Archive for the ‘Learn Guitar Online’ Category
Monday, December 20th, 2010
This is your mission should you chose to accept…
Your Christmas party is likely coming up this Thursday or Friday night. At that party, you are going to impress all of your co-workers/friends (single guys=single women) with a few Christmas renditions on the guitar.
Hey, who does not like music? Furthermore, who can possibly turn you down after they’ve downed five egg nogs?
Case closed.
This message will self-destruct in five seconds…
A lot of people will wait until the New Year to make those resolutions but we here at GLC have one more challenge left for 2010. What about learning a few X-Mas tunes on the guitar?
Sure, you may only perform these songs for one month out of each year but they make for a highly original way to celebrate the holidays. Additionally, all of the songs below are pretty easy and appropriate for most beginners who know a few open chords and can strum.
So let’s get into our exclusive playlist:
- Deck the Halls
- The First Noel
- Frosty the Snowman
- Hark the Herald Angels Sing
- Jingle Bells
- Joy to the World
- O Come all Ye Faithful
- We Three Kings
- We Wish You a Merry Xmas
- White Christmas
Jingle Bells
Learn to play this simple classic with the chords displayed (above the lyrics) below.
C F
Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh/
G7 C
O’er the fields we go, laughing all the way/
C F
Bells on bobtails ring, making spirits bright/
G7 C
What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight, oh/
(Chorus)
C C7
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way/
F C D7 G7
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, hey/
C C7
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way/
F C G7 C
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh/
*Continue to strum each chord until the next chord comes up in the lyrics.
Merry Christmas!
—
Check back next week as GLC introduces New Year’s Resolutions for the Guitar.
Posted in Guitar, Learn Guitar Online | 1 Comment »
Monday, December 6th, 2010
What always has been and always will be attractive about the electric guitar is how cool it looks on-stage. Yeah, some people may argue that the lead singer is “coolest” guy in the band but I beg to disagree. Of course, us guitarists may be a little biased but at least we play an instrument (assuming you do not sing and play guitar).
Therefore, when you have mastered the basic fundamentals of the guitar you may want to add some really sweet guitar tricks to your arsenal — especially for that next live performance (or just to show-off in front of friends).
While some of the skills below are somewhat easy to learn (and look really cool when executed properly), we cannot stress the importance of first learning the basic fundamentals of the guitar! You would not attempt to dunk a basketball before you have first learned to shoot a jump shot and you should not expect to make such a profound leap with the guitar either. With that being said, if you think you’re advanced enough, let’s move on to some really sweet guitar tricks!
Artificial Harmonics Effect
Whenever a guitarist lightly touches the string at specific positions on the neck and then plucks the string they are creating what we like to call “Artificial Harmonics Effects”. When you incorporate this subtle but dynamic guitar trick you in turn create a bell-like quality thanks to the simultaneous vibrations of both sections of the string.
In order to pull off artificial harmonics you need to have some hand-eye coordination because the right hand performs the light touch and pluck simultaneous with the string being fretted by the left hand. Consequently, you have a lot going on for a few simple notes but it’s pretty cool when you do it right.
Double Harmonic Trem Drop
Do not get intimidated by the long name. When you double harmonic trem drop all you’re really doing is hitting two pinched harmonics simultaneously and then dropping the tremolo bar. The effect is a twisted in-and-out phase in which one sound goes off while the other comes back down.
Horse Effect
Basketball is not the only game that can play H.O.R.S.E. because the guitar has a really cool guitar trick called the “Horse Effect”. Made famous by guitarists like Steve Vai, guitarists deploy the special effect by fretting the natural harmonics at the second, third, fifth, seventh and twelfth frets. Then, by using the tremolo bar, advanced guitarists press down on the bar to create a high pitched whinnying sound.
Dropping the Bar Down E Trick
This trick should probably be renamed “The Jimi Hendrix Experience” because the legendary guitarist is allegedly the first ever to perform it. It all depends on who you ask but regardless, dropping the bar down E trick is really sweet thanks to the end result of a “squealing sound”. In order to pull off Jimi’s move, pick the string and then lightly touch it with the thumb.
