GuitarZ Fun

Piss Missile

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:03:00 PST

Piss Missile - These bloopers are hilarious
A documentary about the epic band "Piss Missile"

The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:02:31 PST

1Jimi Hendrix
2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
3 B.B. King
4 Eric Clapton
5 Robert Johnson
6 Chuck Berry
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan
8 Ry Cooder
9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones
11Kirk Hammett of Metallica
12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana
13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead
14 Jeff Beck
15 Carlos Santana
16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones
17 Jack White of the White Stripes
18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
19 Richard Thompson
20 James Burton
21 George Harrison
22 Mike Bloomfield
23 Warren Haynes
24 The Edge of U2
25 Freddy King
26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave
27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits
28 Stephen Stills
29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges
30 Buddy Guy
31 Dick Dale
32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service
33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
35 John Fahey
36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG’s
37 Bo Diddley
38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac
39 Brian May of Queen
40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival
41 Clarence White of the Byrds
42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic
44 Scotty Moore
45 Frank Zappa
46 Les Paul
47 T-Bone Walker
48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith
49 John McLaughlin
50 Pete Townshend
51 Paul Kossoff of Free
52 Lou Reed
53 Mickey Baker
54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
56 Tom Verlaine of Television
57 Roy Buchanan
58 Dickey Betts
59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien of Radiohead
61 Ike Turner
62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band
63 Danny Gatton
64 Mick Ronson
65 Hubert Sumlin
66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour
67 Link Wray
68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape
69 Steve Howe of Yes
70 Eddie Van Halen
71 Lightnin’ Hopkins
72 Joni Mitchell
73 Trey Anastasio of Phish
74 Johnny Winter
75 Adam Jones of Tool
76 Ali Farka Toure
77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat
78 Robbie Robertson of the Band
79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps (1997)
80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids
81 Derek Trucks
82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
83 Neil Young
84 Eddie Cochran
85 Randy Rhoads
86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
87 Joan Jett
88 Dave Davies of the Kinks
89 D. Boon of the Minutemen
90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper
91 Robby Krieger of the Doors
92 & 93 Fred “Sonic” Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5
94 Bert Jansch
95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine
96 Angus Young of AC/DC
97 Robert Randolph
98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer
99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag
100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

Top 5 Guitar Players of All Time

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:02:01 PST

Recently I was again reminded of Rolling Stone’s Top 100 list of guitar players, and it really made me start thinking. Since starting GuitarPlayerZen, I’ve really realized that it is pretty much impossible to come out with any kind of objective rating scale on guitarists. Hell, I know probably more than 100 guitar players that are our Myspace Friends or one of our Featured Guitar Players that could objectively “smoke” some of these guys.

It is, however, very interesting to see what players are influential to other great musicians. Whenever I hear a new talented guitarist, I immediately begin to wonder what guitar players he/she grew up listening to and idolizing. Finding out who one’s top influences are is a great way to discover new talent, I also feel is a great exercise in understanding and appreciation for all musical genres. You might not like metal, but there is something that can be greatly appreciated in the playing of Dragonforce, or Dimebag. You might not be into country chicken pickin’, but man Brent Mason can play the hell outta a guitar.

We would love to hear who your Top 5 Guitarists are in our comments. We could all benefit from it and maybe even discover some new players we have never heard of before!

Anyways, keep reading for the Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Guitar Players List and let us know what you think about it at the end of the post

Guitar Tube 2 - Chicken Picking Lesson

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:47:59 PST

Guitar Hero III - The Metal - Expert - 100% - Full Combo

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:06:01 PST

Guitar Hero III - The Metal - Expert - 100% - Full Combo - The funniest home videos are here

Guitar Hero 3, How to Tap the Intro on Ttatf

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:02:41 PST

Guitar Hero 3, How to Tap the Intro on Ttatf - The most amazing bloopers are here

Acoustic Guitar Blues Jam - NickyDaMan With Schwartzee

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:58:01 PST

Acoustic Guitar Blues Jam - NickyDaMan With Schwartzee - The funniest movie is here. Find it

NickyDaMan's Original Riff with tasty licks and bodacious shredding!

EZ Guitar Tabs

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 22:24:13 PST

Quick access to guitar tabs of your favorite tunes. Add in the song title, artist/band and any other details you would like to. Store and manage your top picks in one easy-to-use location.

Built-in ability to Search your own collection, or search the web for tabs
Sort by title, artist, album, genre, and year
Add as many tabs as you want
Print your tabs directly from the EZ Guitar Tabs interface
Add additional notes and a picture for each tab entry

Download Now

Berklemusic-Triads in Root Position 3 (cont.)

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 22:11:46 PST

Now let's try the same triads, only in a different order. In contemporary, jazz, and popular music, chords frequently move in intervals of a fourth up (or a fifth down). If we move from chord to chord by intervals of a fourth, we arrive at what is called the cycle of fourths, also known as "cycle 4," shown below. A cycle is defined as a series of events that recur regularly and usually lead back to the starting point. If you start at any note and continue around the wheel to the note that is up by a fourth, you will eventually end up back at the same note. In so doing, you will have covered all twelve notes in the chromatic scale, without repetition.

This serves as a useful reference to allow you to take anything through all twelve keys. Although not as intuitive as half-step motion on the guitar neck, knowledge of this set of key relationships will help prepare you to play the countless songs whose chords move in intervals of fourths, including thousands of blues, rock, r&b, and jazz tunes. If this is new to you, don't worry. You'll get a lot of practice with it. In fact, let's start using this approach to the twelve keys now.

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/L1-ex5.pdf

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.5a.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.5a_2.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.5b.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/ex1.5b_2.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.5cw.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.5cn.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.6a2.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.6a2m.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.6b.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.6bm.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.6c.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.6cm.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.7a.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.7am.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.7b.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.7bm.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.7c.mp3.mp3

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.7cm.mp3

Berklemusic-Triads in Root Position 2 (cont.)

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:42:02 PST

To get used to the sound of the major triad, let's practice playing major triads up the fretboard, one fret at a time, on the top string set 1-2-3. While difficult to execute on most musical instruments, moving up one fret at a time, also called "in half-steps," on the guitar neck is one of the easiest ways to accustom yourself to a voicing shape.

1. Play major triads in all twelve keys, moving up the fretboard one fret at a time, in half steps on the first set of three strings, as shown in figure 1.1 of page 1. Play a triad based on each of these notes.

Please Note: All playing exercises include an Interactive Exercise (Guitar Pick button) which allows you to follow and play along with the music, as well as MP3 and PDF downloads that allow you to practice at your own pace. It is recommended to download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view all PDF downloads.

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/L1-ex3a.pdf

http://www.berkleemusic.com/welcome/freelessons/guitar/assets/lesson1MP3s/Ex1.3b.mp3

Berkleemusic-Triads in Root Position

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:19:54 PST

Major Triads

A chord is a set of three or more notes sounded simultaneously. If the notes are played one after the other, it is called an arpeggio.

Triads are three-note chords. They are built upwards in intervals of thirds from a fundamental note, called a root, which is like the tonic of a scale. The major triad includes the tonic, third, and fifth of the major scale built on the triad's root.

Each of these notes is described by a number corresponding to its scale degree (or interval) away from the root: 1, 3, 5. These numbers are referred to as "functions," as in "E functions as the third of a C major triad."

Play the following C major scale, triad, and arpeggio now.

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 22:09:50 PST

Welcome to Berkleemusic.com, Berklee College of Music’s
online extension school. Berkleemusic offers a growing catalog of accredited
online courses and certificate programs in all areas of contemporary music,
including songwriting, arranging, production, education, music business,
and performance. If you are looking to enhance your career opportunities,
develop your skills, or connect with like-minded musicians, Berkleemusic has
something for you. I invite you to explore our Web site to discover the many
ways Berkleemusic.com can help you achieve your goals.

