Guitar Tuning Tips

Most new guitar players and even some experienced ones have trouble staying and playing in tune. I'll try listing here some of the common mistakes and there solutions.

When putting new strings on your guitar you must always make sure you stretch them as you tune them to pitch. I always hold them down on the neck around the 24th fret with my left hand while pulling them away from the guitar body with my right hand. You don't have to use too much muscle, a few firm tugs should do the trick.

Whenever you tune a string down in pitch, be sure to use the string stretching technique described above. Remember ALWAYS TUNE UP! It's always better when tuning down, to get close to the note, stretch the string and then tune up to the intended pitch.

You should purchase a quality tuner from a music store like zZounds.com . You don't need to spend your life's saving. An inexpensive tuner should be fine to start out. Remember, this thing will be traveling to gigs and jam sessions with you. I would recommend a good Boss tuner or Korg tuner. Both brands have low cost tuners that will do the job just fine.

If your guitar has a tremolo bridge, always remember that each string that you tune will go down in pitch as you tune the next string. One solution to this is to over tune the strings. That is to say, you may need to tune your low E string to an F in order to have it be around an E note by the time you finish tuning the other strings. Over time you'll get a feel for how much you need to over tune each string and it will become second nature.

If you play in a band, it is a good idea to always tune to the same pitch. Standard pitch is 440 but some bands like to tune down to 430 or even 420 for the heavier sound or vocal reasons or both. My point is that if you're practicing at 430 then you have a gig and your band tunes to 440, everything will suddenly sound different, your singer might not be able hit all the notes he or she did at practice, your solos might even sound wrong. This is because everything is now a half step higher in pitch. Make things easy on yourself, pick a pitch and stick with it, at practice and gigs.

Free online guitar lessons presented by guitarmetal.com

Edward D Cupler is the owner of guitar lessons website guitarmetal.com Offering free guitar lessons to beginners and advanced students. Visit Eds site for free online guitar lessons at Guitar Metal.

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Guitar Players...Get a Balanced Guitar Practice Diet

Do you have a wide variety of things that you practice. Or do you like to binge? (You know...the type of player who
practices sweep picking for a kazillion hours a day but only know three chords)!

Having a balanced practice routine is essential if you want to become a versatile guitarist. If you just practice one or
two things, sure you'll get great at those things...but you'll be weak in other key areas.

In this lesson you'll learn how to create a practice routine that is well-balanced and will
help you work towards your ultimate vision of how you would like to play.

I generally categorise what I practice into one of seven areas:

• Technique.
• Repertoire (Covers).
• Composition.
• Improvisation.
• Ear Training.
• Theory.
• Music Reading.

Everything that you practice will fit into one or more of the above areas. For example,
if you are learning a very challenging cover tune by transcribing it off the CD you are
essentially working on your technique, repertoire and ear training at the same time. If
you also write down the song in standard notation, you will also be developing your
music reading skills.

Now…do you have to practice things in all seven areas? I believe that you don't have
to if your vision doesn't require it. For example, if someone wants to become an
awesome classical guitarist and has no desire to improvise, then I believe that they
don't need to practice things relating to improvisation. We all have limited time
available for practice, so it's a waste of time working on things that don't specifically
help you reach your goals.

Let's go through a few exercises…

Exercise One:

Think about the vision that you have for your playing for a few minutes.How would you like to play
in ten years time. Make it exact!

Once you've done that, brainstorm as many things that you need to practice in order to play like
your vision. What specific things do you need to learn, develop and practice? Write them down now.

Exercise Two:

Next to each of the things written down for Exercise One, write down a category next to it. For
example, if you wrote "I need to be able to play faster" then write technique next to it.
If you feel that something you wrote belongs to more than one category, then write
down all the categories it could belong to.

Exercise Three:

Look at your answers for the previous two exercises. Once you've done that prioritise
the categories shown below. For example, if you feel that technique is the most
important thing you need to work on to reach your vision then put a 1 next to it.

Practice Area Priority Level (1-7)
[Note: 1 is the highest priority].

Technique

Repertoire (covers)

Composition

Improvisation

Ear Training

Theory

Music Reading

Now here's the important point. You should spend the most time practising your
number one priority. I know it's pretty obvious, but you'd be amazed at how many
people don't do this! I know a few guitar players who would like to be able to play
incredibly fast, yet they don't do a lot of technical practice. Talk about setting yourself
up to fail!

Exercise Four:

Decide how much time every day you will spend on each category. Write it down below.

Practice Area Time Invested Daily

Technique

Repertoire (covers)

Composition

Improvisation

Ear Training

Theory

Music Reading

All done? Great!

So what’s the next step?

The next step is to decide on a specific activity for each practice area.Make sure to write them down.

Here are a couple of examples of what someone might put down...

Technique: I will invest 10 minutes a day on alternate picking exercise one. I will
start with the metronome at 80 beats per minute (bpm) and increase it by 4 bpm daily
(as long as I can play it perfectly).

Ear Training: I will invest 10 minutes daily a day on A minor pentatonic ear training
exercise one.

Got the idea? You would have one specific activity for every practice area. If you
have a lot of time to practice you could set more than one activity per practice area.

Give this method a try. I'll think you'll be more than happy with the results!

Craig Bassett (The Guitar Solutions Expert) is a professional guitarist, guitar tutor and author who lives in Auckland, New Zealand. To get a free high-quality lesson e-mailed to you once a month, please go to:

http://www.pentatonic-guitar-lessons.com

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5 Tips To Help Keep Your Guitar In Tune

Nothing is worse when you are playing guitar to an audience than to have your guitar drift out of tune while you are playing. Even if you get through the song undetected you then have to fiddle about trying to re-tune mid performance. But by following a few simple steps, you can reduce the risk of this happening to you.