Funky Licks
This cool guitar trick is no laughing matter. The funny lick can be used to either jazz up a funky/fusion style or add contrast to guitar solos. Regardless of the purpose, expert guitarists use funny licks to break up the monotony in an otherwise bland verse or solo. The ultimate goal of funny licks is to utilize chromatic notes and rhythmic displacement.
“Your Name” Trick
What’s so sick about the guitar is that you can never stop learning. You may really love to discover guitar tricks and that is great! Explore all that guitarists have introduced and last but not least, do not be afraid to explore a little. Who knows, you may completely invent something new!
Posted in Guitar, Learn Guitar Online, Videos | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
Today we’re going to take a look at guitar bends, something that you could classify as an “moderate to advanced guitar technique”. What are the bends? Simply, the guitar bend is designed to give what some guitarists simply refer to as the “voice”. Think about it this way: You can play the note but what happens when you play that same note and also put a twist on it? That twist is what we define as a change in the pitch.
Depending on your skill level, either guitar bends have become something that is simply second nature or rather a particular skill you’ve always wanted to master but afraid it could be too difficult. Truthfully, bends are not exactly extraordinary complicated but they will give you a lot of trouble in the early stages.
As I already mentioned, guitar bends is all about changing the pitch in the note. While this may sound relatively easily it does take some practice and focus to make it work right. Which is what we’re all after, right?
Guitar bends are executed by using not one, not two, but three fingers. This is accomplished by placing your third finger on the fret you are trying to bend while placing your first and second fingers on the frets behind it. Exert pressure with all three fingers and ah-la — you got a bend.
So, for example, you could fret the note on the eight fret, third string with your third finger. Then, you would place your second finger on the third string seventh fret and your first finger on the third string, sixth fret.
Got it?
Your ultimate goal is to bend the note up one semi-tone – or what guitarists refer to as a “half step” – and then return the note to its original pitch. You do this by picking the note you want to bend, pressing (in an upward motion or toward you) while still putting some pressure on the strings. A common mistake is to only want to bend the note with your primary finger (in this case, the third finger) while the other two remain still. However, a wise guitarist will use all three fingers. After you have accomplished the bend desired, return the note to its original pitch.
If the first time you practice a guitar bend the pitch does not seem to alter much, fret not. Guitar bends do take practice and you will not master them at first. Acoustic guitarists, beware, I hate to break the news but guitar bends are even a little tougher on acoustic.
Remember when you first started playing the guitar and your fingers ached for like two weeks? That’s how you have to approach the bends. You’re likely using finger muscles you’ve never used before and they will take time to develop. Hey, Hogan did not become the Hulk overnight either.
Patience truly is a virtue.
Note: Once you master the “half-step” bend try a “full-step” bend which requires that you bend the note up TWO frets.
Posted in Courses, Guitar, Learn Guitar Online, Videos | No Comments »
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
So you’ve made the plunge. You’ve opted to learn the guitar through a self-taught lesson rather than pay for private lessons with a personal instructor. You’re more than likely a self-motivated, driven individual but more than anything really enthusiastic about learning the guitar.
Congratulations! You’re perfect for the job.
Throughout the next weeks and months, your assignment, if you choose to accept, will be to learn and master everything you can about the guitar. But you cannot do that until you pick the course that is perfect for you. What is the perfect guitar lesson course you may ask? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. To each his or her own.
So let’s look into five common yet very important features of a “good” guitar course. When researching and comparing courses you’ll likely find three to four really solid lessons but you’ll be divided between which one is the best. These five important guitar course features may convince you of the product that is just right.
#1 Quality of Lessons
When shopping for guitar courses, always note the quality over quantity approach. Sure, one course may advertise 300 guitar lessons but how many of those lessons are actually teaching valuable information and exactly how long are those lessons. I don’t know about you, but I would take 50, quality, 20+ minute lessons over 300, dry, 2 minute lessons. It’s all about the quality. How do you get good quality with online guitar lessons? That’s a great question…
#2 Teaching Style
It’s not exactly about who is teaching when it comes to online guitar lessons, but rather how many people are teaching and of course…what’s their background. Arguably one of the greatest features of self-taught lessons through book and DVD is that you can get multiple different opinions from multiple teachers. You may have a particular name in mind. However, you’re much more likely to not know a name yet seek a particular style. Do you enjoy, lively, energetic teachers or straight-to-the-point, step-by-step educators? Always consider the style of the teacher.
