Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts

Monday, June 30, 2008

Top 3 Mistakes

In order to play the guitar well, you need to learn all there is to learn about playing the guitar. Even though I believe this theory aspect is important, I cannot stress the importance of positive thinking. If you want to achieve success in whatever you do, you need to re-condition your mind to think positive thoughts.

This is a guitar lesson especially for beginning guitarists. It gives some pointers for having the right type of mindset in order for you to be able to start playing the guitar well enough.

1. Hasty

One of the key ingredients to failure is that of being impulsive. There will come a time when the beginning guitarist feels impulsive and wants things to progress faster. This is because you know that there are a lot of things for you to learn.

When you want results and you want results fast, you tend to squeeze everything and try to learn as much as you can in a very short time. However, this is a surefire way to failure. You need to be patient so that whatever you learn can be absorbed well. Even if you can squeeze everything that you need to learn in one day, this is not a very effective method for learning to play the guitar.

What you'll need to do is to break up these huge tasks into smaller bite-sized tasks and take your time to learn them. Slowly, you'll be able to play the guitar. Being patient is the key.

2. Low self esteem

Another pessimistic mindset is that of having low self respect. When you have low self respect, you will tend to think of yourself lowly. In such cases, you are afraid of making errors. However, the more afraid you are, the more errors you will make.

Improve your mindset so that you're more able to handle this type of problem. Change your mindset so that you can take it when you make mistakes. Tell yourself that making mistakes is not something to be ashamed of. In fact, making mistakes and improving on them constructively will make you a better guitar player.

You need to be able to play in front of a small audience and take their criticism to heart and improve on your weak points. Don't take negative comments so hard that you end up with low self-esteem. Remember, making mistakes is good but only if you take these comments and improve on them constructively.

3. Distracted

Sometimes beginning guitarists do not concentrate on the tasks at hand, that is, learning to play the guitar well. You have so many things that you want or you have to do and you have to do them all at the same time. For example, a huge part of your spare time is spent on entertainment.

What is your goal? If your goal is to play the guitar well, you have to concentrate on the tasks at hand. Cut down on your social activities first. Find a suitable place for your guitar practices. Then practice your guitar as and when you can. When improvements have been made, you can then slowly increase your social activities to the way they were before.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Best Cheap Electric Guitars

You want to play electric guitar but you have a limited budget. Your first electric guitar needs to be cheap so you need to get some idea which is the best brand to buy. If you do not buy a good quality electric guitar your guitar playing learning curve is going to be that much more steep, and you are going to feel like a prize dumbbell telling people that your playing would be much better if your guitar was not such a pile of junk.

Let us set some ground rules. Do not buy a cheap guitar online unless the vendor is in your local area. Also, when we talk about cheap guitars we should be talking cheap brands, not old guitars of dubious quality and unknown condition. If there is a music shop or two somewhere close to where you live, they should be able to cater to your needs. There are a lot of deep mysteries connected with guitar playing but finding a cheap guitar is not one of them.

To start with, there are big brand name guitars that you may not be able to afford, and indeed it would be silly to pay a fortune for your first electric guitar, but there are copies of these famous guitars which you CAN afford. Amongst these copies of the big name guitars made by various guitar makers, are good and bad quality guitars, and you need to be familiar with the better quality makers of cheap guitars. Any guitar factory in Outer Mongolia can churn out realistic looking electric guitars but they may not be able to hold together for longer than five minutes.
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Thursday, May 29, 2008

Buyers Guide To Electric Guitars

Live rock concerts were the rage in the 70's and they are still the rage. The essence of rock music does not just lie with the lyrics; it also lies with the electric guitar and the various sounds that it can produce. There are so many kids across the block who would give up anything to play.

Now if you are interested in learning how to play the guitar then the first thing you will need to buy is a guitar. Most people start with an acoustic and graduate to the electric guitar. It is quite difficult for anyone to choose the right electric guitar since there are hundreds of models and several brands out there in the market. If you are buying an electric guitar then you will need to also buy amplifiers, pick-ups, pick, tuner etc.

Electric guitars are available in a lot of variety, colors, and designs with the aerodynamic designs being one of the most popular. You need to look around a bit and check out the prices and models before you buy one. In fact, one of the best ways to choose a guitar is by the brand or by the style. Here our take on the four important styles:

Stratocaster
This certainly is a show stealer and has a typical style. The most famous is the red and white color combination, which was extensively used by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. The Stratocaster is from Fender and has a neck bolted to the guitar body.

