In the study of guitar in the area of Jam Bands is probably the most overlooked, yet essential, to study for anyone wanting a thorough knowledge of improvisation. A jam band is a band that spends large portions of their live performances through unplanned improvising...
If you are just learning to play here’s a very basic concept that will help you. The guitar can be awkward to hold and play at the same time for most beginners. After all if you’re busy holding the neck up with your left hand (to balance it) how are you going to...
Most people think an electronic tuner is just good for tuning but it can also serve as a great practice tool. For this lesson you’ll need a chromatic tuner. If you are not familiar with term “chromatic” this is the type of tuner that displays what...
Putting together an appropriate practice space can help speed up your progress. Practice should be any enjoyable, stress-free experience so building the right environment to do it in can be a means to that end. These are some guidelines I have come up with over the...
One of the more challenging adjustments guitarists have to make is learning to stand up when they perform. When I was about 15 I had been playing a few years and was ready to form a band. The first jam session I learned that when I stood up and played I couldn’t...
Memorizing sequences of notes, especially long ones in solos, can be a challenge. People often ask me how I can memorize really long solos and execute them flawlessly. The answer to that is that I don’t have them memorized. I have the melody memorized and I...
Songs are not always in standard tuning. This brings about the problem of not sounding exactly like the recording when you play along with it even if you are in perfect tune according to your guitar tuner. Even for some songs that are about a step lower (tuned down)...
Everyone has a favorite guitarist that inspired them to start playing and wish they could play just like them. Emulating the style of your favorite player takes a lot of study and sometimes intense practice. You can start by looking for commonalities you can find...
It is common to see great progress when you are learning a new skill in the beginning and later see your returns on effort diminish at some point. It happens in all walks of life such as athletics, academics and people just being “stuck in a rut” in their...
One of the most misunderstood concepts out there is that of music theory. Go tell a bunch of different music teachers “I want to learn music theory.” or “What is music theory?”. Chances are every one of them will approach answering it...