Clean your strings after playing your guitar. Even a short practice session, can leave chemicals and sweat on the strings. If left, over time, this can rust and damage the strings, making tuning impossible. Clean each string individually by wrapping a piece of lint free cloth around the string and running this along the length of the string. Make this a habit after each session and you will help prolong the life of the string and subsequently help keep it's tune longer.

Replace old worn out strings. This is usually indicated by the tuning being correct on the lower part of the fret, but going out of tune as you move up the fret. Alternatively the intonation of the guitar may need correction. If the tuning problem remains after replacing the strings, have the guitar checked by a guitar specialist. If your guitar gets average use, you should try to replace the strings every two to three months.

Apply pre stretching to newly fitted strings. All new strings have a period when initially they stretch easily. Once fitted and tuned, you will find that they quickly go out of tune as you play. To avoid this, stretch each string individually by lifting the string away from the fret and applying a gentle bouncing action against it. This will gradually remove the inherent give that exists in the new string. After stretching, re tune and try playing again to see if it now stays in tune. If there is still some loss of tune in a short period, repeat the stretching exercise. Eventually you will find that the string stabilizes and stays in tune.

Rub the point of a pencil in the string grooves of the nut. This effectively leaves a deposit of graphite in the groove which acts as a lubricant. This ensures that the string doesn't snag against the groove and upset the tuning. Another problem that can occur with the nut is when the groove is too small for the gauge of the string. The string can then catch in the slot and affect the tune of the guitar. You could either change the strings to a smaller gauge, or have the groove filed out to accommodate the string.

When changing strings, make sure that you wind the new strings properly around the tuning posts. Not paying attention to the winding can lead to string slippage and loss of tension in the string. If your guitar is an acoustic, you should also make sure that the ball end of the string is properly positioned against the bridge pin and bridge plate. If it is not properly positioned, it may eventually slip into position while you are playing and cause a sudden loss of tune.

5 Simple steps that should become part of your ongoing maintenance routine for your guitar. Following these will avoid the stress and frustration of your guitar loosing tune and give you a lot more fun playing.

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How to Choose the Right Guitar Teacher for You

How to choose the right guitar teacher for you
by Justin Sours
http://www.guitarmadeez.com

Teaching yourself is not a bad idea

The journey of teaching yourself is very exciting and also very interesting and if you do choose to teach yourself, you'll definitely appreciate the guitar more. For the most part I have taught myself. I started playing completely on my own for about 6 or 7 years, then I had felt that I had reached a plateau. Everyone recommended that I take lessons to overcome the plateau but I was very reluctant. I was extremely low on money and I didn't have a very good feeling about the places in my area that were offering lessons.

Choosing a guitar teacher can be an extremely complicated task

So many guitar stores, music stores and general places offer lessons however the quality of the lessons definitely varies. Today, guitar lessons can be anywhere from $20-100 and up per hour which will definitely hit your pocket pretty hard. I found some places only gave 30 minute lessons for 20$-$50 which is absolutely ridiculous. 30 minutes is barely enough time to tune a guitar let alone give an eventful lesson. Also, due to contrary belief there are allot of weirdo guitar teachers out there, believe me...I know!! One of my teachers for a 30 minute lessons showed up 5 minutes late then had the nerve to ask me if he could go smoke a cigarette outside. That was the last time I had lessons with that guy.... I've had allot of guitar teacher horror stories and I've definitely learned the "hard way" in choosing guitar teachers. I now would like to share with you what I've learned about choosing guitar teachers and hope you won't make the same mistakes I had made.

Always schedule a minimum of 1 hour for a guitar lesson

I've seen guitar lessons that are anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours, however a vast majority of guitar teachers only teach 30 minute guitar lessons.... 30 minutes is nothing! Do not be fooled into thinking you'll get better from one 30 minute a week lessons. If you do decide to take guitar lessons, you must take a minimum of one hour in order to get better. I learned this the hard way. I scheduled to take 30 minute guitar lessons at a guitar shop near my house. I was 10 minutes early; my teacher was 5 minutes late. He then fed me the sales pitch on supplies I needed from that very shop and then kicked me out after about 20 minutes of nothing and said that he had to prepare for the next lesson. This is unacceptable! Be smart; schedule a minimum of one hour for a guitar lesson.

Beware of getting guitar lessons from a guitar shop

I've noticed that taking guitar lessons at a guitar shop are usually half-assed. This is not always the situation. Just be knowledgeable enough to understand the quality of lessons that you deserve.

Try to find a teacher that a friend recommends

Friends that are good at playing guitar are the perfect byproducts for good teachers. If you have a friend who’s amazing at guitar, ask him who his teacher is. If your friend sucks at guitar, know not to take guitar lessons from his teacher. It's as easy as that.

Never take guitar lessons from a teacher who is not passionate about playing

I took guitar lessons once from a teacher who seemed to know everything in the world about the guitar, equipment, effects, theory, etc., yet he had never played anything in front of me and "let loose". I had finally asked him to play something and it seemed pretty half assed and inhabited no "soul" to the music. I felt pretty let down. Some people may know what their talking about when it comes to guitar lessons/theory and whatnot, however find a teacher that gets excited while teaching you. Learning guitar is an adventure and your teacher must be able to excite you.

Never take guitar lessons from a teacher who doesn’t impress you while playing

This goes back to what I was talking about earlier. Would you take Spanish lessons from a person with a bad Spanish accent and who has never been to Mexico? No! Take lessons from the Spanish teacher who’s been to Mexico hundreds of times and that knows something about the culture and that most of all impresses you while teaching you. Model yourself after what impresses you and the people that impress you, not only in guitar but everyday life.

