- Drop tuning and Detuning a guitar
Guitars are typical in Standard Tuning, which is E A D G B E. Although if you play certain genres (generally heavier rock music), standard tuning may be pretty rare. Standard Tuning From the lowest (thickest string nearest the ceiling when you play) to the highest string (thinnest string closest to the floor), a standard guitar tuning is E A D G B E. When tuned to standard, your guitar is tuned mainly in 4ths (if you count A as one and count up 4, you’ll get to D). The exception is the G and B, which is a major…
- Am I too old to learn the guitar?
The best time to learn to play the guitar is when you are younger, at least that’s what we hear all the time, but does it really make a difference? Most of my students are adults who have never played the guitar before. This seems surprising to a lot of people but there are many advantages to learning the guitar later in life. The biggest advantage is you have decided to learn to play the guitar. You’re not learning it because your parents were talking to their friends and their child is learning the clarinet, so you better learn something! Think about…
- The most important chord for any rock guitarist
There are so many awesome things you get to do when playing rock guitar. Lead parts, a ton of distortion and you can basically put a pick slide in anywhere you want. What’s not to like? There is also one thing that most rock songs have in common: the Power Chord! Even if you have never heard of a power chord before, you’ve definitely heard them! From punk-pop to metal, power chords are the backbone of rock music. It would be impossible to even try and list the number of bands in the world of rock that use a ton…
- Can I learn to play the guitar without buying one first?
Learning to play the guitar, like any musical instrument, is a gift that will keep rewarding you for the rest of your life. It does involve investing in a guitar in the first place, but can you learn to play the guitar without buying one first? I get it; you want to try the guitar out and see if it’s right for you. So can you learn to play the guitar without buying one? The problem with this is you will never get to the level of playing that you dream of by playing the guitar now and again. You…
- Move Between Chords Faster
Every single person who has ever learned to play the guitar has had to deal with the annoying fact that once you’ve learned to make chord shapes… you now need to move them! The chords don’t sound as clean. Your rhythm is clunky and out of time. All the while, you’re thinking: “Ugh, I just want to play this song!” Here are some techniques that will help you to make the transition from out of time, buzzing chords to a smooth chord progression. 1) Look for fingers that don’t need to move Many guitarists, especially at the beginning, get great…
- Don’t worry if you’re not the greatest guitarist, most of the best guitar players aren’t
Maybe you dream of being an incredible guitar player. The bright lights are blinding for a moment before flickering away. The stacked speakers projecting your flawless guitar playing. You look over to your band mates with a smile as you hear the roar of the crowd. On your way to rock and roll fame, you might be dreaming right now of playing a small venue. The building packed with people who can’t wait to see you play and you’re having the time of your life. You might be thinking about recording your song and posting it online. There’s just one…
- Go ahead and play guitar badly, it’ll make you better!
That’s right; I’m encouraging you to play badly. I want you to hit those random open strings that sound out of key. Go ahead and strum that chord that your index finger has landed on the wrong string. Is that note buzzing partway through the riff you’re playing? Who cares! Wait, aren’t we meant to be getting better at guitar? Learning a new skill is daunting. No one likes being bad at something. Unfortunately, the only way to improve is to accept you are going to be pretty bad at it at the beginning. There are a lot of benefits…
Guitars are typical in Standard Tuning, which is E A D G B E. Although if you play certain genres (generally heavier rock music), standard tuning may be pretty rare. Standard Tuning From the lowest (thickest string nearest the ceiling when you play) to the highest string (thinnest string closest to the floor), a standard guitar tuning is E A D G B E. When tuned to standard, your guitar is tuned mainly in 4ths (if you count A as one and count up 4, you’ll get to D). The exception is the G and B, which is a major…
The best time to learn to play the guitar is when you are younger, at least that’s what we hear all the time, but does it really make a difference? Most of my students are adults who have never played the guitar before. This seems surprising to a lot of people but there are many advantages to learning the guitar later in life. The biggest advantage is you have decided to learn to play the guitar. You’re not learning it because your parents were talking to their friends and their child is learning the clarinet, so you better learn something! Think about…
There are so many awesome things you get to do when playing rock guitar. Lead parts, a ton of distortion and you can basically put a pick slide in anywhere you want. What’s not to like? There is also one thing that most rock songs have in common: the Power Chord! Even if you have never heard of a power chord before, you’ve definitely heard them! From punk-pop to metal, power chords are the backbone of rock music. It would be impossible to even try and list the number of bands in the world of rock that use a ton…
Learning to play the guitar, like any musical instrument, is a gift that will keep rewarding you for the rest of your life. It does involve investing in a guitar in the first place, but can you learn to play the guitar without buying one first? I get it; you want to try the guitar out and see if it’s right for you. So can you learn to play the guitar without buying one? The problem with this is you will never get to the level of playing that you dream of by playing the guitar now and again. You…
Every single person who has ever learned to play the guitar has had to deal with the annoying fact that once you’ve learned to make chord shapes… you now need to move them! The chords don’t sound as clean. Your rhythm is clunky and out of time. All the while, you’re thinking: “Ugh, I just want to play this song!” Here are some techniques that will help you to make the transition from out of time, buzzing chords to a smooth chord progression. 1) Look for fingers that don’t need to move Many guitarists, especially at the beginning, get great…
Maybe you dream of being an incredible guitar player. The bright lights are blinding for a moment before flickering away. The stacked speakers projecting your flawless guitar playing. You look over to your band mates with a smile as you hear the roar of the crowd. On your way to rock and roll fame, you might be dreaming right now of playing a small venue. The building packed with people who can’t wait to see you play and you’re having the time of your life. You might be thinking about recording your song and posting it online. There’s just one…
That’s right; I’m encouraging you to play badly. I want you to hit those random open strings that sound out of key. Go ahead and strum that chord that your index finger has landed on the wrong string. Is that note buzzing partway through the riff you’re playing? Who cares! Wait, aren’t we meant to be getting better at guitar? Learning a new skill is daunting. No one likes being bad at something. Unfortunately, the only way to improve is to accept you are going to be pretty bad at it at the beginning. There are a lot of benefits…