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10 Quick Tips for Mastering Guitar Chords!

21/12/2016

 
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For beginners, getting your fingers to go where you want them is one of the hardest parts in learning guitar. This is especially true when playing chords. A fluid motion of four fingers moving to different frets in different directions—what could be difficult about that? Even experienced players can struggle when it comes the more complex chord changes. In this post, we cover the 10 things you need to know to master those pesky changes and nail your rhythm playing!

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Guitar Chords 101: Chord Essentials Every Guitarist Should Know

21/12/2016

 
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Imagine if you could play any chord anywhere on the fretboard. That would be awesome, right? Well, it's not only awesome but it's also very achievable! (And no, it doesn't require endless hours tediously learning shapes.) When you know what chords are and how they're built, playing them on guitar becomes easy. The first step is understanding the essentials that are often overlooked. In this article, we discuss these key ideas that every guitar player should know.

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10 Quick Tips for Learning Your Fretboard

16/10/2016

 
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Many aspects of learning guitar require countless hours spent developing technique and musical proficiency—learning your fretboard isn't one of them! Getting started simply requires some basic insights and a few key techniques. In the last couple of posts, we've covered the fundamentals of fretboard anatomy and established a central framework for fretboard visualization. In this short article, we continue with a look at 10 essential tips for memorizing the notes on your guitar neck.

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Fretboard Visualization 101: How to Memorize the Guitar Neck

16/10/2016

 
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For guitar players, a working knowledge of the fretboard is the simplest thing that will streamline and accelerate the learning process. With some basic insight and the application of a few key techniques, anyone can begin to visualize notes across the entire fretboard quickly and easily. In this article, we discuss the first step in fretboard memorization: building a framework. This begins with learning some key reference points.

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Fretboard Anatomy 101: Guitar Notes for Beginners

13/10/2016

 
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Everything we do on guitar revolves around the unique geometry of the guitar neck. Unlike the piano, (which has every note laid out in order of the musical alphabet) the layout of the guitar fretboard is slightly more complex. Essentially, it could be viewed as six short keyboards stacked on top of one another—each one starting from a different note. In this article, we start demystifying the fretboard puzzle by overviewing the basics of fretboard anatomy.

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Guitar Setup Basics: Action, String Gauge & Intonation

12/9/2016

 
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Is your guitar holding you back? Now, I'm not suggesting that buying a more expensive guitar will somehow improve your guitar playing. I'm simply implying that a poorly set up guitar will almost certainly hinder it! It doesn't matter if you're playing your dream axe or a hand-me-down from the local pawn shop; small adjustments to your instrument can yield big improvements in your playing. In this short article, we'll overview the key factors in getting the most out of your guitar!

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Learning Guitar: 4 Keys to Great Technique

6/9/2016

 
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What is great technique? A simple definition is: our ability to maximize tone while minimizing tension. That is, we want to play with fluency, clarity, and accuracy in a way that feels comfortable and natural. While there's no one-size-fits-all approach to guitar technique, in this article you'll discover the four foundational concepts that are common to great playing. Sometimes, the most important lessons happen before we even pick up the guitar!

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FREE Jam Tracks for Guitar!

17/7/2016

 
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Okay, it's time to stop reading and start playing! Here's a short sample from 5 Minute Jams. Below you'll find a couple of jam tracks, complete with chord charts and suggested patterns for improvisation. Enjoy!

Note: This entire album is FREE with any book purchase! To check out our books, CLICK HERE.

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10 Quick Tips for Better Guitar Solos!

17/7/2016

 
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We've all heard it hundreds of times. We've probably even been guilty of it. You step forward to take that solo, crank up the distortion, and launch into every scale, lick, and playing trick you can think of. The faster, the better! Sound familiar? While this can be impressive (for a minute or two), pretty soon it all just becomes noise — lots of shouting without really saying anything. In this article, we offer some tips on using jam tracks to craft more musical, listener-friendly solos.

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Playing vs Practice: Are They Really the Same Thing?

17/7/2016

 
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Ever feel like your guitar playing isn't going anywhere? After a while, many players find they've hit that dreaded plateau. The problem isn't a lack of talent, it's simply that we stop challenging ourselves! How can you learn something new by just playing the same old stuff? In this short article, we introduce the concept of intentional practice as the key to sustaining progress.

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10 Quick Tips for Mastering Guitar Scales!

29/4/2016

 
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So many scales, so little time! Have you ever felt like this? For many guitar players, learning scales can seem overwhelming. While feeling intimidated is understandable, it isn’t necessary. There are numerous languages in the world, but a person doesn’t need to know them all to say something worthwhile. This article offers some simple tips for learning scales and getting more out of the ones you already know.

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Guitar Scales 101: What Your Guitar Teacher Should Have Explained!

21/4/2016

 
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We all know guitar scales are important, right? They’re usually one of the first things we start learning on guitar. Despite this, so many aspiring guitar players still feel confused about how and when to use them. Why? Simply because, we're often taught to play them well before we’re taught to understand them! This article explores some foundational concepts for demystifying scales and highlights the most common issue we face in learning and applying them.

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3 Guitar EQ Tips for a Better Mix

21/12/2015

 
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In general, guitarists are extremely particular about their tone. It is, after all, a sonic fingerprint of sorts. Our job in the mix is to try and enhance a guitar tone without changing its vibe and character. While there are various elements involved in getting a great guitar tone, here we will focus on our top three tips for working with EQ in the mix.

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Rode NTR Review: Recording Guitars

15/11/2015

 
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Ribbon microphones are typically a popular choice for recording both acoustic and electric guitars. They are generally regarded as quite natural and smooth sounding microphones, capturing a lot of the detail in a performance without sounding overly harsh or brittle. Earlier this year Rode introduced the latest edition to their mic locker, the Rode NTR.

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iZotope RX 4 Review: Advanced Editing for Guitar Tracks

26/9/2015

 
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With the release of iZotope RX 5 right around the corner, here we look back at RX 4 and the editing potential this software holds for guitar players. iZotope RX has seemingly become an indispensable tool for many audio professionals. For those who aren’t familiar with RX, it is basically a complete software package that specializes in audio repair and enhancement. This is a very powerful program that is widely used for tasks like cleaning up dialogue, removing hum or excessive background noise, and even repairing clipped or distorted tracks. 

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<<Previous

    Articles

    10 Chord Mastery Tips!
    ​Guitar Chords 101
    ​10 Memorization Tips
    Fretboard Memorization
    ​Fretboard Anatomy 101
    ​Guitar Setup Basics
    ​4 Keys to Great Playing!
    FREE Jam Tracks!
    10 Tips for Better Solos
    ​Playing vs Practice
    ​10 Scale Mastery Tips!
    ​Guitar Scales 101
    3 Simple Guitar EQ Tips
    Rode NTR Mic Review
    ​iZotope RX - On Guitar  
    Dealing with Latency
    Slate VCC | VTM Review
    GarageBand v Logic X
    5 FREE Guitar Plugins
    Logic Pro X for Guitar
    Pedals vs Multi-Effects
    How to Roll Leads
    ​
    Stop Breaking Strings?
    When to Change Strings
    Using Neck Diagrams
    5 Essential Tuning Tips

    7 Beginner Mistakes
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  • Home
  • Books
    • Total Guitar Workout
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    • Learn Your Guitar Scales
    • 5-Minute Guitar Jams
    • Lead Guitar Breakthrough
    • Lead Guitar Book Bundle
  • Journals
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  • Workshops
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