#3 Support
This feature is often overlooked so make sure you’re aware of its importance. In the last feature we examined one of the strongest selling points of online guitar lessons — the availability of multiple teachers on one course. Now let’s look at a major drawback — a lack of support. No personal instructor means NO personal instructor. You’re going to get confused, lost and have a question or two from time to time. Invest in a product that has features like 24/7 chat, phone, forum or any other way you can either connect with an expert or fellow guitarists. You need these people during your early struggles learning the guitar.
#4 Additional Features
We define “additional features” as anything that goes above and beyond the basic tools and resources needed to learn the guitar. For example, have you ever considered how important a metronome is and how few online guitar courses actually provide one with the program? Wouldn’t it also be nice to have a variety of different backing tracks once you become a little more advanced and want to strum along with a tune? Again, some have them…some do not. Write down five things you would really like as extras to your guitar learning experience and your goal is to try and find one program that offers them all. Deal?
#5 Value
Ah, the good ole’ C.R.E.A.M. rule. Price does rule everything around you and selecting the best guitar lesson is clearly no different. The key term here is value. You do not want a product that is too expensive, because, after all we all have budgets. Some guitar lessons out there are simply way too over-priced. On the contrary, avoid those ridiculous “bargain deals”. As always, common sense is advised. Find something that is a nice, “happy medium”.
In short, the basics to learning the guitar have not changed. However, some programs (just like educators) are better than other programs (or fellow educators). If you’re going to spend money on a course that will teach you the guitar why waste it on something that is not appropriate to your individual needs and/or learning style?
Consider the five most important online guitar lesson features, research convulsively and consider wisely. Oh yeah, and we also broke down what we found to be the five best guitar lessons utilizing this same criteria. Enjoy!
Posted in Courses, Guitar, Learn Guitar Online | No Comments »
Friday, September 24th, 2010
The vast abundance of guitar material on the Web is both exciting and daunting. Exciting, because you have all this information at your disposal. Daunting, because with so much information you will find yourself asking the question — Where do I start?
Guitar Lesson Lounge is as good of a place as any you’ll find on the World Wide Web. It’s not necessarily the greatest (if you can even define the “greatest guitar site”) or even the most prestigious, but what it may lack it makes up for with real, genuine content.
Let us explain further. The mission, as stated on their About page is ”to maintain a fusion of high quality and casual content” via a collection of college students who love music and the guitar as much as you do. This site literally contains no BS. If you continue to read their mission statement you will find that the creators of Guitar Lesson Lounge are not here for money, not here for fame, but rather to share their intense passion for the guitar.
Our goal here is to get you to feel what it’s like to just rock out and let go as you play an epic rock solo, or play that signature song. Because it’s the coolest feeling on earth. We want to inspire you to write songs, play in a band, make a career of it, just chill out and play for friends, impress that special person, who knows?!
If that does not give you goose bumps I’m not sure what will.
Guitar Lesson Lounge was created by Guillaume Devinat, who states on the site that having learned to play the guitar on the net, he too is looking to share that wonderful experience with others. Similar to GLC, Devinat has discovered the potential the Web could have on learning the guitar and he too is trying to educate, enlighten and inform through the future of the music learning process.
The site is still relatively new, less than a year old, and like previously mentioned — composed of mostly college students from around the world. Since it’s a “new generation” organized forum, the team wisely uses many of 21st centuries greatest educational resources such as video lessons, striking visuals and even a few extra daily tidbits via Twitter.
In fact, their strongest feature is the videos, some of which are offered free on YouTube. The videos are very crisp, clean and incredibly effective. It’s easy to follow along and just like any video, you can always pause or replay at a later date.
The only “catch” with Guitar Lesson Lounge is nothing valuable in this world is free and the site is no exception. They do reward registered members with four free lessons, including how to play “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Guns N’ Roses, “Reggae Nation Army” by The White Stripes and our personal favorite…”Superstition” by Stevie Wonder.