Telecaster
The Telecaster is another creative instrument from Fenders. It is more than just a guitar it is a complete orchestra. It is a solid body electric guitar and comprises of dual pick-ups. The first Telecaster was manufactured by Leo Fender in the 1940's and has a single cutaway body. It doesn't have the tremolo or wammy bar but has two different single-coil pickups. Some of the popular Telecaster models include:

Les Paul
This is a classic guitar that has been designed by Gibson. The salient feature of a Les Paul's is its set neck construction, which means there are no joints or bolts. The body is a single cutaway and rounded. It is equipped with two humbucker pickups as well as a raised scratch-plate.

Gibson
Gibson is one of the greatest brands in music and all their guitar models are classic and can't be compared to any. Gibson was actually started in 1902 by Orville Gibson and has been responsible for giving the world some of the best acoustic and electric guitars. Some of the famous models include the arch-top Gibson L5 model, the ES-150 electric, Gibson Explorer, Flying V etc.

These are the best brands in electric guitar. The other aspects that will help you to pick up a guitar include fretboard, the pick-ups, and the body. Full-bodied guitars are normally preferred as they can produce some of the best sounds that you will ever get to hear.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Guitar Player


If you are a beginner guitarist, you will naturally to be apprehensive about what type should you buy and the cost of buying one. Beginner players are often offered package deals in most music stores. The benefits of a good slow down music product such as Riff Master Pro are crystal clear to both players and listeners as differences in style and accuracy of musical performance have been observed in most cases. New players need never have them in the first place if proper technique is used right from the start. The truth is that this can help you all, whether you are beginners or advanced players. Everybody loves to listen to solos like the ones achieved by world wide famous players but few can even dream of reproducing their songs at the early days of learning to play.

Just like the player could use heavier gauge strings, but they would feel and play like steel cables to his fingers. If the reality is that your guitar player has marshall stacks larger than refrigerators, and even you, can not hear your drums, then you really do need microphones on your kit. Knowing how to handle the guitar while playing your favorite songs will surely be a great benefit in your becoming guitarist. If you want to become a professional guitarist you will have to give up such programs at some point in time and choose something else. It is any one of a number of systems originally conceived to allow a guitar player to play synthesizers. However, many a times looking at a player reading his musical sheet you must have wondered, how to read musical notes like a pro.

Wisdom and experience are necessary for learning to play perfectly and to become a proper player. These are some of the volume pedals, which are being widely used all over the world by professional players. If you were learning for instance, the best way to improve your playing would be to imitate and play in time with professional players. Even now they are so popular that we first notice that any other musician in a music show. And a left handed player looks fabulous. To become a good player and to even go halfway, the blues have to be experienced because the blues has it all. The pick a player chooses will affect tone.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Building a Weissenborn guitar Tool List

Whilst building my guitar I did not have access to many advanced tools such as one would find in a professional machine shop or woodworker’s den. I really had to sit down and make some serious decisions about what I would and would not use during the build. I reasoned that, far back in the mists of time ,that guitar builders would pretty much do everything by hand but then the real horror of that struck me. I quickly realised the secret was, if I could not do it on my boat, I would get other people to do it for me who had the tools and gear! Logical really! That really was the bottom line of how I would get things done with my available space and resources. Get the timber cut as near as dammit to size before you start. had I realised this simple thing I probably would have started on building a guitar a long time ago!

Optional desirable tools! Ones I didnt have!

Bandsaw, a planer, a router (I hate them and don’t own one!)

TOOLS I USED FOR BUILDING MY GUITAR
( strangely enough, I didnt even use all of these tools either!)

