Hey guys…

One of the things that will help ya’ll understand the idea of playing in keys is to understand major scales and the chords that come naturally from them.

In past lessons, I had really tried hard to get you to understand the value of understanding and memorizing the Chromatic Scale.

A A#/Bb B C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A

If you do understand this scale, you will:

1. Understand the formula for creating a major scale ( 1+1+1/2+1+1+1+1/2 )
2. Understand intervals such as the 3rd and the 5th
3. Understand the quality of intervals such as the major 3rd and the minor 3rd — which is what chords are made of
4. Understand other stuff down the road such as how to transpose music
5. Be able to identify the notes on your guitar
6. Understand the idea of movable chord forms

All of this theory type stuff COMES FROM an understanding of the Chromatic Scale.

So do yourself a favor and… well… you know — GET CRACKIN’ ON IT!

Alright.. enough with the preachin’.

What I wanted to do today is to show you some VERY common chord progressions (A chord progression is the collection of chords that make up a song.)

Let’s use the key of C as an example.

C D E F G A B C

We have learned that the:

I (one) chord in any major key is ALWAYS major.
ii (two) chord in any major key is ALWAYS minor.
iii (three) chord in any major key is ALWAYS minor.
IV (four) chord in any major key is ALWAYS major.
V (five) chord in any major key is ALWAYS major.
vi (six) chord in any major key is ALWAYS minor.

That gives us for the key of C these here chords:

C Dm Em F G Am

Great! But how do we use ‘em?

There are common, that is, VERY often used chord progressions using only these 6 chords. Here’s some of them:

C F G F C — The most common chord progression there is. Have you ever heard of songs like “Louie Louie”, or “Wild Thing”? Well, there ya go…

C F C G C — “Cherry Cherry”, “What I Like About You”

Alright… So I’m dating myself here with my choice of songs. But I just wanted you to know that I wasn’t joking about this. Here’s more stuff:

C Am F G C
C Am Dm G C
C F C
C F C G C
C Am Em C

Think about ANY combination of these 6 chords that are possible — It’s been used. It’s been done before. Many times.

Because of what I said above about the chords in any key, I could show you the progressions in this way:

I IV V IV I
I IV I V I
I vi IV V I
I vi ii V I
I IV I
I IV I V I
I vi ii I

These will work in any key.

Play these progressions. Get the sound of them in your head — in a bunch of keys and styles.

Now… If you work on this, and spend the time learning your major scales, and understand which chords are major and which are minor, you will begin to learn the ability of “pulling” chords off of a recording.

That is a verrrrry cool skill to have.

Please understand that there may often be more chords in a song than those that are “natural” to a key. But ya gotta start somewhere, right?

Right. So get ‘er done.
Professor Bruno Noteworthy

One of the great things about learning the guitar is how easy it can be to start learning songs from a book.

With most instruments you need to learn how to read music. Those dots and lines can really put people off – in fact, it is like learning a new language and takes a huge amount of time to master. This is not to say that learning standard musical notation is not a good thing for any musician but you will not see results overnight.

So what makes the guitar different from any other instrument? Why is it easier to read music from a book with the guitar?

Thanks to the guitars simple layout there have been a couple of simple methods produced for writing out guitar music so that anyone can understand what to do. Guitar tablature (often referred to as guitar tab) does look, to the untrained eye, to be very similar to standard musical notation though where dots and lines would normally be there are numbers. At first glance this can put people off though looking a little closer, understanding how to read this is really simple.

Guitar tab is made up of 6 lines. Each line represents one string of the guitar. The lowest line represents the thickest string on the guitar and the top line the thinnest string. Each time you see a number on that line it means you count up the frets and hold you finger on that note. Take the lowest line as an example. If you saw a number 2 on the bottom line you would put you finger on the 2nd fret on the thickest string of your guitar, the E string. If you saw a 10 on the 3rd line up from the bottom you would put your finger on the 10th fret of the 3rd thickest string – the D string.

