Rock and Pop 101

Ok Go - Rube Goldberg Machine

2010-07-09T22:41:00.003+08:00

From threadmills , marching bands, now this Rube Goldberg machine, it amazes what these guys can think of for their videos everytime.

With over 51 million views (view the video here), Ok Go is definitely redefining the boundaries of what independent labels can do with a little creativity through free marketing channels like youtube and the likes.

Of course, not many of us have the resources or contacts (engineer behind the Rube Goldberg machine talks here) to pull off something like this. But like Gerald G. Jampolsky said "A truly creative person rids him or herself of all self-imposed limitations."

Damian Kulash (lead vocals and guitar) once said that the band had not produced the YouTube videos as part of any overt "Machiavellian" marketing campaign. "In neither case did we think, 'A-ha, this will get people to buy our records.' It has always been our position that the reason you wind up in a rock band is you want to make stuff. You want to do creative things for a living."

In the spirit of making a living out of the arts, I beg to differ on the part "In neither case did we think, 'A-ha, this will get people to buy our records."

So go on musicians! While you are up crafting that song to perfection, why not also think of ways on how to promote and spread yourself (song, band, video....) through all these wonderful viral channels already created for you to tap on.

Hmm, now the Singapore Flyer seems....

Awakening The Giants

2010-06-14T01:09:00.001+08:00

Music Composed, Recorded, and Mixed by Andy Ng
Free distribution and usage, pls email rockandpopguitar@gmail.com

Make Yourself Indispensable

2010-06-13T14:46:00.005+08:00

Picture this. You are lost in the desert with Mr Warren Buffett, desperate for survival. Suddenly, Mr Buffett turns to you and says "I know how to grow capital"

Many of us are in this similiar situation. We have skills in a certain area, but it doesn't matter. Our skills aren't applicable in the situation we are in. Mr Buffett may be the best investment guru there is, but his skills in managing capital isn't applicable when survival is at stake. The nomad who knows how and where to find food matters now, we can make do without Mr Buffett (better in this case, less competition for food)

In a guitar context, knowing more exotic scales or mastering your soloing technique isn't gonna land you that gig at the club, learning more pop and dance songs which partygoers can relate to does. However, learning more pop songs and knowing the right contacts won't get you in clubs, but knowing specifically who are the people who patronise the club you are going to play at and the kind of music they like rises the probability of landing a gig there.

I'm working backwards here. Because setting an objective forces us to think backwards on how to achieve that. Use your skills in the area which ALLOWS you to flourish, get out of the desert otherwise. Make yourself indispensable.

P.S. The Dance

2010-06-12T17:09:00.003+08:00

Music Composed, Recorded, Mixed and Photographed by Andy Ng

Free distribution and usage, pls email me at rockandpopguitar@gmail.com

I'll Be Printing Slash's Gibson For Free

2010-06-06T19:02:00.011+08:00

We all want free. Free gifts, free tips, free lessons, free info...free music.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) blames file-sharing for the industry’s decline, ignoring many other factors. Radio ratings have plummeted in recent years, as more people tune into MP3 players or talk on their cell phones rather than listening to the top forty on their drive home from work. By the end of 2007, some of the world’s most successful musicians, including Madonna, R adiohead, and Oasis, had all stopped working with major record companies.

Movies, video games, magazines, and newspapers have all suffered losses as they make the transition to business models based on electronic distribution. The music industry found out the hard way that resistance is futile. The best way to stop piracy, as Steve Jobs said, is to compete with it. ---From "Pirates Dilemma" by Matt Mason

Radiohead gives away free music, competing against piracy by selling live shows. Much like how musicians and artists in China operates. China, being the piracy capital of the world couldn't possibly sustain her artists by selling music. They evolve and found another business model instead of combating the inevitable change and landscape.

Does that mean that we should all follow China's example and spirit of entreprise than?

This is something all industries need to consider, and when I say all, I mean literally all other industries. There are many already using new ways to share electronic information to change things, but sharing isn’t just making waves online. Companies such as Adidas, BMW, Timberland, and Sony are already using 3-D printers to produce prototypes of new products in-house.

In the not too distant future, the 3-D printer could be a welcome addition to homes and offices around the world. Hmmm, what would happen to Nike when kids start printing out Air Jordans at the rate at which they illegally download music? Would Christmas morning be ruined if the printer jammed and nobody’s presents were printed?

Lost Gear!

2010-06-05T02:59:00.001+08:00

Do help if possible

You, The Influencer

2010-06-04T18:48:00.011+08:00

Put Me Here!

o Slash

Slash says "My big awakening happened when I was fourteen. I'd been trying to get into this older girl's pants for a while, and she finally let me come over to her house. We hung out, smoked some pot and listened to Aerosmith's Rocks. It hit me like a fucking ton of bricks. I sat there listening to it over and over, and totally blew off this girl. I remember riding my bike back to my grandma's house knowing that my life had changed. Now I identified with something."

Joe Perry of Aerosmith

Joe Perry is a huge fan of guitarist Jeff Beck and looked at him as one of his influences. Beck played onstage with Aerosmith in 1976, as a 'birthday present' for Perry.

Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck on John Mclaughlin said: "He has given us so many different facets of the guitar and introduced thousands of us to world music by blending Indian music with jazz and classical. I'd say he was the best guitarist alive."

John Mclaughlin

McLaughlin has been cited as a major influence on many generations from the '70s and '80s fusion guitarists, prominent players such as Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Al Di Meola, Mike Stern, Scott Henderson.

Steve Morse always cite John Petrucci as his main influence.

Eric Johnson took up the guitar and progressed rapidly through the music of his influences like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt, Chet Atkins, Wes Montgomery, Bob Dylan.

We are all influencers and we influence the people around us who in turns influence those around them one way or another, whether we like it or no, good or bad.