The rest of the lessons on the site, which range from Nirvana to Coldplay, Bob Marley to The Beatles, go for $8.97 a piece and include a difficulty rating prior to purchase. The price is very reasonable considering you’ll essentially know how to play some of the most popular songs in the world upon review and practice. Guitar Lesson Lounge even admirably pays royalties to the original artist and 5% of all profits go to the Playing For Change Foundation.
Check it out!
If you register with Guitar Lesson Lounge, the creators of the site are kind enough to give you four FREE lessons.
Posted in Guitar, Learn Guitar Online, Videos | No Comments »
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
“Many will enter, few will survive.”
The above quote may be more appropriate for a gladiator movie, yet it’s also in a strange way fitting of the process in which you attempt to learn to play the guitar.
Think about it. The guitar is not too physically demanding but what it lacks in real, tangible stress it makes up for in mental frustration. Learning a musical instrument is not easy and by now I’m sure you have heard that a thousand different times.
That’s not the point of this post. The point of this post is to examine the many ways in which it is possible to learn to play the guitar without the aide of an instructor.
Personal instructors are time consuming, demanding, and more than anything expensive. And I’m here to tell you that you don’t need them. In fact, I’m here to tell you that you can do better (gasp) on your own. I’m here to tell you that learning the guitar has never been so easy to pick-up as it is in the 21st century.
So, where do you begin? Self-taught guitarists would tell you that it is definitely possible to self teach guitar based on their experience. These people are also highly dedicated, organized, and determined to their craft – playing the electric or acoustic guitar.
However, not everyone is as dedicated, organized, and determined as those same individuals. In fact, most struggle to remain self-motivated, especially when they are picking up the guitar at an older age when school, work, family, etc seem to always take precedence.
Consequently, in theory, it’s not that hard to learn the guitar but it is hard to stay committed. If you’re a real human like the rest of us, chances are that getting an education or making a living is going to have to take priority over being a rockstar…for now anyways.
- Dedication, Organization, Determination -
Get it, Got it? Good.
If you really think that the guitar is self-taught than you must possess all three traits. Then, you need to look into the three most important, yet overlooked tips.
1. Structure Your Lessons
The most common mistake is to pick up short tutorials from various sources such as guitar books, websites, or magazines and fail to structure everything together. The problem with studying various and seemingly unconnected tutorials is that they share no relation, so beginners are unable to make sense of the standard guitar concepts.
The result is the revelation that you’re not progressing but merely picking up a variety of otherwise useful lessons scattered in an inconceivable order. Hence, the individual losses passion for the instrument, failing to develop a strong foundation in proper techniques needed to progress.
Structured guitar lessons should progress in challenge and complexity. You should start with the sheer basics, such as posture, hand position, holding of the pick, tuning, etc. Slowly you should evolve into basic chords, scales, rhythm, and strumming patterns. The lessons are sequential.
Get it, Got It? Good.
2. Learning Plan
Now that you have structured lessons, the guitarist must institute a lesson plan. When will you play and for how long? This should be a strict time each day that is consistent. It’s not good enough to just assume you’ll practice when you “have a minute.” Daily practice is necessary, so you cannot merely think it’s a once or twice a week type of activity.
3. Self-Discipline
A wise man once asked, “I have the foundation and the tools, what else do I really need?” Exactly. The structured lessons will serve as your foundation while the lesson plans will work as your material and tools. With this solid foundation, material, and tools, the guitarist truly does not have a reasonable excuse for failing.
Remember, it all goes back to dedication, organization, and determination. Everything is outlined for you, now it’s time to put your intentions into action.
Now, laying out the three basic (but often) overlooked tips may seem easy enough, but if you are a logical person you can probably cite something that is even wrong with this plan.
Knowledge.
The bottom line is that you can be the most stubborn, organized, and driven aspiring guitarist of all-time, but if you lack the knowledge of the instrument you are destine to fail. That is where personal instructors came in for decades and where the Web is slowly replacing them. Someone or something must be your source for reference because after all, if you already had all the information, knowledge, insights, and wisdom on the guitar, you probably wouldn’t be classified as a “beginner” now would you?