If you hear someone that is an amazing guitarist at a concert, party, bar, wherever... That should be your teacher

Many successful people model themselves after previously successful people, just as great guitarists model themselves after previous great guitarists. If you ever see someone playing and they inspire you to learn guitar, or to play like them someday, don't be afraid to ask them where they learned or even if they could possibly teach you guitar lessons. Guitar Center, random guitar shops, bars, coffee shops and many other places are perfect for finding an amazing guitar teacher.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/how-to-choose-the-right-guitar-teacher-for-you-418423.html

Acoustic Guitars - Variations On A Theme

An acoustic guitar does not have any electronic means of producing its sound. The music that comes out of it is a matter between the guitar and its player. Actually, once upon a time, all guitars were acoustic. Nowadays they need to be distinguished from electric guitars and acoustic guitars that have pickups in them to provide electronic means of amplification.

To the beginner guitar player it could be a surprise that there is an enormous range of sizes, shapes and materials in acoustic guitars. To most acoustic guitar players who only play popular music, the main distinction is between nylon string and steel string acoustic guitars. Within the classification of acoustic guitars there's the Baroque guitar, the classical guitar, the Renaissance guitar, the archtop guitar, the flamenco guitar and the twelve string guitar.

The classical guitar is the basic model for the acoustic guitar. Even though steel string acoustic guitars have been developed with a cutaway body to help the guitarist reach the high notes, the classical guitar retains the standard shape which was more or less decided upon a couple of hundred years ago. Classical guitar players use their fingers to pluck and strum the strings, growing the nails on their right hands slightly longer than the nails on the left hand. Although it's called a classical guitar, many guitarists from many genres have been seduced by the tone of the nylon string guitar. As a result you can find the nylon string sound in jazz, pop, folk or even blues music.

The flamenco guitar looks similar to a classical guitar but is lighter in color and weight. The flamenco guitar is traditionally much brighter in sound than the classical guitar even though in recent years many flamenco guitarists have been playing instruments with a more mellow sound similar to the classical guitar. A distinguishing characteristic of the flamenco guitar is the tapping plate which is a piece of white or transparent plastic attached to the body of the guitar just below the sound hole. You will sometimes find flamenco guitars that are fitted with wooden tuning pegs instead of machine heads. All guitars had these kind of tuning pegs once but now they are only retained because some flamenco guitarists prefers them because they keep the weight of the guitar to a minimum.

The twelve string guitar has six courses of strings, and it produces a much more complex sound than the six string. The twelve string guitar is made for strumming rather than picking or plucking because the individual courses do not easily lend themselves to single note playing. The twelve string has proved to be very attractive for guitarists who enjoyed experimenting with open tunings. Back in the 70s the image of Jimmy Page playing his double neck guitar was a rock 'n roll icon. One neck was fitted with twelve strings which allowed him to move between six and twelve string guitar for different effects.

Efforts to make the guitar heard above other instruments in jazz bands of the early twentieth century resulted not only in the production of the electric guitar, but also the resonator guitar. In the resonator guitar the sound is produced by metal cones instead of by the wooden body of the guitar. The resonator did not help much with amplification but its distinctive sound has made it a favorite with bluegrass and blues players.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/acoustic-guitars-variations-on-a-theme-798753.html

Wouldn't it be Great to be Able to Buy a Guitar That Felt Gig Ready Right Out of the Box?

Guitar purchase “off the rack” can be a mine field, consider "custom" versus "pre-fab" electric guitars.

I love guitars, and there's nothing like a new electric guitar with a proper set up! I like the tone, the way it feels in my hands, and the way that I can make a guitar sound "right" for any kind of music that I play. Whether it's jazz, blues, country, hard rock, R&B leads, guitar chords, or just working on guitar tabs, all it takes is a flip of a switch, some prep, a couple twists of the knobs, neck alignment and I'm right where I need to be. I've bought a lot of guitars over the years, and discovered that taking that beautiful new Strat or Tele guitar out of the box was always just the first step in finding the guitar that fit in my hands the way that I imagined that it would when it first caught my eye. After a close inspection I found that my new guitar wouldn't be quite gig ready until I did all of the little subtle tweaks, repairs and modifications that would make it play just the way I wanted it to when I got it out onto the gig. I'd dress the frets, get the intonation just right, tweak the pick-ups, customize the configuration a bit, and before you know it, I'd be playing a guitar that felt like it was made to be in my hands. Playing music is always fun, but when I'm on the gig with a guitar that feels just right ... it's just pure guitar joy.

After a while I thought; “Wouldn't it be great to be able to buy a guitar that felt gig ready right out of the box?" As wonderful as that idea may seem, in reality it’s almost impossible to pick up a guitar in a music store “off the rack” and have it play right. It just doesn’t happen. There are many things that need to be done to “prep” the guitar before it’s ready to play. At Haywire Custom Guitars (http://www.HaywireCustomGuitars.com) we recommend and perform all of the following in prep for a guitar purchase before it leaves the bench at the workshop. For our purposes here I will focus only on electric instruments for now. First, let me pose a question to the beginning through the advanced guitarist. What Is Guitar Intonation and why is it important? Do you know?

Intonation is the accuracy in which an electric guitar or bass can produce a fretted note and the most important issue with any instrument. Setting the intonation on a guitar is the act of adjusting the length of the strings (by moving the bridge saddles) to compensate for the thickness of the string and the stretching of a string due to pushing it down to the fret board to produce a note. To adjust the intonation of your guitar or bass guitar, you move the bridge saddles toward or away from the fret board until the 12th fret note and its harmonic are equal in pitch to the same open-string note, which are exactly one octave apart. Accurate intonation is critical to pitch quality. Pitch quality is essential to "in tune" playing. Poor pitch quality="out of tune" notes which in turn = poor musical presentation. Wouldn't you or the salesman want to present your musical talents in the best way possible? Of course, you do.

