Guitar Speed

Learn to Play Bass Fast

bright — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:24:29 +0000

Is it your ultimate dream to learn to play bass guitars? Would you like to know the basics of playing one? If you do, then the information below would be helpful in starting off your journey to become a bass player. Let’s take a moment to help familiarize yourself with the features of a bass guitar, the basic terms used in playing one, and tips on how to position your fingers when playing the notes.

The basic anatomy of a bass guitar includes the body, neck, nut, headstock, and the tuning pegs. The body is the large area attached to the neck. The long slim part of the guitar is called the neck and it holds the strings and the frets where you will place your fingers on. The headstock is the furthest part of the neck, and attached to it is the four tuning pegs. The small part found at the center of the headstock and neck is called the nut.

The standard bass guitar has four strings that have different tunes. The strings are arranged as follows: E, A, D, and G. E is the thickest string, while G is the thinnest.

There are common terms associated with playing the bass. Fretting and plucking. Fretting is done by holding two strings and releasing them together to play a certain note. The proper way of doing this is by placing your thumb behind the neck of the guitar and your fingers angled above the fret board. Plucking is different from fretting in that you need to pluck each string to create your desired note. Some guitarists use an accessory called a “pick” to aid in plucking, but most naturalists go for fingers.

Before playing any note, proper handing and positioning is essential to play the instrument properly. For right-handed individuals, it is best to position the headstock to the left (vice-versa for left-handers). Note where the strings are positioned, if your positioning is correct you could see that the thickest string (E) is on the top-most while the (G) string is at the bottom.

When playing, pluck the thickest string first without using the fretting hand. In this instance, you will produce an E note. Plucking the third string without the fretting hand will create an A note, the 2nd string with a D note, and the last with a G. This type of playing (without using the fretting hand) is called “Open”.

If you repeat the procedure again and hold the string with your index finger of the fretting hand, the sounds that will be produce will differ from the “open” technique. Every time you move the fret nearer to the base, it creates a higher note from the previous fret.
Now that you have learned the basics, it’s time to put your knowledge to the test! Try to find a song to play and use the notes to produce the melody. When we learn to play bass guitars, it is not about having formal training since the most important part about playing is having fun, and that’s all to it.

Fun Ways to Learn Songs on the Guitar

bright — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:40:47 +0000

Listening to guitar songs is one way to relax when you are in the company of friends. But why just listen when you can learn and play songs on guitar? One way of practicing the skill is by listening to guitar songs on the radio internet. This way, you can widen your musical knowledge just by listening to the strums and beat. This technique is called “playing by the ear”, but you will need to know the basics of guitar playing before you can reach this level. Playing a guitar requires patience and determination. Practice is the only way to enhance your skills.

Playing different varieties of song choices can help you greatly with your musical growth. Invest in song books, recordings, and music sheets. By having them, you can practice in your free time. Start memorizing notes and melodies so it can help you widen your play-by-ear skill. Also, you can listen to musical books and tablature. Search on the web for videos by your favorite artists and try to find instructional videos on how to play their songs on an acoustic guitar. For beginners, its best to choose songs that involve strumming or picking since they are easier to master and learn. But never go for less; always try to level up every time you learn a new song. Try to mix strumming patterns and stabilize the rhythm.

And as your journey of learning to play a guitar progresses, keep practicing. At the beginning, you might notice that chords tend to buzz and the quality is jittery. This shouldn’t hinder you; all you need to do is to practice, practice, and practice. It’s like riding a bike, on the first attempt it will be jittery, but in time you will learn how to balance and correct your mistakes. Flawless strumming comes with constant practice. It is evident that when we learn songs on guitar, we get frustrated, but this should not stop us from pursuing the dream.

In time, when you progress to a higher level, you will meet songs that have multiple chords. You can counteract this by playing an easier song that you have already recognized and hide behind a normal strumming pattern. However, if you are confident with your skills, you can level up buy challenging yourself with constant shifting of patterns and chords. Choose songs that you like but cannot yet play. It can motivate you to learn and push yourself to the limit.

The last and most important thing to remember when we learn to play songs on the guitar is to enjoy and have fun! There are some songs that are frustrating to learn and master, but if you really want to become an expert guitarist, you should never give up. Pick up your guitar and keep practicing.

