THE WORLD OF GUITARS

During the '60s, the guitar amp greatly evolved to where it is today when guitarists of that era experimented with deliberately overloading their amp to create Distortion. There also used to be a time when no self respecting audio engineer would even consider recording an electric guitar without getting the best guitar amp he can lay hold of, crank up the volume and place a rugged dynamic mic (sometimes a padded condenser mic is also used) close to the speaker grille in order to get a great guitar cut. You need to buy a great guitar amp.

Signal Amplification StageThe signal amplification stage is the 'business' stage of any guitar amp. Asmall guitar amp will be just fine if you are playing the guitar in a jazz group. Iput a wall of gobos (sound deadening device) in between them and I hit go while recording both the guitar amp and vocal mic from each room.

Input StageThe input stage of the guitar amp accepts the input signal either from the guitar pre-amp or directly from the guitar itself. The power of a guitar amplifier is measured in watts (abbreviated W). When getting an electric guitar amp, make sure to test the amp at the store.
Aparticular Marshall guitar amp cabinet will produce recognizable sounds. Musical instruments dealers also sell other accessories like guitar amps, keyboard controllers, computer music hardware, stands and footstools, cables and cable accessories, speakers, straps and strap locks, microphone accessories, studio furniture, racks and cases, acoustic foam, headphones and headphone amps, covers, power supplies and batteries, music books, and more. They are usually the one you take for live applications as they are robust and are less sensible to ambient noise, which also can be good in the studio to record a drum kit or a guitar amplifier.
EffectsThe last major element to consider when buying a guitar amplifier is the built in effects it includes. Tube guitar amplifierThe first amps to become available were tube amps. So, buy a guitar amp (as good as you can afford) and get such tools to model the other ones that you love but can only wish for.

A Jazz Guitar AmplifierWhilst it could be said that there is "no jazz amp" there are a number of considerations for the jazz guitarist when selecting an amplifier. Modern electronics are often used to produce a broader range of tones than found in most tube based guitar amplifiers. It is the 'business' of any amplifier (be it voice or guitar amp) to faithfully amplify the incoming signal.

There are many types of guitar amplifiers ranging from the smallest which is normally 10 watts up to 500 watts. If you wish to find out more about the technical side of guitar amps, there are several good books that cover the topic pretty thoroughly. Another desirable feature of guitar amplifiers, particularly for beginners, is a CD input.

PowerWhen reading about a guitar amplifier, the first thing that is always listed is the power rating. Output StageThis is the final stage of all guitar amps. Guitar amps have character.
Musical instruments stores also sell recording equipment, DJ equipment, and live sound equipment, along with the other accessories like guitar amps, keyboard controllers, computer music hardware, stands and footstools, cables and cable accessories, speakers, straps and strap locks, microphone accessories, studio furniture, racks and cases, acoustic foam, headphones and headphone amps, covers, power supplies and batteries, and more. It is very important that there is proper matching between the available input signal impedance and specified guitar amplifier's input signal impedance. Nowadays, there are many guitar amps, which have a pre-amplification stage incorporated into them.

An electric guitar has electromagnetic pickups transforming the vibrations from the strings into currents that in an guitar amplifier becomes sounds. That said, you can"t possibly buy every guitar amp cabinet out there just because you want to take advantage of their various sound colors. The M-Audio has been working on producing the upgrades and improvements on the feedbacks and has recently made a new version 2 firmware in which the M-Audio Blackbox has 40 amp models as well as the capability of producing emulations for most of the guitar amps.

12:10 AM
Categories: Types Of Guitar Amplifiers. Author: Professional

If you love rock music, and have always wanted to be able to play some of your favourite songs on the guitar, but maybe you've thought it was too difficult to get started, then here are 5 steps to help get you going.