· A rusty old Triton workbench (only for the braces)
· A small block plane
· A sharpening stone and some oil
· A set of chisels 6mm to 25mm
· A chisel and plane honing guide (an absolute must)
· A set of cheap saws consisting of a hand rip saw, a small keyhole saw, a retractable exacto type knife.
· A stainless steel scraper.
· Ten or twelve six inch clamps.
· Several small G clamps
· Three cam clamps
· A set of needle files
· A tenon saw
· A hobby type hacksaw
· A dovetail saw
· A coping saw
· A jeweller’s tenon saw with a packet of 000 blades
· A flat smooth woodworkers file .
· Jewellers pincers small
· A small hammer
· A small jewellers vice
· A small red vice.
· A one metre straight edged engineer’s rule (invaluable)
· A one foot steel rule (in inches)
· A foldaway builders steel tape (in inches and millimetres)
· Various sanding blocks (rubber and foam)
· A Bernz-o-matic plumber’s gas torch with a regular nozzle
(I would recommend a larger nozzle)
· Several small assorted fine toothed saws
· Several packets of sandpaper ranging from some cheapo bargains in all grades to some really good expensive non clog stuff ranging from 80 grit to around 800grit….some wet and dry about 400 grit
· A packet of 000 fine wire wool
· A jar of orange shellac (flakes) and a litre of methylated spirits
· Several odd little clamps that were lying around the boat
· A large packet of super big elastic bands
· About twenty very large rubber bands made from an old car tyre
· A twenty-dollar cheap and cheerful folding workbench (a kit from Supercheaps!)
· A tapered reamer from Supercheaps
· A few half decent paint brushes and pots.

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Monday, April 21, 2008

Tips For Better Guitar Playing

In this article I hope to demonstrate a few tips that will, with any luck, put you on the correct approach to developing into a proficient guitar player. If you can take into account that to play well involves a lot of practice and dedication then these tips will give you a head start. It takes arduous work and perseverance to the learn guitar and there is no fast and easy way, but some procedures are much more adept than others, resulting in quicker advancement. The main chief tip, though, is no matter what you do don't admit defeat

Set Aside Your Own Space
Distractions can play havoc with your concentration and focus, making any practise session worthless. Learning to play the guitar is hard enough so make it easier by finding a space where you can be alone without any outside noise or interruptions.

Equipment
Ensuring that your guitar is tuned correctly is paramount at the beginning of any practise session. Preparation is essential to good guitar playing and it is imperative to make certain that your instrument is in good condition

Understand Your Instrument
Surprising, as it might seem, not all guitars are the same, every one has a different tone and sound. Learn to know and understand your guitar, what every part is called and its different function. Appreciate your instrument and, although it’s an inanimate object, learn to respect and care for it. Even though you might not appreciate it now it will make you a better and more experienced guitar player.

Recognise Your Level Of Expertise
Frustration can soon set in when, after a few weeks of practising and learning, you cant play the same tunes as Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page or any of your other guitar heroes. Realism has to kick in somewhere and the sooner the better. Learning to play the guitar is not an overnight thing. It takes time. Start with sensible goals, leave the advanced playing until later and progression will come with a growth in confidence. Show persistence at this point and you will reap the benefits later and it will be even more rewarding.

Pick Your Style
Being able to play a piece of music made famous by one of your favorite guitarists is an unbeatable sensation. When, and only when, you have completed the fundamentals and you are set to move on to something harder it’s time pick a style of music you like and can identify with. Most songs are generally accessible as sheet music from a variety of sources and it’s another level in your education. This is an exhilarating stage in your progress.

Set Goals
One of the best ways to focus you concentration on you progress is to set mini targets. Pick a time period for when you are going to play your first song in front of family and friends and let them know about it. This helps give a reason for your practise sessions and certainly grabs your attention the closer to the date of your debut performance. Once you have performed and enjoyed being in the spotlight it will give you a boost in confidence. It’s no surprise, but your playing will improve after.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

How to play the guitar

Playing the guitar is one of the most popular hobbies in America. Millions of Americans play the guitar as a leisure activity; and why not? It is one of the easiest musical instruments to learn and the most popular music of the day is played on the guitar. Many people do not realize how easy it is to really learn to play the guitar. Some people, who first begin learning to play the guitar, try to learn a very hard song from the start. Then they start thinking they will never be able to learn to play, that they just do not have that natural musical talent that some people have, when really they just picked a hard song. Some people try to play the guitar for only about a week and expect to pick it up that quickly. If they cannot do it in a week, then again they think they just do not have that musical talent. All of that is nonsense Not even an experienced musician would be able to pick up the guitar and learn it in a week. He or she would know how the music works and understand how the guitar is supposed to played, but it still takes a little time to develop the correct motor skills with your hands and fingers. Anybody can pick up the guitar and learn to play some of their favorite songs if they just stick with it for a little while and practice for only a short period of time each day. To begin playing the guitar, all you have to do is learn a few chords.