Berklemusic-Free Guitar Lesson

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:45:11 PST

Introduction

The longer I've played the guitar, the more it's become clear that chordal playing and melodic playing on the guitar amount to two sides of the same coin. The more time I've spent working with chords--all of the variations and possibilities-the easier it has become to look down at the fretboard while playing and see more options. A clear understanding of chordal shapes on the guitar leads to a thorough understanding of the instrument. Let's get to work.
Music Theory Primer

While this course is designed for students with little to no music theory background, there is some basic vocabulary we need to know in order to discuss how to construct chords. Before you go any further, be sure to read through this music theory primer. I suggest bookmarking this page or downloading the Flash animation so that you can refer to it any time you have a question throughout the course.
Please review the . This is a brief overview of some basic music theory concepts that you will be seeing in this course.

Earl Klugh Interview and Lesson

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:24:18 PST

Earl Klugh Music Examples

Earl Klugh is smiling broadly on the cover of his latest release, The Spice of Life, as if the photographer caught him in a moment of pure joy. Such moments are well deserved for Klugh, who, with the release of Spice, has a lot to smile about. The album offers a satisfying mix of moods—from the easy breeziness of "Ocean Blue" to an elegant rendering of the jazz standard "My Foolish Heart" to the poignant "Venezuelan Nights," which was inspired by the waltzes of Venezuelan composer Antonio Lauro. Spice's variety makes for an intriguing listen, and it's just that sort of variety that has propelled Klugh's career for more than three decades.

Besides variety, the other constant in the Detroit-born guitarist's career has always been balance. Time and again, he has established himself as an artist with a knack for making music that's not only celebrated by fellow musicians and jazz aficionados but is also accessible to casual listeners. Few players of his generation—or any generation—have built such universally successful careers. Perhaps only two come easily to mind—Chet Atkins and George Benson, both of whom Klugh befriended and recorded and performed with. As a younger player, Klugh assimilated some of the concepts he'd heard in their music. When he later met his heroes, they encouraged him to find his own musical path. Benson, in particular, advised him to focus his efforts on the nylon-string acoustic and to avoid getting distracted by the electric guitar. "George really encouraged me in that direction," Klugh says. "He said, 'This is exactly what you should be doing. Don't worry about trying to play both instruments.' It was good advice." And, again, Klugh is smiling.

Klugh surely has found his own guitaristic voice, and that voice is the central element on all of his recordings. From a playerly perspective, however, it's his two solo-guitar releases—Solo Guitar (Warner Brothers, 1989) and Naked Guitar (Koch, 2005)—that highlight his sound and ideas most clearly. One thing that sets Klugh apart from many other solo players is that he's able to generate forward momentum without reverting to four-beats-to-the-bar chording or walking bass lines. Instead, he renders swinging melodic lines, punctuating them with chordal jabs on the beats between phrases. He makes it look easy, but this is sophisticated stuff.

I met with Klugh in New York City last summer to talk about his approach to solo playing, and throughout our interview the guitar never left his lap. Alternately playing and chatting, Klugh talked about his approach and influences—Atkins, Benson, and beyond. He began our session with an extended improvisation on the classic jazz tune "It Could Happen to You," modulating through several keys and exploring the guitar in every practical register.

That's a great workout—playing one song through so many keys. Is that part of your practice routine?
KLUGH I like to do that as much as I can. It comes in handy. I sometimes worked with singers back when I lived in Detroit, and I'd have to play jazz standards in their keys. Then I'd work with horn players or organ players, and everybody wanted to play in Bb, F, and Eb.

When you're arranging a particular piece, how do you decide on the best key?
KLUGH Picking the key has to do with keeping the register where it's not too high and not too low. You want to make sure you don't run out of room on the neck for the melody—that's one thing. I might modulate to a key that's not necessarily a good melody key but would be the key I'd improvise in. In the end, I always try to get back to where the guitar sings the melody best.

Could you talk about how you first got into jazz?
KLUGH Early on, I'd been a big Chet Atkins fan, and Laurindo Almeida—that kind of thing. Then I heard Wes Montgomery. I liked the work Wes did with [producer] Creed Taylor and, from that, I found his other records. When Wes passed [in '68], I was still too young to go to nightclubs, but I kept hearing about "the new guy"—George Benson. I figured, ok, I'll check him out, but he can't possibly be anywhere as good as Wes. But he was pretty amazing. That's what got me into the whole thing.
When I was old enough, I went to hear George at Baker's Keyboard Lounge—a Detroit jazz club that's been there since the '30s. I saw a lot of people there. I'd go every Friday and Saturday night. It was an education, because jazz didn't come into play for me until I was 18 or 19 years old. That's pretty old to get initiated. It opened up a whole different world to me.

Was Benson the first great guitarist you had a chance to see live?
KLUGH Yes.

After hearing him on record, did anything about his approach surprise you when you got to watch him?
KLUGH He was playing amazing things, but it didn't seem like his hands were doing that much. I mean, sometimes he'd just go, but basically it was all within one position or another. When you listen to his records, you imagine he's going up and down all over the neck, but it really wasn't like that. It's interesting—now that he's older, he's even more economical.

This economy is a striking element of your own solo-guitar as well; you use small chord voicings to great effect.
KLUGH I really try to visualize the guitar more like the piano—particularly the way Bill Evans would play. I've listened to his records for countless hours. He had so much expression, and there was economy in a lot of the things he did, in his voicings—all that close harmony. I felt a kinship with that approach.

So you've cultivated that in your own style?
KLUGH Yes, over time. Since I'm not a plectrum player at all, and I don't have terribly fast right-hand technique, I tried to find something else that would be musically interesting for myself and for whoever cared to listen. A guitarist can't really do everything a piano player does, but you can get that feeling going. When you really get into a piece, you can get it going and keep swinging it.

Play along with the Full Team Method Band!

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:29:02 PST

here will be three parts to this lesson. First, I will show you another warm up pattern, then show you the song's lyrics and how the chords work with them, finally we will get you playing along with the band. This final part should be fun and easy as you have already mastered the song and it should be a matter of just doing what you have already done but with accompanyment of instruments.

Ok. Let's get into another one of our warm up techniques. This one will once again use all your fingers and all the strings. The following pattern is similar to those that I have already shown you, so you should have no problem playing it. Now, as always I would like you to use correct fingering. The correct finger will be written out below the TAB.

You will have noticed that when there is a zero on the above tab there is no fingering indicated. That is because a zero indicates an open fret, therefore you don't need to use a finger to push down on the string. Keep working with this pattern until you feel that you are playing it smoothly.

Ok. Now we can get into the more exciting part of the lesson - playing with the band. This should be a lot of fun. Play along with the band in the following JAM track:

Audio
Audio Backing Band mp3 (5.34 MB)

Did you do it? If you feel like you are not quite getting it completly right, try again. Remember you can always refer back to lesson 5 and the TAB if you forget. Keep working at it and you will get it down.

A lot of people who want to learn to play the guitar, learn so they can sing and play. For this reason we have added a track with the band but no singer. If you want to you can sing along with the band.

Audio
Audio Backing Band without vocals mp3 (5.35 MB)

If you need a copy of the words, I have written them out for you below.

Chorus:
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me.

Verse 2:
Yonder come miss rosie, how in the world did you know?
By the way she wears her apron, and the clothes she wore.
Umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand;
She come to see the govnor, she wants to free her man.

Chorus:
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me.

Verse 3:
If you’re ever in Houston, well, you better do the right;
You better not gamble, there, you better not fight, at all
Or the sheriff will grab ya and the boys will bring you down.
The next thing you know, boy, oh! You’re prison bound

Chorus:
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me.

Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me,
Let the midnight special shine a light on me.

Awesome! You have now come to the end of our six part mini-course. Click on the link to see or hear a personal message from Ben Edwards.

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up (Audio)	Broadband (Video)
MP3 - Audio Message (1.3 MB)	QuickTime - Video Message (5.49 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Video Message ( 5.52 MB)

Playing 'The Midnight Special'.

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:26:15 PST

The song 'The Midnight Special' uses predominantly the chords A and D, and at the end of the song you will need to play the chord G. You will notice that these are chords that you have already learned, so you should have no problems playing and changing between them. Also you will notice the strum used in the song is exactly the same as the strum that we practiced in lesson 4.

Now, I realise that this song might not be in the style that you are specifically into, but it is a good song to just get you started at playing something and using the chords that you have learned. In the full JTeam Method course, we cover many more styles including pop, rock, jazz, blues, metal and funk. So don't be worried if this song is not your thing. It's just there to get you up and rolling, and stringing some chords together.

Today we will be using chords that you already know and using a strum that you have already practiced. Not only that, we have practiced using both these chords and this strum with changes. So you can see how we have systematically built you up, so that playing this song is just another simple step in developing your playing.

Today, like yesterday, I am going to teach you a new warm up pattern. This one will be a touch more difficult than the last few. This pattern starts on the first fret and the sixth string (thickest string). You will play all six strings and use all your fingers. As always with these exercises, I would like you to use the correct fingering.

Warm up:

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 1 (1.25 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 1 (2.79 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 1 (3.35 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 1 (4.54 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 1 (712 KB)

In the above warmup, you will have noticed that the frets you play have the same numbers as the fingers you use. This should make it easy to remember what to play. So now after playing that, your fingers should be warmed up and ready to play.

Let's move onto learning 'The Midnight Special'...

As you already know how to play the chords and the strum for the song, all we really need to work on today with this lesson is getting you to remember the changes and getting into the feel of the song. The first part of ‘The Midnight Special’ is the chord D followed by the chord G. Interestingly the WHOLE song uses the same structure, the guitar plays the same progression in both the verses and the choruses. In tomorrows lesson I will also give you a chance to play along with other instruments, but today we will try and work with a singer and your guitar.

You will have noticed by now that I like to break things down and give them to you in small, manageable steps. Nothing is going to change for this lesson. There are going to be four parts to this lesson. Firstly I want you to listen to the song, then I want you to try and play it by yourself, thirdly I would like you to play it with another guitar, and finally we will get you playing it with a singer. I have broken it down into parts like this so that you should have no problems taking each step forward.

Now I would like you to just listen to the song. You will hear that there are only two instruments playing (note; it is common to hear the ‘voice’ being called an instrument). Listen carefully to the guitar part, you will be able to hear that it holds the song together and maintains its rhythm.

Audio:

'The Midnight Special' mp3 (5.34 MB)

Ok. So, listening to that you would have noticed that the guitar is laying down the rhythm of the song with the singer coming out over the top. That is the goal of a good rhythm guitarist, to lay down a solid groove so the singer can be clearly heard and the rhythm of the song is maintained.

Now you have heard what the song should sound like, I am going to give you a chance to play the start of it. Below I will TAB out what I would like you to play and the strum I would like you to use. This song starts in D, continues for two bars then changes for two bars of G before it returns for two more bars of D, it then finally goes to two bars of A. The strum used, is exactly the same as the one we looked at in lesson 4, so you should have no problems linking in with it.

This is the longest piece of TAB I have asked you to read and play along with, but like I said you have done all the parts of it before. Now is the time to put it all together and play. This time I would like you to just try and play in your own time. I would like you to consider this a piece Section. Play this piece of music until you feel you are getting it together. Make sure that it is tight and sweet sounding before you move on to the next. One last thing... all the tracks in this lesson have a click in period of 2 measures (8 clicks) before you start playing. So, when you play the following exercise, wait for 8 clicks before starting.

The Midnight Special (Section 1)

Audio Available:

Audio

Audio mp3 - Exercise 2 (896 KB)

Once you feel like you have mastered that piece I want you to practice it some more, and then some more as in essence that same section repeated over and over is the entire song! The song structure is simple and easy to follow. I have written out how many times you play the chord progression section below:

The Midnight Special (structure)

Chorus) Play section 1 twice
Verse 2) Play section 1 twice
Chorus) Play section 1 twice
Verse 3) Play section 1 twice
Chorus) Play section 1 twice
Chorus) Play section 1 twice

At this point, I would like you to practice the structure with all the changes in your own time until you feel confident with the piece. Note that the whole song is quite long, and without someone singing and can feel very repetitive, try singing along (if you can) as you practice.

Now that you have had a chance to play the song by yourself, you should be getting used to the chord changes. Now I would like for you to play along with my guitar track and the vocal tracks. This will feel a little harder as you will have to keep time with my guitar. Focus on playing in time and if you make any mistakes, just restart. Listen to the count on the track for your cue in.

In this part of the lesson you will be playing the exact same TAB that you have played in the last exercise. If you can do this then you have mastered this piece and you really are developing as a player.

Exercise:

Play along with the following guitar and vocal track:

Audio Available:

Audio
Audio vocal track mp3 (5.34 MB)

Developing your Strumming Hand. It's really coming

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:23:51 PST

In today's lesson we have a lot to cover. We will be playing all of the chords that you have learned: A, D and G, and we will be trying a new strum with these chords. By now you should be able to play and change between these three chords. If you followed the lessons carefully you should find these exercises a logical and easy progression from what you have previously done. It's great to have you with us...

Today's lesson is based around trying to play a specific rhythmical strum on the guitar. The first three lessons have challenged your fretting hand. This lesson is going to challenge your strumming hand. Being able to play particular strums and rhythms is an important and often under practised part of playing the guitar. Many musicians get caught up in learning crazy chords or playing speedy scales. This can often lead to the neglect of rhythm which is the basis for all music.

Remember in the last lesson we talked about warming up and using the correct fingering. Before you start this lesson, just try another one of these warm up fingering drills.

This following warm up exercise involves the 6th, 5th and 4th strings (three thickest strings). Once again I would like you to use correct fingering when you are playing this. Remember your index finger is number 1, you middle finger is number 2, your ring finger is number 3 and your pinky is number 4. Play in down strokes and take your time. Try and make each note ring clear. Remember it is better to play slowly and accurately than to sound muddy and unclear.

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 1 (930 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 1 (1.96 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 1 (2.53 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 1 (3.48 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 1 (489 KB)

Now that you have finished that warm up pattern it's time to move onto the main part of the lesson which is some work on strumming. Before you start on this I am going to explain some simple music theory to you. Don’t get intimidated by this as it is pretty simple.

You may or may not have noticed that most of the things you have played previously have been in groups of fours or numbers that are divisible by four. Most music is like this and if you don’t believe me turn on your radio. Try and count out in fours while listening to the playing. I am confident that you will be able to count out in fours to most pieces of music you will hear.

So previously when you were strumming up and down you were playing HALF beats. That is why I had you count out, "one AND two AND three AND four AND", to split each beat in half and strum in eights. Just to recap, let's just try one of our previous exercises again.

Once again we are working with the G chord. Strum up and down in a constant rhythm. Keep it slow and accurate. As in lesson 3, I would like you to count out, "one AND two AND three AND four AND", with your strumming.

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 2 (516 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 2 (1.14 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 2 (1.41 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 2 (1.90 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 2 (313 KB)

Ok, let's push those boundries a little.

Exercise:

Basically, what I want you to do I skip a couple of beats. In terms of what you have been counting I want you to skip the ‘two’ and the ‘four’ when you are strumming. Watch the video to see what you need to strum or give it a go and see what I mean...