Step 1 - Choose Your Guitar & Amp
Of course, you can learn to play the guitar using any type of guitar, acoustic (classical / folk) or electric. However, if you particularly want to start playing rock guitar, then an electric guitar is probably the best choice. The main reason for this is that guitarists in most rock bands use electric guitars, so from the start it's going to sound more like the music you want to play (after all, you're not looking to play 'Greensleeves', but more 'Green Day').
Another reason, which some people may debate, but I think that it's just easier on the fingers to start learning on an electric guitar, and that's less likely to put you off when you're just beginning.
As for the amplifier or 'amp', to start off, you don't need a huge stack, or a particularly powerful amp. A small practise amp (e.g. 10-20 Watts) can be sufficient to begin with. Most of these will have at least 2 different modes - 'clean' and 'distortion' (or this second one may be called 'drive').
The distortion mode is really the one you want to use, as this is used to some degree by many rock bands, and is the definitive 'rock guitar' sound. Even if at this point you don't know how to play anything, just plug the guitar in, select the distortion channel, and strum the open strings - chances are it sounds 'rock like' already!
Many music stores sell starter packages which include an electric guitar, practise amp and case, which can be great value when starting out.

Step 2 - Tune It!
An out of tune instrument can make even the best guitarist sound awful. Get into the habit of always tuning the guitar before you start playing or practising. There are many different ways of tuning the guitar, but the most common one is called 'Standard Tuning', and this is the one used by most rock guitarists.
On this diagram of the guitar neck:
E ------------- (highest-sounding)B ----------X--G --------X----D ----------X--A ----------X--E ----------X-- (lowest-sounding)the lowest-sounding strings are shown at the bottom, and the highest-sounding at the top. The diagram shows the names of the notes for each string in Standard Tuning. Don't worry if you don't know the names of the notes, or can't read music. The most important thing to begin with, is just to tune the guitar strings relative to each other. Let's say we'll tune relative to the highest E string (top one in the diagram). Play the B string on the 5th fret (X in the diagram) and at the same time play the open E string. In Standard tuning, these should be the same note, so if they don't sound the same, adjust the B string tuning until they match. Then carry on with the other pairs of strings.
In each case you play the 5th fret on the lower string, against the sound of the open upper string. The only exception is the G string, where you play the 4th fret note - see the X's in the diagram.


Step 3 - The Power Chord
Okay, now the guitar is in tune (at least with itself), so you can start learning some rock chords.
Most people start off by learning the open shape chords (C, D, G chords, etc), then move on to barre and other more complicated chord patterns. This is a perfectly acceptable way to learn, but to play most songs, you usually need at least 3 different chords, and the most frustrating thing is trying to switch your fingers from one chord shape to another. With some practise, this becomes quick and easy, but there is another way to approach it, which only involves learning one pattern.
That pattern is the 'Power Chord' pattern, and this can be used to play a large proportion of rock songs out there. Let's look at the G power chord pattern:
E ------------- (highest-sounding)B -------------G -------------D ---------5X--A ---------4X--E -----1X------ (lowest-sounding)
In this diagram, the X's show where to put your fingers (of your left hand usually) on the fretboard, and the number shows which finger to use where.
So in this case, the first finger will go on the lowest string at the 3rd fret, then the 4th finger at the 5th fret, then finally the 5th finger at the 5th fret.
When forming this pattern, try to make each finger rest just behind the fret marker, and not be right in the middle, as this makes the notes sound more clearly (with less 'buzzing'). Try strumming the bottom 3 strings with your right hand, while holding down this pattern on the fretboard with your left. That is a G power chord. If your guitar strings are in tune as in step 2, and you have a distortion sound, then that should really sound like a rock chord.


