Short On Spare Time? Learn Guitar Online! That Almost Rhymed!

August 20, 2010 by  
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Like many people have started doing with their education, you can now learn to play the guitar online. And just like taking online courses for school, it requires self-discipline and dedication to become successful. Many people aspire to learn things outside of work, but when you are tied down with priorities like family, school and work, it’s almost impossible to find time for guitar lessons. Now, thanks to the internet, people can learn to play guitar online.

There are many companies that allow you the opportunity to learn to play the guitar online, by offering lessons through the internet. Having the ability to download the content of each lesson and practice them in the comfort of your own home allows for you to learn guitar at your own pace. There may be no instructor to personally guide you through the learning process, but when you’re learning the guitar online, there is a huge community waiting to answer any questions you may have.

Having no instructor to look over your shoulder requires you to give each lesson your full attention and time that’s required to learn the guitar. Leaving you with no motivation but yourself to keep pushing you on your way to learning the guitar.

A key difference between personal lessons and online lessons is the amount of attention you will receive from the instructor. While a live instructor can challenge you to play more difficult pieces by playing for you and getting you to try it too, a virtual instructor cannot convey the same challenge and urgency. Bringing up the subject once again, that you must be truly dedicated to learning guitar, be it through private lessons or learning online.

Online classes are normally self-paced, but there is usually also a set time in which you should complete each lesson. This keeps your attention throughout the whole course so you’re not procrastinating.

So for those of you who are short on spare time to take formal lessons. Learning guitar online is a great alternative as it allows you to learn at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home. Oh and did I mention it was cheaper?

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Short On Spare Time? Learn Guitar Online! That Almost Rhymed!

Learn Guitar Chords – Trying To Avoid Them?

August 19, 2010 by  
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If you want to play beautiful songs, you must learn guitar chords. This is also the only way you can make progress in playing the guitar. The following information will provide you with useful tips on how you can learn guitar chords successfully.#1 Get a guitar chord book

The best thing to do is to get yourself a chord chart that shows you the most important chords. These chords usually can be found in most basic guitar tutorials. You will find a table of the finger placement either at the front or the back of the book. If you don’t have any guitar booklet, you can look online but it’s always handy to have a physical copy by your side.

#2 Learn to play the chords

To start to learn guitar chords, you should learn how to position your fingers. When you first start, it is normal to feel uncomfortable and your hands may even hurt. But don’t give up as you will be able to overcome it once your fingers get used to it. You need to stick to it and keep playing the chords until your fingers feel comfortable.

#3 Memorize each chord

The next step is to memorize each chord by name. If somebody told you to play the A minor chord, you should be able to quickly place your fingers correctly and play the chord cleanly. This is an essential part of the process if you want to learn guitar chords. It will lead the way to the next step.

#4 Chord switching

The final step of the process is chord switching. Many simple acoustic songs require a lot of chord switching so this is something you have to practice. For example, you can start with G major for 2 strums, switch to D major, and then move to F major. Go through as many chords as you can so that it all becomes automatic. This may seem like a monotonous exercise and can be very difficult but it will allow you to master chords so that it becomes second nature.

#5 Practice your right hand

Aside from your left hand, you will also need to practice your right hand. When trying to learn guitar chords, it’s important to train yourself not to over strum and hit strings that you are not supposed to. When you play the chords, make sure that you do not hit another note as it will ruin the sound of a chord. So make sure you fix any bad habits such as strumming other string.

Your wrist should also be loose when strumming chords. You should focus on the movement of your wrist rather than your hands as you will be able to strum up and down with your wrist. You will find that you are getting stuck or you are not producing an even sound when either your wrist is too tight or you are using your hands too much.

In conclusion, you must learn guitar chords if you want to get good at playing the guitar. Keep these tips in mind while you practice and you will be able to play your amazing songs within a short time

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Will I Be Able To Learn And Master The Guitar?

August 18, 2010 by  
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So you decided to learn and master guitar, got a guitar, and took the first lessons. If you are like many people that want to learn to play guitar, you might find it harder than you anticipated, and now doubts are piling up: will I ever learn it?

