Guitar Tips And News

>,for all you hopeless romantics out there who want to really impress your special someone, why not play her a love song.  Sure, chocolates and flowers are nice, but a love song - I think that’s much cooler.

Here’s how to play Jim Brickman’s Valentine on an acoustic guitar.  You may want to get practicing - you only have one day until Valentine’s Day.

компютри втора употребаEn savoir plus - pour en savoir plus sur le jeu, les fonctions, les possibilités de mises, la séparation des pots, lisez les pages Contrôles du Jeu, Lexique du everest poker ou les Règles Complètes fournies sur le logiciel.

The electric guitar master of avant-garde rock and fusion technology, Daryll Dobson, has returned with a progressive rock set CD/DVD titled Reality Check on the SolarGuitars.com label.Three years in the making, Daryll’s 4th release - Reality Check - represents a major achievement in the merger of musical performance and audio-visual technology! Daryll Dobson is endorsed by IK Multimedia and Digitech Musical Instruments. Daryll’s 3 previous releases: The Mind Electric, Healing Intentions, and Studio 21 have been Digitally Solarized and will also be released on the SolarGuitars.com label. The Solarizing process and sound was developed by Daryll with special thanks to IK Multimedia’s T-Racks software.

What have the critics said about Daryll Dobson?

God this guy is great! Magnificent rolls and gooves abound in this Led Zeppelin like production. It’s fat, big and formidable,,,,and it flies! Try going to this man’s world. He created it and he’s willing to share!
—Zazz Magazine

…backed by musicians such as violinist L. Shankar and keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, Dobson burns…deft ensemble playing…
—Guitar Player Magazine

…an exceptional guitarist…gobs of virtuosic guitar…fusion guitar fans will eat up “Thor Part 2”…
—Option Magazine

…a Mahavishnu-esque journey to the stratosphere with Hendrixian flights of feedback…untamed, explosive, guitar fantasia…
—Downbeat Magazine

Want to see Daryll in action?  Check out this video:

To get his latest release, visit SolarGuitars.com

Why do you care about stringing your guitar you may ask. Well the reason is simple. It will make you sound better because if your guitar is properly strung, you will get longer natural sustain.

This is something that no fx pedal can reproduce, clean natural sustain. Of course after you have this sustain you can play with it all you want with your fx pedals.

Many guitarist make the same mistake when stringing a guitar, they don’t wind enough of the string onto the tuning peg or they wind too much.

Why is this seemingly simple thing so important? Because the greater the angle between the nut (the top part of the guitar) and the tuning peg, the better the sustaining qualities of the string. Simply put, it makes you sound better. And your strings will not go out of tune as fast. Of course you can always wind too much as well, and then the strings will tend to slip out of tune easier. You want to have just the right amount.

Here is how to string your guitar.

Step 1 - Take all the strings out of the package and lay them out from the thickest to the thinnest. When you go to buy strings, always try and get the same gauge, as changing the gauge could mean problems with intonation, and may require truss rod adjustments.

Step 2 - Turn the tuning peg until the hole is in line with the neck.

Step 3 - Starting with the thickest string - The low “e”, thread the string through the bridge (bottom part of the guitar). Each guitar has different ways to do this, but it is usually very easy to see where the strings go.

Step 4 - Next thread the string through the hole in the tuning peg until it is tight. Now back the string up about 3 inches so that it loosens.

Step 5 - Grab the loose part of the string with one hand and with the other start turning the tuning peg. As you turn the peg, hold the string tightly away from the guitar to insure that it wraps tightly, with no slack. This will stop the string from going out of tune as you’re playing. When the string is getting tight against the fretboard, You can let go and continue to slowly turn the peg a little bit more and then top.

Step 6 - Make sure as you turn the peg that the string is winding downward, and don’t let it flip over itself. Your goal is tog et about 2 1/2 to 3 full winds on each string.

Step 7 - Repeat the process with all other strings, but decrease the amount of slack a little bit each time.

Thanks goes out to Tom Freeland of Playguitar.com for providing todays tips.

Now that the New Year has begun it’s as good a time as any to develop a Guitar Practice Schedule. Let’s face it, if we want to be better guitar players, then we need to play! Notice that the key word here is play, not work. But, if you’re anything like me, then you know how easy it is to let other demands on your time get in the way of practicing your guitar. Time management is always a challenge, but I find it helps when I write things down and can visualize my priorities. Today I would like to help you develop a practice schedule so you’ll be able to reach some of your goals as a guitar player.