Question becomes, who do you want to be influenced by musically? Influence have gotten famous guitarists we know of today from the ever growing list of "100 Greatest..."

Who do you want to be influenced?
Who are you going to influence?

How Good Do YOU Wanna Be?

2010-05-27T15:22:00.004+08:00

How Good Do YOU Wanna Be?

Quite Good
Good

Very Good

The Best

Legendary

Most of us wants to be good. Not many are prepared to be legendary. Being good is easy. Becoming a legend takes hard work.

Legend doesn't happen instantly. Legend go through failures and mistakes, learning through experiences.

You too can be a legend. Take the first step today.

Shops in Singapore for the Beginner

2010-05-26T19:48:00.003+08:00

Davis Guitar offers cheap acoustic and electric guitar for the beginner guitarist to get started. You can get an amp, strat style electric guitar, cable and pick for under $300. Their site, http://www.davisguitar.com/ doesn't features the beginner's stuff. Head on down to the shop at basement of peninsula hotel to try them out.

Couldn't find what you are looking for? Head on down to Standard Value located just round the corner of Davis! The prices are slightly higher but they are of higher quality and provide excellent service. The extra help provided definitely helps beginners to make well informed decisions and purchases. http://www.standardvalue.com.sg/

And no, I am not affiliated to these 2 shops in anyway, neither do I get paid for referrals. I'm just stating the places beginners should go to get their stuff.

I'm the Beginner's Specialist

2010-05-26T19:32:00.001+08:00

I’m a specialist, not a generalist. I practice specialized knowledge, not general knowledge. I specializes in the teaching of guitar. Not just anyone of any level. My speciality is in teaching beginners.

Specialists possessed specialized skills, touch, application, knowledge, in one area. They don't cover all. Heart surgeons spent years mastering one skill. They know in great depth what most doctors misses. They possessed the method, application, knowledge to operate on the heart. They are extremely skilled technicians. That's what earns them the high pay. That's what earns them the respect. That's what earns them the right to pass on their skills to the young and new.

I'm the beginner's teacher. I specialised in the method, application, knowledge to teach beginners. Anybody else who is keen to learn beyond beginners' level doesn't matter to me. They are just noise to me. I only listen to the beginner's voice. I'm the beginner's specialist.

Guitar tab now available on videos

2010-05-24T16:24:00.001+08:00

Hi,

I will be adding guitar tab on my existing videos and for all new videos all to aid you for better understanding and application. Enjoy.

Corazon Espinado Intro Part 1/2

2010-05-24T16:09:00.002+08:00

Corazon Espinado Intro Part 1/2 - Now with Guitar Tab on video!
00:55 - The intro
02:14 - Segment A
02:30 - Slide in
03:38 - Slide in segment
04:09 - The bend
05:09 - Pre-bend and release bend
06:08 - Segment B

Flame of the Forest - Singapore's "Buddha Bar"

2010-05-03T18:35:00.001+08:00

More, this time with vocals. *Note the tabla accompanying the vocal's melody

Flame of the Forest - Singapore's "Buddha Bar"

2010-05-03T18:13:00.005+08:00

Flame of the Forest features a blend of indian + electronic + dance + classical + lounge music into one. There is a keyboardist cum programmer, sitar, tabla (fantastic player, reminds me of Zakir Hussain...) and a violin in this band.

What I got here is bits of their debut performance at Esplanade Outdoor Theatre on the 30th April 2010. One should be mindful of the poor audio and video captured by my incapable mobile and not to dismiss this fantastic young band ability and creativity.

It is a shame to to be watching Flame of the Forest through a recorded video as such lively music is best experienced live among the crowd. What I hope to achieve is to bring you this band (I'm not paid or affliated in anyway, swear...) to you since nobody have yet to market this band or how to monetize their creativity practically.

Enjoy!!!

Your Next Record With Slash!

2010-04-30T16:49:00.002+08:00

Hi,

Guitar center have down a fanstatic job of bringing YOU closer to SLASH. YOU or your band will be performing along side with SLASH on 3 of YOUR own songs! Video clip at http://slash.ultimate-guitar.com/videos/guitar_center_presents_your_next_record_with_slash.html

SLASH is coming SINGAPORE!

2010-04-30T16:36:00.002+08:00

Hi All,

Slash is coming to SINGAPORE! http://www.lamcproductions.com/slash

Early Bird $98* (For limited period) at all sistic outlets on May 7!

Beginner Guitar Series - F chord plus Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden

2010-04-26T22:44:00.002+08:00

Learn to play the dreaded "F" chord in simplified form and practice it with Savage Garden's Truly Madly Deeply --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_RxmRynRYM

Watch it Here!

Beginner's Guitar Series - C D Em G chords plus Coldplay's Viva La Vida

2010-04-21T18:47:00.003+08:00

Learn basic guitar chords plus Coldplay's Vival La Vida for the Beginner Guitarist at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl9DvHBldak

I'm Yours - verse and chrous

2010-04-19T21:54:00.002+08:00

I'm Yours - verse and chrous

Guitar tutorial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3JTpy9Wnao

Expressing Youself Through Your Music

2010-04-19T15:14:00.007+08:00

Consider the following words below, how would you come up with a melody and rhythem for it? How would you create a song out of it?

If I'm high on a hill
She will still be looking down at me
What does she see
That brings her closer every day to my heart
If I'm away from home
And think I'm all alone
She's there, somewhere
I look around to see
And looking back at me
She's there, beware
Creeping like a hungry cat
Seen it before
And I know it can mean that

The lady's starstruck she's nothing but bad luck
The lady's starstruck running after me
The lady's starstruck she's nothing but bad luck, yeah, yeah

Country sounding? Comical sounding? Folk song?