Sure you are still dreaming about being the life of the party, becoming a second Jimmy Hendrix, and how people would scream “Encore!” while you are strumming your guitar. But the closest you get to Jimmy Hendrix right now is that you would like to smash your guitar…

Well, I guess, it’s time to remind yourself of the most exciting and rewarding advantages of learning to master the guitar…

  1. Constant practice will stimulate your brain. The more you practice, the easier it will be for your brain to work and to initiate such signals that commands your hands on mentally memorizing where to put your finger on a particular fret, pressing on the right chord and engaging in the proper manner of strumming.
  2. The joy of being able to play the guitar is tremendous. Thus, your self-esteem will be working its way through your personality. A psychological book once said that a person has to satisfy the basic needs to be able to advance to his or her self to the highest level which is the self-actualization.
  3. You love to make music. Remind yourself that a guitar is one of the most convenient instruments out there. You can’t bring a piano to the camp fire, or practice on your drum set at 11pm in your apartment. Whereas if you have been a full pledged guitarist your whole life, you could play music wherever you are, whenever you like.
  4. You are one in ten. Out of ten people only one becomes a pure musician or someone with pure musical talent who can play the guitar. Some say it is taught but real talent comes from deep inside. It is that spirit within you that makes you distinct. Yes, you could flunk all of your exams, loose your job, but when it comes to music, you are the star. Nothing can ever top the popularity you will get from being an artist. People will admire you for the talent that you are.

So if you are still struggling to play such tunes, don’t give up your dream! Just keep learning and playing your guitar. Keep in mind, practice is one thing but mastering the guitar will be so ultimately rewarding. Even when playing guitar is just a hobby or past time for you, who knows, with such skill, it could take you to new heights. Something brighter. Something more intense. Something closer to your dreams.

Learn Guitar Solos: Mastering These Basics Enables You to Learn Easily

August 17, 2010 by  
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Bet you didn’t know that Eric Clapton plays the solo on the Beatles song ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. I think it’s one of the most memorable solos in rock.

There’s really no way around it; if you want to learn guitar solos you have to practice your scales. While learning chords will enable you to begin playing songs at once, you have to master scales if you really want to play solo like your guitar heroes. One of the most important scales you have to master is the Blues Scale.

The Blues Scale is actually the minor Pentatonic Scale, but with an extra note added called the ‘blues note’. Once you have mastered this scale, not only will you be able to play virtually any song in almost any genre, you will also be able to improvise your own guitar solos.

To play a basic Blues Scale that will enable you to easily learn guitar solos, do these steps:

TRY THIS BLUES SCALE SOLO EXERCISE 1. place your fingers in this position: your first finger presses down on all six strings, your second finger on the fifth string, your third finger on the third, fourth and fifth strings and your fourth finger on the first, second, third and sixth string. 2. Play the scale forwards and backwards by alternate picking: first pick downwards and then upwards. 3. Be sure that you are playing each note clearly. Fool around a bit to challenge yourself.

Once you’ve mastered the Blues Scale, you can start to learn guitar solos by using the different notes you’ve learned from the scale (notes strung together in a pleasing way are called licks).

SOME COOL IDEAS FOR LEARNING SOLOS 1. You might want to learn different positions of the various scales so you can have more options in creating solos. 2. You can also begin experimenting with various techniques to make your licks sound better, including slides, vibratos and half-step bends. 3. Another idea is to look up licks online and try playing with those. 4. Personally, this is my favorite. And it’s the thing I did over and over and over again. Just start attempting to play solo with an accompaniment; you can readily download 12-bar blues audio files that you can play along with.

When improvising licks, you should avoid the common pitfall of playing too many notes. Keep in mind that the best guitarists do not want to impress their audience with their virtuosity, but seek to communicate feeling using their playing.

Guitar Lesson — How to Deal With Double Sharps and Double Flats

August 17, 2010 by  
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On occasion, you may, as a guitarist, run into a situation where you will run into double sharps and flats. The good news is that it is rare in popular music. The bad news is that you still may run across them now and then, and you may as well learn how to cope with them.

Let’s start this off by talking about keys and major scales in particular.

Recall that major scales have a formula ( 1 + 1 + 1/2 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1/2)

There are also rules concerning the construction of these things:

1. You must use every letter of the musical alphabet ( ABCDEFG ). You cannot skip a letter. Ever.

2. You must use the major scale formula.

3. You must never mix sharps and flats in the same scale. A major scale will have sharps in it, or flats in it, or none of either.

So, if I wanted to construct an A major scale, I would start off with rule number 1 — Use every letter.