Now, it is not necessary for a guitar player to know this at all. It is essential however that the guitar possess this quality and maintain as close to perfect intonation as possible. Buying on looks alone can be very disappointing. If however, you like an instrument for the looks but realize that you will need to have it worked on to get it playable then that is a savvy notion. It's best to speak to a luthier or guitar builder previous to any purchase. It's akin to asking a mechanic which car he would recommend-before you walk into the show room. In this way you can benefit from his first hand knowledge and experience and not have to go it alone. After all he sees the ones that breakdown more often than you or the salesman do.

Below, I have outlined the essential adjustments to be performed prior to purchasing and playing a guitar under optimal circumstances.

1. 4-axis Alignment of the guitar neck. The guitar neck is checked and adjusted to insure that it is true and straight to insure proper alignment on all axis. This step insures proper action and allows for more accurate and easier guitar tuning, playing and set-up in the following steps.

2. Inspect and Lube the guitar tuning gears

Each tuning gear is adjusted so that there is no play in the mechanism. They are then lubricated to insure smooth and even movement to make your guitar tune accurately.

3. Potting the guitar pickups. Dip the pickups in hot wax to reduce squeal and unwanted guitar feedback.

4. Prep the guitar body. Upon installing the guitar electronic components, great care is taken to insure that all wires are properly routed, spaced, and grounded to insure years of trouble free service with your guitar.

5. Level and polish the frets. This insures that all of the guitar frets are level, eliminating any possibility of fret buzz due to unevenness.

6. Radius the guitar strings. Most guitar necks have a contour over the top of the neck called the "radius". Adjust the strings to make sure the height of each string follows the contour of the guitar neck.

7. Adjusting the overall guitar string height and the action. Once the string contour and radius of the guitar strings is set, it’s time to adjust the overall height or "action" or distance of the strings from the top of the frets to the bottom of the guitar strings.

8. Set the guitar intonation. This step should be done twice. The intonation is normally set two times with a 24 hour period in between to allow the new guitar adjustments to properly re-seat.

If these steps are performed before playing your new guitar then, you won't be disappointed. Your focus can then be on the music and not the problems of the instrument. If it is "set up" properly a player will not have to "get used to" it. Everything on it will feel natural and fall right into place and the music can flow.

In summary, Guitar purchase “off the rack” can be a real disappointment. A thoughtful purchase should include consideration in buying a "custom" or "Gig-Ready" electric guitar versus a "pre-fab" instrument built on a production line. Custom guitars are individually built for a specific customer and will have all of the above necessary operations performed. All the guitarist needs to do is-Play! Sincerely, Rick Mariner http://www.HaywireCustomGuitars.com

Rick Mariner - Owner and founder of Haywire Value Priced Custom Guitars (http://www.HaywireCustomGuitars.com) and a member of The Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans (A.S.I.A.) as well as a guitar player. Rick holds a bachelors degree from University of Maryland and a Masters degree from George Washington University.

Rick developed an 8 - Point “Gig- Ready” guitar process that allows for Haywire Custom Guitars that are "GIG-READY".

With many years of development and guitar set-up experience, we pride ourselves in helping to build you the “Just Right” Haywire guitar at prices well below market and "set up" to playing perfection.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Mariner

Rick Mariner

http://www.HaywireCustomGuitars.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/wouldnt-it-be-great-to-be-able-to-buy-a-guitar-that-felt-gig-ready-right-out-of-the-box-176947.html

Every Guitar Player, Beginner or Advanced, Needs This Book

The guitar, one of the most popular musical instruments of the day, actually dates back more than five thousand years in the recorded history of various cultures. Hard as it may be to imagine, those screaming SGs of hard rock bands had their roots in very primitive stringed instruments played by people of ancient times. Many people think of the guitar as the instrument of rock stars, folk balladeers or country western artists only, but the versatility and range of the guitar across many musical forms is extremely well documented.

The prototype of the modern guitar had its early origins as a small box with a couple of strings stretched across it, which were plucked one at a time - guitar chords had a few hundred years yet to evolve. Early guitar offered only a few notes played one at a time. As music theory developed into scales and combinations of notes, the guitar gradually became more complex, allowing for the playing of multiple notes and then chords on a fingerboard.

When you search the web for information on guitars you will find a wealth of material in websites and online bookstores offering everything from free online guitar lessons to guitar tabs, guitar scales, bios of famous guitarists, and guitar music cheat sheets. By far the most helpful material that you can get on the web is "The Guitar and Its Music" by James Tyler and Paul Sparks. This is a series of publications by Oxford Early Music Series which discusses the theory and practice of guitar music. With all the information that is available about the guitar The Oxford Early Music Guitar Music Series is a superior reference. In addition to learning about the history of the guitar from the Renaissance to modern day, it offers tips and techniques to help guitar players of any level improve their skills and enhance their knowledge.

Guitar playing theories are also explained in this book. Musical genres are explained and discussed in detail and advice is even given about mixing musical genres to create one's own unique style. For example, the famous guitarist Carlos Santana created his own signature style by blending Latin rhythms to rock guitar. The Oxford Guitar Music Series gives in-depth information on how to work at mixing techniques like rock with reggae, and so on, allowing Santana aficionados and everyone else an opportunity to develop their own artistic styles.

This book is a must-read for students and masters of guitar alike. Knowing more about guitars than just the fact that famous rock stars play them will give the reader a more in-depth appreciation of the many facets and styles of guitar playing. It can enrich and elevate guitar playing from just a casual hobby to a true passion. The book can be found in online bookseller websites or at your local bookstores.