Step 4 - Shift It Around
Now for the best bit - to play some songs right away you can use this same pattern, but play different chords with it. So, keeping your fingers in this pattern (1st, 4th and 5th fingers), try sliding it down 2 frets to play an F chord:
E ------------- (highest-sounding)B -------------G -------------D -----5X------A -----4X------E -1X---------- (lowest-sounding)
it's the same 'L' shape pattern as in Step 3, but you've just shifted it further down the fretboard. This is now an F power chord.
And now for another chord:
E ------------- (highest-sounding)B -------------G ---------5X--D ---------4X--A -----1X------E ------------- (lowest-sounding)
In this one, we've taken the original power chord from Step 3, and just shifted it across to start on the next string. This is now a C power chord. When strumming this one, try not to sound the bottom E string.
In all cases here, the pattern stays exactly the same, we've just changed which fret the 1st finger starts at, and on which string (E or A). Since the frets on the guitar aren't evenly spaced, you'll have to adjust your fingers slightly when moving it up or down.
This diagram shows where you have to start with your 1st finger to play different power chords:
E --------------- (highest-sounding)B ---------------G ---------------D ---------------A -Bb-B-CC#-DEb-EE --FF#-GG#-ABb-B (lowest-sounding)
so, for example, if you wanted to play a D chord rather than a C as we did above, then just start with your 1st finger on the A string at the 5th fret.
With this chart, and the chords to your favourite rock song, you can use the one pattern to play it!


Step 5 - Practise!
It will still take some practise so that you can form the pattern shown above, and move it around easily between frets. However, for now, there's only one pattern to learn, and you can concentrate on making the notes sound clearly by holding them down firmly behind the frets with your left hand on the fretboard, and trying to strum only the strings you're holding down.
Once you've got the hang of this shape, and can play it easily at different frets, then you should be able to play a few different songs. From there, the sky is the limit, there are many more techniques and things to learn as you progress with your guitar playing.

12:09 AM
Categories: Start Playing Rock Guitar - 5 Easy Steps. Author: Professional

If you want to learn how to play the guitar then there are lots of e-products and books in the marketplace that will assist you in any learn how to play the guitar quest. However there are several issues you will need to consider before you even begin to learn to play the guitar. What Guitar to choose? Well, what do you want to do with a guitar? If you want to play electric lead guitar then that's a long road of learning and practice. Basic chord shapes would be the best starting point for any prospective guitar player. Lead guitar is a lonely place whereas the chords are quickly learnt to 'sing-along' songs. (I am told it attracts the opposite/same sex if you can bash out American pie and the like. Ok I admit that you can get free drinks too. That's 6 chords to success!) If you really want to be a lead guitarist then it will not hurt to start with chords. I will move on in future articles to an easy method for learning the position of each note on the guitar fret board. It's a simple system which is easily remembered and applied. If you are serious about wanting to learn to play the guitar I would suggest an initial spend of between $180 and $250. An acoustic guitar would be my advice on a first purchase but keep the price low so that if you do get so annoyed that you smash said guitar on the nearest effigy of John Lennon it will not hurt your pocket too much. Take advice from a shop if you are an absolute beginner. Get something basic with reasonable craftsmanship so that when you do learn how to play the guitar and want to purchase something better you can trade your old guitar in exchange. Either way if you want to learn how to play guitar then the secret is to stay cheap and cheerful. You will also need a decent guitar tuner as a must purchase. Wanting to learn how to play the guitar is one thing but keeping it in tune is another. Spend no more than $40, remember it's a basic tuner you need, not a cool device that tells the time in Singapore. Go for steel strings as the nylon ones are Spanish/classical guitar fodder. The guitar should be pre-tuned for you as a beginner and the sales person will hopefully be helpful if you just explain that you want to learn to play the guitar using basic chords. Get them to show you how to tune the guitar with a tuner and buy a very light plectrum (strumming pick). In relation to second hand guitar purchases, my advice would be to only buy these from a shop. The reason for this is that an old guitar can warp and have damage which is not obvious until played properly. At least with a guitar/music shop the guitar should have been tested or checked and in any case you should get a full refund if there is a problem with it. I learnt this lesson the hard way and wasted money on guitar junk. Learn how to Play the Guitar. Take your guitar home and using a learn how to play the guitar book with basic chords [any will do] begin with the following chords: 'A' 'D' 'E'. A reasonable version of every rock and roll song written can be played with these three chords. Make sure the book you choose starts with these and before moving on make sure you can play at least one guitar song. If you don't follow this order, you will more than likely give up and "your learn to play the guitar dream" will come to an end and yet another cheap guitar will hit the e-bay listings. So until next time remember, like everything

