Archive for February, 2010

If you want to learn to play Flamenco guitar you will find that the basic left hand techniques are the same as the ones you would use in other guitar styles. The right hand techniques for Flamenco playing are more challenging, especially if you have not done any finger style playing before.

Your right hand technique need not be particularly advanced to allow you to add the Flamenco sound to your playing but you should always aim for a clean sound. You will find many amateur, and some professional Flamenco guitar players that you might find on YouTube or on Flamenco records from the nineteen sixties do not pay a hell of a lot of attention to clean notes. There is a school of thought that rough technique is okay if the passion is in the playing. This might apply to guys who have been playing Flamenco all their lives, but if you are fluffing notes it means you haven’t practiced enough.

Let’s think for a minute about where you are going to find Flamenco guitar lessons. The answer is YouTube or similar video sites. The Flamenco guitar videos available on the internet will vary in quality of playing but most of the lessons that focus on specific techniques are generally quite useful to beginner Flamenco guitar players.

The techniques you will be learning are Picardo which is the picking style Flamenco players use to play scale passages, Tremolo which allows the guitar player to play solos made up of long notes while playing bass accompaniment at the same time and Rasqueado which covers the aggressive and expressive strumming techniques which help give Flamenco Guitar Playing its unique sound.

Some of the professional guitarists you should be listening to are Paco De Lucia, Vicente Amigo, Sabicas, Diego Del Gastor, Serranito and Paco Pena. The lessons available are often given by guitarists whose names don’t sound very Spanish but if you can get a technique that you like from some guy named Hung Li O’reilly what’s the harm? One Flamenco guitar teacher you will find giving good advice and material in the form of video Flamenco guitar lessons is Sal Bonavita.

Back in the nineteen sixties and seventies there were a few guitarists giving “Flamenco” concerts all over the world to big audiences. Their publicity announced that their greatness but they were regarded as nowhere near the class of the guitarists I mentioned above, and have nothing to offer the Flamenco student. So if you come across videos featuring Carlos Montoya, Manitas De Plata and Juan Serrano, don’t waste too much time on them. I don’t want to badmouth artists who have given many people pleasure through their concerts and records but sometimes newbies waste time trying to learn material that will not benefit them in any way.

If you are looking for instruction books on Flamenco guitar, you should look for Toques Flamencos by Paco Pena. In spite of what I wrote above, if you find one of the guitar tutors by Juan Serrano they will at least give you a good grounding in the basics.

Ricky Sharples
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learn-to-play-flamenco-guitar-743084.html

If you want to learn to play Flamenco guitar you will find that the basic left hand techniques are the same as the ones you would use in other guitar styles. The right hand techniques for Flamenco playing are more challenging, especially if you have not done any finger style playing before.

Your right hand technique need not be particularly advanced to allow you to add the Flamenco sound to your playing but you should always aim for a clean sound. You will find many amateur, and some professional Flamenco guitar players that you might find on YouTube or on Flamenco records from the nineteen sixties do not pay a hell of a lot of attention to clean notes. There is a school of thought that rough technique is okay if the passion is in the playing. This might apply to guys who have been playing Flamenco all their lives, but if you are fluffing notes it means you haven’t practiced enough.

Let’s think for a minute about where you are going to find Flamenco guitar lessons. The answer is YouTube or similar video sites. The Flamenco guitar videos available on the internet will vary in quality of playing but most of the lessons that focus on specific techniques are generally quite useful to beginner Flamenco guitar players.

The techniques you will be learning are Picardo which is the picking style Flamenco players use to play scale passages, Tremolo which allows the guitar player to play solos made up of long notes while playing bass accompaniment at the same time and Rasqueado which covers the aggressive and expressive strumming techniques which help give Flamenco Guitar Playing its unique sound.

Some of the professional guitarists you should be listening to are Paco De Lucia, Vicente Amigo, Sabicas, Diego Del Gastor, Serranito and Paco Pena. The lessons available are often given by guitarists whose names don’t sound very Spanish but if you can get a technique that you like from some guy named Hung Li O’reilly what’s the harm? One Flamenco guitar teacher you will find giving good advice and material in the form of video Flamenco guitar lessons is Sal Bonavita.

Back in the nineteen sixties and seventies there were a few guitarists giving “Flamenco” concerts all over the world to big audiences. Their publicity announced that their greatness but they were regarded as nowhere near the class of the guitarists I mentioned above, and have nothing to offer the Flamenco student. So if you come across videos featuring Carlos Montoya, Manitas De Plata and Juan Serrano, don’t waste too much time on them. I don’t want to badmouth artists who have given many people pleasure through their concerts and records but sometimes newbies waste time trying to learn material that will not benefit them in any way.