Point is, most writers rely too heavily on the lyrics of the song to express the thoughts, feelings, emotions, story, etc. that is being communicated. Certainly there is nothing wrong with the lyrics telling the story, but I think it’s a lot more valuable if you can tell the same story with the music alone. Then when you add the lyrics (if you add them at all), the power and impact of the song will be much greater on the listener.

Let us focus only on the music and not on the lyrics. You can always add lyrics later once you are done if you want to.

1. Choose your topic. Find something that you want to express musically. You can choose anything you want such as: a personal event, feeling, thought etc. from your own life, or a story that you heard about or read about, or you can create a fictional story, event, etc. to use. The key is to know exactly what it is that you are going to be expressing before you begin to even think about writing music. What are the expressive goals? Why have you chosen this topic to express in music?

2. Write it down. Once you have chosen your topic, write it down on paper in your own words in a few paragraphs. You will be coming back to this written description of your topic over and over again as you are writing the music, so keep this close by you when you are working. Describe (in writing) the events, feelings, thoughts, the people, places or things involved, etc. Remember what your expressive goals are?

3. Divide into sections. Divide story/topic into sections. The number of sections will vary depending on many factors that are all based on your story. For most songs, 3-8 sections are typical but more less are possible. The sections of your story/topic will determine the number of musical sections of your song, so think about this carefully. Number each section.

4. The 7 basic elements of music. Make a list of the 7 basic elements of music. Then think about how each musical element (rhythm, harmony, melody, texture, form, timbre, dynamics,) can best be used to express your expressive goals (your story/topic) into music. Really think about each element, don't just rush through this step. Write down your ideas about each on the same paper that you prepared in step 2.

5. Climax. Think about where the climatic points in your topic/story are. Which section is the main climatic point in? At specifically what point in that section is the climax located (beginning, middle, end. etc.) It may be a good idea for you to compose the climatic point first even if it's the middle or end of the story. If you know where you are going, it’s going to be a lot easier for you to get there. In most stories, parts before the climax build up to the climax and parts after the climax generally move away from it. In other words, what happens before the climax usually creates tension and what happens after the climax usually creates resolution of all the built up tension. Of course not all stories or music follow this pattern, but often times it does. Write down your ideas about each on the same paper that you prepared in step 2.

Now that you have all of this down on paper, you are ready to begin writing the actual music for your song/composition. As you are writing the music, go back to your original ideas that you wrote down on paper in steps 2-5. Are you following your original ideas or have you begun to evolve away from them as you are writing the music? It's common for me to sometimes get away from my original intentions once I am composing the music and have been working on the piece for a while. Sometimes the result of changing the plans works out to be even better than the original, but sometimes it is a failure and I go back to the original concepts and rework the music to better fit my intentions. For the purpose of learning this way of writing music, I encourage you to stick with your original plans for now no matter what. After you feel more comfortable with writing/expressing yourself in this way then certainly you can evolve out of this compositional style when it best suits your own needs.

The lyrics of this song comes from Rainbow,the hard rocking band by former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore in 1975. "Starstruck" was released in 1976 on the ablum entitled "Rising"

"Starstruck" would strike a surprise to many as it was written in a very hard rocking fashion (listen to the song here) despite it's almost laughable lyric. Ritchie Blackmore is ranked one of the greatest guitarist of his time, Yngwie Malmsteen always cited him as his biggest influence.

A preview of the song and one would not forget the catchy rhythm and melody played by the master himself (fantastic guitar solo as well!).

Once again, this hightlights the point I'm trying to bring out here. A song would be a lot more valuable if you can tell the same story with the music alone. Then when you add the lyrics (if you add them at all), the power and impact of the song will be much greater on the listener.

Mr Blackmore has came up with a memorable rhythm and melody. Combine that with catchy lyrics which tells a story. A hit is made.

Rest of the lyric:

I could fly to the moon
But she'd soon find a way to be there
I never knew for a while
That a smile made 'em really care
She wants a souvenir
To everyone it's clear
She's hooked, one look
She wants a photograph
And everybody laughs
But not me, 'cause I see
She's creeping like a hungry cat
Seen it before and I know it can mean that

It used to be a game
Now I can't repeat my name at all
She seems to believe that
I never can refuse her call
She wants a souvenir
To everyone it's clear
She's hooked, one look
She wants a photograph
And everybody laughs
But not me, 'cause I see
She's creeping like a hungry cat
Seen it before and I know it can mean that

And back of a tree
I'm looking back at me
Blind and off my state
I've just got to beware
The lady's starstruck
Yes, she's bad luck, bad luck

Listen to the song here
6P97ATETE38Z

More than Words Intro n Verse Part 3

2010-04-18T19:20:00.001+08:00

More than Words Intro n Verse Part 3 of 3

Learn to play it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzYIDc8kPxY

More Than Words Intro n Verse Part 2

2010-04-17T22:48:00.001+08:00

More Than Words Intro n Verse Part 2 of 3

Guitar lesson at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30wg8yqydYY

More Than Words Intro n Verse Part 1

2010-04-17T12:00:00.001+08:00

More Than Words Intro n Verse Part 1 of 3

How to play guitar tutorial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36uxaRM8YpI

Corazon Espinado Intro Solo Part 2

2010-04-15T15:11:00.001+08:00

Corazon Espinado Intro Solo Part 2

Guitar tutotial at http://www.youtube.com/user/RockandPop101#p/a/u/0/YgLv0b5-Zh8

Do You Really Need a Guitar Teacher?

2010-04-14T20:12:00.002+08:00

If you really want to learn music well, you will do so much faster with a good guitar teacher. Before I go on any further, let me clarify to you that if your goal is to play a few simple songs around the campfire your need for a teacher is not really needed. For those of you who want to reach a higher level of guitar playing than where you currently are, this article is for you.