Learning to Play the Guitar: Getting Started

bright — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:25:19 +0000

Watching MTV and seeing The Edge, Slash, Kurt Cobain, Eric Clapton or other guitar artists may inspire a lot of people to say, “Wow that is so cool. I wish I could play the guitar too.” If you’ve ever found yourself thinking or saying the same thing but never actually did anything about it, it’s not too late. You can always pick up a guitar and start to learn. Here are some helpful bits of information to help you along the way:

Guitars

If you want to learn to play the guitar, you’re obviously going to need to have one. If you are a true novice you may not have the first idea about how to choose the right guitar for you. Here are a few things to keep in mind while searching for that perfect guitar.

Type of Wood Used – Pay attention to the type of wood used for your guitar. Heavier varieties, such as mahogany, give more sustain than woods such as ash or alder. The biggest downside of guitars made of such heavy wood is that they are indeed heavier than other varieties and can take a toll on your back if you have to play standing up for long periods of time.
Frets. Pay attention to the number of frets a prospective guitar has. Some come with either21, 22 or 24 frets. Guitars with 21 frets are more stable than the guitars with 24 frets, but if you dream of soloing on your guitar then 24 frets are more useful.
Strings. Consider the type of strings being used on your guitar. If you like to play on low tunings, then you’ll need heavy gauge strings so that the strings don’t become too slack. If you solo a lot, then you’ll need lighter gauge strings such as 9′s, so that string bending becomes easier.

Songs

After choosing the right guitar for you, the next thing you need is to consider is selecting the right song to try to learn and play on your guitar. This should be a song you love and you are really familiar with. The song should be composed of three or four basic chords and preferably one that has a slow beat. This is one of the most important factors to learning guitar songs as it will help keep you motivated and inspired.

Instructional Materials

With a guitar and song in hand, the last thing you will need is a song book or a guitar guide that shows you the different chords. A chord is the sound you make by the placement of your fingers on the guitar. While the fingers of the non-dominant hand are positioned on the frets of the guitar, the dominant hand does the strumming to create the sound. You can buy a song book to show you the positioning of the fingers for different chords or you can search for the same information on the internet. There are many videos that show you how to position your fingers on the guitar to play the different chords.

Practice

In order to really learn to play the guitar, you need to dedicate time each week to practice. Ideally around 30 minutes of practice 3 to 5 days a week is great for beginners. Not only will regular practice ensure that your fingers are kept in the right condition for playing but you will train your ears too. If you have extra time one day but can’t make noise by actually playing the guitar, practice placing your fingers in the correct position for each chord. Even though you are just using the one hand, this is a valuable method of practice as it builds muscle memory and familiarity with the positions you need to know to play.

These are just a few tips to help you get started learning to play the guitar. Who knows? With a lot of patience, practice and dedication, maybe you’ll even get the chance to have your own videos shown on MTV someday too!

Learn Guitar Solo – The Art of Going Solo

bright — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:39:41 +0000

Ever seen concerts where the lead guitarist mesmerizes the entire crowd with his powerful performance doing a guitar solo? To be on center stage and own it for a moment in time – yes – this is a dream of most, if not all aspiring guitarists. Here are some tips to help that dream become a reality:

Guitar solos are used in many different styles of music – rock, blues, jazz, even classical. Most of the time, solos come about through a lot of improvisation. Playing guitar solos can be a wonderful and memorable experience if one is really prepared and up for the challenge. Aside from that it also helps in intensifying the connection between the music and the listener.

Studying some of the basics could greatly help one learn guitar solo correctly. First, practice the different scales, blues, pentatonic, major, minor, etc. The more comfortable you are with these scales the better your chances are of successfully doing a solo. Incorporate scales to solos. Most solos are merely basic scales that are manipulated and combined with other scales. Practice the scale forwards and backwards, using alternate picking. Expand horizons by trying different ways of playing the scales.

Inject new life and emotion to it by using techniques like vibrato. Although most guitarists apply vibrato immediately to a note, one could also delay it a little bit by playing the note naturally on the guitar before applying vibrato. Bending also adds a significant quality to guitar solos. Play arpeggios and scales with the double-picking style for a little uniqueness.