If you are looking for instruction books on Flamenco guitar, you should look for Toques Flamencos by Paco Pena. In spite of what I wrote above, if you find one of the guitar tutors by Juan Serrano they will at least give you a good grounding in the basics.

Ricky Sharples
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learn-to-play-flamenco-guitar-743084.html

Alright, so I already have a guitar, but I’ve never actually learned how to play it. I want to teach myself. Any links to website tutorials and stuff would be perfect. Thanks.

I have started giving free online guitar lessons at http://www.youtube.com/user/UKGuitarGirl. They are very simple and short, and will have you playing in no time! I’m going to put a new one up every Friday.

Once you know how to read chord diagrams (as I show in my first lesson) you can look up any chord diagram you like and you’ll be able to work out how to play the chord.

Then, once you can read guitar tab, which I will cover in a few weeks, you can go onto websites like http://www.ultimate-guitar.com and play songs by your favourite bands and artists.

There are so many tools for learning how to play guitar that you can get on the internet, it makes you wonder whether how to play guitar books have a place in the world of technology. When you used to have to learn to play guitar from a teacher you always had to have a book that you learnt out of. It was a way of making sure you and your teacher understood where you were in your Guitar Playing. And if you did not have a teacher you possibly learnt to play guitar by copying what you heard on the radio or on records. Even then you probably had to go out and buy a guitar tutor or at least a chord book.

The advantage of books is that the printed page is a record of information that you might learn today but need to refresh your memory at some time in the future. Video guitar lessons are a fantastic way to learn to play the guitar but the written word has its own way of expressing thoughts or helping you with your approach to music, and you do not have to go through the laborious process of fast forwarding through countless videos to remind yourself of something the teacher said. Also a book can be read when the power is down and you have to practice on an acoustic guitar by candlelight!

So let us look at a few really excellent how to books for guitar. An example of concise, easy to understand, useful guitar info is “The Guitar Book” by Chris Lopez. This book not only contains all the solid information you need to begin your life as a guitar player, you will find it is an inspiration to share in the author’s obvious passion for the guitar. This book has everything for the beginner guitar player: basic chords, changing from major chords to minor, chord progressions, playing blues guitar through to slightly more advanced but extremely useful stuff like transposing a chord progression if the original key is not right for your voice. If you are sticking with playing chords to accompany your singing or if you want to get into solo guitar, this book should be by your bedside.

“The Everything Guitar Book” by Ernie Jackson promises to have you playing like a pro in no time. It certainly contains all the basic information like some history of the guitar and the names of all the parts of the instrument, and all the basic chords. This is the kind of stuff you would expect to find in a how to play guitar book. You also have a reference guide for the information you will need to keep in your head as you Learn How To Play Guitar. The circle of fifths is covered,as are scales and arpeggios. You are introduced to playing songs by getting to know what you can play on the treble strings first, then you are introduced to bass patterns.

“The Everything Guitar Book” also introduces you to guitar players you should know about in whatever musical genre you are interested in whether it is classical, jazz, blues, flamenco or whatever is in between. The book then gives you an intro to playing electric guitar, buying an instrument and finding a teacher. Like any book that covers everything, there are some spots that you will need to explore elsewhere but this is a good first book for a beginner guitarist.

Frederick Noad is a classical guitar player and teacher who wrote a famous classical guitar tutor called “Solo Guitar Playing”. He also wrote a book aimed at the wider world of guitar players called “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Playing the Guitar”. This book carries a heavy classical guitar orientation but it also gives a good start for playing blues and flamenco. So it is a book for acoustic guitar players, but it is by a guy who know how to get the best from his instrument without causing severe injury to his hands and back and without using amplification. If you are a rock guitarist, do not skip past this book. There is a bunch of stuff in here that will help you become a great guitarist, and you probably will not find this kind of material anywhere else. Get it.

Ricky Sharples
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/how-to-play-guitar-books-688644.html

how do i learn to play songs word for word?

okey…

you want to play an instument, be warned. Its hard. but its the best thing you can do.

get a teacher, and the instrument you want. And practice everyday.

anything you do eight hours a day, you have to be good at it. Eddy Van Halen said that.

Well im trying to sing while i play my guitar but i can’t for some reason,IM good at the guitar but everytime i try to sing,I cant play my guitar right,Somebody help me please

If you’re good at guitar and are having trouble singing, the problem is in your right hand and strumming I’m betting.