Every guitarist’s practice schedule will differ due to personal lifestyle, job & home demands, hobbies, social life, etc. Being a beginner, intermediate or advanced guitar player will also effect how and what you practice.

As a beginner, your main goal is to develop the calluses, strength and coordination skills needed to play the guitar. Practicing 15-20 minutes a day should be enough time to accomplish this. Once you gain some proficiency on the guitar you can adjust your practice schedule according to your particular needs and desires.

It’s a good idea to set aside a specific time each day when you will be able to focus on playing your guitar. Mark down this time on a calendar and keep it some place where you can see it as a reminder of your commitment. Tell your family about it too. Let them know that their support is important and will help you reach your goals.

Next, take a sheet of paper and create a basic outline of what you will need to work on each day. Make sure you incorporate chords, various guitar techniques, plus tab and/or note reading skills into your practice schedule, as these are the common areas that every guitarist can use to develop their skills.

Here is an example of what your Guitar Practice Schedule might look like:

MONDAY

• Focus: Reading Music - use standard notation &/or tablature to learn a song, or play a single line melody.
• Goal : to improve sight reading skills in order to learn new songs and guitar techniques.

TUESDAY

• Focus: Chords - practice strumming various chords progressions and songs in different keys.
• Goal : to change easily & smoothly between chords. Long term goal being to learn the fundamental chords for all 12 keys.

WEDNESDAY

• Focus: Performing - memorize a song you have learned. Play it in front of someone, or record yourself.
• Goal : To gain confidence and get feedback in order to improve guitar playing abilities.

THURSDAY

• Focus: Theory & Technique - study scales &/or chord structure. Incorporate slides, hammers, pull-offs, arpeggios, finger-picking and other techniques.
• Goal : to increase understanding of music and improve finger dexterity on the guitar.

FRIDAY

• Focus: Fretboard - memorize &/or review the notes on the fretboard.
• Goal : to improve fretboard awareness in order to facilitate a broader range of playing options.

SATURDAY

• Focus: Review - take time to go over any trouble spots. Concentrate on one specific area. Write down any thoughts or steps needed to improve performance &/or understanding.
• Goal : to play the guitar in such a way that it produces music with a clean, clear, quality sound.

SUNDAY

• Focus: Free Time - Take time off or experiment. Play around with different sounds using your ear. Make up a chord, song or melody line. Create a repertoire so you can play the pieces you enjoy. Have some fun.
• Goal : to become a creative guitarist and musician.

Special thanks to today’s guest author - Kathy Unruh, for providing this article.  You can visit Kathy’s site at www.abclearnguitar.com

Here’s and interesting article on to make sure that playing your guitar is fun, enjoyable, and an experience that will help you get better.

Each time you pick up the guitar it should be an enjoyable experience, if you are frustrated you are not practicing the right songs. You should never feel overwhelmed, and each time you are complete with your session you should have a high degree of satisfaction…

Does this sound like you? It sure wasn’t me for a while, until I found a great teacher… here is what he told me.

That high degree of satisfaction can be can be achieved a few different ways:

The first is through dumb luck,
The second is through a quality instructor or advisor,
The third is discipline + a combination of understanding your skill level.

The good news is you don’t have to pay for an advisor if you can find a site or program that walks you through the beginning steps to play the guitar. There are many excellent sites out there such as ultimate-guitar.com & guitarnoise.com

But back to the main point… (improving your skills)

In any sport or field you have your novices, intermediates, and experts or pros. The process to reach each any of those levels should be completely understood as you begin to learn ANY new skill that you decide you want to learn. In this case, we are talking about the guitar.

One of the first lessons you need to understand is that talent does not make you an excellent guitar player. For those that already understand this, I congratulate you, as it took me a few years to understand. I dismissed all excellent guitar players as pure talent and never stopped to think about the discipline it takes to get to the level that they were playing at. (stupid, I know)

For those that want to take their playing to the next level, here was my secret: Leverage the power of your mind to play your guitar when your driving, at school in class, or at work. Picture the fretboard, “see” your fingers playing it effortlessly.

One of my favorite things to do is to sit back in my chair, close my eyes, and climb up & down the A minor pentatonic, starting at the 3rd Fret E, to the 10th Fret high E ….

Thank you, Dane Maxwell of GuitarGrind.com for providing these tips.