If you have ever tried to play any of the 24 caprices composed by Paganini then you know as I do how difficult they can be to play.
I thought I was pretty good at the fifth caprice. I would play it on an electric with a pick. Anyways that is nothing compared to what you are about to see. See for youself. I am definitely jealous.
Most of us are quite enchanted by the magic of guitar. The mesmerizing tune and sweet tingling of the guitar strings have enamored many a man who has later moved on to become musical legends in their individual niche. There is a roster of famous and successful guitarists who have mastered this enigmatic art of music.
Amongst the many legendary stalwarts, Jimi Hendrix undoubtedly tops the list of profiles of famous guitarists. A genius in its truest sense, the legendary Hendrix was born in 1942. An American by birth, the maestro was a singer and lyricist, and is considered around the globe as one of the most influential and enigmatic personas in the ambit of rock music. One of the milestones in his career was his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival which raised him to instant fame in the United States and was followed by many accolades.
Besides earning a huge name and fame for himself through his forte as a great singer and musician, the legendary maestro also improvised the art of rock music in his own signature way, and he incorporated a number of innovations and techniques into the older forms of rock and jazz music. Quite recently, Hendrix was inducted into the USA's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
The very meaning of rock music becomes insignificant without the mention of B. B. King, the master craftsman in the art of music. An ingenious guitarist and singer-cum-song writer in the American Blues, B.B. King was considered the Third Greatest Guitarist of All Time in the 2003 listing of Rolling Stone magazine.
The legendary musician started his journey in the world of music in 1946, and worked in the local R&B radio channel as a vocalist. However, soon after this he began recording under big names and became a prominent figure among the best musicians in the R&B music scene. Some of his greatest all time hits during this period include, "Whole Lotta Love," "Every Day I Have the Blues," "You Know I Love You," and "Please Accept My Love." Amidst his many achievements as a successful singer and composer, is included his most recent felicitation at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, for his maiden in radio broadcasting. Also, a grand memorial in the name of B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center is all set to be inaugurated on September 13, 2008, in Indianola, Mississippi.
Robert Johnson is another of the famous names in the world of guitar and its magic. Born on May 8, 1911, as Robert Leroy Johnson, the veteran guitarist was one of the brightest stars in the entire Delta Blues group. The period between 1936 and 1937 saw him in great guns when he claimed and proved his forte as a brilliant guitarist and lyricist, as well as an awesome singer. Often regarded as the "Grandfather of Rock-and-Roll," Robert Johnson is believed to have been a great influence in the world of rock music, inspiring many legends of the same genre, including Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Black Keys, and many others. Eric Clapton, another legend of the same kind, has called Johnson "the most important blues musician who ever lived."
Patrick Carpen is the designer, writer and owner of the website http://guitaring.infobay.ws/Infobay.ws is a content based, consumer oriented website that provides professionally researched, and up to the minute content on selected subjects.
So you've chosen to take up the guitar. Good for you! Now comes the hard part: which guitar is the best to start playing on? Well, the answer to that question depends on many things. It depends on what kind of music you enjoy listening to, what kind of music you are looking to play, and what kind of level you wish to reach--amateur or professional.
Before we go over each topic, let us first discuss the differences between Electric and Acoustic guitars.
The main difference between an Electric and Acoustic guitar is the fact that the Electric must be plugged into an amplifier in order to be heard loudly, while the Acoustic can be played and heard without the use of an amp. This is because Acoustic guitars have sound holes, which produce the sound. Electric guitars, on the other hand, don't have a sound hole and are thus known as Hollow-body's. Electric hollow-body’s can be heard by the people playing them, but are inaudible to others without the use of an amp. Additionally, there are Electric guitars with the ability to be played both acoustically and electrically because they have little sound holes. These are known as semi-hollow bodies and are very versatile because they can sound one way unplugged and another way on an amp. Finally, there are some Acoustic guitars, known as Acoustic-Electric's, that can be played acoustically or on an amp. However, these are very different from semi-hollow bodies, because they sound pretty much the same unplugged or plugged--the only difference being that the Acoustic-Electric when plugged into the amp.
OK, now that we've briefly gone over the different types of Acoustic and Electric guitars, we can now move on to the criteria for choosing a guitar.
The Music You Enjoy Helps You Decide What Guitar to Buy: Let's start off with the first topic. Obviously, those who enjoy listening to a certain kind of music are most likely going to want to play it on guitar. That is why you must take this into consideration when looking for a guitar. Choosing the wrong type of guitar could lead to frustration and giving up the instrument all together. Do you enjoy rock music--metal, modern, alternative and otherwise? Then chances are a hollow-body electric guitar is a wise choice. If that is the case, you will also want to purchase an amp. But what if you like rock music that makes use of both acoustic and electric guitar? Then perhaps a semi-hollow body guitar is the best choice. Or maybe you don't like rock and instead enjoy country or mellow music. Acoustic or Acoustic-Electric guitar is then your best bet.