As the saying goes, “It’s not what you play but how you play it.” To learn guitar solo, improvisation comes in handy too. There are ways to approach improvisation: the vertical approach and the horizontal approach.

In the vertical approach, the guitar player does a solo following or according to the current chord while in the horizontal approach, the player solos according to the current scale.

Having and maintaining daily practice and by learning as many licks as one can in every practice is also essential to one who wants to learn guitar solo. Include renowned tabs played by guitar masters for they could help in improving one’s guitar playing skills. Continuously improve by listening to other solos and studying their styles and thinking of other ways to improve quality. Use a melodic solo in the song. Using modes including the Aeolian, Mixolydian and Dorian are helpful too. These modes have different starting notes, but contain the same notes as the key signature; the result is a great sound, as all of the notes fit into the song melodically.

Lead Guitar Lesson – Simply Made Easy Basics

bright — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 09:03:06 +0000

A lead guitar is said to be the guitar part that plays the melody, creates instrumental fill passages and guitar solos within a song. Though it is often associated with heavy metal music, it is also present in jazz, blues, pop and some other musical genres.

Guitar players, mostly beginners, at some point take on some sort of a lead guitar lesson. This mostly focuses on the essential roles that the lead guitarist takes on. One of which is to play the melody lines of the song (melodic playing) and at the same time adorn it as melodic playing enabling the guitarist to play more smoothly as compared to linear playing.

Oftentimes lead guitar and rhythm guitar are easily confused with each other -especially when the lead guitarist starts to add in chords and double-stops to their riffs. It is best to remember that lead guitar focuses mainly on giving the melody, the lead guitarist incorporating more single-string playing and soloing, while the rhythm guitar is characterized mostly by playing chords in patterns.

Some important techniques found in lead guitar lessons are bending, vibrato and slides. These provide the basic means of emphasizing notes, and allow for greater expression in the melody.

Bending happens when the guitarist bends the guitar string to the side by pushing it towards the sixth string, or by pulling it towards the first string. The first three strings are normally pushed while the others are normally pulled. Whether the string is pushed or pulled, the note will be raised in pitch.

Vibrato adds feeling and emotion to the notes. It can be done by either rapidly bending the guitar’s string back and forth or by applying pressure parallel to the string towards the guitar’s neck then towards the bridge repeatedly. One helpful lead guitar lesson or tip for the vibrato is that the action should come from the wrist not from the fingers.

Slides (or sliding) are one of the simplest but most effective guitar techniques in creating a wailing sound on the guitar. There are two kinds of slides, the legato slides and the shift slides. Legato (connected tones) slides are done by plucking the first note and sliding up or down to the second note. In the shift side, a note is fretted then the fretting fingers slide up or down to a different fret.

Another useful lead guitar lesson revolves around creating lead guitar lines. This is done by using scales, modes, arpeggios, licks, riffs, and fills. It is best to use these together with a variety of other techniques. Learn the blues scale then the pentatonic scales as this provide a good foundation for creating solos—a classic element for the lead guitar player. Arpeggios add depth, and the progression of the solo often mirrors the underlying rhythm guitar part. Licks give short improvised solos and while the solo puts the guitarist in the spotlight for a minute or two, riffs and fills supply a series of notes for improvised backing.

With all the scales, chords, combinations, and variations available, there are thousands of ways to improve one’s lead guitar skills. Imagination plus creativity combined can create a wonder, that’s a lead guitar lesson everyone should learn.

Learn Bass Guitar Easily

bright — Tue, 24 May 2011 09:47:42 +0000

Bass guitars are one of the most popular choices of stringed instruments in the market today. Its shape is similar to an electric guitar though its neck is longer. A standard bass guitar has four strings attached to its headstock. The four strings are tuned to the notes E, A, D, and G. A bass guitar has a solid body, with frets grooved into it. Tuning a bass guitar is the same as with a standard guitar since the lower four strings of a guitar are considered the bass though octaves lower. The bass helps in giving harmony and laying down the beat on a concerto. Now let’s learn the guitar bass basics.