As you can see from above this is a really simple way of being able to transpose music that is written down on paper to the guitar. You have to figure out for yourself which fingers to use, and, whilst simple to find the notes, being able to quickly know where you are going is still something that demands a lot of time, effort and dedication.

There are literally hundreds of guitar tab books to choose from including books by pretty much every band you have ever heard of and even tuition books to help you master the guitar!

There are many points to consider whenever searching for cheap guitars for sale. Guitars are and also have always been an investment. You aren’t merely investing in a hopefully quality product with potential for trade or perhaps resale, you’re additionally investing in your own happiness by way of self expression.

Simply because they’re an investment does not always mean they need to be very highly-priced, nevertheless should you be thinking about cheap guitars for sale in that case you want to be sure you get the best product you possibly can for your money.

Buying anything pre-owned by means of online auctions or even classified’s is actually a great way to get oneself a cheap guitar for sale. However, obtain as much back ground on the guitar as possible.
An image is going to be worth a thousand words, however, at times that just does not cut it. If you can not get in front of that advertised cheap guitar for sale, then request as many detailed pictures as he or she can provide.

Ding’s, bumps in addition to scratches usually are the the very least of your worries. You must ensure that the neck is not warped. Electric and acoustic guitars which have been subjected to humidity or even left for any length of time unstrung might end up with a warped neck which could drastically affect playing ability.

There are ways of remedying a warped neck but it is rarely worthwhile while searching for cheap guitars for sale. Humidity may also cause sections of a guitar to delaminate. Again, one can find remedies, however, it is not something you want to deal with if you are on a budget.

Should you be looking to get a new yet cheap guitar for sale the risks lay more with you. As with anything else you get just what you pay for. It’s likely that the guitar will last you a long while, based on just how much you spend, even though it more than likely may well last you forever.

It is advisable to ask yourself if this really is exactly what you truly might like to do. Will you truly take the time it will take to learn or better yourself? A cheap guitar gathering dust while in the corner of a apartment is not an unheard of site.

Acoustic guitars are descendants of stringed instruments that were found in a variety of cultures thousands and thousands of years ago. As civilizations merged and the world became smaller, the guitar began taking on a unified shape and style. Since then, there has been a lineal evolution of several hundreds of years of instruments that can be directly compared to today’s acoustic guitars.

The Medieval Period

During the Medieval Period of European history, there were several different forms of guitars. These guitars had between three and five strings and were much smaller than the guitars we know today. There were variations of these instruments which had pairs of strings, known as courses. The popular guitars of this period were commonly separated into two groupings. The first, the Guitarra Latina was likely developed from Spain, while the Guitarra Morisca was brought to Spain by the Moorish culture.

The Renaissance and Beyond

While in the Middle Ages, the guitar instruments were not terribly popular, being overshadowed by other contemporary instruments, in the Renaissance the guitar began to take a real hold. It was in Italy in 1779 that the first six string guitar was created. Gaetano Vinaccia created this instrument in Naples. Following that, the man known as the “Father of Modern Guitar” made his permanent mark on the course of the guitar and how it would be designed and played.

Antonio de Torres Jurado made many key changes that in essence from the creation of what is known today as the modern classical guitar. Among these changes were the design elements that are recognizable as an acoustic or classical guitar today. The body was made larger and wider to help make sound travel farther and be louder, while the construction was also sturdier, more complete and more technically savvy.

The Acoustic Guitar

The instrument that Antonio de Torres created and made popular was the Classical guitar. The acoustic guitar is commonly misinterpreted as being the same as the Classical guitar. This is not true, there are many key differences in the design of these two separate guitars. The most important of which is that the acoustic guitar has steel strings, while the Classical guitar is strung with nylon strings.

The body was also made larger and sturdier still. The acoustic guitar was much better for performing in larger areas as it was increasingly louder than the Classical guitar; the two guitars also produce different ranges and textures of sounds which various styles of music correspond to.

