Some of you have asked me how to do a hammer on guitar, so this lesson is going to address that.

A hammer on is very simply hitting a guitar string without plucking or picking it at the same time. So you’re just using your left hand for this one. It is a fairly simple technique, but you can use it in some very advanced ways once you’ve got the hang of it.

Hammer on guitar riffs sound pretty cool, and you can also use hammer ons to throw in chromatic passing notes all over the place.

Definitely something worth practicing and mastering…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSBwZiv3M2I

Video Problems? Watch Hammer On Guitar Tips on Youtube.

This guitar lesson is a pretty basic one, but hopefully it still contains some useful tips for you.

I wanted to talk briefly about ‘sliding’ on your guitar… I’m NOT talking about using a ‘slide’ on your guitar, in the sense of putting a metal or glass tube around your finger… that would be a very cool topic for a different day.

However, today we’re going to look at how you can slide between notes, perhaps as a way to get into a riff, or to get out of a solo, or for whatever your brain can concoct as being a cool idea.

So without further ado, let’s jump right into it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6ipyTlAxOQ

Video Problems? Watch Guitar Sliding Tips Youtube

Strumming always seems to be an issue when you’re starting out playing guitar. I’ve done a couple different lessons on strumming before, but I though this time I would back things up to just about as basic as we can get.

If you’re struggling with your strumming, I recommend practicing with a metronome.

For learning basic chords and strumming patterns, Jamorama is a pretty good place to start. Click here for my review of Jamorama.

Don’t feel bad about keeping it basic -- make sure you can master a strum before making it more complicated. The worst thing you can do is always be attempting to do more than you’re able, and thus never really playing in time. Rhythm needs to be built slowly, but accurately and precisely.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sRkI-q1c3s

Video Problems? Watch it on Youtube

Personally I love just grabbing my guitar… and noodling.

I’ll pick a key, whatever strikes my interest at that moment, and start noodling just for enjoyment… and often times, I’ll end up coming up with a cool progression or something that could be turned into a song.

This lesson will give a few of the nuts and bolts that can help you build a framework for creating progressions or songs on your own. You need to know what guitar chords work together, and you need to know what scale you’re working with, and you need to have some idea of how those work so that you can use them to start getting creative.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njhlv7aGSRc

Video Problems? Watch it on YouTube

]]> http://www.guitartipsweekly.com/553/songwriting-tips/feed/ 4 http://www.guitartipsweekly.com/544/cool-guitar-riffs-2/ http://www.guitartipsweekly.com/544/cool-guitar-riffs-2/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:35:57 +0000 Jonathan http://www.guitartipsweekly.com/?p=544

I’ve decided to start a series of videos for the guitar riff lessons. Hence the name “Cool Guitar Riffs #2.” Mostly because I’m running out of things to call them, so why not start giving them numbers?

I once had one of those Siamese fighting fish as a pet, and I wasn’t sure if he would live very long, so I named him Louis, in case I needed to start a dynasty…

Anyways, guitar riffs are a lot more fun than dead fish, so back on topic here! Today I’ve got one for you that uses fourths, and the A pentatonic minor scale. That’s the first riff in the video, and I’m sure you’ve heard this style of riff all over the place. It’s a pretty classic sound. Keep in mind that these riffs can sound very different if you simply turn off the talent button and play clean for a moment, or if you just change up the timing a little bit.

The second riff comes out of the A diatonic minor scale, root 5 -- also known as the Lydian scale if you like being technical about it. I find it more intuitive to talk about these scales in terms of what they are (A minor diatonic) and where they start (root 5 = 5th string… think about it… that means you’re starting on the 5th string, 12 fret, where you find the A). I’ve never related well to the technical terms like Lydian, Dorian and all the rest, and by and large I don’t find the terminology particularly helpful.

But there’s my rant for the day -- go ahead and hit play, watch the lesson, and then leave a comment below the video when you’re done!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V86iGMJpCEw

Video Problems? Watch it on YouTube

Today’s topic is the difference between major and minor chords. Perhaps you’ve noticed this before, but the difference is only a single note! That note is the 3rd. The other two notes in the chord are the root note, and the fifth -- those notes are the same regardless of whether you’re making a major chord or a minor chord. So the difference between major and minor is quite minor, really.