Here is where online, self-taught guitar lessons come into the equation. They are one part personal instructor (often taught by expert in the industry who lives far, far from you) and another part self-driven. So you are essentially learning to play the guitar alone, but with the advice, tips, and lesson plans from one of the greatest guitarists in the world.
Not bad when you think about it.
In fact, GLC has dedicated its entire online existence into providing you with the very best online guitar courses in the world. Suddenly, $19.95 for JamPlay or even $149 for Learn & Master Guitar doesn’t sound so bad.
Click Here! For our full, detailed reviews on the top four programs.
Here is my challenge. I dare you to skip the costly needs of a personal instructor and to otherwise use that monetary investment on an online guitar course. Often you can download or order these programs via mail, go through the lessons at your pace, and learn as much if not more from these highly skilled and knowledgeable teachers.
Playing the guitar without an instructor…it’s as simple as that.
Posted in Courses, Guitar, Learn Guitar Online | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
It’s true. The buyer’s market is shifting to the World Wide Web. People cannot get enough of shopping and buying products online. The availability and ease of comfort (shopping from one’s home) are clearly two of the strongest selling points for online retailers.
Which brings us to a question we often receive on Guitar Lessons Critic. “Should I buy my new guitar online?”
Purchase Guitars Online: Overview
First, let’s study the benefits of buying the guitar online:
- Wide selection
- Shop from the Convenience of your Home
- Cheaper Prices and Terrific Sales
- Shipped to Your Front Door
Based on the selection, afford-ability, and comfort of online shopping – many beginner guitarists opt to go this route. However, they may miss out on a few opportunities that one would receive if they were to buy the guitar from a local retailer. For example, shopping at an actual retailer provides the following benefits:
- Chance to actually “feel” and “see” the Guitar before Purchasing
- Conversing with a Store Representative who is likely an Expert with Guitars
- Taking home the Guitar the same day you Bought it
- DO NOT have to pay with Credit Card and hand over Personal Information
- Generally offer better Return Policies and Warranties
Purchase Guitars Online: Questions to Ask
Now that you know the pros and cons of purchasing a guitar online you must make a decision. Will you buy from a local retailer or opt to go online? If you still are sold on the Internet, than you must ask yourself the following:
- Is the retailer reputable?
- What is the company’s history? How long have they been in business, what is their feedback rating, where are their headquarters?
- Do you know anyone who has shopped there previously? Were they satisfied with the product? The service?
- What type of payment options do they offer? Anyone who does not utilize PayPal is sketchy at best.
- What is their return policy like? How long is the warranty good for?
- Are they easy to contact? Do they offer a resolution center with 24/7 chat and a valid 1-800 line?
Always try and purchase products from trustworthy online retailers like eBay, Amazon, etc. This is even more important when you desire to buy something used, but it is still not “bulletproof” as scams occur on eBay too.
Purchase Guitars Online: Buyer Feedback
The buyer feedback is quite possibly the most valuable tool online shoppers can use. Feedback on sites like eBay allow users the opportunity to discover a little about the seller’s history. Most general feedback systems display the number of times feedback was left and then a percentage of that feedback is calculated as positive/negative. eBay takes it a step further with the “Power Seller” label.
If you plan to purchase a guitar from a site like eBay, Amazon, etc you should only do business with buyers that have a 95% or higher approval rate with a minimum of 10 reviews (20-30 on the very conservative side). “Power Sellers” do this for a living and have likely sold hundreds if not thousands of products online.
If you plan to buy a guitar from an actual retailer or distributor, do business with companies that search high on Google, Yahoo, etc and have a detailed background with high quality customer service and return policies. Keep in mind that it’s real easy to create a “professional” looking web page, so do your research prior to making any purchase.
Purchase Guitars Online: PayPal
PayPal appears to be the “go-to” escrow system for online transactions and for good reason. The site is very reliable, protecting both your identity and funds. Never just blindly send a check in the mail, hoping that this company will someday return with a new guitar. Make sure that the buyer is verified with the Veri-Sign Secured button at the bottom of the home page. Keep in mind that anyone can copy and paste, so you need to click on the button to ensure it’s accuracy.