What Kind of Music Do You Want to Play?: Maybe you're a big rock fan, but would rather learn to play mellow, acoustic-based songs. That's perfectly fine, and if that's the genre you wish to play, you definitely want to pick up an Acoustic or Acoustic-Electric guitar. It's also possible that you're a big fan of acoustic-pop but want to start playing rock & roll. Do yourself a favor and pick up a semi-hollow or hollow body guitar.
What Level Do You Wish to Achieve?: Are you just taking up the guitar for recreational purposes and not looking to form a band or master the instrument? The Electric guitar is probably a good choice. This is because Electric guitars are much easier to start playing on than Acoustics are. Electrics have thinner strings (which are easier to start playing on) and, when plugged into an amp, allow room for error. Beginner mistakes can be easily covered up with Electric guitars. However, you cannot expect to make mistakes and be a pro. Acoustic guitars do not cover up your mistakes at all--if anything, they highlight them. You are forced to play songs correctly and master techniques the right way. The learning curve of an Acoustic is steeper, but you will reap the rewards if you master it. A transition from Acoustic to Electric guitar will be incredibly easy, whereas a transition from Electric to Acoustic guitar will be a bit harder. Thinking about what you want to accomplish on the guitar is a big factor in your decision.
Well, there you have it. After you think deeply about the above topics, you should be able to decide what type of guitar to get. Once you’ve made that decision, you’ll probably want to check out our articles on "Choosing the right Acoustic guitar" and "Choosing the right Electric guitar".
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Gray Rollins writes for GuitarsLand.com. Once you've decided on which guitar you want to get, check out our acoustic guitar buying guide and our electric guitar buying guide.
I’ve just finished looking at Griff Hamlin's latest
package, Playing Through The Blues - A Guide For The
Lead Guitar Player. Obviously I see a lot of products
either because I'm looking for something specific, or
because someone wants me to promote their product.
Most of the time I'm less than impressed, but this
product has me quite excited because it is so different
from anything I have seen in a long time. That is why
I have taken the time to sit and type a letter to all
the people I know and tell you all about it.
Learning the blues can be a frustrating task. It seems
so simple, but only a handful of people seem to know
the trick to really making it sound great. Griff and
his team have put together what I believe is a really
thorough, step-by-step method that has actually been
tested and proven on his own guitar students over the
past several years.
The main book provides all of the scales, techniques,
theory, and tricks that you'll need. It follows a
simple and logical progression. Each chapter builds on
the one before it. At the end of each chapter, you'll
be told exactly what you need to be able to do before
moving on to the next chapter. You can't fail with this.
The best part, however, is the audio examples and jam
tracks. Every audio example comes with a full speed
and slow speed version, so you can play along easily
at first, and pick up the pace as you get better.
There's also 4 complete solos that really sound like
they are from your favorite blues songs. You could
memorize them and totally use them at your next blues
jam or gig. They demonstrate all of the techniques
throughout the book, and give a very good "real world"
example of the techniques and approach.
Also, there are 6 jam tracks that come with the
package, so once you get going you can just play
along with the band. And the tracks are really good
quality, just like you're jamming with a real band.
It's a lot of fun.
As a bonus Griff has included an excellent book full
of turnaround and ending licks. Some of them are
pretty straight forward blues, but a couple of them
are real head-turners.
As you can tell, I'm really impressed with this
package as a whole. The testimonials on the website
prove that I'm not alone. This is a very well thought
out, tested, and put together system.
Don’t just take my word for it though, take a look
for yourself at:
http://www.playingthroughtheblues.info
All the best,
John
A popular musical instrument, guitar has always been an intrinsic part of global musical tradition giving it an altogether different status. Being a string instrument guitar has really modified itself to a great extent from its previous form.
The emergence of the seven-string guitar in the musical scene was not a sudden move. A guitar having four pairs of strings usually marked the renaissance period. By the end of the baroque period it graduated into five courses and also used a variety of tunings.
The eighteenth century saw the emergence of a six-string instrument. These developments clearly reveal the desire to upgrade their instruments and increase the range of the guitar. Gradually this particular category became a popular form of instrument. It surpassed its counterparts in sound quality and other aspects.
A seven-string guitar as the very name suggests is a guitar having seven strings instead of six that guitars usually have. Having the essence of Brazilian culture and tradition guitars have traversed a long way only to provide comfort to frayed nerves.