Jennifer Wylie was inspired to teach herself the guitar by folk music artists like Joan Baez, Peter Paul and Mary and Bob Dylan. She enjoys playing and collecting guitars and currently owns about 13 guitars (she keeps losing count because they are stored all over the house). Recently Jennifer decided to create a website which would address many of the questions and concerns faced by those who wish to play the guitar but who need guidance and help with making decisions, like whether to be self-taught or take lessons, what kind of guitar to buy, how to care for the guitar and how to become a skilled guitarist. The fruits of her labors are on view at http://www.guitar-playing-for-beginners.com, an ongoing work in progress which will continue to provide useful information about learning the guitar.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Wylie

Why You'll Fail To Learn Guitar - And What To Do About It

Whatever your reason is for wanting to play the guitar, your excitment and passion will be at their highest when you walk into the music store and buy your first guitar. The dream has begun. But when the challenge of learning to play your new instrument begins, the dream has to give way to reality.

Many people find that it's harder to learn guitar than they thought, especially if they are trying to teach themselves. There are a number of reasons for this.

My Guitar keeps going out of tune!

Failure to prepare yourself before buying your first guitar is the first on the list. If you don't spend some time researching different guitars and what to look for, you will probably end up with a guitar that either doesn't fit you well and is not comfortable to play, or is of poor quality. Getting the wrong guitar can have a big effect on your ability to progress. A cheap poor build guitar will not only have a poor quality sound, but may well lose tune quickly. This will be a cause of discouragement while you try to learn.

Make sure that you take time over buying your first guitar. There are many guides on the internet that explain how to go about buying a guitar, so make good use of these.

Ouch - That hurt!

The second on the list occurs when you start playing. The new guitar player will, after a while, experience some pain. The pain may occur in the arm or wrist, and if you are learning on an acoustic, you will also suffer from painful finger tips on your fret hand. Finger pain is not usually a problem on electric guitars as less pressure is needed to hold down the string.

This is just something you have to work through. You should limit your practice sessions while you go through this stage until the tips of your fingers have firmed up and become less painful. Pay attention to posture and the way you hold the guitar to help with any arm or wrist pain, and make sure that you always carry out some warm up exercises before you practice.

Faster faster!

The third problem is trying to play too fast. As a beginner learning guitar you will be in a hurry for a result. This tends to make you rush your practice, and then you get frustrated that you can't change chords quickly enough, or the chords don't play cleanly. If you practice like this, all you are doing is practicing to make mistakes. These mistakes will then become fixed, and you will have to spend time trying to unlearn these mistakes.

Make sure that you practice at a slow pace. Speed at this stage is not important, accuracy is. Once you have practiced enough to play accurately, then is the time to try playing it a bit faster. A metronome,which beats time for you at whatever speed you set it to,will help you keep your practice at a nice slow pace.

I'm too busy, I'll practice tomorrow.

The fourth problem is irregular or insufficient practice. When you start learning guitar, you must be able to allow a reasonable amount time for regular practice sessions. You may find when you start that there are difficulties finding the time due to other commitments, work, family etc.. You may be in a job with irregular hours or have to travel a lot. You may also not have anywhere to practice that doesn't annoy other members of the household. Learning guitar is a commitment, and you will have to deal with any issues that prevent you practicing regularly.

What the hell does that mean!

Finally there is the quality of your instruction. If you can afford a professional teacher this is the best way to go. Alternatively if you know someone who can play they may be able to help you. Many opt for self instruction, and there is a wealth of material, courses, books DVDs etc. to choose from. This is the final vital link. Choosing the right course that is able to communicate well with you is essential. If you are working with materials that you find difficult to follow your learning will be a lot harder than it needs to be. Find out as much as you can about possible courses before opting for one. This point alone could be the make or break decision.

Learning guitar is a challenge and one that is immensely rewarding. By taking some care in your approach, you will give yourself a better chance of success.

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Guitar Sheet Music, Guitar Tablature - An Effective way of Learning Guitar

One of the best ways to practice the guitar is through the use of a guitar tablature or the guitar sheet music.

Guitar tablatures are the most effective guide in learning and playing the guitar. Today people can find variety of resources from books and especially the World Wide Web. Reading the guitar music requires patience and knowledge, and with practice you can strum along to your favorite song without hassle.

Guitar sheet music or tablatures are easy to understand and read once you've known the basics.

First you need to know its parts and purposes. Some guitar tablatures also include the musical staff, which indicates the notes and the tempo timing of the song, but it is mostly for advance musicians who can read notes. Beginners should start by learning to read the tablature sheet.

The guitar sheet music is made up of 6 lines, which act as the guitar strings. The upper line is the high pitch E string while the lowest is the bass E string. There are numbers written on the line, which indicates the finger positions on the fret bar. Also you can find letters on the tab like "p" which means pull (the pulling of fingers from the strings) and "h" for hammer (hammering the string with fingers). The strumming patterns though indicated with a symbol would be learned easily if you play along with the song.

You can find guitar sheet music of your favorite songs from music books and websites that offer free tablatures submitted by fellow musicians. There is also computer software, which shows you not only the tablature but plays it as well together with sound for easy learning.

There are lots of effective ways of learning the guitar and learning how to read guitar music is a good thing to learn and practice.

Learning the guitar requires a lot of skills and dedication to excel and guitar sheet music is indeed the best help for learning the instrument. It will require a lot of time and effort but once you get used to it, you'll see that you can play any song as long as there's a tablature to read.

Some people say that using guitar tablatures is the same as cheating, but most people and musicians who also devote time writing sheet music thinks that it's just to speed things up for beginning musicians.

Some may not be a fan. Some may prefer learning by ear, but for beginners and for those who want to save themselves from the hassle of learning the song by listening to it over and over, reading guitar sheet music is a shortcut.

