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Memorizing Chords and Scales on Guitar
There are many guitarists out there that are deeply concerned with the notion that memorizing chords and scales on the guitar is a huge feat, and it is but, to learn all of them that exist is simply ridiculous. Guitarists tend to obtain an abundant wealth of knowledge of chords and scales and yet seem to have trouble connecting everything together. All the information seems to be floating around... -
How to Approach Improvisation as a Beginner
When dealing with improvisation with my students, I use a systematic method that begins with the basic concepts of improvisation and moves through the styles to the more advanced forms of jazz improvisation. I will give a brief overview of how to approach improvisation as a beginner in this blog, there are many ways and this is only one approach, but I have found some success with it. A... -
Playing An Instrument Can Make You Smarter
It is now claimed that playing an instrument can make you smarter. Research suggests that remembering complex chords and scale patterns can, quite simply put, change the shape of the human brain. It will even boost your IQ by up to 7 points! Swiss neurology experts say that there is more and more evidence pointing to the fact that a musician’s brain works differently from those of others and even looks... -
Be a Better Guitarist in 10 Easy Steps
All guitarists want to be better guitarists. There are many ways to become a better guitarist and I am going to show you how to be a better guitarist in 10 easy steps. These are 10 practical ways that you can be all that you can be. 10 Tips For Becoming A Better Guitarist Find some musician friends and start jamming. Even if you can only play with another... -
Learning Guitar 101: The CAGED System
You’ve just learnt your first barre chords and you’re feeling like a Guitar Hero. There’s nothing like the feeling of conquering chords you’ve been working on for hour after hour, week after week. That is until your band mate slides over and says: “Let’s take it down a major third”. What does that even mean? Now you’ve gone from Guitar Hero to Guitar Zero.This is where the CAGED system... -
Improve Your Guitar Playing By Listening To Other Instruments
After a few years, when you’ve built up your technique and improvising skills, you’re bound to hit a point where you feel that you’re not improving, or at least not improving as much as you would like to. You feel that while improvising you keep using the same ideas and techniques. You know how to sweep your CAGED shapes, various patterns to use for your runs, the latest tapping... -
The Benefits of Playing Guitar with Other Musicians
“Practice isn’t doing scales but doing things like writing, jamming with other people or playing gigs.” –Tommy Bolin (Deep Purple, Zephyr, The James Gang) There are countless benefits to playing guitar with other musicians. Not only is it the general aim for most people that start to play guitar, but also it is the most fun you can have on your instrument. I’d say the number one benefit is that... -
Guitar Playing Tricks and Tips: Travis Picking
Travis Picking Travis picking (named after the Country and Western legend Merle Travis) is a technique that involves playing a constant bass pattern with the thumb of the right hand. In order to master this technique you must get your thumb to become completely independent from the rest of the fingers on your picking hand, thus freeing up your other fingers to create rhythmic and melodic interest. Try repeating... -
Advantages Of Playing Acoustic Guitar
I think the acoustic guitar has a bit of a bad rep and hopefully, this will fix that as well as get some more people interested in the acoustic guitar again. One of the reasons for this is probably because often the acoustic is your first guitar that you learn on, and just a stepping-stone to the electric guitar and all its amplified glory. Another reason might be that... -
Understanding Modes On Guitar
Understanding modes on guitar is a big topic when guitarists start expanding their playing. Can knowledge of modes make you more attractive to the opposite sex? Or increase the speed in your picking hand? Unfortunately not, but for those of us with a desire to expand our knowledge of music and to play more tunefully, they are a more than worthwhile topic of study. I have often been asked...