The seven-string tradition is an old tradition that flourished greatly in the 19th century. The seventh string is usually kept below D or E scale. Infact, a popular genre of music called the 7-string music was the rage in the 19th century amongst youngsters.
The seven string guitar today has emerged as a key instrument in many music recitals. Topping its other counterparts like eight-string guitar and ten-string guitar, it has now become one of the most popular versions. It still continues to be a favorite musical instrument amongst the young generation of music lovers.
There are many artists who have taken guitar to great heights. Some of the popular seven string guitarists who adorned the musical landscape are as follows-
Rocky George
Ruud Adrianus Jolie
Korn
Andrei Krylov (musician)
Limp Bizkit
Jeff Loomis
MaNga
Meshuggah
Mnemic
Mushroomhead
Nevermore
Sergey Nikitin
Unearth
Steve Vai
George Van Eps
Yuri Vizbor
Vladimir Vysotsky
Voyager Project (band)
Within Temptation
Howard Alden
Alexander Dolsky
Battlelore
Stringskip
Carnal Grief
Martin Cliffe
Rusty Cooley
Dave Weiner
Dino Cazares
Don Ross (guitarist)
Fear Factory
Dave Felton
Fuseboxx
Alexander Galich
A typical seven-string guitar comes in the following shades:
Red Cedar
Engelman Spruce
Brazilian Walnut
Brazilian Rosewood
Popular types of seven-string guitars are as given below-
The Russian Guitar
The Brazilian Guitar
The electric guitar
Hogging the limelight in the 80s the seven-string guitar touched a new high in the 90s and completely revolutionized the entire art scene. The seven string guitar has also become immensely popular amongst the bands who used it to play high tunes and deep melodies.
Seven string guitars also find a niche in the progressive genres. Solo artists also made considerable use of the seven-string guitars to enliven their stage shows to a great extent.
Representing a particular genre of music this particular musical instrument made great forays into the world of music giving the entire music industry a whole new makeover. The magical sounds of music overflowing from a seven-string guitar are sure to touch your very soul.
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, and synthesizers. You can find the best marketplace for guitars, drums, and synthesizers at these 3 sites: seven strings guitars, drums, drum sets, and synthesizers, keyboards.
A large part of getting just the right tone from an electric guitar happens when the signal from the instrument is amplified. True, the original tone is an amalgam of the tone wood selected for the guitar's body and the electrical pickup technology employed, but the tone generated in the amplification process is definitely not to be understated or underemphasized. Most guitarists tend to lean towards tube amplification over transistor-based, solid state technology, but for what reasons, and are these reasons with merit?
Tube technology has been the choice of famous and novice musicians alike for decades, because its technology has been present the longest. Vacuum tubes were used in the first radios and televisions to provide power for sound amplification. Tubes are basically light bulbs, possessing a filament inside that must get warm in order to perform their duties. When musicians talk about their tube amplifiers, they inevitably mention the "warmth" of the tone produced. This warmth arguably comes from the true heat that is being generated by these tubes, a naturally emanating warmness generated from current through filament that can be heard in the guitarist's resulting tone. A tube sound can be described as possessing this "warmness" throughout the entire spectrum of guitar sound, resulting in mellow, "creamy" treble sounds that experience a "punch" or focus when strings are struck harder, while continuing to display thick bass sounds from underneath. Who wouldn't enjoy a warm sound that seems to vibrate and grow to fill the space of a given room? When guitarists first discovered the ability to overdrive tubes, achieving a clipped or distorted sound from the speakers, tube sound became immortalized. Guitarists found that more distortion could be added gradually as the gain knob was turned up, creating a more saturated, dirty sound across the whole sound spectrum. The amount of available drive that a particular amplifier can handle without overextending itself is called "headroom". This allows a guitarist to pump up the gain in order to overdrive the signal without experiencing electrical difficulty because of the increased power to the tubes. While tubes arguably provide the best tone possible, this tone does not come without a price. Tube amplifiers cost substantially more than their solid state cousins. Also, since the tubes themselves are made of glass, some care is necessary when loading and unloading tube amplifiers, though new advances are making them more durable than ever. Warming up a tube amplifier is necessary before playing, but ask any of the well informed sales associates at Strait Music of Austin, and they'll surely say the same: tube amplifiers sound warmer, fuller, and resoundingly better than solid state, and are definitely worth the extra money in the attempt to find that killer tone!