Using tablatures is not bad but if you want to excel further you might as well teach yourself music theories and practice learning by ear. After all, guitar tablature is one of the many methods to practice and learn guitar. It is also a great help to satisfy yourself when you're playing a song you have always wanted to play.

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Tips For Choosing Your First Guitar

So you have decided you would like to learn to play the guitar, but are completely lost about what kind of guitar to get, where to find music that you can play, what style of music you would like to play, and just in general, where to start. Well do not worry, it is common to feel this way when you are first learning to play guitar, and with a little help, is not nearly as daunting as it first seems. In this article, I would like to help you to choose your first guitar. This is an important step, and should be taken into very careful consideration.

When choosing your first guitar, you will want to focus on the larger guitar manufacturers such as Fender, Ibanez, and Gibson. But don’t think that just because these are big names in the guitar industry, you will be paying an arm and a leg, this is not the case. Each of these brands will have beginner models of their guitars that are perfect for the new guitarist, often times coming in great little packages that include a bag, guitar tuner, picks, and a strap. Your best bet is to head to the local music store and ask them what kind of beginner guitars they have, and if they have any beginner packages as I mentioned above.

There are a few things you don’t want to do when choosing your first guitar. You don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on your first guitar. Not only will you not have the ability to truly utilize your nice new guitar, but you will not know how to take good care of the guitar, such as tuning properly, changing strings when needed, and just keeping it in nice shape. If you were learning to ride a motorcycle, you wouldnt go out and buy a Harley Davidson for your first bike would you? One beginner mistake and you might end up laying the bike down, and feeling rather embarrassed. Instead you would buy an old used bike for a few hundred to learn and gain experience on. Then eventually upgrade to a much nicer bike. My advice is to take the same approach with your first guitar. Choose a nice beginner guitar, and once you feel like you are ready for an upgrade, go for it. One more thing that you really should not do is buy one of the cheap $20 guitars off of E-bay. I have personally made that mistake, and the guitar was a piece of junk. I would recommend budgeting up to $200 for your first guitar, but no more.

I hope that this article helps you to choose a great beginner guitar to learn with. It really is a great feeling to learn and play your favorite tunes. Just remember that for your first guitar, you do not need the rolls Royce of guitars, whether it be an electric or an acoustic. You will just want a quality guitar that has a good sound and feel. Good luck and have fun!

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Learn Guitar Online - Does It Really Work?

Lots of reasons exist for learning guitar online as opposed to going to a local guitar tutor. First of all, it's generally much cheaper to learn guitar online than to pay for private tuition! Secondly you are able to learn at your own pace which is very important, when you learn guitar online there's no sense of pressure or competition as can be the case in class settings.

When you learn guitar online it's generally done through streaming video which is instantly played back on your computer. Now days most people have fast enough internet connections for this not to present a problem and it's a great way to go. So what should you look for when deciding which learn guitar online website is best to take membership with?

* Check out whatever free sample videos they offer, is the teaching effective and of good quality?

* Read the comments and testimonials from other users, are there lots on display and do they seem genuine?

* Is there a no questions asked money back guarantee?

* Make sure that the music and type of instruction offered on the site matches what you want to eventually play!

* Test out their email support by sending them an email. How long does it take for them to get back to you? Are they friendly and supportive in communication with you?

* Find out what kinds of memberships they are offering. Most will offer a recurring monthly membership but some have a 'lifetime membership' where you pay just once and get free access to all future content. These are generally the best value for money

Thinking back on my own time when first learning to play I would definitely learn guitar online before searching locally for a 1-1 tutor. The main reason is because I now know that a lot of the things for beginner guitar can easily be learnt online.

Learning the basic chord shapes and some strums are easy to accomplish when you learn guitar online without needing the expense of paying for a private tutor to show you, its only after you had spent some months learning on your own that I would consider going to private tutor. By that stage youd know exactly what your playing problems were and have a much better idea of what youd like your tutor to help you with.

When you start and learn guitar online youll avoid wasting unnecessary money on things you can easily do yourself and fully maximize the instruction youll get if you do go for private tuition.

Have a look around, learn guitar online, see what you can find. There are some great sites out there just waiting to give you the skill of playing guitar well. It's quite possible you'll never even need to search for a 'real life' tutor, just make sure the online instruction is clear and at a pace you can understand. Make sure it's effective in teaching you what you want to learn. Most importantly, remember to empower yourself to learn on your own because that's the truest musical freedom you can have.

By: Pauo W Perry

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Guitar Chords Explained

Learning to play guitar chords is one of the most important aspects of guitar playing. The reason guitar chords are so important is they are the "root" of songs and are the "center" of the building of a melody. A guitar chord is comprised of two or three notes that are played at the same time. A chord should not make any annoying sounds such as buzzing or muting when played.

Guitar Chords are created from individual notes from the fret board that are pieced together to form a colorful sounding multinote called a chord. Chords are divided into six categories: Major, Seventh, Augmented, Minor, Diminished, and Minor Seventh Flat Fifth. All chords can be placed in one of three groups based on the musical structure of the chord: Major, Minor, or Seventh that can be combined into great sounding chord sequences that make up lots of popular songs. There are all types of chords, but all will fall under two categories: major and minor chords.

Minor Chords

Another common chord shape, and the usual contrast to the major chord, is the minor chord. A minor chord is a chord, which has a minor third above its note or pitch. Minor chords are the same as major chords except instead of a major third, there is a minor third. Minor chords can evoke a more somber or pensive mood. Minor chords are always shown with the small (m). With any bar chord, you can lift a finger and be playing the minor bar chord.