12:08 AM
Categories: Guitar for the Absolute Beginner. Author: Professional

There are bedroom guitar players and there are live performers. There doesn't seem to be anything in between. The minute you walk on to a stage (whether you get paid or not) you are a professional. You are in the business of entertaining and displaying your wares, so to speak. And if you really want to seriously get your guitar playing together it is the latter you need to strive for in my opinion. I am not suggesting you 'turn pro', you know attempt to do this thing full time, that is a whole other set of issues itself, but in order for your guitar playing to really get to where it needs to get to, you simply have to play in a live performance setting, preferably in a public forum. Ideally with other musicians you can interact with.


You can spend a lifetime reading books, studying your musical heroes, playing along to music minus one records, but none of this will ultimately give you the full picture. In order to be a true well rounded musician, you have to have real world experience. I'll try to explain why...
When I was just starting out in the profession as a fresh untainted fish in the vast sea of the London music business, I had to get myself known in order to find work. So I set about to answer ads in music papers. Now, after studying classical guitar at the London College of Music, I came out of a 3 year course with a facility to sight-read. Or should I say the beginnings of sight-reading ability, as jazz and pop music written on paper is a whole other world, as I was about to find out. I remember having to sight-read a piece of jazz music with a dance band at an audition. There were about 10 guitar players going for this gig. I must have been about 23 years old. The musical director said "I kind of like what you did Chris but you didn't really cut it mate! There are other guys here that have what I need". Ouch!!! That hurt. But I was young. It was actually good to hear. So I went back to my music library, pulled out a ton of violin music and practiced reading in different positions on the fretboard. Not to mention learning how to grab chords on sight in different fret positions.

Another time, I went down to audition for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, a band known to be extremely taxing musically, and a training ground for London session players. I sat in the guitar chair with my Gibson 335 on my lap, ready to play. The director called a chart, I placed it on the stand and he counted it off. He counted it off around 250 BPM. Frighteningly fast! Well, it was all I could do to get my eyes to follow the music, measure by measure, much less play the music that was written within those bars! I didn't even touch my guitar that rehearsal. I simply placed it back in its case and went home. Ouch again! That was a hard knock! I gave myself exactly a year to get it together. I went back to my practicing with a vengeance. A year later I joined the band for about a year and a half.

Another for instance; about 13 years ago I was playing with a jazz singer in a trio situation with an eminent LA drummer and acoustic bassist. I hadn't done much trio playing, if any at the time, but I was looking forward to playing. At the end of one of the songs I completely messed up the ending. In fact I would go further, I hadn't really worked on any song endings. Didn't really have that together at all. The drummer scowled at me, particularly because I threw him off, as I was not definite in how I wanted to end the song (because I didn't know myself!). He was furious when I made him look bad. He said to me "Dude, you've got to dictate these endings, you're the one playing the chords!". He was right. I was crushed! I went home, sulked for a week (maybe two). Then I went back to my practice room. I was not to be defeated.....
These are the hard knocks you simply have to get in your music life to dictate what you need to work on to get your total musicianship together! You just cannot expect to perfect your instrument without real world experience. You can't get that experience any other way. I can recount tons of times that this sort of thing has happened, and there are still things today that I learn on a weekly basis at live gigs, telling me what I need to work on. The difference today of course is that it's me who is being critical of myself, rather than other bandmates and musical directors telling me I suck!

And the neccessity of performing live is true of any musical genre you choose. Interacting with other musicians is an art in itself. I know technically great players who can't play with others. Does this make them great musicians? I'm not so sure. But they sure can get round the instrument. But if they were to do any amount of live ensemble playing they would have one or two knocks coming, and if they are smart they would work on those issues. Otherwise it's back to solo guitar playing in the back of their local restaurant. (A noble and valid thing to do, let me also say).