The acoustic guitar was actually developed in America from European immigrants. The last major development of the acoustic guitar is the electrical-acoustic guitar. These acoustic guitars can be plugged into an amplifier for increased volume or can be left unplugged and played as is.

So next time you pick up an acoustic guitar, remember the history you hold in your hands.

Keeping your guitar tuned is THE first step in sounding hot and professional. Tune-up perfectly and THEN play is the order of the day. Tuning tip number one starts right here. Get yourself a decent and well made guitar that naturally stays in tune without constant tweaking. No matter how much you perfect the art of guitar tuning, a cheap instrument will seriously hamper your efforts.

No matter how well you play your latest lick or arpeggio, it won’t sound hot unless your in perfect Guitar Tune Nirvana either! Conclusion: Invest in a good or even great guitar and your halfway there regarding guitar-tuning dilemmas.

To start off, here’s 2 simple but BIG tuning tips for any type of six-stringer:

After every sweaty, no-holds barred, gig or rehearsal, CLEAN YOUR STRINGS! It may sound painfully obvious, but this is the biggest guitar tuning problem and string-killer of them all. Some people, including yours truly, can rust and destroy a set of strings overnight, by gigging with them and not cleaning the chemicals and sweat off, immediately afterwards. When this happens, tuning can be almost impossible.

So cleaning your strings is step one to guitar tuning nirvana. This simple precaution lengthens their lifespan, maintains tone AND tuning. Use a lint-free cloth, wrap it under and around each string, one at a time, and wipe up and down, with a slight pressure, cleaning the complete surface.

Use pure alcohol on the cloth if necessary, you can buy a small bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol in the chemists. Squeaky clean!

WARNING: Be careful with this stuff it’s poisonous if taken internally!

Be careful not to run your fingers along the string too, it cuts deep and hurts like hell! I tie the cloth around the neck afterwards (they tend to mysteriously disappear for some strange reason just when needed), and make it a regular habit.

Unless you’re an experienced player, DO NOT PUT NEW STRINGS ON YOUR GUITAR BEFORE A GIG! … hi John . If you must, try and allow about 30-45 Minutes to fit, stretch and warm them and yourself up.

If you’ve ever played a guitar which sounds fine in the lower regions but goes out of tune as you move up the neck, the answer could well be dirty or kaput strings. If you change them and the problem goes away, then you know. If it doesn’t go away, it could be the guitar intonation. Get a good and trusted guitar-tech to check it for you.

When you put new strings on (if you have a Floating Bridge, do them one at a time, DO NOT take all the old ones off at once), tune them up to concert pitch, then spend about 20 minutes stretching them by hand. Left hand holds everything down at the nut, place 4 fingers of your right hand underneath one string, and slowly pull it out until you feel the tension and gently sort of bounce it forward and backwards, and S-T-R-E-T-C-H…and loosen…and S-T-R-E-T-C-H…and loos…

Slide your hand position up the neck along the string, pull it out at various points and so on, covering the entire length from nut to bridge. Then retune it and do it all again. The first few times the string tuning will drop by as much as an octave. After a few stretch/tune ups you’ll notice it doesn’t drop anymore. If you let this stretching happen naturally, it can take a week or so until the guitar strings stop jumping out of tune every 2 seconds. Your guitar will be as fit as a fiddle.

So adhering to these two simple but effective steps will improve any guitars tuning and even playability. Once you get into the habit of cleaning and stretching your guitar strings and it becomes second nature, you can turn your attention to other important playing points without having to tune up every few minutes. It’s well worth the effort.

Next we look at some Strat whammy bar tips, Lee Chang specials to avoid, and how a humble home pencil can save your guitar life .

The bass guitar has been derived from the double bass, which was used in the late 1950′s. Having 4 strings, these instruments add the lower tones to a musical performance. Experimentation with the bass had started as early as the 1920′s. It wasn’t until the 50′s however, that a proper bass instrument was formed.