About the Author:
About the Author: Clint Strait is a third generation owner and assistant manager of the Strait Music, Austin Music Stores, providing the best selection of electric guitars and guitar amplifiers to Austin and the surrounding area for over forty years. For more information please visit www.straitmusic.com.
by Will Kalif
Right hand technique is often the most overlooked part of a classical guitarist's skill yet it is the most important. Improving your right hand will transform your playing from mechanical to brilliant and expressive. Here are some tips and techniques that will help you improve.
Your left hand determines the note and your right hand determines just about everything else from tone, to timbre, volume, texture and all the subtleties of the sound that comes from your classical guitar. Yet it is often overlooked when it comes to practice. If you want to really improve your classical guitar playing you need to start focusing on right hand technique. Here are some tips and tricks on how to do it.
Practice the types of strokes
A lot of beginner guitarists don't realize that there are two different types of right hand strokes you can perform. The first stroke (and most common) is the free stroke where the finger doesn't contact anything after plucking the string. The second type of stroke is the rest stroke where the finger comes to rest on the next string down after plucking. Practice your scales and arpeggios using both types of strokes.
Walking across the strings
You can set up your own exercises that will dramatically improve your right hand play and I recommend you do walking exercises at the beginning of every practice session. Walking exercises are simply exercises where you play across all six strings in varying finger patterns. You can do this without stopping any of the strings with your left hand (open) or you can do scales.
Heres how to do it: Simply pluck down then up the six strings alternating between your index and middle fingers. Easy enough right? You started out with your index finger plucking the bass E string right? Now change that up and start your plucking by using your middle finger on the bass E string! It feels quite a bit different doesn't it? Now do a three-finger pattern using index, middle and ring finger. And of course mix that pattern up by starting with a finger other than your index. This will probably feel a little awkward at first but keep at it. With a simple practice exercise like this your classical guitar playing will improve dramatically.
Get a Free pdf written by a master
There is a series of studies called 120 right hand exercises for classical guitar. Matteo Carcassi wrote these studies and they are in the free public domain. The exercises vary in difficulty so are appropriate for beginners to advanced. You can slowly work your way through them over time. Using these studies is a great way to improve right hand play and also improve sight-reading skills.
A Recommended Book
If you are looking for more guidance on improving your play I recommend you get a book by Scott Tennant called "Pumping Nylon". I own it and have made it a part of my regular practice sessions. It has a lot of practical exercises for both the right and left hand. In 2006 a new version of this book aimed at beginners was published. There is also a nice DVD version available if you are a visual style learner.
Because the left hand is closer to your eyes, and because most people are right handed focusing on improvement of the right hand is often overlooked. But if you really want to take your classical guitar playing to the next level you should make a conscious effort to improve your right hand technique. Your speed of playing, clarity, and ability to express with the instrument will be greatly enhanced.
You can download the free pdf 120 Right Hand Studies on the author's website: The Classical GuitarYour guitar will certainly give you more consistent quality sound along with a much longer life span if the correct care and attention is provided. Purchasing some accessories that are essential for the care of your guitar is vital if you are serious about playing the guitar. There is a well known saying that is certainly true, and that is "a guitar player is only as good as the sound and quality of the guitar he is playing".
A hard shell case is the first item which should be purchased, in order to ensure the safety of your guitar during transportation to and from different locations, where you will be playing your guitar. A soft or cloth "gig bag" is something which many people use for their guitar, these bags zip up and offer protection to the exterior surface of the guitar. The only problem with this type of bag, is that during transportation, the tuning nuts on the end of the guitar neck can move which results in the guitar becoming out of tune, as there is nothing to protect them from being bumped.
Cracks and actual punctures can also happen to the guitar when using a gig bag, if there is any kind of impact when loading and unloading the guitar. Whereas a hard shell case will in actual fact prevent this from occurring as there is sufficient space between the neck and body of the guitar and the case. The case is designed to take impact whilst keeping the guitar secure on the inside and keeping it in tune. A hard shell case is a more expensive than a gig bag, however that little extra investment will provide your guitar with better protection.
A guitar stand is another item which should be purchased for the care of your guitar. The guitar should always be rested on a stand when not being played. Many people choose to lean a guitar against a wall or a couch when not in use, however, this is not suitable. If the guitar is not stored in the correct manner, or not placed on a guitar stand, then the neck of the guitar can become warped, which will make it more difficult to play.
It is necessary to apply more force to the strings when playing the guitar if it is warped, as the neck increases the distance between the strings and the neck. This can result in very sore and blistered fingers, which is absolutely unnecessary. By possessing a guitar stand, the guitar can be kept in the same location when it is not in use and also prevent accidents.