Major Chords

The most basic chords are the seven major chords, A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Major chords consist of a root note, a major third above the root, and a perfect fifth above the root. Major chords are always shown by their name alone. Numbers correspond to notes of the relevant Major scale. Using a bar chord, the transition between a major and a minor chord is relatively simple.

Beginner Chords

If you are a beginner guitar player you know you have to learn chords. For beginners, guitar chords can be difficult at first, and making a transition from one chord to another can be difficult too. Don't get in a rush to start playing beginner chords, learn how to do it first. Beginners often find G major challenging to play and B major impossible, but this changes with practice. Learn all the basic guitar chords you need to know as a beginner and you can start playing songs today. Even though they are designed to be easy to finger with the left hand, the real difference between the advanced and beginner guitar chords are the way they are played.

Did you Know?

Chords form the backbone of most rock and pop songs and also provide the harmonic accompaniment to the melody and instrumental solos.

Guitar chords are one of the most important aspects of guitar playing. Guitar chords, (chords played specifically on a guitar,) differ only from other types of chords by virtue of instrument; they're simply a series of three or more notes played together. Guitar chords might very well be the most important element of guitar playing; after all, they're the basis of what makes a song. Most people don't understand how powerful guitar chords really are. Changing from one chord to another is without a doubt the best way to learn guitar chords. What is really amazing is that by learning no more than 10 to 15 basic guitar chords, you will be equipped to play thousands of rock and pop songs.

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The Bass Guitar and Why it Rocks

This post will introduce you to the bass guitar, touch on its history, its evolution and mention some of the amazing bass players that have graced the instrument. Read on to learn more about the bass guitar.

Welcome to the world of the bass guitar; if you’re reading this then you’ve taken an interest in the electric bass and have decided to pursue it further. Maybe this post will reaffirms your decision to play bass guitar, or perhaps it will be the final argument for you to start playing the bass yourself.

The bass guitar is a pretty cool instrument. It may not be as flashy as a drum kit, or command as much attention as a pimped out electric guitar, but it has a subdued, laid-back vibe all its own. A standard bass guitar has four strings and is tuned E-A-D-G; an octave below the lowest strings on a guitar to provide a sonic foundation for the melody to build upon.

While you may give up the fame and glory of the spotlight when you choose to become a bass player, you gain full control of the key of the music, and full dominion over the bass frequencies.

Bass Guitar Frequencies Move People

This is almost a mystical power that most people won’t even realize that you have. Many won’t even realize that it is the bass player and the way he chooses to play certain notes, leave others out, and the space and rhythms in between these that are hypnotizing them into dancing. It is a great responsibility that you take on – called the groove – without it; any music you play will be lame.

So besides this, why take on the bass guitar? What is it about the bass guitar that is cool, or should be attractive to someone just starting out that just wants to play SOMETHING? Well, getting up and running with a bass guitar is much easier than most other instruments. You don’t have to have four-way independence as with drums, you don’t have to memorize all the chord fingering patterns like you would with a guitar, and you don’t have to spend years to get a sound that doesn’t sound like a cat being tortured as you would with a violin. You can pick up a bass guitar and start playing bass lines almost immediately – the good news is that the easier it is to play an instrument along to music you like when you’re starting out, the more likely you’ll stay with the instrument for good.

Another great reason why the bass guitar is cool is that EVERYONE needs a bass player. You make the other band members sound good, and there are many styles of music out there that use the bass guitar. That means that if you’re a good bass player, you’re willing to work hard, learn and you have a great attitude –you’re going to have many more job opportunities than many other musicians would have.

Being a bassist is as much a state of mind as it is a position in the band. You need to put the song and the other musicians before yourself. You are the glue between the rhythm and the melody – you straddle the line between the drummer and the guitarist, giving the music that third dimension that makes music so exciting. If you’re willing to put your ego on the back burner, you can become a truly great bassist that is in demand.

Is playing the bass guitar easier? Yes it is. But to master any instrument is virtually impossible. Playing bass guitar is initially much easier than guitar; you can outline chords one finger at a time as opposed to learning the fingerings for each chord. You also have fewer strings to change than the guitarist, but keep in mind that bass guitar strings are thicker – so in some ways, playing the bass guitar is more difficult because you need to play just as fast as the guitarists but with thicker strings. This means that you’re moving more mass in the same amount of time or energy.

What you may not know about the bass guitar is:

There is something to be said for a simple bass line that does what it’s supposed to do, get some asses out of the chairs at the bar.

Bass guitars can be beautiful and expensive, they can break your heart and if you get used to playing them – playing bass guitar can indeed be habit forming!

The electric bass guitar was responsible for making rock n’ roll music come to life in the fifties – the bass could now be heard (as well as felt!) and helped to drive the new-fangled rock n roll bands mercilessly into the spotlight.

The electric bass guitar started out with 4 strings and remained that way for several decades, before evolving to 5, 6, 8 and even 12 stringed versions beginning in the mid-70s. These multi-stringed basses owe a large debt of thanks to Anthony Jackson who helped open the door to more than 4 string basses by commissioning the first six string bass guitar to be built in the 1970s!

Some famous bass guitarists include Paul McCartney, Sting, Geddy Lee, Jaco Pastorius, James Jamerson, Flea, Les Claypool, Victor Wooten, Billy Sheehan, Stanley Clarke and John Entwistle.

You can get started with a bass guitar kit that includes a bass guitar, a bass guitar amp, a guitar strap, an bass guitar instrument cable and a tuner for around $250 or you can even rent a bass guitar from many major music instrument retailers. Even if you don’t know of any teachers in your town, you can surf Youtube and find plenty of lessons for free that can get you started. There’s no good reason to sit on the fence anymore, playing bass guitar can be an affordable hobby that can actually make you some extra money if you choose to play out in bands.