In the mid 20th century jazz became popular. As double bass’s were used those days, they were often not heard due to the lack of amplification. The drums, banjos and other instruments in the band drowned out the sound of the bass. Until the 1950 when the first electric bass came into existence with modern amplification techniques.

The bass guitar is played like all guitars with the player holding it close to his body in a horizontal position. The strings are plucked with hand or with the plectrum. In the 1970′s, the slapping technique became popular.

Today, the bass guitar ranges from 4 strings up to 11 strings. The 5, 6 and 7 strings providing the mid range while the 11 string starts from a lower than human hearing going up to a very high active. Electric bass guitar players use various configurations. These changes are made by using preamplifiers and speaker sets. Signal processors are also varied to provide new soundscapes.

In night clubs, combo amplifiers are used. These amplifiers are fixed with single loud speakers to make them portable and effective.

The body of the instrument can be of wood or graphite. A wide range of finishing is applied to make it look good. IT can be colored or simply clear white. The work done on the body is fine engineering and delicate balances have to be maintained.

A hot debate rages on what to call this instrument. For non musicians, the term bass guitar is common, while hard core players like to call it electric bass or simple electric bass. Slowly but surely however, this instrument has gathered a large following which likes to use its own jargon.

The electric bass is a part of modern country music, post 1970 jazz and funk. Used mainly to provide backing, it adds a depth to the music. This instrument has added a whole new color to our musical pleasure. In sole music particularly, the bass guitar is effective.

Are sound effects used? Well, yes and no. As the bass guitar sets the tone for the rest of the band, sound effects are not often used, unlike electric guitars. Modern bands however have started experimenting with distortion units to add a new flavor to the bass and low key that they provide behind the music.

As we go into a new century, electric bass’s become more and more popular. All bands use it today to add a subtle background. Many groups like U2 even use it to give a haunted feeling increasing emotional attachment with the music. Newer techniques have made this instrument a crucial part of any musical group today.

Guitars are like cars in that they have their own mythology. Sometimes their reputation is so vast it becomes main stream. Such is the case with Gibson. It’s great to own a guitar that you know is in that company, however, it my have side effect of distorting what you are actually looking for when you go to buy your guitar. When buying a guitar, it doesn’t matter about the name on the neck, but the quality of the work all around, and how this affects tone and sound.

When it comes to acoustic guitars, Gibson is known for their well-rounded tone. It isn’t bass or treble heavy, just clear and mellow. Whether it’s a J45, their bread and butter acoustic, or one of the country models, they’re known for being well rounded, versatile guitars. You may want a very particular sound but to be honest, a Gibson sounds good in any situation! Blues, acoustic folk, country, or straight ahead rock is always happy to be played on a Gibson. Physically they’re noted for their wider necks and for traditionally coming in different bursts and patterns. The Hummingbird model has a beautiful hummingbird on it, but for many people the classic Gibson acoustic is a J45 with a dark burst! BEAUTIFUL!

When it comes to their electrics they are famous too, and for good reason. Gibson has made many technological advancements in sound and to this day they have some of the finest around. The Les Paul’s are the most famous for their sleek, sexy look and sound. Sonically, they might be described as having a powerhouse of crisp distortion, perfect rock and blues and any driving electric music really. Think Led Zeppelin. Somehow, they’re able to sound sharp but very clear, clean and grungy, mellow and rugged. It’s a complicated sound, and really the best way to wrap your head around it is to listen. Their hollow bodies have been used in jazz from an early time and also can be described as mellow and clean. The notes are bold and very warm. It’s hard to stress it in words, but all you really have to do is play a C major for it to sound good.