There are many issues that come up in a real live playing situation that just don't come up in a bedroom practice session. Time, time-feel, supportive ensemble playing, projection of sound and tone, and most of all a sense of energy and commitment within a performance that is extremely different, and is very difficult to even put into words frankly. You just need to experience it, and that experience will improve your playing tenfold.

So get out there and do some gigs. I know it is hard to make that happen sometimes, but if you cannot make it happen then start a rehearsal band with a few others and play through repertoire. Get together with other guitarists and play through tunes, take solos and take turns being supportive. As you improve, take the plunge and take yourself to the next level.
And by recommending you do all this I am by no means suggesting you put away your books, records and Jamie Abersold play alongs. Absolutely not. This is something of course you should continue to do. But it is only 50% of your musical makeup. I promise you, by performing live you will improve yourself as a guitar player, but most of all as a musician, and at the end of the day this is what we all need to aspire to.

12:06 AM
Categories: How To Seriously Improve Your Guitar Playing. Author: Professional

A guitar is an amazing instrument. Sometimes hard to play but with easy nice sounding guitar chord secrets everywhere. Let's explore some easy but nice guitar chords.

Our first guitar chord will be Dmaj7. It is played in this way for example:
Dmaj: 0/4 2/3 2/2 2/1
An explanation of the notation. The first number indicates which fret to press down. The number after the slash which string. 2/3 means, press down the second fret on the third string.
If you lift up your fingers from this chord you will get a very easy guitar chord to play indeed! We can call it an Em7. It will look this way:
Em7: 0/4 0/3 0/2 0/1
This little chord progression makes a nice little intro to a song in D-major. If we write down a little guitar chord sequense it might look like this:
Dmaj7 / / / Em7 / / / Dmaj7 / / / Em7 / / /
We will now spice the second chord a bit by playing a Gm6. It looks like this:
Gm6: 0/4 3/3 3/2 0/1
We can use this guitar chord in an intro with the same function as the one above:
Dmaj7 / / / Gm6 / / / Dmaj7 / / / Gm6 / / /
Let's introduce a new guitar chord. We can call this chord D11:
D11: 0/4 5/3 5/2 5/1
As you maybe already have figured out you can slide the Dmaj7 chord up a few frets and you will get this chord. We will now create a progression with these three guitar chords:
Dmaj7 / / / D11 / / / Gm6 / / / Gm6 / / /
The next guitar chord is easy to play too. It is a G-minor chord. It is actually the same chord shape as the guitar chord Dmaj7 but on the third fret. It looks like this:
Gm: 0/0 3/3 3/2 3/1
Now we will create a guitar chord progression with these four chords together:
Dmaj7 / / / D11 / / / Gm / / / Gm6 / / /
The art of sliding chords to new frets is an exciting and easy way to find new guitar chords and sounds to use in your playing.
We will end this article on easy guitar chords in D by experimenting a bit with the D-major chord. Here is the most common D-major chord:
D: 0/4 2/3 3/2 2/1
By sliding this guitar chord up three frets up you will get the Dm7 chord or D-minor seventh. It looks like this:
Dm7: 0/4 5/3 6/2 5/1
Slide it up two frets from this position and you will get a G-major chord. It looks like this:
G: 0/4 7/3 8/2 7/1
The last guitar chord to explore will be A-major with D bass, notated A/D. Here it is:
A/D: 0/4 9/3 10/2 9/1
Let's make an impressive intro with these four chords but with the same chord shape by sliding the D-major chord up:
D / / / Dm7 / / / G / / / A/D / / /


The guitar really is an amazing instrument. Many more chords can be changed in similar ways to create new interesting sounds that will enrich your playing!

12:04 AM
Categories: Guitar Chord Lesson. Author: Professional

One of the most frustrating aspects of playing guitar is when you reach the point where you are not improving.

