Archive for September, 2009

Any blues beginner guitar player will need to learn the chords and chord progressions that are used in blues music. When you start to learn to play the guitar you will be learning open chords which are mostly a matter of practice without too much pain, but blues music makes heavy use of seventh chords which are sometimes a little tricky. You can use the major or minor chords without the seventh if you want to but if you listen to a guitarist playing blues using seventh chords, you will see that the feeling is much stronger.

Without going into the theory behind seventh chords, what you need to know for purposes of this tutorial is that you may need to use all four left hand fingers to fret seventh chords. The G7 chord is quite straightforward but the C7 chord and the B7 involve applying pressure on four guitar strings. This involves the use of the pinky which will need quite a bit of practice.

The trick to changing to or from a seventh chord is learning to make as few movements as possible. Every unnecessary movement is learned by your muscle memory. Your fingers don't know that certain movements are not needed for a chord change - your brain is going to have to decide how to carry out smooth chord changes while your body watches and learns as it carries out the movements involved.

One basic trick for the blues beginner guitar player is noticing when to lift fingers off the fretboard. Changing from the A minor chord to the C major chord involves moving only the third finger of the left hand from the second fret on the third string to the third fret of the fifth string, yet beginner guitar players will often make this chord change by lifting all the fingers off the old chord position and replacing them in the next chord shape.

A basic chord progression in the key of E can easily be learnt by blues beginner guitar players. It contains the chords E, E7, A7 and B7:

E E E E | E E E E | E E E E | E7 E7 E7 E7 |

A7 A7 A7 A7 | A7 A7 A7 A7 | E E E E | E E E E |

B7 B7 B7 B7 | A7 A7 A7 A7 | E E E E | E E E E |

Here is the tab for the E chord:

e-----------------------|

B-----------------------|

G--------1--------------|

D------2----------------|

A----2------------------|

E--0--------------------|

The E7 chord is the same but has a D note added at the third fret of the second string:

e-----------------------|

B----------3------------|

G--------1--------------|

D------2----------------|

A----2------------------|

E--0--------------------|

The B7 chord is a little awkward because all four fingers are crowded together:

e----------2------------|

B--------0--------------|

G------2----------------|

D----1------------------|

A--2--------------------|

E-x---------------------|

And here is the A7 chord:

e------------0----------|

B----------2------------|

G--------0--------------|

D------2----------------|

A----0------------------|

E--x--------------------|

The seventh chords will take some getting used to but a few weeks of daily practice will soon have you playing these chords as if you had grown up with them. Once you have the basic chord shapes, practice the chord progression slowly to get used to going from one chord to another.

Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/blues-beginner-guitar-1280054.html

Through the process of learning to play fast electric guitar, a whole new bunch of options can be presented regarding your guitar skills. Bands will be more likely to hire you, your confidence will show on stage when you perform, and you'll continue to have motivation to keep practicing and performing.

Fast electric guitar can't be learned by wishing for and buying a guitar master course that promises results in a couple days, but takes awhile of commitment for your muscles to memorize the actions for this talent. Check out these tips to play guitar faster and starting getting your fingers to be more agile.

1. Curve your fingers with proper posture. When learning to play fast electric guitar, it's essential that you approach every technique with the idea of long-term results in mind. That's why keeping a comfortable curve in your fingers will greatly improve your ability to pass smoothly between frets and notes. Don't let your palms lie flat on the guitar neck because of laziness because this will only drag your speed.

2. When you push your fingers on the frets, be precise. There's a lot of pressure riding on those frets when you play the electric guitar, but sloppy placement might be a reason that you slow down. When you're playing scales and practice riffs, focus on a more precise placement of your finger tips before committing to the fret with pressure. Also, keep your fingers closer to the fret markers so as to reduce buzzing string noise.

3. Your hand should be perpendicular to the guitar neck. You're going to come across a lot of difficult riffs and licks when you play guitar, but you can't let them get the best of you by allowing your technique to waiver. Having proper posture with your wrist perpendicular to the fret board will set you up to execute the next riff with more agility. So when you think you might be compensating for those tricky chord formations, straighten that wrist and hand out.

4. Loosen your fingers with some stretches. Like other physical activities, it's customary to stretch beforehand in order to prevent any injuries, but with fast electric guitar, we do it simply to loosen you up for better performance. Allow your fingers to stretch back towards your wrist. Hold them there for a few seconds while you feel the twinge and then release.

5. Awkward chord formations will improve your ability to reach with your fingers. Getting your fingers to move faster actually has a lot to do with challenging their abilities. Any time that you're faced with a difficult chord or riff, embrace it to the fullest to strengthen your fingers and allow the muscles to adapt to the new situation.

