Guitar technique

What Is The First Thing To Learn As A Beginner On The Guitar?

2022-10-31T13:08:51+00:00

The Basics! So I suppose the most logical place to start your guitar journey would be at the beginning (duh!) with the basics! You would think that this would be fairly obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people skip over the core fundamentals of playing the guitar because they are in a rush to learn their favourite songs! I always start every first guitar lesson with: the body parts of the guitar, the open string names, basic fretting technique and basic strumming technique. These fundamentals are extremely important to get right in the beginning to then build upon later down [...]

What Is The First Thing To Learn As A Beginner On The Guitar?2022-10-31T13:08:51+00:00

II V I Tricks and Tips for Jazz Guitar Playing

2022-09-06T21:05:31+01:00

Play In One Position One thing that will prevent you from playing smooth lines through ii V I’s is having to jump all around to different positions on the neck because you’re only comfortable in certain positions for different arpeggios. Before you start trying anything too crazy with your ii V I’s, spend the time to get super familiar with playing all arpeggios in one position on the neck both for if you have the root note on the low E string or the A string. Once you have learned the minor 7th, dominant 7th, and major 7th arpeggios in this [...]

II V I Tricks and Tips for Jazz Guitar Playing2022-09-06T21:05:31+01:00

What Are Power Chords And How To Use Them?

2022-08-16T11:18:47+01:00

How To Make A Power Chord A sound that many of us will know well even if we have never played one before, power chords are used excessively in all different genres of music. Although these are most commonly heard on the guitar, specifically the electric guitar, they can also be played on piano using the same combination of notes. To make a power chord you will need your root note of the chord and the 5th above the root note played together. For example; for an A power chord we will need the root note A, and the 5th above [...]

What Are Power Chords And How To Use Them?2022-08-16T11:18:47+01:00

Shall I learn electric or acoustic guitar?

2021-03-10T13:39:02+00:00

What Music Do You Like? When deciding whether you want to learn the electric or acoustic guitar, the styles of music that you listen to should be taken into account. Some genres will typically favour one over the other, for example rock music will more often be played on the electric guitar where as folk music will favour the acoustic. Although it is definitely possible to practice a song that was originally played on the electric on an acoustic guitar at home for example, it may not sound as close to the original as you would like due to the tonal [...]

Shall I learn electric or acoustic guitar?2021-03-10T13:39:02+00:00

How to use the circle of fifths in your guitar practice

2021-03-01T11:18:24+00:00

What is the circle of fifths? The circle of fifths has been a staple of music theory knowledge almost since the dawn of time and shows us the relationship between the 12 different keys and how they relate to each other. By moving up in fifths of each other, we make our way around the circle to eventually end up back at the original key that we started in. A fifth is an interval of seven semitones or three and a half tones in the musical alphabet, which is regularly used in all genres of music and music theory. Understanding how [...]

How to use the circle of fifths in your guitar practice2021-03-01T11:18:24+00:00

The importance of playing and saying

2020-07-02T09:54:37+01:00

Learning and mastering the guitar's fretboard is an arduous task. It requires tremendous concentration over extended periods of time and pig-headed determination to truly master the guitar's fretboard. The fastest way in my opinion to master the neck is to say and play whatever you are busy learning at the moment. As an example, let's say you are memorising all the E minor/major 7 arpeggios across the guitar neck. I would recommend learning the arpeggios in each of the five natural positions of the guitar. Whilst playing the arpeggio, I would recommend saying the degrees such as 5th, 7th, root, minor [...]

The importance of playing and saying2020-07-02T09:54:37+01:00

7 Steps to developing a great right hand technique

2021-03-02T11:39:30+00:00

WARNING: Never push your right hand technique if your hands ache. Take proper breaks and frequent breaks. Please see advice on the following website: https://rsi.unl.edu/music.html Why I have set out to write this article: It is my experience that tons of guitarists have more (speed-related) problems with their right hand than with their left. One of the reasons for this is the fact that most guitarists tend to look at their left hand and not at their right picking hand. It is frustrating to see so little attention being paid to good right-hand technique. It is my desire that you will be [...]

7 Steps to developing a great right hand technique2021-03-02T11:39:30+00:00

How to make your guitar sing! – secrets from Frederic Chopin

2020-07-01T18:33:38+01:00

Frederic Chopin is perhaps the most lyrical, melodic composer for piano ever. He was a genius at composing for the piano and had the ability to incorporate melodic songlike vocal qualities into his piano melodies. His piano compositions always had a vocal quality associated with them. Chopin's advice to fellow pianists and piano enthusiasts was that they should listen to Bellini (the Bel Canto style). He explained that the piano should be touched to create a song like quality! His advice is spot on and you should listen to a little bit of Bellini in order to develop the MUCH-NEEDED vocal [...]

How to make your guitar sing! – secrets from Frederic Chopin2020-07-01T18:33:38+01:00
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