Whether you are a novice or a seasoned musician, we all face the same problem and ask the question, "Why am I not at the level I want to be and how can I get there?"
To add insult to injury, we see our guitar heroes in magazines and on TV everyday and it seems as if they are constantly inventing new tricks and improving their skills.
When we read about them in Guitar World to try to emulate their skills and learn their tricks only to leave more confused. Becoming the ultimate guitarist is far harder than it looks.
So what is the key to success?
While there is no one answer that can solve everyone's problem, there are a number of concepts and theories that can help you break through the barrier that keeps you from reaching your full potential.

The one thing that you need to realize is that you don't need to be a genius to become a great guitarist. The two key things you need to have in your possession are interest and commitment.
You'll never meet a great guitarist who isn't passionate about music. They didn't get to the level that they are at by being apathetic and lazy. They took the initiative to go out and try to learn something new.

The guitarist who dares to challenge himself takes the risk of failing. This is where many musicians lose their battle with low self-esteem and quit.
It's not that they didn't take the risk, rather, that they failed and couldn't pick themselves up again. If you realize that failure is a part of growth and that it takes many jam sessions to get some tricks down, you have just acquired the first skill you will need to become the ultimate guitarist.

I have compiled a list of concepts that I believe every guitarist should try out. Unlike other articles you will read, these short and simple steps ask you to do, rather that simply read. Thoughts and attitude are important but in the end it's what you do that counts to your audience.

Let's get started with the top ten things you can do to obtain maximum results as a guitarist.
Top 10 tips for success...
Learn something new - Educating yourself is the first step to becoming a better guitarist. Whether you choose to believe it or not, there's always something new to learn and master. If you are currently studying music in a conservatory, at school, or in college, you will find that learning will come more easier to you. If not, I highly recommend that you get in a program. While I believe in teaching yourself, I also know from first hand experience that motivation and encouragement from a teacher is priceless. Once you conquer the subject that you were learning, push yourself to learn something that you're not quite comfortable with. Learning within your comfort zone often results with you running around in circles.
Make your time count - Practicing does not make perfect, it makes permanent. That makes the time you spend playing your guitar all the more important. Don't waste your time fiddling around on your guitar. Dig in and learn something that will aid you on your quest for musical success. Set goals and work towards achieving them. Whether it's technique, tricks, or a new song, you can become better just by using your time more wisely.

Listen to more music - The more music that you are exposed to, the better guitarist you will become. Listen to the bands that you enjoy most and draw inspiration from them. Take note of what the musicians are doing in their songs and make a list of the techniques you want to learn. This can be the motivating force that gets you to play your guitar more often.

Surround yourself with excellence - When you play your guitar with people who are better guitarists, you not only learn from them but feel motivated to push yourself to keep up. At first this idea seems obscure. Why would you expose yourself to that kind of stress? Let's face it, if there's one thing that will make you get motivated quickly it's the fact that people are counting on you. Don't play with musicians who are arrogant and rude. Embarrassment doesn't foster self-esteem and will only get you down. The people you want to learn from are patient and understanding. Eventually you will find yourself at their level. It happens faster than you might think.

Ask yourself what will you do when you obtain the skills you want - What do you want to do with what you learn? Perhaps you want to make a CD or join a band and play at some local venues. Start planning for it now and use what you currently have. This ties into setting goals but is not to be underestimated. Knowing how you want to use your talent is important. Create a vision and use goals to act on it. Whether you want to play for others, or to the wall in your bedroom, the choice is yours.

Teach someone how to play guitar - To teach is to learn. If the only chord you know how to play is a G chord, show someone that. Why? Because it reaffirms what you know and solidifies your knowledge. I can tell you from personal experience that I have learned more through teaching than I ever learned through being taught. It forces you out of your comfort zone and when questions are asked, you need to know the answer. I'm a firm believer that anyone can teach someone something if they want to. Give it a shot and see the results for yourself.