Guitar needs to be second nature before you introduce vocals. You’re singing a new word much more often than you’re playing a new chord, so more brain power needs to be devoted to your voice. Chords should be second nature already if you’re good at guitar, so that leaves your right hand.

Pretend you’re playing the shaker to a song. You’ll be playing 16th notes most of the time. Better yet, buy a shaker and sing to a song as you shake. Now, do the same motion in strumming. Keep your hand in a steady motion to where it’s on auto-pilot and you don’t have to think about it. Try this technique for a week, and I’ll bet you’ll be singing and playing by the end of it.

Stephen

http://guitarmann.com

Have you ever dreamed of playing the guitar for your beloved girl in a starry night, or have you ever been thrilled about the idea of one day transcribing your love for her into notes and playing it by yourself? If it is the difficulty of Guitar Playing and expensive fees that prevent you from making your dream come true, then Jamorama can bring an end to your helpless situation.

With the help of Jamorama, an online software for teaching guitar, you will find guitar playing no longer mysterious, difficult, and a distant dream. There are pages of instruction and colored pictures, 148 video lessons to unveil the secret of guitar playing to you, which will not only introduce you to the world of guitar, but also allow you to grasp a rough idea of music theory, for you will learn chords, progressions, scales and other things as such. In video lessons, you can observe closely how your hands are supposed to be placed and how your fingers should strum the strings. All of these will assure you a solid foundation for guitar playing.

Live your dream of playing the guitar

In addition to its professional instruction, Jamorama has even more to offer you. Along with the eBooks and video lessons, you will also get audio jam tracks which enable you to feel the pleasure of guitar playing in its fullness. You can practice what you have learned with the guitarist, which is a fast and efficient way to improve your playing. Besides, you also get several bonuses, such as GuitEarIt! Jamorama Metronome, Jayde Musica and How To Tune Your Guitar. Such software will teach you skills such as music reading, transcribing notes, tuning your guitar, so on and so forth. All of that will make you an all-round guitarist.

It is no exaggeration that Jamorama is a must-buy product for beginners, considering its all-encompassing contents and the great fun it offers. Its reasonable price makes it more appealing to potential artists and it guarantees a 100% 8-week money back. If you are still hunting for a help to facilitate your guitar learning, Jamorama is definitely your best choice. Grab A Copy Click here

 

Jenny Patterson

I already have a guitar at home but I don’t know how to play it. I can’t even read guitar tabs/chords. Will I ever Learn How To Play Guitar and how. I tried getting online lessons but won’t it won’t help. Can anyone please help me.

go to your local school that has a band and ask for lessons SIMPLE

This post will introduce you to the bass guitar, touch on its history, its evolution and mention some of the amazing bass players that have graced the instrument. Read on to learn more about the bass guitar.

Welcome to the world of the bass guitar; if you’re reading this then you’ve taken an interest in the electric bass and have decided to pursue it further. Maybe this post will reaffirms your decision to play bass guitar, or perhaps it will be the final argument for you to start playing the bass yourself.

The bass guitar is a pretty cool instrument. It may not be as flashy as a drum kit, or command as much attention as a pimped out electric guitar, but it has a subdued, laid-back vibe all its own. A standard bass guitar has four strings and is tuned E-A-D-G; an octave below the lowest strings on a guitar to provide a sonic foundation for the melody to build upon.

While you may give up the fame and glory of the spotlight when you choose to become a bass player, you gain full control of the key of the music, and full dominion over the bass frequencies.

Bass Guitar Frequencies Move People

This is almost a mystical power that most people won’t even realize that you have. Many won’t even realize that it is the bass player and the way he chooses to play certain notes, leave others out, and the space and rhythms in between these that are hypnotizing them into dancing. It is a great responsibility that you take on – called the groove – without it; any music you play will be lame.

So besides this, why take on the bass guitar? What is it about the bass guitar that is cool, or should be attractive to someone just starting out that just wants to play SOMETHING? Well, getting up and running with a bass guitar is much easier than most other instruments. You don’t have to have four-way independence as with drums, you don’t have to memorize all the chord fingering patterns like you would with a guitar, and you don’t have to spend years to get a sound that doesn’t sound like a cat being tortured as you would with a violin. You can pick up a bass guitar and start playing bass lines almost immediately – the good news is that the easier it is to play an instrument along to music you like when you’re starting out, the more likely you’ll stay with the instrument for good.