Most of us can think of some good guitar players out there who never had a formal music lesson in their life, and yet they still seem to have done quite well for themselves. Many people look at a guitar player like this and think "Hey if that person can succeed on his/her own, why can't I?" It is a valid question, and sure you can learn some things on your own without a guitar teacher. But why take the risk of doing it on your own when it usually doesn't work, when you could find a guitar teacher that can make things work for you? Most people who choose not to work with a teacher either:

1. Have significant financial problems (that make paying for guitar lessons impossible).
2. Don't care enough about one's own musical progress to invest the time and money in himself/herself.
3. Just doesn't understand how much a great teacher can help a student in more ways than one may have realized.

Most people who don't take guitar lessons fall into the last category. So it is to these people specifically that this article is written for. Let's go over the obvious. Without a good guitar teacher, you may spend hours, days, weeks, months and even years trying to learn things with limited results, when a teacher might be able to show you in as little as a few minutes. Your progress is going to move much more rapidly (and correctly) with a teacher than without one.

Let's think about other types of people (non musicians) who try hard to make extensive progress in their area of interest. Even the greatest athletes in the world still NEED coaches and trainers so they are able to do their best and improve. I know that some of you are thinking "Hey this is music, not the Olympics or some other type of competition." Of course music shouldn't be about competition against others, but it IS a competition (at least with yourself) if you want to improve your skills and reach your true potential. If you want to reach your own goals and those goals are at a higher level than where you are right now, it's a competition, a challenge, a quest, a journey, or whatever else you want to call it. Think about this, the head coach of a professional football team is not the athlete (in most cases) the players are, but yet, the coaches are more than capable of teaching and coaching the athletes to be the best they can be. Think about the Olympics and the coaches that teach and train the athletes in gymnastics. Those coaches can't do (with their own bodies) half of the things the gymnasts can do with their bodies, and still they are extremely successful in training athletes to compete in the Olympics. It's clear to see the athletes depend on their coaches and trainers heavily.

Now you may be thinking that my analogy of athletes and coaches is not applicable to music students and teachers. Music teachers are like conventional teachers in that, they pass along information, knowledge of music theory, aural skills, composition, improvisation, chords, scales, the elements of music, etc. It is somewhat true that you can find some of this information on the internet, but you can also find a lot of wrong and incomplete information there as well!

But what about performance practice, work ethics of practicing, physical techniques, finger independence, economy of motion and tension control. These are all things that are almost impossible to learn on your own via the internet. A trainer/coach/teacher can help you not only learn them, but master them.

Many self taught guitar players just don't know WHAT they SHOULD be learning. Some do have well defined goals and that is great, but too often guitar players don't understand the best strategies to achieve those goals. It can be extremely frustrating to practice aimlessly and never truly reach those goals, or if they are reached, it may have taken 10 times longer than it should have. Good guitar teachers can spot weaknesses that need improving and bad habits that must be corrected. Many guitar players may be totally unaware of these habits or their very negative affects. More importantly, the guitar players may not know how to correct them. This is exactly what coaches and trainers do for their athletes and that is why these people (trainers and coaches) are so valuable to the sport and are made huge sums of money.

In addition to the obvious musical benefits that are gained when taking lessons with a teacher (such as learning techniques, theory, songs, etc.), there are even more nonmusical benefits. Many of these nonmusical benefits are worth their weight in gold!

Guitar teachers can give you many good opportunities that you might not be able to obtain so easily on your own. Experienced guitar teachers have so many more connections, because they are already in the music business (some more than others) and that can make a big difference in your musical life. Whether you want a successful career in music as a guitar player, guitar teacher, songwriter, studio musician, etc. or just want to do it for fun. I had two guitar teachers in particular whom I had established a very good relationship with over time and that paid off for me in my music career. I can't begin to explain to you here how much I owe much of my own success to them! Much of what I have now would not have been so easily obtainable had I not taken lessons from them for a long time, and developed a very good relationship them.

Do you really have to study with a guitar teacher? Well, I'll just add this, there was a period of time when I didn't have a teacher (for about 18 months)and I can tell you that I was just aimlessly drifting along not getting the same results I was when I had a teacher. So I went to college to study music and it changed my musical (and personal) life forever! It was worth everything to me in terms of getting me where I wanted to be musically.

Musical Frustration

2010-04-14T12:31:00.002+08:00

Are you musically frustrated with yourself? Are you not the musician that you want to be? Or not as good as you could be or should be? Do you look with envy at other musicians who are doing what you wish you could be doing? Does reaching your musical goals seem out of reach?

I think just about everyone has had these thoughts go through their mind from time to time. Fortunately, you are not alone and there are things you can do to combat the negativity of frustration. Many of the great masters of music have been frustrated at times with their own musical abilities. I've provided four (4) examples from famous classical composers:

1. Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827) worked for long periods of time on his compositions before completing them. He revised his pieces over and over again, reworking them, doubting his original efforts. This was almost unheard of in Beethoven's time. Many of you may already know that Beethoven gradually became deaf later in his life. Because of this, Beethoven quit performing as a pianist in 1814 (13 years before his death). He stopped composing in 1815.

2. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was so frustrated with his composing abilities that he spent twenty-one (21) years composing his first symphony! He felt as if he could never compose a symphony as well as Beethoven. Brahms kept starting over with his symphony, revising it, abandoning it, starting over, reworking it, etc.

3. Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) (master of symphonies), revised his symphonies and other works after having doubts about what he had composed originally. Mahler kept revising his works until his death. It must have been frustrating to keep revising pieces that were already published.

4. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) actually stopped composing for about 30 years because he felt that he had run out of new musical ideas. He doubted his abilities to compose anything worthwhile at the height of his popularity. He worked on new music for those 30 or so years, sketching his ideas during the day and throwing them away every time. That is some very serious frustration!