Anyways, this is a handy bit of theory to know, but even better is seeing the thirds pattern and how it can be used on the guitar. Major thirds and minor thirds are some of the sweetest sounding harmonies you’ll hear, so it really pays to learn how to use those intervals on your guitar.

If you’re not familiar with the scale degrees, and how they can be used like numbers, you might want to checkout my lesson on Unlocking I IV V, as it explains that in detail.

This video is really just an introduction to thirds, but stay tuned -- I’ll be doing more on this topic in future lessons.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snkoz2oNTl4

Video Problems? Watch it on YouTube

So there it is, the difference between major and minor. Any questions, fire away.

In this video lesson you’ll learn how you can cut your bar chords down to size, and still get a great result.

The cool thing about this is that it takes a lot less finger strength to make the chord (you’re not actually barring it), and in addition, you’re getting a totally different and unique sound now from the something you already knew!

The basic idea here is that you take the exact same notes you were playing in whatever bar chords you’re using, but now you just hack the chord in half and only play the top 3 or 4 strings on your guitar.

This really gives the chord a higher sound, which can really help cut through the rest of the band, and it can stand out very nicely from another guitar player who is using the same chords, but perhaps is playing them as open chords instead.

Practice these two patterns -- the major pattern and the minor pattern, and get used to thinking about the root note being on the first string instead of on the 6th string.

The other pattern in there that I realized I didn’t show too clearly is just an open D form, but moved up. The root note for that one comes off the second string.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=51lN-JeRu1g

Video Problems? Watch it on YouTube

Related Lessons

Bar chords -- in case you need to brush up on your bar chords.

D Form Triads -- for more info on those D form chords, like the F# I used in the video

Major Diatonic Scale -- a refresher in case you’ve forgotten!

Here’s a good song to practice your bar chords on: All Along The Watchtower. Many different artists have done versions of this song over the years. It’s a pretty cool jam tune, so if you’ve got a friend who plays guitar as well (or bass), why not rope them into a jam session, and you can trade off on the rhythm and practice your improvising?

The chords for All Along The Watchtower basically go A -- Bm -- A -- G, so the most challenging part is getting the rhythm right.

Any other songs you’ve always wanted to learn? Leave a comment below and let me know which ones they are!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2PnLzHyojg

Video Problems? Watch it on YouTube

Related Lessons:

Bar Chords -- in case you need to brush up on your bar chords.

Pentatonic Minor Scale -- you can use this scale in the B position (starting at 7th fret) to solo over this song.

]]> http://www.guitartipsweekly.com/524/all-along-the-watchtower-guitar-chords/feed/ 6 http://www.guitartipsweekly.com/516/cool-arpeggiated-riffs-with-triads/ http://www.guitartipsweekly.com/516/cool-arpeggiated-riffs-with-triads/#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 19:58:40 +0000 Jonathan http://www.guitartipsweekly.com/?p=516

Here’s another lesson for you riff-hungry rocksters out there!

One cool way that you can start looking for new chords to use is to examine the top few strings of the bar chords. Here’s a tip -- if the notes are used in a chord, then they’re going to sound great together in a solo!

In fact, using different intervals that come from chords is a great way to break out of the rut of sticking too close to the scale when you’re improvising.

So without further ado, here’s today’s guitar tip.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU1-FmfzWOA

Video Problems? Watch on YouTube

This one is a very basic, very quick little lesson -- probably relevant only for the real beginners out there, but understanding which note is your root note in the chord is quite important.

In general, the root note is going to be the lowest note in your chord, in terms of pitch. Definitely this is the case in all of the open chords and bar chords. Later on, you’ll get into more advanced chords, and probably see some inversions and things…. but don’t worry about that for now!

The reason you need to know where the root note is, is so that you don’t strum anything lower than that note! If you’re constantly just strumming all six strings, your playing will sound muddy and not very precise, or even musical!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOvoKHmEhD4

Video Problems? Watch it on YouTube

So once you’ve watched this video lesson, and you understand where the root notes on your chords are located, pay attention to that while you’re practicing. Take the time to think about it, and make sure you’re only strumming notes within each chord that are supposed to be there!