For example, when clicking on the Veri-Sign button on the home page of a guitar retailer like GuitarCenter.com, one is transfered to this page.
Purchase Guitars Online: Recommended Retailers
Below is a list of a few music suppliers that we would recommend for your new guitar. Please keep in mind that their are several other reputable companies not listed below.
Guitar Center
Musician’s Friend
Music123
Guitar Trader Online
zZounds
Purchase Guitars Online: Conclusion
Please consider the article as a warning rather than an attempt to steer you away from online shopping. By listing everything that could go wrong or you need to look out for, we hope that this will successfully provide you with a pleasurable experience.
Your guitar is meant to be enjoyed and once you do own one, be sure to check out some of our top rated online guitar courses. These courses will truly take you to the next level and allow your dreams to become a reality.
Posted in Guitar, Learn Guitar Online | No Comments »
Friday, February 26th, 2010
The 12 bar blues in the most basic form aren’t difficult. Sure some of the great blues guitar players use a lot of technique, but in the basic form any beginner can understand the theory behind it. In this beginner lesson I’m going to show you how to find the chords that go into making up a 12 bar blues progression, the pattern and way to play those chords and also a couple of tips on where to find the chords on the neck.
So before you can start playing anything you need to know what chords you’re going to be putting together. Since the 12 bar blues is a simple pattern you can learn it’s easy for you to determine what chords you must play in a given key.
You need to find the first, fourth and fifth notes that are in the scale for the given key you want to play in. If you know your scales well then this won’t be a problem, if you’re a little rusty on this no problem the net has all the resources you need. The first note is just that the first note in the scale and so on each note counts up one as you go down the line.
Once you’ve figured out which notes are what number and you’ve chosen the first, fourth and fifth notes we can plug those in as chords in the following 12 bar blues pattern:
1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 4 – 4 – 1 – 1 – 5 – 4 – 1 – 5
The 12 bar blues always follows this same pattern above. The numbers of course correspond to chords that we find in the first part of the article. Each number stands for one measure, and there are 12 in all making it the 12 bar blues. The length of a measure could vary, if we assume we’re playing 4 beats per measure then we’d give each chord 4 beats for each bar.
Let’s look at a short example of how to piece together a 12 bar blues progression in the key of A.
We need to first start with the A major scale. The scale looks like this:
A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A
Picking out the first, fourth and fifth notes gives us A, D and E respectively. Next we add those to the 12 bar blues pattern we learned above, and it provides us with a progression that looks like this:
A – A – A – A – D – D – A – A – E – D – A – E
Finally take a few minutes to watch the lesson video below. I walk you through the 12 bar blues in the Key of A and show you where on the neck to play these chords and what feel you should give your playing. Once you’ve finished that I urge you to go grab your own guitar and give it a try.
Want to sharpen you guitar skills? How you ever considered self study at home using a guitar instructional dvd? DVD instruction gives you the one-on-one feel of private lessons but you’re in control of when you learn and how fast you study.
Posted in Blues, Learn Guitar Online, Videos | No Comments »
Sunday, February 21st, 2010
For those of you who have seen the mildly comical movie Adventures in Babysitting, you’ll probably recognize the quote, “nobody gets outta here without singin’ the blues” from the film. At the climax of a chase sequence, the babysitter and the group of kids she is watching, appear to reach safety inside a busy underground club. However, there is one drastic difference. Everyone in the club is black, except for the babysitter and kids. The group attempts to dart out the back of the building, but an attendant of the club stops the group in their tracks and utters the infamous line – “Nobody gets outta here without singin’ the blues.” Long story short, the crew gets on stage and steals the show.
You too, can steal the show with an amazing beginner blues set. The Blues are one of the musical backbones of this great nation. It’s also a very difficult style to learn on the guitar. However, difficult never means it’s impossible. In fact, the web offers a number of great videos for beginners on the very basics of rhythm blues.
Blues Lessons might possibly contain the greatest collection of Blues lessons on the web. The site also features some fantastic information in regards to the blues scales, pentatonic licks, fingerpicking lessons, as well as Blues equipment, styles, and artists.