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 3 (1.04 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 3 (2.71 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 3 (2.82 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 3 (3.90 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 3 (495 KB)

Note that I have put hollow strumming symbols below the tab chart. This is because I want you to make the strum but I don’t want you to hit the strings. When you see the hollow strum symbol, that's what that means. Listen to the count on the JAM track and try and play along. This will feel a little awkward at first, but like everything we have asked you to do, it is achievable. Keep working at it and you will be able to do it. You may notice that the JAM track provided is quite slow. This is because I want you be able to play this perfectly and in time.

Now I would like you continue the same strum but work with the chord A.

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 4 (1.03 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 4 (2.73 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 4 (2.80 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 4 (3.88 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 4 (608 KB)

Cool. By now you should be having no trouble keeping up with the video. Now we will try it one more time slowly with the chord D. If you are still having trouble, try doing the measure then stopping. After stopping, wait, reset yourself, and think about what your doing and try again.

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 5 (1.06 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 5 (2.59 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 5 (2.89 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 5 (3.93 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 5 (712 KB)

Now we are going to do the exact same exercises in the same order but at a quicker pace. Learning to play a song slowly and then learning it again quickly is an excellent method of learning music. You will find that increasing the speed in small increments will allow to play more complex songs than you would otherwise be able to do.

Exercise:

Go back through the last three exercises and complete them at 70 bpm (beats per minute). Try the online metronome at www.metronomeonline.com.

Now I want you to vary your strum a little. What I want you to do is strum that we have been practicing this lesson but this time we are going to open it out a little.

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 6 (1.19 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 6 (3.20 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 6 (3.20 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 6 (4.38 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 6 (690 KB)

The Art of Chord Movement

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:22:39 PST

This lesson continues on from lessons one and two. In lesson one you learnt how to start playing and how to play the chords A and D. In the second lesson you were shown how to read tab. This lesson will be similar to the second part of lesson two, however I plan to introduce you to the chord G. Once you have mastered G, we will try and practice changing between the three chords we have learnt; D, A, and G.

Let's take a look at the G major chord:

Exercise:

With this exercise, I want to get you strumming up and down. I would like to introduce to you a new technique to help with your playing. When you are practicing the lesson above I would like you to count out loud. This sounds easier than it is, but it is something you need to learn and it is an achievable skill. It works like this; on your down strum I want you to count “1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4” and on the up strum I would like you to say “and”. So you should be saying “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4”. Most guitar music is broken down into beats of four. This is not something you need to worry about at this stage, but it is something you should be aware of. Try the exercise below and remember to take a look at the video if you have any problems:

G major chord

Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 1 (850 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 1 (1.48 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 1 (2.30 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 1 (2.80 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 1 (495 KB)

As you can see the difference between practicing this chord and the previous chords you have learned is that you are doubling up on the strum. The way I would like you to do this is by strumming up when you bring your hand back up. Take your time with this. Watch the video provided and try and play along. Your strum should be constant and in time. The track provided is slow and with a little pratice you should be able to play G with up and down strum.

Now we are going to work on changing between G, D and A. As above, I would like you to continue using an up and down strum and counting out loud. So if you continue with your, “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”, it will help make the next lesson a lot easier.

Exercise:

Next I want you to practice going from G to D. This should feel like a realitively smooth and easy chord change. It also sounds good and should with a bit of practice feel very natural. Just to remind you, you should be strumming up AND down while you perform this exercise and counting out aloud, "one and two and three and four and", in time with your strum. Note that each 'and' is written as '+' in the following exercise... This is just so that it fits properly under the TAB.

Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 2 (861 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 2 (1.40 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 2 (2.33 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 2 (2.88 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 2 (502 KB)

Adding the up and down strum may mean that this will take a little longer to master than the previous chord changing exercises in lesson 2. Don't worry though, just keep working away at it until you can play along comfortably with the audio track provided.

Now we will move onto the next exercise. This one starts in A and then goes to G. Once again I would like you continue with the up and down strum and the counting aloud as in the previous exercises in this lesson.

Before you do however, I just want to mention a couple of things. You will notice that in the video for this lesson, I play the A chord using a different method than the one that I taught you in lesson 1. I just want to make the point that there are many fingering variations to many chords and none of them are wrong. If you find a way to play a chord that is easier for you, then use it. That said, try playing the A chord the way I play it on the video and see if it works for you.

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 3 (859 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 3 (1.40 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 3 (2.33 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 3 (2.87 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 3 (502 KB)

You're doing great here! For the final exercise we will play all three chords we have learned. Just as a quick note, when you play a group of chords in order it is called a ‘progression’ or a ‘chord progression’. In this progression we will start with a G then change to the D before finally finishing with the A. You will notice in this exercise that the A is played for twice as long as both the D and the G. I have done this so you can count out in fours as you have done in the previous exercises.

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 4 (839 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 4 (1.32 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 4 (2.30 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 4 (2.73 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 4 (484 KB)

I bet you never thought you would read this but; being a guitarist is a lot like being a boxer. In both disciplines your hands are your principal tools. Both guitarists and boxers must put their hands in a difficult and potentially injurious situation to perform their art.

By now you will have come across some of the difficulties and pain that come with learning the guitar. For most of you, just pressing down the strings and trying to play chords will have caused some moderate pain. Most of this pain will be in your fretting hand ( left hand for right handed players). This pain is normally felt in a few places; pain in your fingertips, sore wrists, stiff forearms and pain between your thumb and your fingers. Most of this pain is inevitable and will pass with time.

If you have serious continued pain in your hands then you should contact a health care professional. Repetitive Strain Injuries (R.S.I) and carpal tunnel syndrome are the most common serious problems that guitarists encounter. However for the vast majority of players these problems are not an issue.

The best way to avoid pain when you are playing the guitar is to dedicate some time to warming up. There are many ways you can warm up and every guitar player has a different method. In this lesson I will show you some basic warm up techniques. These techniques will also help you build hand strength and a little bit of speed.

Unlike the previous exercises in this lesson there is no need to continue with the up and down strokes. All the strokes in these two exercises will be single notes using down strokes. It is important to note that in these warm up exercises you will be playing single notes as opposed to chords which you have been practising in this lesson and in lessons 1 and 2.

In this first warm up exercise I want you to get used to using particular fingers. If you look at the diagram below you will see that each finger is numbered. Your index finger is 1, your middle finger is 2, your ring finger is 3 and your pinky is 4.

This following exercise is excellent for warming up, improving hand strength and increasing
co-ordination. You will notice that I have tabbed out some single notes for you to play. Above the TAB I have written some numbers. These numbers indicate the fingers I would like you to use when doing the exercise.

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 5 (927 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 5 (1.44 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 5 (2.50 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 5 (3.05 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 5 (547 KB)

As you can see, this is just a simple ascending and descending pattern on the 1st string (thinnest string). First, you use your index finger, then your middle finger, then your ring finger and finally your pinky. The second part is just the same thing but in reverse.

This second exercise I want to show you involves three strings; the 1st, 2nd and 3rd. It is important to notice the fingering used. This may feel a little awkward and frustrating at first but this is the correct way to play the guitar. Getting in the habit of using correct fingering will pay massive dividends as you progress with your guitar playing. Once again, play this exercise with down strokes only...

Video and Audio Available:

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 6 (1.07 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 6 (1.70 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 6 (2.90 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 6 (3.52 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 6 (634 KB)

Guitar Lesson - How to Read Guitar Tablature

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:20:26 PST

TAB or tablature is the most common method of writing out music for the guitar. It is different from classical music notation in that; TAB uses ordinary numbers and keyboard characters as opposed to standard musical notation which uses symbols. Because of this format, anyone with a computer can write or read TAB making it the most user friendly way to read and communicate guitar music. Also TAB relates directly to the fret board of your guitar meaning that you may easily see where you put your fingers.