A B C D E F G.

Now it becomes a matter of whether or not there are any sharps or flats. So let’s apply the formula:

1 step above A is B

1 step above B is C#

1/2 step above C# is D

1 step above D is E

1 step above E is F#

1 step above F# is G#

1/2 step above G# is A

So my A major scale is: A B C# D E F# G# A (There are 3 sharps in this key C#, F# and G#)

Most of your “pop keys” will not have more than 5 sharps, but what if I’m in the key of G#? Let’s construct this headache of a scale:

1. Use every letter. I will start by using G# because I know that that is the key. I also know that I will be using sharps and not flats because I cannot violate the rule that concerns mixing sharps and flats. But at this point I don’t know where these are so:

Rule number 1 — Use every letter. G# A B C D E F G#

Rule number 2 — Apply formula ( 1 1 1/2 1 1 1 1/2 )

1 step above G# is A#

1 step above A# is B#

1/2 step above B# is C##

1 step above C## is D##

1 step above D## is E##

1 step above E## is F##

1/2 step above F## is G#

G# A# B# C## D## E## F## G#

Look at all of the pretty double sharps! What’s up with that and how did they get there?

In truth, these guys are a pain for any musician. It forces even the best and most cultured musicians to “think fast” (as you can imagine). But they are not hard to understand if you know what a sharp (#) really does.

A sharp (#) raises a note 1/2 step. That is the definition of a sharp. So, for example a C## is a C raised a half step twice.

Now let’s look at the Chromatic Scale:

A A#/Bb B C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A

Recall that this baby is a 1/2 step scale. That is, the numeric distance between each and every note in this scale is 1/2 step.

Now, what does a sharp do? It raises a note 1/2 step.

That means that if I wanted to (I wouldn’t, by the way) I COULD express a D as A##### (D raised a 1/2 step 5 times)

1/2 step up from A is A# (raise number 1)

1/2 step up from A# is B (raise number 2)

1/2 step up from B is C (raise number 3)

1/2 step up from C is C# (raise number 4)

1/2 step up from C# is D (raise number 5)

Fortunately you will never, ever see this to this extent — it’s too demented even for classical music.

But you will see double sharps on occasion.

So going back to the despised G# major scale

G# A# B# C## D## E## F## G#

A B# is really a C, but because of the rules of major scales it has to be represented as a B#.

A C## is really a D, but because of that rule, it has to be represented as a C##.

A D## is really an E.

An E## is really an F# (This one’s fun!)

An F## is really a G

So, if you have the misfortune of seeing a piece of music in the key of G#, you might run across an E##m7 chord — which is really F#m7!

Now ain’t that special?

Again, you may play for years before you are forced to deal with something like this on a practical level (and certainly not to this extent. A piece of music will be written in Ab rather than G#). But sooner or later you will, so it’s important that you understand what’s going on.

Now dealing with double flats is the same problem — only in reverse. The definition of a flat is to lower a note 1/2 step.Double flats are far less common though. If you can understand double sharps, you won’t have much of a problem understanding double flats.

Online Video Guitar Lesson – The Closest to Private Instruction

August 17, 2010 by  
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Private Guitar Lessons

About ten years ago, this was the best way to learn the guitar. No other option even came close. You would meet with an instructor; go over the curriculum, cost and schedule. After discussing the schedule and the cost, your teacher is going to show you how to properly hold your guitar. They are going to teach you the names of the parts of the guitar, and show you how to play chords. You will be able to know where to place your fingers on strings and what amount of force to use to make sure a clean sound comes out.

Private instruction does not come cheap in any shape or form. And it is something that you should be aware of. When I was taking these lessons I had to pay $40/hr. Time is another issue when taking private lessons. There will be times when you are having problems understanding the lesson, so you have to wait till the next week to see your instructor so he/she can explain it to you. That’s a waste of your money and time, if you ask me. In today’s world, this type of instruction just seems outdated. So what do you do if you need a cheaper alternative to learn how to play guitar?This brings me to another subject.

Online Video Guitar Lessons For Beginners

These are becoming very popular today. I was very impressed with the amount of detail they put into it. The lessons are shown in multiple different angles, which makes it very easy for you to see on where to place your fingers and how to play different chords on your guitar. This works well, since you’ll be able to see on how your hands look from your point of view, which makes it very easy for you to learn and understand the lessons. Also, you have the option of choosing from a variety of talented instructors. You can get an instructor that specializes in the type of music that you like. And if you’re a fan of “rock”, wouldn’t you prefer to have a teacher who is specialized in playing rock?