One of the first aspects of the Blues you’ll need to learn is the special scale system the genre utilizes. The Pentatonic Scale is the key to any Blues solo playing. Below is a couple of quick exercises (along with photos), needed to learn the 1/5 Pattern on the Pentatonic Scale.
1. Notes on the fingerboard.
Notes on the E string
You’re now ready to learn the five patterns of the Minor-Pentatonic Scale. Each pattern is movable over the complete fingerboard (e.g. in the keytone G the first pattern starts on the 3rd fret, in the keytone A it starts on the 5th fret, in keytone C on the 8th fret, etc).
1st Pattern
Minor Pentatonic Pattern 1
In the keytone G (from the 3rd fret, because the keytone G is on the 3rd fret) the first pattern looks like this.
Practice: Play from the the high E-string to the low E-string and back. Use one finger for each fret. That means Index finger for the 3rd fret in the key of G, the Middle Finger for the 4th fret, the Ringfinger for the 5th fret etc.
Pattern Exercise
If you want to move the pattern into another key, just use the graphic above where you can see the keytones on the fingerboard.
Excercise: A simple Pentatonic-Lick (use bendings, hammer-ons as much as you like)
For more sensational information and lessons on the Pentatonic Scale, check out Blues Lessons catalog of Blues Scales exercises.
JamPlay is a very versatile product which touches up on some of the beginner techniques. As always, you can also reference the wide number of blues lessons on You Tube.
Posted in Blues, Guitar, Learn Guitar Online, Scales | 6 Comments »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Taking up a new hobby is easy. Something has led you to want to try and explore something new. However, the excitement of a new-found joy, such as learning to play the guitar, can only fuel you for so long. Over time, you need something wholesome to stay par for the course.
Make no mistake about it; learning to play the guitar at an intermediate or advanced skill level takes a lot of consistency. One who desires to play the guitar well must remain disciplined to a demanding schedule. If you are not taking private lessons with an instructor, the time spent practicing is 100% dependent on you. Fortunately, there are some very minor and subtle ways to stay dedicated to learning the guitar.
1. Learn with a Friend
A lot of people will seek a friend to teach them the guitar, but very few will seek someone to help learn the guitar with. There are several benefits to learning a new musical instrument with a friend, namely the issue of accountability. When you learn to play guitar alone, the only person who will challenge or hold you accountable is yours truly. However, when you learn with a friend, you both should (and will) push each other.
2. Reference You Tube
You Tube is filled with plenty of garbage that will never advance your brain cells, however the site also offers a nice selection of informative and instructional footage. This is especially the case when in regards to learning to play the guitar. You Tube is absolutely filled with home-made videos (some better than others) which show you everything from how to play the G chord to nailing the solo in “Free Bird”, like this one for example:
Whenever you are having a frustrating day with the guitar, reference one of your favorite video lessons on the site. Something made you appreciate or enjoy this particular video and you’ll likely rekindle that desire to play again after you watch it.
3. Follow a Guitar Blog
As is the case with You Tube, the internet is riddled with blogs. And just like You Tube, some are much better than others. Regardless, you should subscribe to at least one or two informative guitar blogs. The content is often added weekly (if not daily) and is filled with plenty of useful material relevant to learning to play the guitar in today’s world.
4. Join a Forum
Guitar forums bring together individuals of similar interest from all over the world. Forums are very resourceful for a variety of reasons. Exhibit A, forums are terrific for questions and concerns you encounter during the learning phase. If you are stuck on a particular lesson in the book, it’s very difficult to ask the book for any other advice not included in the contents. However, a forum can help solve your dilemma. Please keep in mind that forums are not bulletproof, meaning that not everyone’s advice for the solution is plausible or even true. Make sure you also do your own research, as everyone can pretend to be an expert online.
5. Make a Financial Commitment
The guitar is an investment in itself, but you should take it a step further. In today’s day and age, not everyone needs a private instructor. However, you should invest in some type of course to help direct your efforts. This could range from a standard book on learning the guitar to something as detailed and complex as an actual online course. If you are interested in something like this, check out JamPlay or Learn & Master Guitar. Both of these courses are highly recommended by guitarists.
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