Choosing to play the bass guitar has given me plenty of opportunity to learn and grow as a human being. It’s allowed me to experience the thrill of performing in front of large audiences while sharing the stage with some amazing bands and meet terrific people. Playing bass guitar is a great way to be creative, relieve stress and have fun!

So what are you waiting for? Get out there, find a bass guitar and start playing today!

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Some Initial Steps For A Guitar Beginer

When the time comes where you need to slow down and enjoy you probably will like to purchase a guitar. Beginning guitarists can easily be swayed by their passion. And it is also important to choose a guitar that will suit you perfectly.

This is the time you need to slow down and enjoy the purchasing process. Beginning guitarists can easily be swayed by their passion. A good sales person will invite you to throw caution to the wind and buy before you really understand what you are buying. To avoid purchasing the wrong guitar or a guitar, there are four well-advised steps to follow.

Beginning guitarists need to make some preliminary decisions about what type guitar will serve them best and about how to go about getting the best guitar for the best value. Let's start by establishing some firm goals. Since you have lot of variety in guitar, you should purchase one that suits you most and your style of music. You should also need the guitar to be easy to play and to learn. However, it does not mean that high priced guitar means good quality of music. Let's stick to our guns and agree that we will not proceed until we have followed a disciplined four-step process in selecting the perfect beginning guitar.

Step One - Be Centsible - Yes, it is exciting. Yes, you cannot wait to get started. Yes, in this economy, good buying opportunities are out there. Yes, you can make a bad choice and negate all these positive steps by making a rushed decision.

Your first guitar is the most important guitar you will ever purchase so give yourself a chance to succeed and take your time. It is also important your purchase guitar that can be easy on your pocket. After you get a good hand on your guitar, you might want to buy another one but with a different type of node.

Step Two - It is Your Dime - You are the customer. You have a right to information. You must know about warranties, guarantees, discounts, the manufacturer's history and equipment support. Your goal is to make a responsible purchase of a terrific musical instrument that will facilitate your learning experience. Avoid salespersons that push for the quick sale.

Step Three - Do Your Homework - Use the internet to read reviews about possible guitars. Use the internet and all other resources at your disposal. You should visit a few local providers and touch and hold the possible guitars. After visiting the local stores, return to the internet, visit forums and chat with experienced guitarists. Good shoppers always get comparative rates. Make sure to compare online offerings with local suppliers. Whether you purchase online or from a local provider, there is no reason to make an uninformed choice.

Step Four - Pick The Brains - Your responsibility is to use all resources available to make the right choice. It is always wise to have a second opinion whenever you want to purchase a guitar. Guitarists want to share their experience and encourage new players. Remember, that once upon a time, they were beginners too. The more resources you tap, the more informed and better your eventual choice will be.

The market is filled with great beginning guitars. Follow the four-step purchase process and get yourself started with the perfect beginning guitar.

By: Guy O Scott

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Buy A Guitar Online: Top Ten Things To Look For When Buying A Guitar Online

In this day and age where purchasing things can be done over the internet, it is sufficient to say that even guitars can be purchased in this manner. If a person wants to buy a guitar online, all he or she has to do is to search online for the particular guitar model and brand that they want. When the search results are displayed, they often show where this guitar can be purchased and offer options regarding modes of payment and delivery. However, there are a few things to be remembered in choosing to buy a guitar online.

The first thing to do when you buy a guitar online is to do some research. There are many types of guitar out in the market. It is important to scout around. Different stores have different prices.

The second thing to do is to enlist a friend’s help in buying a guitar. Your friend should know a lot about guitars especially when it comes to a guitar’s ideal specifications. If you’re on a budget, he or she can guide you in selecting a guitar which fits into your price range and yet sound amazing.

The third thing to do is know the advantages of buying a guitar online versus buying a guitar in a music store. When you buy a guitar online, you won’t be able to perform some test runs on it to see how it sounds. You also won’t be able to determine if it is comfortable enough for you to handle. This is one advantage that buying in a music store has over buying a guitar over the internet.

The fourth thing to know when you buy a guitar online is to know the warranty periods that each guitar manufacturer or distributor has for the guitars. This is done so as to avoid having to pay any extra fee if, by some unforeseen circumstance, you find yourself getting a damaged guitar.

If you’re still stuck on which guitar to buy, then the fifth tip should come in handy. This tip involves reading guitar reviews made by users who have had the experience of owning a particular guitar. User-reviews often detail what the user likes and dislikes about the product. It is important to read these user reviews so that you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into once you purchase the guitar.

The sixth tip is to choose a guitar which suits your purpose. An electric guitar is lighter and more portable than a classic or acoustic guitar. However, it does have some other accessories which are also important to own and set-up. If you’re just planning to play the guitar for recreational purposes then you might be better-off having an acoustic guitar.

After choosing your guitar, you can continue to purchase it online. This is the seventh tip. There may be differences in the prices when comparing a guitar bought online to a guitar bought in a music store. It is said that some online stores don’t charge the customer any sales tax. There are a few others who do though.

The shipping method is something to think about as the eighth tip. Instruments have to be handled with care. However, not most shippers, or rather employees of shippers, understand that. In order to make sure that your guitar arrives undamaged, it is important to choose a shipper with a good reputation.

The ninth tip also deals with shipping. If you are not too sure about the shipper, then make sure that your guitar comes professionally packed in order to avoid damage.

The tenth and final thing to do when your guitar arrives at your doorstep is to examine it carefully for any damage. If there is some damage, make sure that you are still within the warranty period as this enables you to return the guitar to the manufacturer. However, the shipping and returning fees may be costly.

All in all, there are certain things to look out for when you decide to buy a guitar online. There are also certain risks involved. A person should gauge the situation carefully in order to decide which buying method is right for him or her.

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