The plectrum, or “pick” as it more commonly known, is a small flat plastic object that is usually no more than two to three centimetres in diameter and available in various thicknesses measured by the millimetre, that has been aiding guitarists for decades in playing our favourite songs. There is some confusion as to where [...]
The Correct Way To Practice: Some Tips
- Put in the hours : The most important thing to do when practicing is ...
How To Accelerate Your Playing In Six Months
The first thing to do when deciding to advance your playing in a certain period of time is to set short-term reachable goals within a long term goal. The long term goal here would be to advance your playing in a period of six months. In order to do this you must break up the [...]
How To Get A Stevie Ray Vaughan Tone
Possibly one of the most sort after guitar tones, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s signature sound is an ongoing debate in the musical world today. Being introduced to SRV and Double Trouble, and after recovering from my face melt by Stevie’s pure natural guitaring abilities, the facet that most captured mine (and most first time listeners’) attention [...]
10 Jazz Musicians To Study To Mold Your Playing
One of the most important jazz musicians to study to shape your playing, would be saxophonist Charlie Parker one of the founding fathers of the bebop era of jazz. Many musicians transcribe and learn to play his solo’s to delve into the style of Parker, his rhythmic language In particular was superb and and many [...]
9 Songs Every Beginner Should Know
For the beginner guitarist, here is a list of 9 songs that are easily recognisable, easy to learn and will leave you feeling good after a run through. By learning the 9 songs listed below you will have covered some essential basics e.g. strumming patterns, string skipping with the plectrum, barre chords, single string riffs and leads. These techniques will [...]
Finger Style Bass
There are many different styles of playing the bass guitar; most prominent among rock bassists is the use of a pick, or plectrum, to get a more clearly defined sound out of each note. Jazz, Blues and funk styles favour the use of plucking the four (or five) strings of the bass guitar with one’s [...]
Common Obstacles That Beginners Make And Getting Over Them
Most beginners, when starting out at anything new, more often than not come face to face with a seemingly un-climbable wall of obstacles. Some people at this point attempt to climb this wall, some succeed and some don’t, and other people merely turnaround and go home. Playing the guitar is no exception. It brings about [...]
Lessons Learnt From My Pupils Parents
Encouragement and Recognition: Babies cry for it – grown men die for it. That is such an extremely important saying that every person should have that ingrained in there heads. In business, relationships and family – this is a vital key to letting people excel and grow. I find some parents prefer to criticize their [...]
Compression Pedals: What’s the Big Deal? (Part 1)
During the course of our lives as guitar players and enthusiasts, many of us have developed a particularly dire malady. I guess it may be traced back to the hours spent drooling over the latest cool guitar/amp/effect pedal that arrived at our local music store, or perhaps the sense of awe and intimidation that overcomes [...]
Compression Pedals: What’s the Big Deal? (Part 2)
Welcome back to our discussion regarding the compression pedal. Last time I mentioned being under awed by a compressor when trying it out at a store. After taking some advice, I returned for another go and this time set the compressor quite subtly and then left it on for about 10 or 15 minutes, simply [...]
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Fender Stratocaster: The Industry Standard Guitar?
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9 Songs Every Beginner Should Know
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How To Get The Most Out Of Your Guitar Lessons
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The Correct Way To Practice: Some Tips
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Acoustic vs. Electric
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