Also, it’s nice that you have the control of how often and when to play the lessons. You can play them over and over again, until you fully understand the technique. Much easier than having to wait till next week for your instructor to explain it to you. So, what about the cost? How expensive are these lessons? This is one of the biggest advantages when learning guitar online. Most lessons cost $12 – $19 a month. That’s it. That’s less than what you’d pay for just one private lesson!

Lead Guitar Scales: Learning These Can Help Make You a Master Soloist

August 17, 2010 by  
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If you want to hear someone who knows their scales? Check out Paul Gilbert, Eric Clapton, Ritchie Blackmore or Steve Morse. You will never be the same after you hear any of them play the guitar. My guess is that they’ve all put in alot of hours just playing their scales. And while learning lead guitar scales can be boring, it is absolutely important for you to master them. Once you have though, you can easily learn to play any lead guitar part, from any musical genre. There are a number of ways you can learn guitar scales but some of the major ones include the pentatonic scale and the major scale.The pentatonic scale is one of the most important lead guitar scales, since mastering the minor and major pentatonic scales covers virtually every playing situation you may encounter. In technical terms, a pentatonic scale is a musical scale that is made up of just five notes. You can begin learning the minor pentatonic scale on a single string of the guitar.

PLAY THIS EXERCISE
1. Pick a fret on that string and play the note.
2. Then move up three frets and play that note.
3. Move up two frets, play; move up another two frets and play.
4. Move up another three frets and play.
5. Finally, move up another two frets and play; this note should be the octave of the first note played..

Once you’ve mastered this pattern you can use it to play the minor pentatonic scale anywhere on your guitar. You will also use this pattern to play the major pentatonic scale, but will begin on the second note of the pattern.

When you use major scales to learn lead guitar scales , you will be using all seven notes rather than just the five of the pentatonic scale. Keep in mind that you should always keep your fretting fingers in the right position when playing major scales. One technique for learning major scales is to play three notes per string; doing so will also increase the speed of your playing once you’ve mastered it. Here’s how it works….

CHECK OUT THIS LITTLE TRICK
1. Begin with the sixth string, use the first, third and fourth fingers for fretting and position them separated by one fret.
2. Strum downwards, then upwards and then downwards again.
3. Repeat with the fifth string but play up, then down and then up again.
4. When you move to the fourth string, shift your first finger one fret downwards but keep the other fingers in the same position;
5. Stay in the same position for the third string, then on the second string,
6. Shift again with the first finger moving one fret downward, the third finger two frets downward and the fourth finger one fret below that.
7. Play and maintain the same position for the last string.

How To Learn And Master the Guitar Fast, Easy and Efficiently

August 14, 2010 by  
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There are tons of websites designed to offer a great amount of resources and teach you how to Learn And Master the Guitar. Learning guitar is pretty easy, and the guitar is considered one of the most popular instruments for the reason. Also, an acoustic guitar is one of the cheapest instruments, and you can take it with you wherever you go. However, learning the guitar and mastering it are two completely different things.

Not everybody is gifted with the art of music, and not everybody can play by ear. Some can sing or dance with music, but only a few can actually learn to play guitar without investing serious dedication and lessons.

Many professional guitarists admit that they have to give it their all to perfectly master the art of playing the guitar. It took them a lot of determination and patience to learn. So before you invest in online guitar lessons, set up lessons with a guitar teacher, or buy a learn guitar course on DVD you really, really need to make sure that you are dedicated to learning to play guitar, that you will invest the time that is necessary to practice and begin as early as possible. What better time to start than now?

Below are some of the basic steps on how to ease your way through guitar playing.

Step 1. Decide on what type of guitar to play with. There are basically two types – acoustic and electric. Many players argue an acoustic guitar is better to learn on than the electric guitar, although the electric is easier to play.

Step 2. Be equipped with the right references and learning materials. A good learn guitar course can make all the difference whether you give up because the practice lessons are boring, or have fun learning to play guitar. Having someone around who can play guitar and show you some tips and tricks would be better than being alone. Or, you can also visit online guitar forums like JamPlay.com to meet others who are learning to play acoustic or electric guitar. If you’re lucky enough to pull someone along the way of learning, you can also let him or her tune your guitar or teach you how to properly tune a guitar. He or she could also comment on your playing.