A tuning device is the final item which should be purchased. You will become better at tuning your guitar the longer that you play simply by using your ear. However to begin with, you will need something that informs you of the exact sound and accurate tuning. Many of the tuners are very simple to use. It can be very embarrassing when your guitar is not tuned correctly, especially if you are playing to an audience and singing at the same time.
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of MusicianHome.com, a site that provides information and articles for musicians at all stages of their development.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Sinclair
Finding guitar tabs of your favorite songs and bands can be quite difficult sometimes as I am sure many of you know. The internet is full of free resources you can use, but it can be very time consuming to hunt them all down.
Recently I discovered a much faster and easier way for finding guitar tabs that I just had to pass on to you guys...
http://www.tabrobot.com/
Tabrobot is a search engine dedicated to finding guitar tabs with the click of a button. Just type in the name of the band or song you are looking for and their database will pull up all the tabs posts related to your search term across the net so you don't have to spend an hour looking for your favorite tabs. And that means more time for jamming out.
Enjoy!
Here's the link again...
http://www.tabrobot.com/
Learning jazz chords online can be confusing and frustrating to say the least. Just when the budding jazz guitarist thinks they've stumbled onto something along comes another version of the same song with a completely different set of chords.
For our present discussion, we'll limit our observations and suggestions to learning jazz chords online, however a quick browse through any well stocked sheet music store will reveal the same issues that any aspiring jazz guitarist must learn to overcome.
The choice of chords the guitarists selects has a significant effect on the soloist's choice of notes in their solos and presentation of the melody.
There's an endless list of possible chords, chord inversions, chord substitutions etc. that can totally blind side the newbie jazz player. In fact, the task is often so overwhelming that the avalanche of information swamps the guitarist with an enormous amount of stuff they do not have to learn.
So,before trotting off to another jazz guitar website in search of the lost chord, here's a few things to think about to pin your ear on straight!
Focus your jazz studies on specific objectives: a great idea is to learn the chord changes to "jazz standards".
Jazz standards are tunes that working musicians are likely to encounter at any time. Too often, guitarists with a rock or country background wishing to move into jazz don't know the tunes that are the common currency of players in all styles of jazz.
Here's a sample list of 20 jazz standards:
1. Autumn Leaves
2. All The Things You are
3. All Of Me
4. Ain't Misbehavin'
5. C Jam Blues
6. I Got Rhythm
7. Have You Met Miss Jones
8. Out Of Nowhere
9. I Cover The Waterfront
10.Satin Doll
11.Misty
12.Summertime
13.St.Louis Blues
14.Watch What Happens
15.Lullaby Of Birdland
16.Sweet Georgia Brown
17.Georgis
18.Take The 'A' Train
19.Stormy Weather
20.There Will Never Be Another You
There are many books that show how to use chord substitutions, but if the basic chord changes are not known, substitutions and embellishments often confuse the improviser and the listener.
When the musician is learning jazz guitar chords online, it's essential to learn the basic set of chords for the jazz standards.
Chord substitutions to basic chords are usually determined by the melody notes and the style of music being played.
The point is that guitar players can become totally absorbed in jazz chord manuals that teach chord substitution etc., without firstly learning the basic set of chords.
Keep in mind that while the melody of a jazz tune is usually presented in an accurate manner in standard sheet music, the harmonic changes are rarely suitable for a jazz performance.
Once the guitarist learns the skills of being able to uncover the basic chord changes to jazz standards, they can then re harmonize the harmonic background many different ways to reflect the way they wish to present a particular piece of music.
Understanding how to strip back the chords also helps the guitarist see many similarities in the small number of chord templates that thousands of jazz tunes are composed over, which helps us remember tunes.
I repeat, The essential skill to learn is to be able to 'see' (de-code), and 'hear' the basic set of chords.
The purpose of learning the basic set of chords when you are learning jazz chords online is to help the jazz player learn the basic changes and allow the player to add embellishments and substitutions on a solid framework.
Mike Hayes is a teacher, author, speaker and consultant. Get his tips and tested strategies proven to boost your guitar playing his membership site at
http://www.guitarcoaching.com today.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_P_Hayes
I stumbled across a cool site for guitar players called Guitar.com
You can create your own profile and share anything about guitar you want really. There are a lot of free video lessons on there by fellow members. So have you can have fun and maybe learn a thing or two... or three.
Here's the Link:
HTTP://WWW.GUITAR.COM
Learning how to hold the guitar neck can have a huge impact on how well you will be able to fret notes, chords and play scales on your guitar. The most important factor that will determine how easily and far you can reach with your fret hand is where you place your thumb.
The correct way to hold the guitar neck is with the thumb close to the center on the back side of the neck. See picture...