Learning to play fast electric guitar is a difficult process, but you can do it by focusing on a goal and never settling until it's reached. Implement these tips for yourself and start impressing the crowd with the speed of your lightening fast fingers.

(ArticlesBase ID #1270255)

Kyle Hoffman is an accomplished guitarist that has been playing in a number of successful bands for years. If you want Kyle's FREE report on finding the best fast electric guitar courses for your hard-earned money, check out his well-known guitar blog, How To Guitar Tune

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/fast-electric-guitar-helpful-tips-to-get-your-fingers-moving-faster-1270255.html

Guitar pedals are on the market for electric guitar so that you can completely change the quality of your performance without much work on your part. It's possible that you might not be the type of person that enjoys pedals, but some of them are essential for playing a near-flawless show.

More and more guitar pedals are being created every day and it can be confusing to know what they all do to the sound of your electric guitar. Here is a short list of pedals for your electric guitar that can add more practicality, awesome style, or killer tone.

1. Go back to the 60s and 70s with a wah pedal. There's a few signature electric guitar sounds that came out of the 60s and one of them was the unforgettable wah pedal. Connect your guitar to a wah pedal and you can transform your tones into psychedelic waves that can really get your crowd in the mood to protest.

2. Get rid of amplifier hum with a noise gate. Sometimes your guitar amplifier might have a very powerful distortion channel that hums and hisses in the background when your strings are not vibrating. To get rid of that hum, connect to a noise gate pedal and when you're not playing your electric guitar, you'll hear silence.

3. Check your string pitches live with a tuner pedal. Whether you like it or not, the pitches on your electric guitar are going to go out of tune at the worst times and you need to be prepared. Get a tuner pedal to hook up to your guitar live on stage and you won't have to worry about crazy strings again.

4. Compression pedals will level the muscle you put into strumming. If you're the type of guitarist that varies their strumming during a show, but wants almost all of the material to stay level, you might get a lot of use out of a compression pedal. Compressors not only give balance to the level of effort you use to strum, but can add some attack to your electric guitar's notes as well.

5. Boost your distortion with an overdrive pedal. Sometimes an electric guitarist just needs some more distortion and buying an overdrive pedal is the way to solve that problem. The next time you feel you need more pump on a solo or raging verse, just stomp on your overdrive and blow the roof off the auditorium.

6. Mess around on stage with a loop pedal. If you're a guitarist that likes to repeat sections often and then add new riffs over-top, then a loop pedal will be perfect for you. Imagine playing your electric guitar once and then having that section to play along with while it repeats over and over again. It's your own personal back-up guitarist!

Guitar pedals are easy to abuse since they can distort sounds, alter pitches, and block noise, but using them in their context is the most important part. Think about this list of guitar pedals for your electric guitar the next time that you go to the music store.

(ArticlesBase ID #1262872)

STOP! Before you buy ANY sort of guitar courses online, read Kyle Hoffman's important FREE report on finding the best fast electric guitar lessons for your hard-earned cash! For even more awesome guitar skills and tips, visit his popular guitar blog, How To Guitar Tune

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/pedals-for-electric-guitar-boost-the-entertainment-of-your-show-with-impressive-effects-1262872.html

The internet is your best friend if you’re looking for cheap electric guitars.  There are many online retailers who sell them separately or in packages if you need more than one.  However, if you’re a beginner or don’t know what kind of guitar you need, paying a visit to your local music store or doing some online research is a good idea.

Here are a few of the best guitars you can find at an affordable price:

1. Epiphone Les Paul

This line of electric guitars is one of the best for beginners and experienced guitar players alike.  The Epiphone guitars offer premium sound and durability at a great price.  Many of them come with amps or instructional DVDs to help you start out if you are just learning to play.

2. Squier series

The Squier series of guitars is a little pricier, but you get a few more bells and whistles thrown in.  These guitars typically include amps, stands, straps, picks, extra strings, and cables.  They don’t quite offer the quality of Epiphone, but are still a good beginner option.

3. Silvertone SS11 Revolver

This series is highly recommended for new guitar players or anyone who’s on a tight budget and needs a good instrument.  It includes the guitar, an amp with CD input, case, strings, stand, picks, and a strap.  For under $200, this is a great deal, though you will sacrifice some quality.

These are just a few options if you're looking for cheap electric guitars.  There are many different models available, so make sure you do your research thoroughly before making a decision.