In the full version of Team Method Guitar, both standard musical notation and tablature are used. But for this six day course we will only use TAB. The reason for this is that tablature is very easy to read and you should have no problems learning TAB in a few short minutes of reading.

TAB has some weak points, the worst of which is that rhythm can't be easily indicated. This shouldn't pose a problem though, as I will indicate the rhythm for each exercise using the strum indicators that were introduced in lesson one.

OK. To start I want you to look at your guitar and you will clearly see that it has six strings going from thickest to thinniest. On a TAB diagram, the thinnest string, (or 1st string as its most commonly called) is at the top - The thickest (or 6th string) is at the bottom. This is clearly demonstrated in the 1st example below.

The following diagram shows you how tablature relates to the guitar fret board:

Some of you may notice that this guitar seems upside down in relation to how you play. This is simply the way that guitar music is generally written. Now if you transfer this same model to a written format you will get TAB, which can be seen below.

So the lines above indicate the strings on a guitar. The top line of the TAB being the thinnest string of the guitar, and the bottom line on the TAB chart indicating the thickest string of the guitar. Now if you look at your guitar you will see metal bars that raise up from the neck of the guitar called frets. TAB uses numbers to show you which one of these frets to press down and play.

For example, look at the tab diagram to the right and you can see that the 1st string (thinnest string) is being played. The number refers to the fret that you should press down. In this case the number zero is displayed. This means that you shouldn’t press down anything.

So if you were to play the above piece of TAB on your guitar, you would pick the thinnest string once with your plucking hand and do nothing with your fret hand.

Tip: If you are having trouble with this concept, you can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 1 (503 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 1 (714 KB)	QuickTime - Exercise 1 (1.39 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 1 (1.7 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 1 (308 KB)

Now let's see if we can start pushing down some strings. Look at the next example below and try and play the note that the TAB chart displays.

If you pressed down the thickest string at the 3rd fret then you played the exercise correctly. If you are still unsure whether you are doing the right thing or not, refer to the video below.

Tip: The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 2 (390 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 2 (519 KB)	QuickTime - Exercise 2 (1.07 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 2 (1.2 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 2 (239 KB)

Let's try another one. Play the following piece of TAB:

This TAB diagram above indicates the 2nd string (second thinnest) and you should be pressing down on the first fret.

Tip: Once again, there is video available for this example. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 3 (424 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 3 (586 KB)	QuickTime - Exercise 3 (1.15 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 3 (1.4 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 3 (248 KB)

Things become a little more complicated when you are required to play chords, however the basic principals I have already outlined still apply. The only difference is that you will be required to play more strings and hold down more strings with your fingers. In this next example I will show you how to play the chord ‘A’.

A Major Chord

The first and fifth strings are played open while the second, third and forth strings are played at the second fret. The sixth string is not played in the A Major Chord and this is often indicated by an empty space on the stave or sometimes by an 'X'.

If you have read the TAB correctly your fingers should look like this:

Before we move on, I would like to introduce to you a musical symbol that we will be using from now on:

The symbol on the right is called a repeat sign. When you see this symbol, you go back to the start of the piece of music you are playing and play it over again.

Exercise:

Just to make sure that you are getting the TAB concept, I want you to play the following. Take note of the repeat sign:

If you were playing the D chord, you were correct. Check with the video below:

Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - Exercise 4 (794 KB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 4 (1.2 MB)	QuickTime - Exercise 4 (2.14 MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - Exercise 4 (2.5 MB)
Audio
Audio mp3 - Exercise 4 (463 KB)

So now you know how to use basic tablature as it applies to notes and full chords. In this introductory set of lessons you will use TAB to learn different chords and by lesson six you will be able to play the full song, 'The Midnight Special'.

Don't forget, for the ultimate guitar learning kit which includes step-by-step written lessons, video lessons, audio lessons and sophisticated software games to accelerate your guitar learning. Visit Team-Method-Guitar.com to find out more

Part One--Introduction to the Guitar and How to Play Chords

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:12:38 PST

Part One--Introduction to the Guitar and How to Play Chords

Getting into Position. Information that every beginner should know before they start out!
Introduction to Chords. The basis of all music - Learn A and D and see why learning them with Team Method Guitar is easy.
Strumming. One of the most important things you must know if you want to progress with your playing.

Part Two--Reading Guitar Tablature

The Fret Tablature relationship. A little tool that will break down the music reading barrier and super accelerate your learning!
How Tablature works. Get inside information on this brilliant time saving concept.
The repeat sign.

Part Three--The Art of Chord Movement

Learn the G chord. Add to your database of chords.
Eigth Note Strumming. And to think, two days ago you could hardly strum a thing.
Chord Changing. Now you are really cooking with fire and it's sounding hot!
Warm up exercises. One of the most important things you will ever learn about playing the guitar!

Part Four--Developing your Strumming Hand

Missing the beat. This trick will blow you away!
Building speed. Faster isn't always better, but it's a hell of a lot of fun.
Mixing chords and varying strums. It's really coming together now!

Part Five--Playing 'The Midnight Special'.

A quick warm up.
Song sections 1, 2 and 3. Let's break it down Team Method Guitar style!
Put it together and play along with our vocalist.

Part Six--Play along with the Full Team Method Guitar Band!

You can download a full version of the song that you are going to learn by clicking here!

This mini-course will give you some basic guitar skills and get you playing a song, but I can't possibly teach you everything in just six emails. That's why I've put everything into my course, Team Method Guitar! It's got so, so much more. It's packed with cutting edge material to help you fast track your guitar learning. You'll learn how to play almost any song you hear by ear. Click on the link below to see exactly how you can learn to play guitar like a professional!

www.team-method-guitar.com

Now, let's get into todays lesson.

Getting into Position

Sitting Positions

There are two sitting positions for holding the guitar; classical and casual.

1. Pick up the guitar and make sure that the guitar body is supported by your leg.
2. Position yourself at the edge of your chair.
3. Ensure that your back is relaxed but straight.
4. Lean the guitar back towards you slightly.

Standing Position

1. Pick up the guitar and place the strap over your shoulder. Adjust the strap so that the guitar is positioned mid-body.
2. Use your left hand to support the neck of the guitar.
3. Rest your right hand over the bridge of the guitar.

Hand Positions

It is important that you relax your wrists and hands. Straining them can cause injury.

Front View

Rear View

Warning! Make sure that you never position your hand like this:

Your thumb should never be placed this low on the neck of the guitar as it puts
unneccessary strain on your wrist and thumb.

Fretting

When you play the guitar, you use your left hand fingers to press down the strings on the fret board of the guitar and use your right hand to pluck or strum the stings at the bridge end of the guitar. Using your left hand to press the strings on the fret board is called fretting. Here are some tips you will need to know:

1. Short fingernails are essential.
2. Use only the tips of your fingers to press the strings.
3. When making a chord, be sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret.
We will cover chords in lesson one.
4. Check each string that it rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing.

As a beginner guitarist, it may hurt your fingers to play. This is normal. Every guitarist starts this way for the first couple of weeks. With practice, you will develop guitar fingers (hard skin on your fingertips).

Holding the Pick

Position the pick between thumb and index fingers like in the diagram below:

Time to take a break. Well done, you've just completed the first part of this mini course. Next you are about to learn about chords and by the end of this lesson you'll have learnt the A Major chord.

Don't forget, Team Method Guitar includes step-by-step written lessons, video lessons, audio lessons and sophisticated software games, visit Team-Method-Guitar.com

Now you are ready to continue your first lesson. Your aim in this lesson is to learn the A and D major chords and to introduce yourself to reading guitar tablature. This lesson is very important, so I want you to really focus.