Beethoven began composing again in 1817. Many of his most important compositions are from this last period in his life. Beethoven broke new ground and had done things never before done in music once he began working again. Had he continued to let the frustrations of his deafness paralyze him musically, Beethoven would not be as highly regarded as he is to this day.

After the twenty-one (21) period of composing his first symphony, Brahms felt relieved. The shadow of Beethoven was lifted enough to allow Brahms to move forward. He finally found a way to move on and deal with his frustrations. He completed his next symphony in less than one year.

Frustration can be help you or hurt you depending on how you deal with it. As you can see, Beethoven and Brahms eventually found positive ways to deal with their frustration and overcame it. Unfortunately, Sibelius never did. He is perhaps the most extreme example of a person who let frustration destroy him musically. Sadly, he died without finishing any substantial music compositions during the last 30 years of his life!

I remembered going to a Eric Clapton concert with some friends of mine (all guitar players) a few years back in Singapore. After the concert had finished, some of my friends made comments about how they felt depressed after hearing Clapton and that they just wanted to quit playing guitar completely. We were all young and knew how much better Clapton was as a musician than we were. The main difference between their reaction and mine was they let their awe for Clapton frustrate them to the point of feeling hopeless in their efforts to become better players. Many of my friends stopped playing their guitars for several days, one of them actually did quit completely.

My reaction to the event was quite different. I used my awe for Clapton as a massive positive inspiring force. I was so inspired that I went straight home and practiced through the night until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

The point here is not to seek to avoid frustration, but to use it to your advantage. I have always turned my own musical frustrations as the biggest source of motivation. I was always looking for other players to jam with that were better than I was. Of course that was easy to do when I was a beginner and became increasingly more difficult over the years that followed. I got a lot out of those experiences.

Too often players don't ever reach their own potential because they feel they couldn't measure up to other players or their own expectations. Why compare yourself to others. Does it really matter if you are, or are not, as good as someone else? Of course not. Music should not be thought of as a competitive sport. It is, and should be, an art. All that really matters is how well you are able to express yourself. Therefore the only question should be this: Do you currently have the skills to express yourself fully in music?

As much as I have truly like Nirvana's singer/songwriter/guitarist Kurt Cobain, I must admit that he was able to express himself fairly well. Despite the fact that Kurt's musical skills were primitive and very limited, one could hear his personality come through his music. It didn't matter that he was not a good guitarist. It didn't matter that his knowledge of music theory was probably close to zero. It also didn't matter that he played out of tune and had an absolutely sloppy guitar technique. Fortunately for him, what he wanted to express didn't require any of the skills that most musicians generally consider to be good and necessary.

Had Kurt wanted to express anything more significant or complex he would have been extremely frustrated because he didn't have a lot of musicianship skills beyond what could be heard in his music. So in the end, it worked out well for him and my guess is that he probably wasn't very frustrated with himself musically because he wasn't trying to be a better guitarist, songwriter or singer than anyone else. He didn't make those types of comparisons between himself and the rest of the music world.
This is, in my opinion, the only significant thing to that we can all follow. Of course Kurt Cobain's approach to not caring about those comparisons is certainly not a new idea, countless others before and after him have also done so. He is used here as an example because almost everyone during our time knows him.

In my own life, the thought of quitting guitar early on did occur in my mind (although never very seriously). As a teenager, I too was frustrated when I thought I may never become a virtuoso guitarist (like Joe Satriani or Jimi Hendrix) and may never become a master composer (like Bach or Chopin). When I stopped trying to compete with everyone else and made new goals of self-expression, everything changed. I stopped making comparisons to other guitarists, composers and songwriters, because with my new goal, those comparisons did little or nothing to serve my new quest to simply express myself fully through music. I felt liberated from the burden of having to compete with the rest of the world.

Most musicians who will read this will have much greater musical ambitions than Kurt Cobain and so for you, you will feel frustrated whenever you feel limited by your abilities. The key is to use that as a positive force in the form of motivation and inspiration. Masters of all types of art have gone through what you are going through. Today you are at whatever skill level you are at. Through your frustration and motivation, you will eventually reach your current goals. As you reach those goals you will probably still feel frustrated because your desire to improve even further will make you establish new goals for yourself. And so the cycle will go on and on. But you too are progressing and improving on and on.

Chasing Cars - Full Song

2010-04-11T03:36:00.003+08:00

Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
Full song tutorial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV1dy-AREO0&feature=channel

Corazon Espinado Intro Solo Part 1

2010-04-11T03:34:00.003+08:00

Corazon Espinado Intro Solo Part 1 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNVe-4s-JHo

11 Damaging Mistakes Guitar Players Make and How To Avoid Them

2010-04-09T10:00:00.000+08:00

Do you know how some guitar players practice most days of the week, work hard, and are passionate about their guitar playing, but they always struggle to be able to play guitar the way they want? They are frustrated because they don’t improve fast enough, begin doubting their guitar playing potential, or even feel discouraged or angry with themselves when thinking about how long it is taking them to become a better guitar player.

Can you relate to that?

There are specific reasons why guitar players go through such frustration and disappointment. Here are 11 key mistakes guitar players make and repeat over and over again that you should definitely avoid.

1. Teaching Yourself To Play Guitar. Many people attempt to teach themselves how to play guitar. Yes, it’s true that some well known players were ‘somewhat’ self taught, but I do not suggest following that strategy even if your favorite player was self taught. If you are 100% sure that you can build powerfully effective learning and training systems on your own, that's great. However, if you are like most of us, doing it alone is the hardest, most time-consuming, stressful, and frustrating way to learn anything. This is a mistake that you should avoid. Some guitar players think it will impress others if they say, "I am a self taught guitar player". That statement might impress a few inexperienced people, but being self taught is not a 'badge of honor'. Would you rather impress others with your guitar playing or with an unimportant statement about your guitar playing? I'm not criticizing self taught guitar players, I'm only saying that there is no advantage to being self taught… and no, it is not true that being 'self taught' makes us more 'original'. In fact, the opposite is usually true.