Amazon.com Widgets

Harmony is all about the chords. It intensifies the progression of chords. A chord progression is the series of chords changes that contradicts the tonality of a key or chord. A chord progression can also be considered as a harmony that has rapid successions which shifts the tone levels simultaneously. To sum up, harmony is also known as the chord theory.

The beats we make with our hands are called rhythmic pulses. Beat is considered as the basic element in music, it is music’s unit of time. With proper positioning and use, playing an instrument causes a steady beat called the tempo.

When we listen to songs, the harmony and beat of the song is greatly enhanced by the bass. The baselines done by bass enthusiasts vary depending upon song choices or style of music. In pop music, the bass plays a simple part of the band, and the vocals and other instruments may outshine the bass. But in reggae, hip-hop, and funk, the melody of the songs are from the bass and the baseline is prominent. You can easily copy the style when you master and learn guitar bass basics.

In some instances, the bass guitarist can do a solo, playing an entire rhythm to overpower the other melodies. The baselines used for solos differ according to style. In rock, a bass solo can be done during a pause in the song. In metal, bass can be strung the “shred” style by tapping the bass strings. Funk solos are done by slapping the stings, so with pop. In special cases like art rock, progressive rock, and metal rock, bass guitarist play along side with the vocalist and lead guitar on solos.

As a four stringed instrument, many may think that bass guitars are easier than its six-stringed counterpart. And evidently, this fact is true. With only 3 to 4 chords, songs can easily be made using a bass guitar. However, constant practice is needed to master the bass. So, get started today, learn how to play that bass and maybe you’ll be in the next newest and greatest band to hit the airwaves tomorrow!

Learn Blues Guitar – Putting the Rhythm on the Blues

bright — Tue, 03 May 2011 09:13:06 +0000

At the end of the 19th century, one particular style of music emerged from the African-American communities belonging in the Deep South of the United States. It was usually performed by prisoners and slaves. These were derived from field hollers, work songs, even chants and shouts. This musical style is called Blues. One legend says that William Christopher Handy, a cornet player and bandleader, wrote the first Blues song which was both printed and documented in the year 1912. The song was entitled Yellow Dog Blues.

The Blues musical genre has garnered popularity throughout the years and in different nations around the world, capturing the hearts of many people of all ages, making a lot of music lovers want to try and learn blues guitar. Blues and guitar are like bread and butter to each other. They work well together. An acoustic or an electric guitar would be a great instrument to have if you want to play the Blues. Thicker strings may help in getting better tones and sustainability while nylon strings are not recommended.

The majority of Blues songs are played following the 12 bar. The 12 bar Blues simply means that the song is divided into 12 “bars” or “patterns” with a given chord sequence. If one is really interested in learning blues guitar then one should start by learning this basic beat – which also happens to be the easiest one too. When playing, this form is repeated over and over for every verse of the song until the song ends. While practicing this, it is recommended that it should be started with a single down strum for each beat, until one becomes familiar and comfortable with it before trying to elaborate each strum and trying other variations.

Blues, in most cases, is major in chord structure but there are also different scales that can be used in order to create or add a colorful tone associated with Blues. Some of these scales are major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, dorian, and mixolydian. These can be used individually or in combination with each other.
To better learn blues guitar, it is essential to practice the three (3) rhythm feels that are used in Blues, namely, straight feel, shuffle feel, and twelve/eight feel.
In the straight feel, the eighth note rhythm is usually used and are spaced equally apart while the shuffle feel follow a long-short scheme (the second note is placed in every pair of eighth notes.) The twelve/eight rhythm has twelve beats per bar and each eighth note obtains one beat.

Techniques are also vital in playing Blues on the guitar and one of these is the Vibrato. It is a musical effect that is created when the pitch of a note is slightly changed to a higher pitch and then back to its original pitch by changing the tension of the string.

In order to fill the chords with melodic figures, turnarounds, intros, and endings – riffs are used. Turnarounds are usually played on the last two bars, making the solo complete and points the song back to its beginning. Some turnarounds even make wonderful and interesting intros and endings of songs.

To fully learn blues guitar, there is no one trick, way, method or procedure to master it. Learning the Blues takes constant and accurate practice. No matter what the sellers of books, ebooks, and videos promise, nothing beats perseverance and dedication.