Remember! It is more beneficial for you to practice several times during a week than to practice for one long session. This is because your brain processes information in chunks at a time and it can only hold a certain amount in short term storage.

For example, with phone numbers, it is very difficult to remember any more than 7 digits at a time. Yet if you give yourself time between practicing, even if it is just 10 minutes, you’ll find that your brain is much more efficient at turning your short term practice into long term knowledge. More information on effective learning is contained in Team Method Guitar at Team-Method-Guitar.com.

Ok. That aside, let’s get back to work on the lesson. To start with, I want you to have a look at the guitar neck diagram below and make note of all the relevant pieces of information.

Frets
The guitar neck is divided into what we call frets, making a fret board. Most guitars have around 20 frets. In this first book, we will focus on the first four, also known as the first position. In book 2, we will move beyond that. Notice that we number each fret starting at 1 at the head of the guitar.

Note: Each string on the guitar is numbered. When you hold your guitar as you would when using the casual playing position, the 1st string is at the bottom and the 6th string is at the top.

Notice also the term, ‘Tuning’ at the bottom of the above diagram. Tuning refers to the notes that the guitar strings are tuned to. In the above diagram, I have given a very common tuning called standard E tuning that consists of the notes E, A, D, G and B. Strings 1 and 6 are both tuned to the note E. The open 6th string is called low E. The open 1st string is called high E as it is two octaves higher than the 6th string open E. I will explain notes and octaves to you in a later newsletter, but for now, you only need to know the names of the notes in standard open E tuning.

Now make sure that your guitar is tuned to standard E tuning (the most common tuning). If you don't know how to tune your guitar, then download my free guide to tuning your guitar HERE. Or if you are already a member of Team Method Guitar, you can use our guitar tuning software to help you tune your guitar.

**Note: To open the above tuning.pdf file you'll need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download a free copy of this HERE.

We will stick to standard E tuning throughout this newsletter, but you can find other tunings to play with in our member’s area at www.team-method-guitar.com.

Introduction to Chords

Now we are going to look at guitar chords. Guitarists use many different chords to make progressions or riffs that can then be used to create songs. If you are not familiar with some of these terms, it’s ok. We will cover everything that I am talking about in good time.

A chord is defined as a combination of 3 or more notes played together. To examine this, I want to take a look at chord diagrams. Chord diagrams are used to illustrate how a chord is played. They are very easy to use because they look very much like the neck of the guitar, in fact, the Team Method Guitar chord diagram is a guitar neck.

As I said above the Team Method Guitar chord diagrams are going to be pictures of an ‘actual’ guitar neck so it’s easy to make the connection between strings and fingering. There is also a picture of the type of chord diagram that appears in most other Guitar learning guides. I want you to be aware of that form of ‘standard’ chord diagram because you may want to use it when writing up chords on paper at home.

So, now that you know what a chord diagram looks like and how it matches with the neck of your guitar, it’s time to come back to what I said earlier about a chord being a combination of 3 or more notes played together. Finger placing symbols are added to the chord diagram so we know which notes to play. To start with, let’s look at your fingers.

We give each playing finger a number that we can then match up on the chord diagram (see below).

And now, let’s look at a full chord diagram. We will use the example of the A major chord:

Chord Diagram - A Major Chord
In the chord diagram below you can see that the A major chord uses fingers 1, 2, and 3. Take note of how this chord diagram looks - we will use this style from now on.

The A major chord is constructed of the notes A, C# and E. We will cover notes a little later. For now, we will make chords without knowledge of individual notes.

Note that there is a red dot marking the 6th string on the above chord diagram. The red dot tells you that you are not to play that string. The sixth string of the A major chord is not played, but you play the rest.

Throughout this newsletter series, every chord diagram will be accompanied by a picture of the chord being held on the fret board and video and audio of the chord being played for you to check with. Pictured below is the A major chord being played.

Exercise: Playing the A Major Chord
Position each finger with care, according to the above diagram. Make sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. Firstly, pluck across the strings one by one with your right hand, checking that each string rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. Play the first Audio or video example to hear how the chord should sound.

Now that we’ve looked at chord diagrams, I want to move on to strumming.

Introduction to Strumming

In a strum there are two types of guitar stroke. They are up stroke and down stroke. Throughout this book these strokes will be notated as follows:

When you play a stroke, you strum across the strings just in front of the bridge of the guitar with the pick in your strumming hand. When strumming a chord, make sure that you play all of the necessary strings in the chord. The stroke direction will depend on which stroke is indicated; up or down as shown above.

Exercise: Strumming the A Major Chord
Position each finger with care, according to the A Major chord diagram (above). Make sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. First, pluck across the strings one by one with your right hand, checking that each string rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. Once you are sure that you are holding the A major chord correctly, practice strumming the chord in single downward strokes as indicated below:

While you play this, see if you can say out loud an even 4 count. Another option if you are a TeamMethodGuitar.com member is to use the Team Method Guitar metronome - it will help you to stay in time.

Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - A Major (1.56MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - A Major (1.76MB)	QuickTime - A Major (4.00MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - A Major (5.87MB)
Audio
A Major Mp3 (0.75MB)

Try your best to start your strum from the fifth string each time you strum. A major, doesn’t sound bad if you accidentally hit the top string, although if you want your music to sound professional, you’ll want to play this chord properly. Remember to stay relaxed. Your fingers may hurt a little but they will get stronger.

Now that you are playing the A major chord properly, let’s take a look at strumming another chord...

The D Major Chord
The D Major Chord is constructed of the notes D, F# (F sharp) and A and is played using fingers 1, 2 and 3:

As with the A major chord: try strumming the D major chord in downward strokes with your right hand.

Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):

Dial Up	Broadband
QuickTime - D Major (1.51MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - D Major (1.97MB)	QuickTime - D Major (3.91MB) WindowsMediaPlayer - D Major (4.05MB)
Audio
D Major Mp3 (0.73MB)

Note: The top two, or fifth and sixth, strings are not played in the D major chord. Make sure that you start your stroke from the forth string each time you strum D major, it doesn’t sound bad if you accidentally hit the fifth string, although as with A major above, if you want your music to sound professional, you need to play this chord properly.

Tips to using the guitar capo

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:33:01 PST

A guitar capo is very useful tool for playing the rhythm guitar. It is a neat little guitar tool that can be used to change between different musical keys effortlessly. By fastening itself onto different positions on the guitar neck, the capo enables the guitarist to create a “movable nut” similar to that of a full barre at the desired fret.

The basic theory behind using a capo is that the key of the song can be moved chromatically up and down the guitar neck. For example, when the capo is placed on the 1st fret, all your open guitar chords become one semi tone higher. In other words, playing an open C chord with the capo placed on the first fret changes the chord by a semitone higher(C#/Db chord).

Let me give you another example to illustrate this. If we put the capo at the 5th fret, the key of any open chord shape played is now shifted 5 semitones higher. A C major open chord played is now transposed to F major chord

Tips to using the guitar capo

With that being said, here are some pointers to take note while using capos.
You should place the capo behind the desired fret and NOT or the fret itself.
Take note that the capo is not fastened too loose or this will lead to buzzing sounds or even rattling strings.
The capo should NOT be over tightened. Over tightening the capo will cause over tension in the guitar strings resulting in out of tuned guitars.

Recommendation

Check out GuitarCenter.com for a wide range of guitar capos. I would personally recommend the Kyser Quick Change Capo because of its simple operating mechanism and rugged life span.

That’s all for this lesson on using a guitar capo. See you around at GuitarPlayerWorld.com.