2. Taking Guitar Lessons From Ineffective Guitar Teachers. Unfortunately, most electric guitar teachers receive ZERO training on how to teach guitar. What is worse is that the vast majority of teachers do little or nothing to improve their guitar teaching skills. Want some proof? Use google’s keyword tool . Type in this keyword phrase: ‘improve guitar teaching skills’, ‘guitar teaching skills’, or ‘guitar teaching training’ and you will find that less than 10 searches per month are done for these topics at google! Of course there are some highly effective electric guitar teachers around, but there are a whole lot more ineffective teachers. Here is a free resource on how to tell the difference between the good guitar teachers and the mediocre ones, Free Guide: How To Choose A Guitar Teacher

3. Seeking New Guitar Information (tricks, tips, tab) Without A Proven Strategy To Reach Your Specific Musical Goals. We need information, advice, help and music to play, but without a proven strategic learning and training process that is specific to you, your skill level, your musical style and what you want to be able to do as a guitar player, information won’t get you where you want to go. It is better to first seek help in developing a customized strategy for you to become a better guitar player. After that strategy is in place, then it is time to deal with learning the right information.

4. Not Knowing Specifically What You Want To Be Able To Play. Most guitar players are not specific enough when they think about (or tell others about) what they want to be able to do with their guitar. To say, "I want to play whatever I wish to play” is too vague. How can you (or your guitar teacher) develop a specific and effective guitar training strategy unless the goals you have are specific? It's like saying you want to be a great athlete, how can you effectively train with such a vague goal? Sure there are things you can do to become faster, stronger, more flexible or whatever, but it's much easier if you first get specific such as, I want to train to be a gymnast, or a long distance runner, or a body builder. Yes you can still improve without a strategy, but it will take a lot longer and be much more frustrating. You can always change your goal later if you discover you want to do something else instead.

5. Not Enough Focus On Things That Matter Most To Making You A Better Guitar Player. Have you fallen into the trap of practicing guitar without focusing on the specific things that can quickly begin to improve your guitar playing? Many people really do not understand and apply this concept in enough detail…. for example, I have a student named Mark who used to take lessons from another teacher in the past. Mark was studying sweep picking arpeggios with his previous teacher, and was making some progress. However Mark did not understand what ‘specific’ things he needed to focus on first before attempting to master the sweep picking arpeggios he was practicing. This was holding him back and making him feel very frustrated. Mark’s previous teacher only knew how to ‘teach’ arpeggios and general sweep picking concepts. He did not really know how to “train” Mark with the specific things to focus on and how to overcome the challenges Mark was having. If you would like to see a small sample of this check out this short sweep picking video guitar lesson.

6. Too Much Focus On Things That Are Not Core To Your Goals. In addition to not focusing on specific things, many guitar players focus on the ‘wrong things’. Some enthusiastic guitar players become temporarily obsessed with things which are distractions from other things that could be helping their guitar playing much more. Here is an example: I used to get so frustrated and angry when I could not play something perfectly, I’d lock myself in my guitar practice room and say, “I’m not coming out of this room until I master this damn lick if it takes me the next 19 hours! No breaks! No food! No human contact! I’m gonna nail this!” And I did master it. On the surface, it might seem like I was on the right track and practicing in a good way…. But in reality, I was spending my time only to stop being angry and frustrated. I was not investing my guitar practice time wisely by focusing on the things that mattered most to making a better guitar player. In other words, my perseverance was commendable, but my strategy to master important long-term goals was weak. I allowed myself to be distracted. I don’t make this same mistake anymore, and I urge you to also avoid it! Focus on the things that really matter for your guitar playing right now. If you are not sure how to do this, seek out a proven guitar teacher today.

7. Focusing On The Right Things, But in The Wrong Order. This is a common mistake that even many advanced guitar players make which causes a lot of wasted time and frustration. Imagine you want to improve your ability to create your own cool guitar solos. Let’s assume that you are advanced enough to truly understand all the primary and secondary elements of composing guitar solos (or you have a guitar teacher to help you). Each of the many elements need to be learned and/or practiced in order to easily create awesome solos that you like. Where should you begin? What should you focus on first, second, third? Which of these things should you practice simultaneously? There is always a specific order in which musical skills should be learned and mastered in order to EXPLODE your musical skills. Unfortunately, that order is totally different for every person, style of music, musical goal, skill set and knowledge, so giving an example here would be pointless. My advice, find the best teacher you can and study with him/her in order to be able to do what you want to do with your guitar much faster and easier.

8. Not Isolating Problem Areas. Few guitar players are aware of the small things that hold them back in big ways. Because these little imperfections seem insignificant to us, we often ignore them. The truth is, small hinges open big doors. In the video mentioned above I explained how allowing your guitar pick to lose its momentum when you are ‘not picking’ a note on the guitar makes your playing slow and sloppy…. which will make you feel very frustrated. This is why I was sure to make a special point to help you avoid that mistake. Check out the small sample sweep picking video guitar lesson for more details.

9. Learning And Practicing Guitar In A Step By Step Linear Process. Does following a linear step by step approach to learning, practicing and mastering guitar seem like common sense good to you? Yes it does… And that is why guitar players who follow such a path are NOT great guitar players. I’m going to let you in an insider’s secret… The truth is, following a linear approach to learning guitar, practicing guitar, and mastering guitar is the NUMBER ONE REASON WHY “GOOD GUITAR PLAYERS” STRUGGLE TO BECOME “GREAT GUITAR PLAYERS”… I originally thought I would write an article on this one point alone, but I think you will learn this concept better in another short video I recorded while I was doing a recent guitar instructional clinic tour a few months ago. Check out this free sample from my “How to Master The Guitar” clinic.