Easy Guitar Lessons for Beginners

bright — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 08:03:11 +0000

Yes! It’s possible. You can take easy guitar lessons without ever spending a dime. Following you will find four easy lessons to aid you in learning how to play the guitar.

Easy Guitar Lessons Number 1: How to hold a guitar.

Normally, you play the guitar on the leg. You’ll be strumming using your dominant hand so the guitar goes to the side of your dominant hand as well. Keep the guitar nice and straight, nice and close. Sometimes the guitar slides off your leg while playing because you bend your back to look at the placement of your fingers on the frets. This is quite normal for guitar players. But, it is important to stay away from bad habits while you’re just starting. So again, keep the guitar nice and straight, nice and close.

Easy Guitar Lessons Number 2: Getting to know the chord chart.

For the six chords you will be learning today, you will be focusing on the four first frets of the guitar. Frets, by the way, are the spaces between the metal vertical lines on the guitar. As there are six strings on the guitar, there will be 6 horizontal lines as well on the diagram representing the strings. Your fingers will be numbered 1-3 starting from the index finger.

Easy Guitar Lesson Number 3: The three basic chords.

The first chord you will need to study is the D chord. Finger #1 and #2 will be positioned on the second fret. Finger #1 will be on the third string while finger #2 will be on the first string. Finger #3 will be positioned on the third fret on the second string.

The second chord to study is the E chord which is one of the ideal chords for beginners to learn. Finger #1 is positioned on the first fret on the third string. Finger #2 and #3 will be on the second fret. Finger #2 will be positioned on the fifth string while finger#3 will be on the fourth string. Follow the diagram below.

The A chord is also one of the easiest chords to master. This chord can be played in more than one way but this is the basic method. All Fingers #1, #2, #3 are all positioned on the second fret. Finger #1 goes to the fourth string, finger #2 goes to the third string and Finger #3 is positioned on the second string. Refer below.

Amazon.com Widgets

Easy Guitar Lesson Number 4: Strumming and changing chords.

The first three chords will now enable you to play some tunes with one additional step which is the strumming. Strumming your guitar is a fundamental skill to be learned. It is done by moving your dominant hand up and down on the strings. Always keep your hands moving. Don’t rush. Start slowly till you have strumming perfected. Start off slow then build up your speed gradually. The chords should ring out with no buzzing and only play the strings of that chord shown on the chord chart. On changing chords, master the basic cords. Set the beat. Change to the different chord before starting the next beat. To learn how to change chords and strum more effectively, practice on your favorite song with a slow beat.

These easy guitar lessons were designed to be a self-help tool for you. Enjoy playing guitar!

TECH TIP: LEARN THE PARTS OF THE GUITAR

bright — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:25:40 +0000

Question. Often when I am reading about guitars on the internet I hear about different parts of the guitar, can you give a brief description of the different parts of a guitar?

Answer. Here is a brief description of some of the more commonly misunderstood parts of the guitar.

Headstock

The headstock is the part of a guitar at the end of the neck opposite to the body.The headstock is generally used for supporting the tuning pegs used to wind the strings. There are many shapes that headstocks can come in depending on the type of guitar.The headstock usually displays the brand of guitar.

Machine Heads

The machine heads or tuning pegs are found at the headstock.The machine heads tighten or loosen the strings so the string can be tuned.A basic gear mechanism is used to wind the strings.Winding tools are available and can be used to rapidly unwind and wind strings for quick changing.

Frets

Are the bars or ridges (usually made of metal) that sit on the fingerboard or neck of a guitar; when the string is depressed by your fingers at the metal bar it will make a note of the desired pitch.Frets are arranged on guitars to produce specific musical pitches. On the typical guitar or bass each fret represents one semitone or half step.Fretless guitars do exist.

Bridge

The bridge is found down on the body. The function of the bridge, in addition to simply holding the strings in place, is to transmit their vibrations to the top of the guitar, to the instrument’s soundboard or pickups.There are many different types of bridge and they can be made from a variety of materials depending upon the type of guitar. For example electric guitars usually have metal bridges and acoustic guitars usually have wooden ones.