You might feel the temptation to grasp the neck with your thumb up high like so...
However this will make it harder to reach around the neck so try and refrain from developing this habit early on.
Placing your thumb to the middle allows your hand to act as a sort of clamp on the guitar neck and will prevent your hand from cramping up as quickly.
And from the front...
You will notice that the fingers lay on the fretboard much easier with your thumb towards the middle of the neck and they have plenty of freedom to move around. See picture...
Placing the thumb too high will cause you to choke the neck and there is less freedom for your fingers below the fretboard.
Hopefully you have found this information on how to hold the guitar neck helpful and are ready to move on to some actual playing. Just remember to apply the basic principles of playing guitar and in no time they will become second nature, without you even thinking about it.
Ready to Play?
Sign up to Ben's Free 6 part e-course and learn all the basics of playing guitar right now!Just like holding the guitar, holding your pick might seem like it is obvious. However not so obvious is the effect holding your pick the wrong way can have on your wrist and joints.
Their are two common ways to hold a guitar pick that you should familiarize yourself with. Then you can decide for yourself which is more comfortable to you.
Position #1
- The best way to describe holding a pick for this position is to first make a fist... |
Then...
 |
Relax your fingers so that your thumb rests on the side of your index finger.
Next...
 |
Place the pick flat on the side of your index finger and clamp down with your thumb. Leave only about 1/4 inch of the pick exposed.
Position #2
- The second way to hold a guitar pick is to pinch it between the index finger and thumb like so...
Both picking positions have their advantages and disadvantages, but is important to do what is comfortable to you. Here they are again...
 |
Position #1
 |
Position #2
Ready to Play?
Sign up to Ben's Free 6 part e-course and learn all the basics of playing guitar right now!You might think that holding a guitar would be second nature to most of use by now since we have been seeing the iconic rock guitar player plastered on everything from television to magazines for the last half century. However it always seems to amaze me that I still find many young players who could benefit from a lesson on holding a guitar.
The most important thing to remember is that it should feel comfortable, but their are some definite things to take into consideration that could help your joints and muscles from becoming over-worked.
First we will discuss the two sitting positions and the pros and cons associated with each.
Sitting Position #1
- The most popular way to hold a guitar while sitting is to place the guitar on your right leg (left if you play left-handed) so that the dip of the guitar's body is resting on your leg. This is true for acoustic and electric guitars. See picture below...
As I said earlier this is the most popular way to hold a guitar while sitting however I prefer...
Sitting Position#2
- In this position we will rest the guitar on our left leg (right if you are left-handed) so that the area where we will be strumming or picking is between our legs and center of our body. See picture below...
Notice that when holding a guitar like this your strumming arm is much more relaxed. This makes it much easier to do a lot of fast strumming or picking without making your shoulder hurt.
Try it both ways and see the difference for yourself.
Another reason to hold your guitar like this is if you own an odd shaped guitar like a flying V. See picture below...
Standing Positions
Their is really only one way to stand while holding your guitar and that is on your feet. :-)Bad joke I know, but I couldn't resist.
Really though their are no definite rules but to make it easier on your wrist and arms you need to find a good spot let the guitar rest.
 |
Too high...
And your shoulders will cramp up from being raised all the time.
 |
Too low...
And your wrist won't be able to wrap around the neck and your back will hurt from hunching over in order to play.
The best thing you can do is find a comfortable spot where you can easily reach every part of the fret board and strum the guitar with out over-working your shoulder.
That's Better
Hopefully now you should understand that holding a guitar properly is more important than many people think.
Remember to practice standing and sitting in equal regularity as you will find playing standing up quite different and perhaps a bit more difficult at first.
Ready to Play?
Sign up to Ben's Free 6 part e-course and learn all the basics of playing guitar right now!
The palm mute is a playing technique for the electric guitar that is especially popular in rock and heavy metal styles. To execute , lightly rest the palm of your hand just above your wrist on the strings. The best place to do this is right where the strings meet the bridge.
The sound of a palm mute can range widely depending on several different factors. The amount of pressure you put on the strings is an important one. The harder you press down on the strings the thicker and more percussive the mute will sound. Another important thing is the position of your hand. The further away from the bridge you place your hand the duller it will be. It will not sustain as long and the sound will die quickly. The last factor that manipulates the sound of a palm mute is the amount of gain or distortion on your electric guitar. More distortion will result in a highly compressed chug like sound where as less distortion will make your mutes more dynamic in nature. Heavy distortion also seems to have greater sustain.