10. Practicing Guitar In The Same Way Your Favorite Guitar Players Practice Guitar. Have you ever read about how your favorite guitar players practice guitar and then tried to repeat the same practice routine? Yes, I’ve made this mistake too! It seems natural to use a similar guitar practice schedule that our favorite guitar players are using. This is a mistake, because your current guitar skill level and knowledge of music is probably very different from your favorite player. His/her challenges and needs are likely not the same as yours.

Professional guitar players practice for different reasons than most amateur players do. For example, before recording a new album I will practice very differently compared to the period before going on tour. Once I’m actually on tour my practice routine changes drastically again. The rest of the year my practicing schedule changes yet again. This happens because in each case my challenges and goals are totally different. When my guitar students ask me, “Tom, how do you practice guitar?” I’m careful not to let my students assume that they should practice the same way that I do. Your practice schedule and strategy needs to be built around YOU and you only! If you need help building your own practice schedule, email me directly.

11. Learning From Too Many Different Sources Of Information. There will always be many learning opportunities and various paths to take, but it is critical that you do not get distracted into following a piece of advice from one person, then another piece of advice from another person and then follow more resources from somewhere else and so on and so on... while different people may have some good ideas to offer, the fact is, distraction is a big reason why many guitar players who are actively learning, don't really move forward quickly... these people are always busy following totally different resources, teachers, philosophies, instructional videos, free online guitar lessons, but all of this leads them to take one step forward, then 2 steps to the right, then one step forward, then 3 steps to the left, then one step backward, then two to the right, then 1 step forward and then another step to the left...

An illustration of this is shown below. The first path is obviously the most direct way to arrive to your goals. The second path is the inefficient approach filled with many distractions that come from various pieces of advice from many sources:

Once you have an effective strategy to become the guitar player you want to be, ALWAYS stay focused on it (unless your goals radically change)!! The very best way to do this is to have ONE primary guitar teacher who helps you to become the musician you really want to be.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't take advice from other people too, but you should have one 'primary' source of information, training and coaching, and see the other advice as an additional resource, but do not become distracted by it.

Song about Heartbreak

2010-04-09T00:25:00.000+08:00

From Zero to Hero

2010-04-09T00:06:00.007+08:00

Impressing someone? Wanting to learn something fun and easy?

Here are 8 songs to help you get started with right away
For those technically challenged, I'll be posting videos soon. Stay tuned!

1) Blowing in the Wind (Bob Dylan) – D, G, A

2) Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol) – A, E, D *Video lesson at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV1dy-AREO0&feature=channel*

3) Truly Madly Deeply (Savage Garden) – C, G, F, G

4) I’m Yours (Jason Mraz) – B, F#, G#m, E *Guitar tutorial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3JTpy9Wnao

5) Zombie (Cranberries) – Em, C, G, D

6) Viva La Vida (Coldplay) – C#, D#, G#, Fm

7) Ode to My Family (Cranberries) - D, Bm, F#m, G, D

8) Song 2 (Blur) – E, D, G, A, B

Express Yourself

2010-04-08T20:37:00.002+08:00

I believe "Self Expression" is the pinnacle of all art. Anything less, "is less" in my opinion. I'm not going to debate that view or try to persuade any of you to also believe it. Instead I am going to assume you already hold that view and discuss ways in which I may be able to offer you both philosophical and practical advice.

How do you see yourself?

If self expression is the pinnacle of art (or if you at least agree it is very important) and if you desire (and attempt) to express yourself in art (music), you are an artist. In the past, I would not have used the label "Artist" to describe anyone that was not already great at creating genuine art. I typically reserved the words, art, artist and musician for only the highest levels of excellence. But as a teacher of music composition, songwriting, and self expression I have changed my use of these terms for the benefit of all students. So…..

The first step is to stop thinking of yourself as merely a guitarist. I'll take this one step further and recommend against thinking of yourself as a musician! You are, or are at least learning to become, an artist. Music just happens to be your medium and guitar just happens to be your instrument, but YOU are the artist. From this day forward when someone asks you what you do or who you are, don't reply by saying you are a guitarist or musician. Tell them (in a non-arrogant way) you are an artist. If they want more details than that, go ahead and tell them music is your medium and guitar is your instrument. I guarantee you will put an entirely different impression in other people's minds than if you were to say, "Yeah, I play guitar". But beyond the impressions of others, you will begin to put stronger impressions in your own mind that you are in fact an artist (even if you are still in the learning stage of fully becoming one). The way you view yourself (as an artist and not merely someone who owns a guitar and plays it sometimes) is very important to the way you will think about what you are doing musically. The way you see yourself will also effect the results you will get as you are expressing yourself.

What do others do?

Ok, so now you are an artist. Think in the way artists traditionally do. If we could watch a sculptor work on a new sculpture carved from marble, stone or wood, what do you think we would see? (Think about the last sentence before reading any further - it’s important.) The sculptor visualizes what he/she wants to create. The act of carving away at the raw material is a form of "destructive creation". In the beginning there is only a block of marble, stone or wood. The sculptor must remove all the material that is not needed so that only the finished sculpture remains!

Now think about the way most guitarists write songs. Here is what usually happens with most players, A player will pick up his/her guitar, begins aimlessly improvising with chords, melodies or riffs. This may go on for hours all in the hope to stumble (by accident) onto something that sounds good. If you have tried this, you know that it can take a long time to find something you like and many times you don't like anything you try that day.