Step 3. Memorize the important basic chords. Not just mentally, but physically. It is not only important that your mind remembers each note and fret but it is also essential that your fingers and hands create proper communication in between notes to maintain equilibrium and efficiency.

If you’re starting to develop blisters on the tips of your fingers, take it easy and remind yourself that in time, blisters can form calluses that can make you play better without the pain of pressing on the strings.

Step 4. Practice. Make it a daily habit. If possible, close the door and turn of the phone. Never leave your guitar just lying around and idle for more than a day or two. Always play. Never give up on your endearment for you will reap what you sow, don’t give up just yet. Focus. Hard times are for beginners.

Only when you practice regularly, you will enhance your skills fast and have fun while you learn and master guitar.

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Online Guitar Lessons: JamPlay.com

August 7, 2010 by  
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Music is an important part of our lives – we can use it to change our moods, create an atmosphere, or simply to relax to. Learning to play guitar is not only a great way to experience the music; it is also an enjoyable, useful skill to have. The electric guitar is one of the most popular instruments, and lessons can be found online that will help you learn to play.

The electric guitar is an instrument that can be played with many different styles of music because it has many different sounds. When listening to the radio, you can hear the electric guitar on a hard rock, jazz, blues, country, easy listening, or pop station. You may want to learn the electric guitar so you can play along with your favorite bands, but you just don’t have the money to pay for lessons. The good news is that many websites offer online guitar lessons that can teach you much of what you need to know.

Here is a link to free Sample lessons on the JamPlay.com website:

JamPlay Online Guitar Videos

The one drawback to online guitar lessons is that you don’t have a teacher right there in the room with you to help you place your fingers on the right strings and show you a specific chord. However, there are other benefits to learning from a teacher online. One, of course, is that the lessons are free. Also, many websites offer a section where you can communicate online with your teacher if you have any questions about what you are learning, e.g. at JamPlay.com. Another benefit is that you can take the lessons whenever it is convenient for you, and you can often select what you would like to learn.

Read my JamPlay Review here

There are different styles of electric guitar playing that go along with many different types of music. You can learn to play chords, and you can learn to read musical notation or tablature, which is simply the system that is used to write down a series of notes known as a guitar riff. You can learn that different strumming patterns will give you different effects. The electric guitar can also come with different effects pedals, which give your music a whole new sound when you use them.

In order to find the best free online guitar lessons, you may need to try a couple of different websites, or ask someone that you know has taken lessons before. There are lots to choose from, and once you find the one for you, you’ll be on your way to learning to play like the pros!

Learn And Master Guitar: Electric Guitar Lessons

August 5, 2010 by  
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What kind of electric guitar lessons do you feel you could derive the most benefit from? The fact is learning to play electric guitar will flow much more smoothly if you feel comfortable and receptive. So give some consideration to what works best for you.

Let’s look at the simplest solution – buy a guitar lesson book. Too simple? It might be all you need. Some people can’t do without the input of a face to face teacher or the experience of seeing their guitar lessons on video, but there are many people who do quite well with printed instructions and music.

If you need a more intense experience, but don’t want to afford a live guitar teacher then give online electric guitar lessons a shot. With online lessons, you just sit in your room and absorb the teacher’s instructions, and then do your practice. No time wasted traveling to your teacher, and no putting up with a teacher you do not like. The online guitar lessons that I found most useful are from JamPlay.com.

Some people do better without a teacher standing over them, encouraging them to play it until they get it right. Online electric guitar lessons are more student-friendly in this respect. You can approach any obstacles in your own individual way, in your own sweet time.

One of the most outstanding advantages of online electric guitar lessons compared to tuition with a live teacher is the expense. You can get even the very best lessons on the internet for a fraction of what you would pay your local guitar teacher!

You can also buy your electric guitar lessons in video format. Video lessons are available for students of all genres of guitar music whether they be beginners or advanced students. With videos you can review your lessons as many times as you want, and even if you lose your enthusiasm for learning the guitar, your video lessons will be waiting for you when your muse returns. If you opt for video electric guitar lessons, check out my personal favorite, the Learn And Master Guitar course on DVD.

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