Another great reason why the bass guitar is cool is that EVERYONE needs a bass player. You make the other band members sound good, and there are many styles of music out there that use the bass guitar. That means that if you’re a good bass player, you’re willing to work hard, learn and you have a great attitude –you’re going to have many more job opportunities than many other musicians would have.

Being a bassist is as much a state of mind as it is a position in the band. You need to put the song and the other musicians before yourself. You are the glue between the rhythm and the melody – you straddle the line between the drummer and the guitarist, giving the music that third dimension that makes music so exciting. If you’re willing to put your ego on the back burner, you can become a truly great bassist that is in demand.

Is playing the bass guitar easier? Yes it is. But to master any instrument is virtually impossible. Playing bass guitar is initially much easier than guitar; you can outline chords one finger at a time as opposed to learning the fingerings for each chord. You also have fewer strings to change than the guitarist, but keep in mind that bass guitar strings are thicker – so in some ways, playing the bass guitar is more difficult because you need to play just as fast as the guitarists but with thicker strings. This means that you’re moving more mass in the same amount of time or energy.

What you may not know about the bass guitar is:

There is something to be said for a simple bass line that does what it’s supposed to do, get some asses out of the chairs at the bar.

Bass guitars can be beautiful and expensive, they can break your heart and if you get used to playing them – playing bass guitar can indeed be habit forming!

The electric bass guitar was responsible for making rock n’ roll music come to life in the fifties – the bass could now be heard (as well as felt!) and helped to drive the new-fangled rock n roll bands mercilessly into the spotlight.

The electric bass guitar started out with 4 strings and remained that way for several decades, before evolving to 5, 6, 8 and even 12 stringed versions beginning in the mid-70s. These multi-stringed basses owe a large debt of thanks to Anthony Jackson who helped open the door to more than 4 string basses by commissioning the first six string bass guitar to be built in the 1970s!

Some famous bass guitarists include Paul McCartney, Sting, Geddy Lee, Jaco Pastorius, James Jamerson, Flea, Les Claypool, Victor Wooten, Billy Sheehan, Stanley Clarke and John Entwistle.

You can get started with a bass guitar kit that includes a bass guitar, a <a href="http://www.bassguitarrocks.com/2008/07/bass-amp-eq-for-beginners">bass guitar amp</a>, a guitar strap, an bass guitar instrument cable and a tuner for around $250 or you can even rent a bass guitar from many major music instrument retailers. Even if you don’t know of any teachers in your town, you can surf Youtube and find plenty of lessons for free that can get you started. There’s no good reason to sit on the fence anymore, playing bass guitar can be an affordable hobby that can actually make you some extra money if you choose to play out in bands.

Choosing to play the bass guitar has given me plenty of opportunity to learn and grow as a human being. It’s allowed me to experience the thrill of performing in front of large audiences while sharing the stage with some amazing bands and meet terrific people. Playing bass guitar is a great way to be creative, relieve stress and have fun!

So what are you waiting for? Get out there, find a bass guitar and start playing today!

Michael Ippersiel
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/the-bass-guitar-and-why-it-rocks-736410.html

okay, so i’ve always been a fan of metal and always loved playing guitar , so i figured, i’ll combine the two, i can play alot of techniques and if i can’t i’ve always done my best to nail it, but i’ve tried to play some BFMV solo’s and it’s speed i’m after, anyone got any tips for speed plays and finger strength, and i was wondering if there is anyway to increase the strength in my fingers, when i’m not playing the guitar?

any ideas would be appreciated.

James,

You can totally learn metal (its not that hard for an intermediate player).

Speed Exercise:
1. Choose a lick or a run that you like or are having a hard time with
2. Start the metronome at a slow sped for you where you can play it perfectly
3. Mark that speed on a chart
4. Increase the speed by 5-10bpm and see if you can play it perfectly at that speed
5. Rince and repeat until you get to a speed you cannot play it perfectly
6. Mark that speed on a chart (max)
7. Back off by 5-10 bpm and practice there playing it perfectly 10,20,100 times in a row.
8. Do this every day and watch your speed increase.

How to increase strength even when you are not playing:
1. When your hand is not doing anything, get in the habit of tapping different alternating fingers in different patterns.
2. Get a gripmaster. These are spring loaded devices that you can squeeze that will get the fingers stronger.
3. As crazy as it sounds, I’ve found doing pushups and consequently strengthening the forearms, can make a huge difference to how easy it is to grip the guitar and press down on the strings. It all has to do with how the muscles are attached and different points.

I know a website that has more details and learning techniques. The link is below.

Good Luck Shredding,
John