Believe in your ability - Yes, I know how cliché this sounds. However, you need to hear it. You can do anything you put your mind to and if you choose to play guitar well, chubby fingers or not, you can! Don't listen to what others say and be true to yourself. This can be hard seeing as we live in a critical society that doesn't realize how much words can hurt. Keep at it and surround yourself with supportive people. More of a life lesson than a guitar lesson, but as far as I'm concerned music is intertwined with daily living.

You are incomparable - In case you haven't picked up the hint yet, you are the ultimate guitarist. There is no one like you and there will never be anyone who even comes remotely close to being like you. Integrate who you are into your music and you will never have a shortage of material. Your music will soon form into your own tone and style.

Learn what worked for others - Whether you research your favorite guitarist or talk to your guitar teacher, ask others what worked for them. I don't claim to know all the answers but when everyone puts their heads together, some really neat ideas start to flow. Networking allows you to give and receive at the same time.

Crush your weakness - We all know where we lack the most in the guitar realm. For me it's in technique and finger picking, for others it's something different. Whatever it is, don't ignore it while enjoying your recent victory. Keep attacking your weak points and you'll soon see improvement. The secret is that you never stop seeing problems and you continually get better over time. You'll never be stuck without something to do. Take out a sheet of paper and write them down. Then find the resources you need to help you destroy them. It's not unlike a war, but in the end you always win. Don't Believe The Popular Myths
You may be surprised to hear that a lot of the common advice distributed amongst guitarists couldn't be farther from the truth. There are myths and tokens of advice that get passed along and guitarists like yourself use them. Try as hard as you like, but you'll end up realizing that what meets you at the end of the road is failure.

To avoid that, let's look at some of the most common myths floating around:
All good players can play all styles: While great in theory, it doesn't work out in practice. Throughout the history of this newsletter, I have consistently pushed trying various genres of music and becoming a more cultured guitarist. However, no where will you ever hear me, or any other teacher, say that you should be able to master all of them.

The fact is that it takes a lifetime to master one style. Some take up two genres that mix well together, such as blues and rock, but those genres are the exceptions. You will never hear a neoclassical shred guitarist play country. Many jazz musicians take decades to perfect their craft and even then they still see areas that need improvement.

If you want to be a great guitarist, take the genre and style that you're passionate about and focus on it. Don't get distracted with other music. Your guitar heroes are heroes because they mastered a genre. Very few will ever play outside of their specialty and that's just the reality.
You either have "it" or you don't: Let's face it, some understand music more easily than others. That doesn't mean that you can't be as good as them. Everyone can play guitar, it just depends on the effort and time you want to put in.

There are dozens of specialties within music and no one knows all of them from the time they are born. Perfect pitch is developed, as is technique and originality. Look at where you started from as opposed to where you are now. Would you say that you are just as original as you were when you first picked up the guitar? I know I'm not.
While things may come easier to others, remember that we all have our own struggles within music and that we are in it together.
To sound good, you need the best gear - The best gear is nice, and yes, you do sound better. However, it's unnecessary for those who aren't interested in professional music or are just starting out.
Beginners love to see the rack of guitars at their local music store and say, "I want the $2000 one." That was me for years but the truth is that a guitar of that caliber is useless to someone who can't play it. Learn on something modest and work your way up.
Not only will the experience be more rewarding, it's also nicer on the instrument and your self-confidence. In the end, the guitar is only as good as the person who plays it.
I have heard crappy guitars sound half-decent when played by someone who knew what they were doing. The same applies to you. For those who can afford $5000 guitars, my advice is go for it.
For the rest of us, I say save your money and work towards being the ultimate guitarist. Think about it, if you sound good on a crummy guitar, how much better will you sound on something that can really produce a good tone?
You need to be the most talented to succeed- All too often, as mentioned above, we tend to compare ourselves to others. The ultimate guitarist is you meeting your goals and making progress.
There will always be others who sound better in certain areas but who cares? Be the person you want to be and music will be far more enjoyable. Success is measured on a personal level, not n how many CD's you sell.
The famous musicians in today's society often find themselves wishing they weren't so pressured by record labels. They want to be in your shoes where they have the choice to do what they want to do. Enjoy yourself and the rest will fall into place.