(ArticlesBase ID #1255156)

With the right instruction, you can easily teach yourself guitar even as a beginner. To find the fastest online resource that will teach you to play guitar in just a few minutes, visit http://teachyourselftoplayanything.blogspot.com/2009/09/jamorama-downloadable-guitar-lessons.html

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/looking-to-find-cheap-electric-guitars-1255156.html

A guitar is something that really defines the player and you need something that will define your death metal image on stage. Stick to the advice of professionals and don't go after something that is better for other unrelated genres like jazz or classical.

A guitar that is perfect for the genre that you pick whether it's death metal or pop rock is important to any guitarist. The next time that you go looking for a new guitar, take these points with you and make a very well-informed and educated choice.

1. If you have smaller hands, try a thinner guitar neck. Playing fast in death metal guitar is a common occurrence, but if you have smaller hands, getting a thinner guitar neck is a good idea. Even if you don't have the smallest hands when playing guitar, thinner necks can deliver a very smooth sense of playing action that's beneficial to the genre.

2. If you want to solo, you want more frets. When playing metal, guitarists are usually all over the place and all of the notes should be compensated in some way. If you want to be able to play some really insane highs on your axe, look for a guitar that delivers extra frets that most guitars don't.

3. Metal is all about fast action. If you're thinking about death metal, you can't help but think about playing fast and fast action is what you're going to need for your guitar. Pick out a guitar that has its strings adjusted very close to the fret board so they're not very difficult to press down when creating pitches.

4. A boost in the low end gives it growl and power. Guitars are manufactured to accentuate certain sounds and tones in order for it to serve better in the genre in which it's being played like rock or jazz. However, for metal, you're going to want a guitar that knows how to get low and dirty to mix well with the bass and that powerful kick drum.

5. Heavy guitars will slow you down. You don't want to be the one guy on stage that his guitar is so heavy that it's a struggle just to move do you? Get yourself something lightweight so that you can be thrashing and pumping up the crowd at your next show.

6. Get something that's really your style. If you show up on stage with something light blue or purple, you might not be the best representation of a death metal guitarist. Find that guitar that is in the style that you like, because you have to like the guitar's image most of all.

Playing death metal guitar is completely awesome if you can get the right guitar for the music. When you're out looking for a new guitar, remember these 6 tips on picking out a proper instrument for the genre and impress everyone with your new axe.

(ArticlesBase ID #1246748)

Kyle Hoffman is an experienced guitarist that has been performing in metal and rock bands for years. Get your hands on his valuable tips on playing fast electric guitar for FREE, visit his acclaimed guitar blog, How To Guitar Tune!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/death-metal-guitar-lesson-get-a-metal-guitar-that-will-suit-your-playing-style-1246748.html

If you've grown up with Zakk Wylde, Neil Young, Metallica or even Pearl Jam, you'll be familiar with the evocative sound of harmonics. In technical terms, a harmonic note is produced by multiplying the vibrational frequency of a string by a whole number. In practical terms, lightly touching a guitar string will make it vibrate at double, triple, quadruple, five or six times its ordinary frequency.  

Click for Learning How to Play Guitar

 

Natural harmonics:

•    Are produced with a left-hand technique

•    Are played with an open string

•    Can be produced anywhere on the neck, but are easiest to produce at certain places

•    Are indicated in tab with carets surrounding the fret number, for example <12> or <7>.

•    Are indicated in Guitar Pro with a diamond symbol to the left of the fret number

Artificial harmonics

•    Are produced with a right hand technique

•    Are fretted

•    Are easy to produce anywhere on the neck once your right hand technique has been mastered. However, there are sweet spots in artificial harmonics also.

•    Can be played with several different techniques

•    Are indicated in tablature with a 'PH' above the note for pinch harmonics

Click for Learning How to Play Guitar

 

To play a natural harmonic:

Lightly touch the string you are playing at one of the following places along the neck:

•    The space between the 3rd and 4th frets

•    Over the 4th fret

•    Over the 5th fret

•    Over the 7th fret

•    Over the 9th fret

•    Over the 12th fret

•    Over the 16th fret

•    Over the 19th fret

It is possible to produce natural harmonics elsewhere on the neck, but is infinitely easier at these spots. The easiest place to learn to play natural harmonics is at the 12th fret, where there is greater variance in the pressure you can use while still creating the correct sound.

Hold your finger softly against the string, so that the only thing the string is touching is your finger. Experiment with pressure and plucking the string until you hear the string ring, rather than sound deadened, or just like normal.  Remove your finger from the string after the note begins to sound.