Whatever kind of sound you want, when you buy a Gibson you can be assured you’ll get a quality instrument made by experts with carefully selected wood and design. Many guitars may look alike to the untrained eye, but a Gibson has distinct aesthetic features that make it stand out to those who know, and most importantly, the sound that can be recognized anywhere. Make sure that you know what you’re looking for when you buy a guitar—never just buy an instrument, or anything else, because it comes from a respected maker, but in many cases, the ideal guitar really is a Gibson. Play on it first a lot too, so you know what you’re getting. Plus, it’s fun!

In this new tutorial I’ll show you how to make a Nustyle Kick in Junglist.

Step 1: Basics
The first thing to do is load Junglist up, and choose the ‘Dirt Kick A3′ preset.

Step 2: Waves
You will see 2 types of wave symbols, now turn the 1st wave to wave 5 and leave the other as it is.

Step 3: Amp Envelope
Now we want to give the kick a longer tail – to do this we need to change the sustain and make it a little longer, so put the sustain to about halfway, and turn the release up just a breather.

Step 4: Master Section
In the master section of Junglist at the bottom right hand side turn Dist to around 3/4 this will give a little distortion to our kick.
Step 4: Layering
You’ll notice that your kick it hasn’t got that impact this is where the layering comes into place, so export the kick as an audio file and load it up in Cubase (or your favourite sequencer!).

Next import yourself a new kick sample that you feel is adaquate and has a nice clicky punch. Our next stages will be to add EQ, Compression and add a little ‘Datube’ (Or Similar plugin) distortion.

Now you’ll need to import another copy of your Junglist kick into the sequencer and layer the two copies perhaps adding a filter on only one of the copies of the kick with your EQ and Compression. I’m using Step Filter for mine, here are the settings:

Settings for filter:
Base cutoff 15
Base resonance 50
Glide 0
Output – 100%
Mix – 74%

You’ll want your filter set exactly in the middle, between your highpass and lowpass. Next you are going to put a little EQ, Compression and maybe a little Quadrafuzz on your second kick to give it a bit of crunchiness. These are very subjective techniques so experiment and find out what works best for you!

Now just play around with the levels a bit and the distortion and you’re away! Hope you enjoy!

How To Read Guitar Tablature

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If you are someone aspiring to be a musician, it is beneficial to learn to read music. While reading music is standardized with many other instruments, guitarists have developed their own method to ease the reading of music in tablature. Unique to guitarists all over, tablature though not perfect, is a simple method of effortlessly reading and sharing music with others, especially with other guitarists. Below you will find a quick primer on how tablature works.

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<a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/711922']);” href=”http://www.prestomusicstore.com/”>Basics of Tab</a>

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Guitar tablatures are available online. In the above diagram, six horizontal lines comprise the tab staff for the guitar. Each line symbolizes each string of the guitar. While the second line from the bottom denotes the A string, the bottom most line denotes the E. guitarists find this simplified tablature very easy to use and follow.

When you notice carefully, you will find there are numbers in the center of these lines which actually denote the strings. The fret has to be played by you according to these numbers. For example, if you look at the above diagram you will note that you have to play the third string and the seventh fret. Number zero in the tablature tells you that you have to play the open string.

Tablature is one of the most basic and easiest methods of reading music which can also be found online. Reading chords involves a more advanced method of reading notations in the tab.

Reading tabs does not take much time to learn. The most basic tab reading can be learned by almost anyone. As opposed to other instruments like the piano which requires intensive training for a prolonged period of time, most of the guitarists learn to play on their own after a set of basic lessons. Piano involves training in sight reading as well as rigorous coaching in theory lessons.

As a guitarist, if you are trying to learn songs on your own, you may find it difficult to read music. Sight reading is quite complicated, especially for beginners and self taught musicians often avoid doing this. By using online tablatures, you can learn various songs.

Reading guitar tablature online is also simple. If a series of numbers are displayed vertically by the tab, it means you are supposed to play all the notes simultaneously. According to the tab picture above, the notes in the E major chord has to be held down and all the six strings must be strummed simultaneously. To make things simple for the guitarists, the chord name is displayed in the tablature. This enables them to identify the chord easily.