12:02 AM
Categories: 10 Easy Ways To Improve Your Guitar Playing. Author: Professional

Guitar tabs or guitar tablatures are of utmost importance to those who play guitar. Guitar tabs are one of the important components for learning new tunes. Usually the guitar tabs come with the lyrics of the song for which the guitar tab is played, and sometimes the interlude or prelude lead part of the music is given through these guitar tabs.

Depending on the nature of the guitar, i.e. a rhythm guitar, a classical guitar, a bass guitar, a twelve string guitar and so on, the guitar tabs vary as these guitars and their arrangements and frets vary in shape, size and purpose. However, a guitar tab is a system of notations, letters, symbols and other visual representations - instead of the traditional musical notation.

The sole purpose of a guitar tab is to give the direction to the player as to how to play a musical piece through a diagram of strings of the guitar. Guitar tabs or a tablature nonetheless consists of a diagram of strings of the guitar with finger positions indicated by numbers corresponding to the appropriate frets and sometimes with the numerical representations of the fingers.

Free guitar tabs are very important for those who are young enthusiasts and are keen on learning the new tunes and technicalities of guitar and especially those songs which have extensive guitar uses, both plucking and other types of fingering as well as lead parts. The Web is the biggest resource for gathering these free guitar tablatures and is much conducive than those costly books at the nearby music stations and book stalls. Free guitar tablatures are those available on the Internet that give oneself the freedom to explore and choose the song or the music he wants the guitar tablatures for.

12:01 AM
Categories: guitar tabs. Author: Professional

If you are seeking to learn how to play the guitar most guitar products currently on the market are very good. They have the right tools to make anyone who has fingers a good guitar player. What can be worrying about some of these guitar courses are the claims that are made by the publishers. You need to be wary of being scammed by these so called guitar experts. The guitar takes time and effort to master and you will need to have the time to practice and stick with it. I would suggest using one of the many e-programmes which adorn the internet choosing carefully anything. A good guide should show you the options and ask why you want to play the guitar and what type of guitar if you do. There are many types of guitar and it is easy to get sidelined into a guitar which isn't what you want. You need to identify what type of music you want to play as this will also guide you in the right direction.

Acoustic Guitar An acoustic guitar is a great place to start with guitar chords though I wouldn't part with more than $150 for one until you know the guitar is for you. Guitar chords are great for singing to and provide the rythum to many contemporary songs. The acoustic is a folk music favourite and is used by some blues players to get that boomy earthy resonance. Country music wouldn't be country without the acoustic guitars with their steel construct and huge sound boxes. Lead Guitar A lead electric guitar is a completely different beast and will require an amplifier and a power source. If it's a lead guitar you want I would again not pay much more than I would for an acoustic guitar to start. I would suggest a starter pack where you get everything IE guitar amp, guitar tuner, plectrums, guitar leads etc. With the lead guitar you will need to learn scales together with the position of each note on the guitar fret board (neck part). So if it's the lead guitar for you go for a course that takes you through scale progression and scale exercises. An alternative to this is learning what is called guitar tablature or tab. This is a simplified guide of scales and amounts to the same of learning and practice. Instead of naming the notes it uses a 1, 2, 3 code showing a basic picture of a guitar fret board etc. Most rock and roll songs, heavy rock and contemporary music uses lead guitar. Also the lead electric guitar is mainstream for jazz and blues. Spanish/Classical Guitar

Spanish guitar and classical guitar playing is something you can go to college and learn. I strongly suggest that you enrol in a full time or part time course or pay a private tutor if this is where you want to go with the guitar. Spanish and classical guitar is very beautiful though if you like rock n' roll you would probably rather die than be subjected to it. Conclusion
The main thing to consider is - how much time have you got? It takes time to learn to play the guitar. Will your guitar be another e-bay statistic or is your quest to learn the guitar going to make you the next Stevie Vy?

12:00 AM
Categories: Guitar Lessons. Author: Professional