One popular song that employs this technique is "Basket Case" by Green Day, where power chords are accented then muted to create a sense of energy and urgency
It can also be heard in The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun", and is employed on both acoustic and electric guitars by Al Di Meola. One example of the technique's use on acoustic guitar may be found in Di Meola's "Mediterranean Sundance". Probably the most famous example is The Police's Grammy-award winning Every Breath You Take
More aggressive styles of palm muting grew out of thrash metal in the mid-late 1980s with bands such as Megadeth, Slayer, Metallica, Pantera and Anthrax. The technique was fused with fast alternate picking, under high gain, to create a driving, percussive effect.
If you are serious about mastering the guitar you owe it to yourself to check out Jam-o-rama.info
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Palm Mute".
When looking to buy an electric guitar as a new player there are many things to ask yourself. Questions about how you will know which one is best, where to get that best guitar and how will you afford it. In addition to the guitar, you will need to buy other things that go along with it, one of those things being an amplifier. It is not as easy as walking into a shop and walking out with a guitar. There are many things to consider. Hopefully this list of hints will help you decide on the best electric guitar.
First is the body style. This is all based on personal preference and the genre of music you want to play. If rock is what you want to play, then you should go with a solid body electric. On the other hand, a semi-hollow body is more suited for the sound of smooth jazz. It is all up to you and the type of music you are looking to play. Look at what legends in you intended area of music play and investigate that same style.
Then look at the neck of the guitar. Does the size fit your hand? If you cannot reach some strings or the neck is too thick, you will not be able to play well. You need to find one that is comfortable to play.
You need to make sure the frets are properly aligned. If they are spaced incorrectly, then the guitar will go out of tune as you go up and down the fret bar. This will make it completely useless and you won't be able to play anything. You may need a veteran player to help with this one.
Make sure to check the tuning machine. There are two types of such machines, one is enclosed and the other is open. The open ones will need to be oiled more than the enclosed style, as they are more likely to rust in the open air. Beyond this one is not necessarily better than the other.
A large part of the sound of the electric guitar is the pickups it has. Most guitars come with two pickups but you can get guitars with up to a five position switch, which gives you a variety of pickup combinations to work with. These should be tried out before any guitar is bought.
Lastly, the wood of the guitar is a factor in the sound it will have. First look to see what people in your genre play in order to get a feel for the sound they have. The wood will also change the weight, so both should be considered before you buy anything.
Dave Lang is a professional musician of 12 years and a guitar collector. For free guitar lessons, useful tips on buying guitars and recommended beginner electric guitars, visit http://www.guitarprotege.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Lang
So you've mastered the 12-bar blues or at least the concept of it and want to push your blues playing to the next level.
Well your in luck my friend!
The best way to liven up your playing is to learn the shuffle rhythm. I'm not sure where the name comes from, but the shuffle is a term used to describe the break up of a beat into two parts where the first is longer than the second.
The shuffle rhythm is based on an eighth note triplet rhythm. A triplet is when you use three notes in a given time space rather than two. In a standard 4/4 time signature where there is four quarter notes the eighth notes would be counted as...
1-&-2-&-3-&-4-& ... where the &'s are the eighth notes between each quarter. to fill the same time signature with eighth note triplets we would count as...
1-trip-let-2-trip-let-3-trip-let-4-trip-let ... where the trip's and let's are eighth notes totaling three per quarter note. So basically...
1-& = 1-trip-let
The blues shuffle is achieved by playing the first and third notes in a series of triplets. So if the count is...
1-trip-let-2-trip-let-3-trip-let-4-trip-let ... then you will be playing on all the down-beats or numbers and the let's. I have bolded the notes you should be striking to better illustrate.
1-trip-let-2-trip-let-3-trip-let-4-trip-let.
To hear what the shuffle rhythm really sounds like try listening to Led Zeppelin's - You Shook Me or Grateful Dead's - Truckin
I hope this has cleared up any confusion you may have been having with the blues guitar shuffle rhythm or maybe it made it worse. Remember you can always ask me a question by clicking the contact link at the bottom of the nav bar and sending an e-mail.
Ready to start playing the shuffle rhythm?
Check out this easy guitar lesson that rocks and download the tab on that page. Play it using the shuffle rhythm and you'll see how cool it really is.
If your serious about mastering the blues you owe it to yourself to check out PlayingThroughTheblues.info
I've been seeing orange RSS or XML buttons more and more, not knowing what they were. So I asked a buddy about them.
Wow!
It's "the next big thing" -- you can use it to get newsfeeds from CNN or BBC, as well as just about anything else, including news on upcoming movies, DVD releases, your favorite band's tour updates, etc.
Once you get started, it's like having your favorite parts of the Web come to you. No need to go out and check for updates all the time.