Most rock, country, or other popular genres or songs can be played with only a few easy chords on the guitar. They say with only three or four chords you can play most rock songs ever written. Most people I have taught to play the acoustic guitar or electric guitar, if they would just listen to me and try it for one week, they could get down three chords in that week or two weeks and then be able to play a song with those chords. I also teach them a strumming pattern to play the chords with. That is all you need and you are set with your new hobby of playing guitars.

I myself studied music for seven years or more before I tried to learn the guitar, so I did have a good grasp of music theory, but it still took me several months to learn to play well, because I had to develop the motor skills of moving my fingers on the strings and coordinating my fingering and strumming patterns. It also takes a little while to learn to sing on top of keeping the beat and playing the guitar. But it can be learned quickly as well, if you just stick with and give it a real try. I did not have anyone to teach me when I first began playing the guitar. I just bought an acoustic guitar and taught myself to play. Every now and then people would give me pointers or teach me how to play something. I have taught other people to play also, and noticed that with a teacher it is surprising how fast people can pick things up.

I wish I would have had a teacher when I was learning. There are little tricks and licks on the guitar that only an experienced guitar player would know. So if you are looking for a new hobby, one that you can do whenever you want, with friends or by yourself, then learn to play the guitar. It is like riding a bike. Once you learn it, you never forget. It will be something you can take with you for the rest of your life, entertaining crowds and parties and serenading that special someone. And, if you do not have a special someone, it will definitely help your chances of finding them.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Playing Better Guitar

In this article I hope to demonstrate a few tips that will, with any luck, put you on the correct approach to developing into a proficient guitar player. If you can take into account that to play well involves a lot of practice and dedication then these tips will give you a head start. It takes arduous work and perseverance to the learn guitar Amplifiers and there is no fast and easy way, but some procedures are much more adept than others, resulting in quicker advancement. The main chief tip, though, is no matter what you do don't admit defeat

Set Aside Your Own Space
Distractions can play havoc with your concentration and focus, making any practise session worthless. Learning to play the guitar is hard enough so make it easier by finding a space where you can be alone without any outside noise or interruptions.

Equipment
Ensuring that your Electronic guitar is tuned correctly is paramount at the beginning of any practise session. Preparation is essential to good guitar playing and it is imperative to make certain that your instrument is in good condition

Understand Your Instrument
Surprising, as it might seem, not all guitars are the same, every one has a different tone and sound. Learn to know and understand your guitar, what every part is called and its different function. Appreciate your instrument and, although it’s an inanimate object, learn to respect and care for it. Even though you might not appreciate it now it will make you a better and more experienced guitar player.

Recognise Your Level Of Expertise
Frustration can soon set in when, after a few weeks of practising and learning, you cant play the same tunes as Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page or any of your other guitar heroes. Realism has to kick in somewhere and the sooner the better. Learning to play the guitar is not an overnight thing. It takes time. Start with sensible goals, leave the advanced playing until later and progression will come with a growth in confidence. Show persistence at this point and you will reap the benefits later and it will be even more rewarding.

Pick Your Style
Being able to play a piece of music made famous by one of your favorite guitarists is an unbeatable sensation. When, and only when, you have completed the fundamentals and you are set to move on to something harder it’s time pick a style of music you like and can identify with. Most songs are generally accessible as sheet music from a variety of sources and it’s another level in your education. This is an exhilarating stage in your progress.


Set Goals
One of the best ways to focus you concentration on you progress is to set mini targets. Pick a time period for when you are going to play your first song in front of family and friends and let them know about it. This helps give a reason for your practise sessions and certainly grabs your attention the closer to the date of your debut performance. Once you have performed and enjoyed being in the spotlight it will give you a boost in confidence. It’s no surprise, but your playing will improve after.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Guitar Lessons Can Help

Picking up a guitar and expecting to instantly play like Jimi Hendrix isn't realistic. But, picking up a guitar, taking basic lessons and learning the ropes and building on them is.

The fact of the matter is a guitar isn't the easiest instrument in the world to learn, or there'd be thousands and thousands of Jimi Hendrix knock offs out there. However, good guitar lessons can really help anyone learn to play with a basic proficiency.