How to Buy a Guitar

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:15:32 PST

When I first got interested in playing the guitar, the first obstacle that I met was to purchase a guitar. I had totally no idea how to choose a guitar nor had any close friends who played the instrument. At that time, the internet was not readily available and there was no Google search engine to find information on buying a guitar. Together with a friend, we went to a guitar shop in town and each brought a guitar package set for ourselves for around USD$200 after some persuasion from the store assistant. Considering that this was a relatively cheap deal at that time and we did not have knowledge on choosing a guitar, we decided to go ahead with the purchase. Soon after I brought the guitar, I realised that there was poor workmanship and there were buzzing sounds when the guitar was played at some frets but I guess we couldn't complain for the price we are paying. We were simply not able to make better decisions due to lack of internet and guitar knowledge at that point.

Before You embark on Buying a Guitar

Basically, this guitar article is to impart some of the knowledge and experience that I have learnt the hard way when purchasing guitars. I do hope that after reading this article, you will be able to make a better informed decision and avoid unnecessary frustration when purchasing a guitar.

The first thing you need to do is to ask yourself these questions:

1) What is the style of music that you want to play?

The style of music that you are going to play will help determine which kind of guitar you should get. For example, an electric guitar would preferably be used in rock and metal music, classical guitar for classical music (isn’t this obvious?) or perhaps if you like to sing along while strumming the guitar, the acoustic guitar is the best choice.

2) What is your budget to spend on the guitar?

Purchasing a guitar is like making an investment into your musical development. It is important to ask yourself what would be the budget that you would be willing to spend. For a total beginner, somewhere within the range of USD$200-300 would get you a decent electric guitar whereas a decent acoustic guitar would cost around $USD150.

Choosing a guitar

Once you have answers to these questions, let’s move on to how to select a guitar for your needs.

1) Always TRY the guitar before deciding on any purchase. You should try as many guitars as you want to and do not be pressured by the store assistants into buying a guitar. There is no harm to trying guitars outside your budget and you should get a feel of the differences in sounds and playability.

2) Inspect the entire guitar carefully for physical defects. Minor wear and scratches are ok as long as there is no interference with playability. You should avoid purchasing guitars with major defects such as cracks along the body. Another major defect is the twisting of the guitar neck. You can do this check by holding the guitar so that the headstock is pointing towards you. Look along the neck and make sure that there is no bowing.

3) Check out how the condition and the playability of the frets. You can do this by fretting each fret on each guitar string and playing the note. If there are buzzing sounds on some frets, chances are that the action of the guitar is not set properly or there is poor workmanship. You should also check that the frets of the guitar are not worn out.

4) If you decide to get buy a guitar online, be sure to read product reviews from other people as well as comments from users who have bought from the website before. Guitar Center and Musician’s Friend. These online guitar stores are trusted sites that are very well established with years of experience. Some of these stores even offer a money back guarantee on their products.

5) Another important factor is that you should be totally comfortable with the guitar and you must like the sound of the guitar. Once you made this purchase, chances are that the guitar is going to stick with you for some time. So make you buy something that you like!

To conclude, you should really buy the best instrument you can afford. The quality of the guitar is often pegged to its price. For beginners, you should consider getting package deals which includes freebies such as guitar bags, amplifiers, picks, straps and etc. This would save you a lot of time as well as money. I hoped that this guitar article was useful as a guideline to purchasing a guitar.

Learn to Play Guitar

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:09:37 PST

Do you want to learn to play guitar? If so, then I'm sure this list of sites will help you. They have been recommended by a community of musicians as being especially useful.

Team Method Guitar CourseThis one is the king of guitar courses. It has hundreds of videos, audios, software and one to one tuition built in! This has helped thousands of people to play better guitar - see what you think.
http://guitar.internet-guider.co.uk/

Show Me How To Play - Love it. Learn it. Play it.A visual approach to teaching guitar.
http://www.showmehowtoplay.com/

How to Rapidly Learn to Play the Acoustic Guitar Yourself - WikiHowwikiHow article about How to Rapidly Learn to Play the Acoustic Guitar Yourself.
http://wiki.ehow.com/Rapidly-Learn-to-Play-the-Acoustic-Guitar-Yourself

The 10 Greatest Rock Guitar Riffs Of All Time (Learn How To Play Them!)Learn the guitar techniques, tricks, licks, and riffs of guitar greats past and present with online guitar lessons. Includes guitar tab, guitar video demonstrations, guitar audio and images. For electric guitar, acoustic guitar and bass guitar.
http://riff-o-matic.com/greatest_rock_riffs.htm

Learn how to play guitar the right way without getting bad habits!Covers basic principles so you avoid bad habits and learn how to do it right from the beginning. http://www.guitarprinciples.com/

ActoGuitar: Learn to Play Guitar With Free Online Guitar LessonsFree online guitar lessons including audio, video, and community interaction.
http://www.actoguitar.com/

Lick By Neck - Learn The Guitar Visually. Play The Guitar instantly! Teach The Guitar Globally!LickByNeck is an interactive guitar learning software. It displays an onscreen animated guitar fretboard, allowing user to learn the guitar visually. No music notation or TAB reading skill is required!
http://www.lickbyneck.com/

Video Tabs Archive Your #1 Source for Video Guitar Tablature and Video LessonsLearn how to play guitar with free guitar lessons and free guitar tabs. With over 200 video songs lessons, Video-tabs.com is your #1 source for free video guitar lessons and tabs. Video-tabs.com combines quality video lessons served up by YouTube with accurate easy-to-print tabs so that you can more easily learn your favorite songs.
http://video-tabs.com/

Guitar Lessons for Beginners Archive - Free Guitar Lessons Online - Acoustic and Electric Guitar LessonsLearning to play guitar is a challenge, but with this series of free online guitar lessons, complete with popular songs to practice, you'll begin to improve immediately.
http://guitar.about.com/library/blguitarlessonarchive.htm

Best way to learn guitar - Guitar Noise WikiA user generated site with good advice from professionals and amateurs alike.
http://www.guitarnoise.com/wiki/index.php/Best_way_to_learn_guitar

iPlayMusiciPlayMusic teaches you how to play guitar in no time at all. Fun beginner guitar lessons. Lessons are Fun Simple and Intuitive. Learn the songs you love
http://www.iplaymusic.com/

How to Play Guitar for Newbies - MahaloDue to its versatility, portability, and the fact that it can be used to play almost any type of music, the guitar is one of the most popular instruments to learn how to play.
http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_Play_Guitar_for_Newbies

Learn to play the guitar - LifehackerWeb site Guitar Noise offers a huge knowledge base of free lessons and advice that can take you from guitar
http://www.lifehacker.com/software/learning/learn-to-play-the-guitar-162818.php

Guitar Lesson World - LessonsGuitar Lessons, theory, and instruction. Learn to play guitar through chord diagrams, charts, and fingerings. Reviewed in Rolling Stone and Yahoo! Internet Life Magazines.
http://www.guitarlessonworld.com/lessons/index.htm

Free Guitar Lessons - Beginner Guitar Lesson One - A Free Online Guide to Teach You How to Play Guitar From ScratchAn online guide, containing free guitar lessons to help you play play guitar. Pull out that old guitar in the basement, and you can start learning within minutes.
http://guitar.about.com/library/weekly/aa071200a.htm

Guitar Noise - Free Online Guitar LessonsGuitar Noise is a guitar education site featuring free online lessons, musician columns, and theory pointers. Get the latest in guitar and bass, songwriting tips and much more. Serving beginners and pros since 1995.
http://www.guitarnoise.com/

ULTIMATE GUITAR TABS ARCHIVE 200,000+ Guitar Tabs, Bass Tabs, Chords and Guitar Pro Tabs!Your #1 source for guitar tabs, bass tabs, chords and guitar pro tabs. Comprehensive tabs archive with over 250,000 tabs! Tabs search engine, guitar lessons, CD, DVD and gear reviews, rock news, guitar columns and forums!
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/

I hope this list helps you to learn to play guitar.