No more bookmarks for me!
"RSS" means "Really Simple Syndication." But that is just a fancy way of saying that you can keep up with all the updates to Ultimate-Guitar-Advice without having to check the site every week to see "what's new." Whenever I put up a new page or update an old one, I release it through RSS. And...
I also include popular tips and lessons from time to time.
The popular tips and lessons are the extra-special techniques that can really help you to create your own style of guitar playing.
There are so many terrific things to learn about the electric guitar and I can share them with you through RSS. This gives you the best of Ultimate-Guitar-Advice without you having to spend hours on the site.
Yes, RSS is amazing. If you can't tell, I'm completely addicted to it. No e-mail. No spam. It's so easy to subscribe and unsubscribe. If you get tired of me, you just have to delete the feed.
And once you start, you'll soon be tracking all your other favorite interests and news in the world.
How do you get started? Easy (now that I know, that is! ha! ha!).
Download a free RSS Reader first (skip to bottom if you do not want to download software). This is special software that reads the "RSS feeds" from the largest news organizations right down to little old me...
Windows -- RssReader
http://www.rssreader.com
Mac -- NetNewsWire
http://ranchero.com/netnewswire
Once you're set up, here's all you have to do...
Right-click (control-click for Mac users) on any orange RSS button on a site, blog or news source that interests you. Start by right-clicking on the orange button below. Then...
COPY-SHORTCUTSelect Copy Shortcut ("Copy Link to Clipboard" for Mac), and paste that URL into your RSS Reader.
And that's it! You're subscribed.
Don't want to download new software? Yahoo! and MSN and Google have fantastic, one-step solutions. Just click one of the links below...
Add Ultimate-Guitar-Advice.blogspot.com RSS to your "My Yahoo!"
Add Ultimate-Guitar-Advice.blogspot.com RSS to your "My MSN"
Add Ultimate-Guitar-Advice.blogspot.com RSS to your "My Google"
By now you've probably heard of the turnaround chord commonly associated with the blues. I am also quite sure that if you have been listening to the blues for any period of time you have heard many turnarounds played.
Basically a turnaround is just as the name describes. It takes you from the end of the verse to the beginning of the next. Almost all turnarounds end on a V7 chord. This is why we will refer to the V7 as the turnaround chord.
Remember back to the basic 12-bar blues progression and how we ended it with a turnaround. You may play the turnaround with basic major chords and it will sound just fine but by adding a seventh to the V chord it creates a lot more tension and begs to be resolved to the tonic ( I ) chord. The reason for this is the added tension between the seventh of the V7 chord and the third of the tonic chord. To better illustrate the relationship the turnaround chord has to the tonic chord lets look at the notes in a B7 chord (V7) and an E major ( I ) chord.
Notes in B7: B D# F# A
Notes in E: E G# B
Now we can see that the seventh of B7 is A and the third of E major is G#. These two notes are only a half step apart on the guitar and that it why they resolve together so nicely.
Now that you have a better understanding of turnaround chords and how they can be applied to the 12-bar blues go practice using them for all your turnarounds. You will find that most blues players much prefer the V7 chord to the plain old V chord anyway.
If you are serious about mastering the blues you owe it to yourself to check out PlayingThroughtheBlues.info
Hybrid picking is yet another advanced guitar technique you can use to develop your style. It involves the use of the pick and fingers at the same time allowing you to play passages that might normally be played using a finger-style approach.
The mechanics of hybrid picking are easy to grasp. You hold your pick as your accustomed to between the thumb and first finger while letting your remaining free fingers dangle over the strings. By using your fingers to pluck notes that are on the higher pitched strings your pick can remain above the lower pitched strings thus creating less movement for licks that have wide string leaps in them.
Some great players like Zakk Wylde have managed to use it in a rather unusual fashion. Instead of only using it for large string leaps he will sometimes employ the technique for striking a note that is on the adjacent string. The reasoning behind this is similar to that of economy picking; to reduce the overall motion of the wrist and pick hand allowing the player to achieve greater speed.
I have always struggled with this technique myself and have never enjoyed its applications in my own playing as much as I have sweep picking and economy picking. If however you feel that this could be the guitar technique that could unlock your guitar playing and your style I suggest you give it a try. It is particularly good for country and bluegrass styles but not limited too. For your listening pleasure here are a few of my favorites that are noted for using hybrid picking in their playing. Jason Becker, Eric Johnson, Jimmy Page, and Billy Gibbons.
Learn all of the most important guitar techniques and much more at MusicMasterPro.comI was playing around on you tube today and watching some cool guitar videos and I came across this funny video. Enjoy!
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