So, how do you determine a good guitar lesson from a bad one?

That's going to depend a lot on your proficiency going in. If you're just starting out, you'll want guitar lessons that teach you:

* The basics of the Music instrument. This means the different parts, what they are and how they work.

* Basic fingering techniques. Playing the guitar is all in the fingers. If you don't know where to put them or how hard to apply pressure and so on, you will never sound like Jimi!

* Basic cords, tabs and so on. You need the fundaments down to build on to become proficient in playing.

* Theory and music fundamentals. You don't need to be an expert in music theory, but good guitar lessons will give you a minor run down and will begin to expose you to reading music so you can move on by yourself in between lessons or once you complete them.

* Exercises. Going back to that fingering techniques statement, the only way to really get them down is to practice. Good exercises that help the mind, fingers and ears work together are always smart. Great guitar players instinctively know where their fingers need to go on the neck, and they learned by practicing and through exercises.

* Baby steps for learning. It's all fine and well to understand the notes, the fingering positions and build up speed and accuracy, but if you aren't learning at least very basic songs, you won't feel like your accomplishing anything. Good guitar lessons begin giving you "something to take home" as quickly as possible while still working to instill the basics.

* Repetition. It's not a word most people relish hearing, but when it comes to guitar lessons, repetition can be important. The more you practice, the better you'll get.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Recording Guitar Using A Compressor

Here are some features you may find on a compressor:

Threshold -

This is where you set the limits of the compressor, meaning at what level of dB do you want the compressor to start compressing. Using a setting near to zero would incorporate the compressor ever so slightly, if you want to add more compression set the levels to a more negative number.

Attack -

Attack basically refers to the speed at which you want the compressor to kick in. Do you want compressor instantly or would you prefer it to gradually phase in.

Release -

Once the compressor has kicked in, how fast or slow do you want the compressor to release and no longer compress the signal?

Ratio -

The ratio refers to how much the compressor is going to reduce the range of the signal.

Gate -


A gate is a device that will eliminate any room noise, making recording deadly silent. It works by turning off the audio when it drops below a defined level. When the gate is open it simply lets any sound you plug into the input of the box straight through to the output. A closed gate doesn't let anything through - you just get silence on the output.

When the sound at the input is below a certain level, known as the 'threshold' the gate remains shut. When the input goes above the threshold, the gate opens and the sound is carried through to the output. Then when it drops back down again, the gate closes behind it. It can be used for example, to filter and eliminate any unwanted background noise. When you stop playing, and the sound drops below the threshold it will cut the sound to silence.

A separate outboard compressor is a great tool to have as you can tame and level the sound source before it enters the computer. However there are of course drawbacks to this, once the sound is in the computer you will not be able to “uncompress” the sounds. Use the compressor moderately as too much compressor can drag the life out of your songs. Overuse can result in all notes sounding the same and take away the dynamics of lighter and heavier notes.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Tips for Guitar

Let s face it, not everyone has the time to take guitar lessons at a guitar school or from a guitar teacher. Plus, taking guitars lessons is not cheap. It can cost several thousands dollars to learn how to play a guitar. By buying an online guitar course, it is more affordable. Problem is which online guitar lessons should you learn or buy from? There are literally dozens of such courses online and it can be confusing to the beginner which is the best?

Here are some tips to help you choose which guitar lesson online is suitable for you.

1. Method Of Instruction
Most online guitar courses are offered as a book or manual with some music sheets and so well. More recently, online guitar lessons are conducted using video, audios and online animations. Personally, I prefer videos as it is a lot easier to watch and learn someone play a guitar than through a book. Some even offer email consultation and accompanying software to enable you to learn better.

2. Peer Reviews
Before buying any online guitar course, I always try to get reviews from other people who have used it. One way is to visit guitar forums. You can post a question on who has brought the guitar course you are thinking of buying and their opinions or search the threads. Maybe someone else already has brought it and you can get an idea whether the course is suitable for you.

3. Guarantee
Does the online guitar course offer a guarantee? You would not want to waste your money on some guitar course that does not work for you and have no way to refund. Most reputable online guitar courses will offer a 30 day or 60 day money back guarantee. Taking guitar lesson online is affordable and easy and you can do it at your own pace. I highly recommend anyone who wants to learn how to play a guitar and does not have a lot of time to try guitar lesson online.