanted to be one of those guys that can't play anything else, just cover songs note for note. If I couldn't play any other song aside from the super hard ones note for note, I'd be happy. So I spent so much time learning these songs, and I could play them.... ok... not great.... However, when I went back to playing House of the rising son and American Pie, I could play them 100 times better. I played them like a pro. Its kind of like.... as long as you challenge yourself, you'll get better. You play with musicians that are better than you... you'll get better. You lift more and more weight than your used to... you get stronger.
A great musician once said.....
A great musician once said that as soon as guitar becomes a chore and isn't fun, that's the moment that you should put your guitar down. Come back to it later. Now this doensn't mean that when your first learning guitar and you get frustrated, you should put it down and forget it. Sorry, this rule only applies to guitar players who are advanced or who have been playing for a while. It sucks and is frustrating for everyone at first so you have to stick with it. The overall point is, guitar playing should be fun. Don't turn it into a chore or a task.
10.12.09
Tab Guitar Software - Some Choices
Guitar tab is the simplest way to write guitar music but if you do it using a text editor it can be time consuming typing out all those lines and getting the numbers in the right place.
If you want to write your own tab for guitar, software is available - free and for a price - that edits and plays guitar tab for you. Probably the best free option is TuxGuitar. The name refers to the penguin logo associated with the Linux operating system. TuxGuitar was developed for the Linux platform but will work on Windows as well.
With TuxGuitar you can write your own tab or music notation for guitar, with all the bells and whistles needed to write a conventional music score. This program also imports and exports the file format used in the GuitarPro tab editor. Just do a Google search for TuxGuitar.
There is an online guitar tab generator that writes the tab for you as you click your mouse on a picture of the guitar fretboard. The tab generator at gootar.com lets you click on a place on the guitar fretboard and you see the note on the tab in real time. You will also hear the sound if you have the correct version of Flash Player.
There is also a program called Easy Tab Maker Pro 4.31 which produces guitar tabs as you play. You plug your guitar into your computer and play. While you are playing, the program analyzes the sound to convert into tab form the notes you were playing and where your fingers were placed.
Learning to Play Guitar Tips
So, you've decided that you want to learn how to play the guitar! Unfortunately, it can seem very daunting to start. You might stare at the guitar and not have any idea what you're supposed to do with it! It's time to lose the fear and fulfill your dream of becoming a guitarist today.
The first thing you need to do is think about why you want to learn to play the guitar. Defining your goals will help you follow through with them. There are countless numbers of people out there who decide that they want to play the guitar, but who never actually follow through with it. Or, if they do, they quickly give up and move onto something else. Understanding the reasons why you want to play the guitar will help you stick with it and become a better player!
After you've done that, you need to look into getting some equipment. You'll need some direction for this, as there are many different types of guitars out there. Still, don't let the options overwhelm you. A simple acoustic guitar is all anyone really needs to get started. Other simple tools like an electric tuner will help immensely. You can sometimes get good deals at a local consignment store.
Of course, after you've gotten your equipment you'll need to take a course to learn how to play. Many people balk at the thought of that since hiring a private teacher can be quite expensive. There may be classes in your area, but they can also be expensive and you may not be able to find the time to drive there and back consistently. For many people, a better idea is to teach themselves. This is easier said than done though - unless you have the right course.
Many people make the mistake of picking up a simple book on playing guitar, or a singular instructional video, and expect to become masterful right away. It takes more than that! Thankfully, there are some great online guitar tutoring options that can really work for you.
The reason that learning to play the guitar online works so well is because it covers some new learning modalities. You can read information, watch videos, and listen to audios. You can also work with interactive software to be sure all of the information is sinking in. It's also good to know that the best online courses won't cost you a fortune. These are quite comprehensive and can quickly and easily take you into the realm of becoming an experienced, and good, guitar player.
7.12.09
John Petrucci Under a Glass Moon Solo
This is a video of John Petrucci from dream theater playing the solo from "Under a Glass Moon". It is from the December 2006 issue of Guitar World Magazine.
Check out the tab here:
Solo Tab