Is your beginner electric guitar a lemon?

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:19:10 PST

Some good news about beginner electric guitars, is that there are a lot of very reasonably priced entry level electric guitars.For the most part, they're made out of fairly decent woods, and are capable of producing a reasonable sound.

Now I know, some beginner electric guitars are nothing more than mass produced junk, but here again, there is some good news.Many well respected guitar companies offer cheap beginner guitars as an inexpensive alternative to their higher end products.However, they're faced with a dilemma or two.
1. If they make their beginner range of guitars too low quality, they risk their reputation.
2. If they make them too well, they become their own worst competition.
The solution is somewhere in the middle, so they make them well enough to be considered good quality instruments, and they make them well enough to compete with other manufacturers offering the same kind of electric guitar at a similar price.
We'll get back to that first question “Is your beginner electric guitar a lemon?” in a little while.
I'd like to give you some things to consider before you judge too harshly.
I may just have the solution, and you may just have an excellent beginner electric guitar, or even an excellent guitar for any skill level.
Whether you're buying your first electric guitar, or just looking at alternatives to what you've got, there are some things that any new guitar needs to have done to it.It bothers me when I read bad reviews of cheap beginners electric guitars, when I know that the guitar in question is in fact a lovely instrument.The problem with these reviews are that they are either done by:
1. A beginner guitarist, who hasn't yet learned to set the guitar up properly, or the correct way to string and tune a guitar, or
2. A guitarist who's been playing the guitar for a little while, wants to play heavy rock on the guitar, but has the wrong guitar for the job.
3. A guitarist who hasn't had the good fortune of being friends with a professional luthier (That's a guy who builds guitars).
So, Is your beginner electric guitar a lemon?If your guitar is made out of decent wood, you're in luck. Half of your tone comes from the wood.Here are the most commonly used good woods – There are others, but the chances of finding them on a beginners electric guitar is very rare.Alder, maple, mahogany, basswood, and agathis.
My favorite woods for good guitar tone are mahogany, alder and maple.
So if you've got decent wood on your guitar, here's the next thing to do.Take it to a luthier or guitar technician and have him do the following to it:
1. Level and crown the frets - this will virtually eliminate fret buzz, although you might still hear a little with the guitar unplugged, especially on the lower strings.
2. Set the intonation (that's setting the bridge so that the strings are in tune all the way up the neck)
3. He may want to adjust the pickups so they sound more balanced, but that's usually a minor consideration.
For people with single coil guitarsSingle coil pickups have a strong tendency to pick up mains hum and various other electrical interference. This is just a sad fact, but there is a solution.By the way, this isn't an indication of poor quality in a guitar – Fender Stratocasters are famous for this, anyway, here's the fix.
Place tin foil in all the guitars body cavities, even on the bottom side of the scratchplate, and make sure that it's connected to the guitars earth wire.This should reduce the hum drastically, especially if the tin foil creates a sealed containment of all the electrical components.For people with stratocasters or similar style guitars, who want to play heavier rock guitar, I would suggest getting a humbucking pickup that fits into a single coil space.These are referred to as hotrails.You could buy a whole set of them and place them on the guitar, as they're also hum resistant.
If your guitar won't stay in tuneHere's a short checklist of things to try when your guitar won't stay in tune.
1. Always tune up to the desired note and not down. If you have to lower the pitch of the string then go down past the note you want and tune up from there. This helps tighten the string around the post again, as opposed to just loosening it.
2. When you put new strings on the guitar, try and keep the number of windings down to 3. This means less slippage, and it's way less hassle to string up.
3. Always stretch new strings after you've put them on. They do need to stretch. You can do this by fretting the string at the 12th fret and gently tugging outward between the bridge and 12th fret. You may have to do this a few times for each string, as well as expect it to still go out of tune a few times before the strings actually settle.
4. Make sure the guitars intonation is set correctly and that the strings aren't too high off the neck. In either scenario the guitar will never be properly in tune.
5. If the strings on the guitar are old and worn, they won't play in tune. Old guitar strings are overstretched and don't behave the same as new strings.
So, maybe your beginners electric guitar is actually a peach.If you'd like to know which electric guitar I recommend for a beginner, you can visit my beginners electric guitar page here.I even made a few recordings so you can hear what I'm talking about.

Bass Guitar Lessons Resources

noreply@blogger.com (T ZAMAN) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:17:30 PST

Bass guitar lessons can be expensive, which is why so many people are interested in the online resources that can make learning easier. This list covers a number of different resources which will help you to learn the bass guitar.
Team Method Guitar CourseThis online course covers every single aspect of guitar playing, from music reading (both classical and tablature), training the ear to recognise music (so you can play it back after hearing it only once) and much more besides. Lessons are covered using hundreds of videos and audios to back up the text, and there is live help from experts if you get stuck or need extra advice. Includes special software designed to take your music reading, listening and rhythm skills to almost superhuman levels.

http://guitar.internet-guider.co.uk/

ActiveBass.com - with bass guitar lessons bass tab mp3 music scales gear and other goodies...Free bass guitar lessons with tablature and playback. With OLGA tab search, composition tools, resources, accessory and sheet music reviews, scales, lines, and more!

http://www.activebass.com/

Guitar Lessons and other online music lessons at WorkshopLive.comGuitar Lessons online featuring 16,000 guitar lesson videos, guitar tab and notation. Acoustic guitar lessons, rock guitar lessons, blues guitar lessons + 50 Free Guitar Lessons. Over 50 professional guitar teachers available 24/7. Plus Keyboard Lessons, Bass Guitar and Drum Lessons as well developed by founders of National Guitar Workshop and National Guitar Publications

http://www.workshoplive.com/
Online Bass Lessons at StudyBass.comBass related site that offers lessons and advice.

http://www.studybass.com/

Bass Player - Acoustic and electric bass guitar tabs, chords and lessonsBass Player magazine is your source for acoustic and electric bass guitar tabs, chords and free online bass guitar lessons, tutorials and videos for both beginner and professional.

http://www.bassplayer.com/

Guitar Lessons - Music Theory, Scales And Chords, BassGuitar lessons in music theory for the guitar or bass player. Learn and play guitar scales and chords in your own home, any time, taught by a professional musician.

http://www.theorylessons.com/

Guitar tabs, guitar chords, bass tabs, drum tabs, piano tabs, song lyrics, music news, albums, biography, discography, guitar lessons, music forums and more.Guitar tabs, guitar chords, bass tabs, drum tabs, piano tabs, song lyrics, music news, albums, biography, discography, guitar lessons, music forums and more.

http://www.thetabworld.com/
ULTIMATE GUITAR TABS ARCHIVE 250,000+ Guitar Tabs, Bass Tabs, Chords and Guitar Pro Tabs!Your #1 source for guitar tabs, bass tabs, chords and guitar pro tabs. Comprehensive tabs archive with over 250,000 tabs! Tabs search engine, guitar lessons, CD, DVD and gear reviews, rock news, guitar columns and forums!http://ultimate-guitar.com/
Folk of the Wood OnlineFOTW covers everything acoustic music related: banjos, guitars, dobros, fiddles, violins, mandolins, bouzoukis, octave mandolins, mandolas, resophonic, resonator guitars, lessons, contests and dulcimers. Folk of the Wood carries the acoustic music flag forward with the hopes to contribute to and support acoustic artforms on behalf of the many artists and listeners who live for music with all natural ingredients.

http://www.folkofthewood.com/page5307.htm

Bass guitar lessons on the internet offer you a helping hand when you are starting out, and can help to make it much more fun to learn music.