Click for Learning How to Play Guitar

(ArticlesBase ID #1244343)

More Music Producer Training Tips and other Related Resources:

Sonic Producer - In this ever growing world of technology, anyone can be a musician. People are spending hundreds of dollars to buy video games, computer programs, and toy guitars to make music. Technology has made the dream to create the hottest beats using thousands of different sounds even simpler through Sonic Producer.

Beats365 - is your ultimate resource for high quality, royalty-free beats. With its low one-time payment fee, you can buy hip hop beats and get unlimited downloads and hundreds of beats that you can use. Its a very promising website that also offers to help would-be musicians, so if you are interested in making your own music, then this site is for you.

Pure Pitch - Pure Pitch Method helps singers & musicians develop both relative pitch and perfect pitch. This ear training program will greatly improve your singing ability and your musicianship. It is also essential for songwriting.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learn-to-play-artificial-and-natural-harmonics-on-guitar-1244343.html

The guitar can seem like a very intimidating instrument.  It’s true that at first it’s difficult, especially since you’ll need finger strength and calluses to be able to play well, and those take time to develop.  But with a little time, patience, and dedication, you can easily learn how to play songs on guitar just by using online resources – and never need a real instructor at all.

The first step is to learn each part of the guitar, what its function is, and how exactly sound is produced.  You need to know the ins and outs of the instrument itself in order to understand it fully and get the most out of your technique.  Having a thorough understanding of the instrument is vital to your progress, and shouldn’t be overlooked even if you’re teaching yourself.

Secondly, you need good instructional materials.  There are ebooks, ecourses, private online tutors, videos, and tons of other sources online for teaching yourself guitar.  Finding the right teaching resource is very important, since you want to learn proper form and technique – not to mention how to play your favorite songs.  Also, consider what kind of guitar you want to learn specifically; are you a classical music fan?  If so, you may want to focus on classical guitar techniques.

Practice is also very important.  To learn how to play songs on the guitar, you need to spend at least 30 minutes to an hour – ideally every day – practicing basic scales and technical exercises.  Once you have the hard part over, you can focus just on playing the songs themselves.  You can even start writing your own songs.

Remember, just as with any instrument, learning guitar takes time, patience, and commitment.  If you have these things, you will succeed and be able to play your favorite songs on the guitar – probably even sooner than you think.

(ArticlesBase ID #1238963)

With the right instruction, you can easily teach yourself guitar and be playing your favorite songs in just a few minutes. To read a review of one of the best downloadable guitar courses available, visit http://teachyourselftoplayanything.blogspot.com/2009/09/jamorama-downloadable-guitar-lessons.html

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learn-how-to-play-songs-on-the-guitar-teach-yourself-1238963.html

You might love to play the guitar, but you're not progressing at the rate that you used to. You can remember learning chords and riffs before, but now things are starting to slow down.

If you think that your skills are going through a dull period, don't worry. Here are some simple and fast tips to play guitar that can get you out of the slump and learning faster again.

1. Own an acoustic and electric guitar. Sometimes the different styles between the acoustic and electric guitars can hold a guitarist back on what they want to learn. For the best results, own each kind of guitar, that way you can hook up to an amp when you have time, and take your instrument elsewhere when you need to practice.

2. Talk to your friends and relatives. Your friends and relatives might have guitar information you didn't even know about, but you'll never find out if you don't ask. Sit down with some of your guitar buddies and trade secrets and tips to play guitar better.

3. Watch professionals in action. How are you going to know how the pros play the guitar if you don't see them in action? Go to shows or watch television specials of your idols to see what their favorite licks are and how they're executed.

4. Watch some online videos. There's so much information about tutorials and tips to play guitar for free on the internet that so many guitarists overlook it and get discouraged. Do some quick research on a search engine and you'll discover tons of valuable guitar information that can speed up your progress quickly.

5. Have a jam session with some other guitarists. If you like the style of some of the other local artists in your area, maybe you should invite them over for a little jam session. You can watch their tricks, trade some of your own, and if you're lucky you might have a small band starting in your living room.

It might really be discouraging when you're just not progressing like you used to when you first started playing the guitar, but you can't let that hold you back. Try out some of these tips to play guitar for yourself, and learn at least one new thing for the guitar each day.

(ArticlesBase ID #1225210)

Kyle Hoffman has performed in a number of successful musical acts as an experienced guitarist with enthusiasm in the rock and metal genres. To learn his effective tips on learning fast electric guitar for FREE, visit his popular guitar blog, How To Guitar Tune!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/tips-to-play-guitar-increase-your-playing-level-and-rival-the-competition-1225210.html

 Page 1 of 2  1  2 »