Fundamental Flaws of Guitar Tab

There are however a lot of flaws in this tab system including the rhythmic notation. For example if you have no idea about the part where the guitar has to be played in a particular song, you will be at a loss to know how long to hold the key. Without rhythms it is next to impossible to determine this.

There are attempts to include rhythms in some guitar tabs. This is done by including stems on the numbers. This however is difficult for the guitarist to read, recognize and play fluently. Instead of doing this, it is easier to actually going in for the basic standard notation. Guitar tablatures can be read only by guitarists as opposed to the standard notation which can be read by every musician.

So, you have been toiling on a piece for quite some time but it’s still not up and running, and now you feel frustrated, stuck with seemingly no way out. I’m here to tell you that it’s okay. You are not alone in this experience. Everybody goes through it at one point or another. While it may be comforting to know that this does not only apply to you it still doesn’t answer the question of “how do you fix it?” I will be going over the steps of the process that will get you out of that rut.

First, what you have to do is… are you ready for this?… Grab your head and run around in circles as if your hair was on fire! Okay, I was obviously kidding, but this does lead us on to our first point:

Take a Deep Breatha

As odd as it may sound it’s good to take a deep breath and walk away from the problem for a little while. This is because resolving problems often requires fresh thinking. If you have been pounding away at your problem over and over again, you are most likely not in the state of mind needed to work out things. Go out for a short walk, concentrate on other materials or do something that takes you completely away from thinking about it. Now this may not always be possible because sometimes you need to learn material quickly, but even a couple of minutes of disengaging from your problem may be very beneficial.

Check the script

Next on the list should be checking the sheet music. Obviously, I’m talking here about both hands as well as the placement of the notes on the fret board. If the fingering isn’t noted for the section that giving you problems, then take a look at the fingering you’ve come up with and to make sure that it is workable.
Break it down

You should break down the problem and find exactly what the root of it is. Is it a transition problem, as in the inability to change positions and chord shapes fast and secure enough? Is it a fretboard hand problem? Is it a right hand problem? Maybe the problem is combining the fretboard hand with the plucking hand. What you need to do is break it down until you find the exact causes for your problem, the core. For example, if it is a transitional problem, if the left hand cannot make the changes from one chord shape to the following, you may want to investigate further and see which finger is causing the problem, or to put it differently which finger is late to the “party”. If the trouble comes from your plucking hand then note the finger/fingers that are making this happen. For example, is the “a” finger getting misplaced too often and not hitting the right notes?

The point is that you should break it down until you find the absolute cause of the problem. It’s about being exact here, not general. Usually it’s a finger that is not performing just right, or maybe a certain combination that’s giving you a headache. But no matter what it is, it’s a pretty safe bet it won’t be resolved until you can actually identify it.

Here are some techniques to help you break things down

– Isolate the problem section to the smallest degree possible. In other words if your trouble area is situated at a specific measure, make sure you focus on it and examine that and not the whole section. But if it is a just a couple of notes, or one chord switch that’s giving you problems then concentrate on that.
– Play the problem measure with ONLY your fretboard hand. Play it as if you were playing it with both hands in regular tempo. It may also help you to mentally hear the music and mime the fretboard hand along with it. Is it working? Can all the fingers play the right notes at the right time without difficulty? Now, how about the plucking hand by itself? Play the problem area only with your plucking hand. At first this may seem a little hard because most guitarists concentrate their attention on the fretboard hand and therefore when the fretboard hand is taken out of the equation they become lost. If you find yourself a bit disoriented play the measure in question with both hands and memorize the plucking hand, after that try to play it only with a right hand. Ask yourself: is it working or does it feel as if you’re stuttering and tripping instead of having a smooth execution? It could be a speed barrier that you’re facing if playing slow seems to work.

Now that you have located the problem area it’s time to work it out. Once you know what you’re striving for you’ll easily be able to get over those bumps in the road and find that your playing instantly gets better.