Guitar tips

Alternate Tunings to Try on the Guitar

2024-12-06T13:41:14+00:00

Alternate tunings are a great way to unlock new ways of playing guitar that you usually wouldn’t go for in standard tuning, but how do you know which tuning to start with? Here is a list of alternate tunings to try on the guitar. Drop D A common theme that you will notice throughout our conversation regarding alternate tunings today is that how some of these tunings are incredibly versatile and can be used in many different styles of music. A logical place to start is with what would have probably been the first alternate tuning for many guitarist, and that [...]

Alternate Tunings to Try on the Guitar2024-12-06T13:41:14+00:00

How to Tune a Guitar Without a Tuner

2024-12-05T12:17:46+00:00

Tuning by ear - it’s kind of one of those party tricks that’s bound to impress other musicians in the room, if you can do it accurately. Say you pick up a guitar in a music store to try and it’s slightly out of tune. Are you going to whip out your phone and load up a tuning app, or even worse ask the store clerk for a tuner? This would be a great instance where tuning the guitar by ear would be of great benefit to you, especially if you’re looking to try several guitars in the store. Or maybe [...]

How to Tune a Guitar Without a Tuner2024-12-05T12:17:46+00:00

How to Play Rhythm Guitar in a Band – Tips and Tricks

2024-11-08T14:05:39+00:00

Rhythm guitar - sometimes considered the lesser guitar to lead, but once you really get into studying this art form you’ll soon discover that it is anything but! Lock In with the Bass and Drums As a rhythm guitarist you have a very important job, along with the bass and drums, to create a solid foundation for lead parts such as singers and lead guitars to soar on top of. If the foundations of the song are shaky, then the more noticeable lead parts won’t sit right and in the instance of playing live, these musicians will struggle to execute their [...]

How to Play Rhythm Guitar in a Band – Tips and Tricks2024-11-08T14:05:39+00:00

How to Improve Your Guitar Technique

2024-10-28T10:09:41+00:00

Something that is often skipped over in the early stages of learning, guitar technique will affect all aspects of your playing! Don’t take shortcuts by breezing over the basics. Make your playing the best it can be by improving your guitar technique! Fundamentals The most logical place to start when wanting to improve your guitar technique is with the fundamentals, as many players skip over these in order to jump to playing their favourite songs! This is one of the major hurdles I find as a guitar tutor when taking on a new student who is mainly self-taught, or has come [...]

How to Improve Your Guitar Technique2024-10-28T10:09:41+00:00

How to Practise if You Only Have Limited Free Time to Commit

2024-06-28T13:15:41+01:00

Practising guitar: one of the weekly tasks that often fall by the wayside for some of us with busy lives. So how do we find the time to practise if we only have limited free time to commit? Schedule in your practise Gym training, school pickups, your kid's basketball game, after-work drinks with your buddies, date night. Life is busy, and no matter where we look, it is often hard to find a little slice of free time for guitar practice. This is why it will be incredibly important and valuable for us to schedule in our practice time. Just [...]

How to Practise if You Only Have Limited Free Time to Commit2024-06-28T13:15:41+01:00

Getting Back to Guitar After the Holidays (how to get back in the groove!)

2024-06-28T13:11:00+01:00

Going on holidays is lots of fun, but often when we come home we find that our fingers don’t want to do what we tell them to do when picking up a guitar for the first time. Try these simple tips for getting back in the groove with your guitar practice after returning from a holiday.Start simpleThere are positives and negatives about coming home from a holiday. Positives: you had a great time, you come home feeling refreshed, you now have a sun tan.Negatives: you get the post holiday blues, you have to go back to work, you fingers are now [...]

Getting Back to Guitar After the Holidays (how to get back in the groove!)2024-06-28T13:11:00+01:00

How to Play Rhythm Guitar in a Band

2024-06-06T08:43:34+01:00

Often overlooked, the art of being a great rhythm guitarist is so much more than strumming chords and having to be quieter than the lead guitarist. It’s actually the rhythm guitarist that has the skill of gluing the band together and giving impact to their sound. So how do you play rhythm guitar in a band? Study the greats A logical place to start when trying to get good at rhythm guitar is to study great rhythm players from great bands that you admire. Although many of these are names that you will know from some of the biggest bands of [...]

How to Play Rhythm Guitar in a Band2024-06-06T08:43:34+01:00

Looking After Your Health When Playing Guitar

2024-05-02T15:26:16+01:00

Although it’s not the most rock ’n roll thing to think about as a guitarist, looking after your health will be incredibly important to ensuring longevity as a musician and also to maximise the most out of your practice sessions! Warm-up and cool-down Being a guitarist is much like being an athlete, although it may not seem like it at first. Playing guitar involves us using many different small muscles in our hands, wrists, and arms, which need to be warmed up thoroughly before playing challenging material. Would a professional athlete jump straight onto the track for a 100-metre sprint? [...]

Looking After Your Health When Playing Guitar2024-05-02T15:26:16+01:00

How to Learn Songs by Ear on the Guitar

2024-03-06T08:43:43+00:00

Listen to the bass! Learning songs by ear is a lot of fun, and a skill that will come in extremely handy for you both at home for your own enjoyment and in jam sessions/rehearsals when you need to be able to pick things up quickly without TAB’s or sheet music. When starting off on your ear training journey, keep things simple and try to learn a simple four-chord-song that will have pretty straightforward information for you to transcribe. Let’s take “With Or Without You” by U2 as our first example. This will use the same four chords the entire way [...]

How to Learn Songs by Ear on the Guitar2024-03-06T08:43:43+00:00

Should I Complete Grades On Guitar?

2023-05-08T13:45:47+01:00

Preface A question that I often get asked by students and parents of school aged students is should I/my child complete grades on the guitar? It’s a great question with no clear answer; this will very much depend on the student and what their goals on the guitar will be. If you are not familiar, many different companies will have a series of books designed to teach students the fundamentals of playing an instrument, requiring them to play several pieces as well as also scales and technical exercises. These come in different grades, usually starting at a Debut or Initial grade [...]

Should I Complete Grades On Guitar?2023-05-08T13:45:47+01:00
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