The real problem comes after a part (say a verse or a chorus for a song) is created and now he/she will try to connect other (usually unrelated) ideas and make them fit together. Did painters (such as Michelangelo, Rembrandt or Delacroix), paint in this way when they wanted to express themselves (or anything else)? Did they paint something on one side of the canvas or some arbitrary lines or shapes and then paint some other unrelated lines? Modern art sometimes does do this, but we aren't using them as an example here because you can probably write vague music. It is in the fine details and specific descriptions that most musicians need help with.

Of course I do believe virtually any process you use to create music is valid. However the typical way in which guitarists try to create is very limiting and, even worse, tends not to work well for descriptive self expressive purposes.

Stating the obvious:

This paragraph shouldn't be here really since this is just plain common sense for everyone. It is because this idea is so simple that many people completely overlook it. - To be truly self expressive one must actually know what one is trying to express! (sorry for the necessary redundancy that follows here). It is not enough to pick up your guitar. Begin improvising with some riffs, melodies or chord progressions. Then stumble upon some ideas that sound good and assemble those parts into some form of song and say, "I am expressing myself with this music." Yes, of course it was you who wrote the music, but what did you express really? Nothing very specific. Even when you write lyrics for your song, if the music came first, the meaning of the words were not taken into account prior to writing, so the music doesn't really express what the lyrics do. There is nothing wrong with writing music before the lyrics as long as you ask yourself, at all stages during the writing process, "What am I trying to express? What feelings, thoughts, events, etc.?

A comparison of classic popular vocal songs.

Those of you who write vocal music should pay particular attention to this next point. Many vocal songs that have good lyrics often times have mediocre music behind the words. In my opinion, Bob Dylan is a classic example of this (I'm not trying to pick on Bob Dylan, I'm only using a well known example here based on my own observations and opinions of his music.). Listen to the song "Knocking on Heaven's Door". It's a nice song with some decent lyrics. What would happen if you removed the singing/lyrics and only heard the music? It’s pretty boring partly because the chord progression goes on and on and on, and because the chords are the same simple voicings, with a simple rhythm that never really goes anywhere musically.

Listen next to "Stairway to Heaven". The lyrics are equally as good as the Dylan song (maybe better for all you Led Zep fans). What happens if you remove the singing/lyrics from this song? We can still listen to and enjoy some really good songwriting. It doesn't get boring, it's not as repetitive as the Dylan tune, there are more chords with a lot more color to the voicings (notice the cool descending chromatic bass line in the verse (A, G#, G, F#, F) , the texture is more diverse, the articulation (picking and strumming patterns)of the chords is more interesting. There is a great guitar solo. Lots of dynamic contrast and interest. And most importantly the music is much more expressive on its own than the music of the Dylan song when we remove the vocals from each song.

An exercise:

The next time you begin writing a song, try these steps:

1. Choose a topic to write a song about.
2. Write lyrics for the new song (even if you don't like writing lyrics, try it anyway.)
3. Plan out, before you attempt writing actual music, how you will divide the lyrics into sections (verse, chorus, etc.)
4. Consider what types of keys, scales, chords, etc. would best fit the feeling of your lyrics.
5. Keeping all of the above in mind (actually it is best to have all of this written down on paper and keep it in front of you while writing) begin writing (in any method you want).
6. After you have created some possible ideas for your song, ask yourself if these musical parts tend to express what the music is about without the lyrics. In other words, does an instrumental version of your song still express the feel and mood of your topic/lyrics? If it does, that's great! But if not, ask yourself in what ways could you modify your music to make it more descriptive? Try your ideas with a different rhythm, in another key, changing some of the chords, at different dynamic levels, with a thick or thinner texture and density, at different tempos, etc, etc, etc.

What Else?

What else can you do to improve your self expressive songwriting skills? Many things are possible, at the top of my list of recommendations are the following:

1. Take lessons from someone who teaches songwriting / composition. Of course it is usually best if this teacher is familiar with the your musical style. (check out my previous article on Choosing a Teacher.) There is no substitute for learning from someone who has many years of experience and education on the subject!

2. Team up with other songwriters and write some music together using the ideas already discussed above. Working with another writer can be very valuable because you can learn how he/she approaches the same musical situations differently than you do. Other writers often have different ways of finding solutions to compositional problems. By observing and learning from these differences you both can grow.

3. Write music everyday! Mastering writing is the same as mastering anything else, it takes frequent practice to gain the experience. It’s strange to me how many players will practice their instrument everyday, but not practice the art and science of creating (writing) their own music.

4. Don't wait until your physical guitar skills, knowledge of theory, aural skills, etc. is better before writing music. As I just stated above, you must practice writing, just as you would practice anything else in order to improve. You probably know some really good musicians that can play very challenging things on their instrument, but can't write a song.

No matter what styles of music you like, understand and remember that your guitar, and all the musical knowledge you have now (and ever will have) are only tools. YOU are the composer. YOU are the artist. Learn to USE your skills, knowledge and talent because simply acquiring them is not enough.

How To Practice for Maximum Guitar Speed - Part 1

2010-04-08T20:33:00.001+08:00

The scope of this subject is too broad to be fully covered in a single article.

A typical question from a student: What specific strategy should I employ to approach better guitar speed development?

Although my answer varies from guitar player to guitar player, depending on what I know about that guitarist's current abilities and musical goals (among other things), I generally recommend some variation of the following guitar practice strategy:

Stage 1: When first learning a new guitar technique, determine (using a metronome of course) your maximum guitar speed you can play cleanly. Write this speed down on paper in a guitar practice log.

Stage 2: Practice at 20%-35% of your maximum guitar speed. Do this for 5 consecutive practice sessions. Resist the temptation to play faster during this stage. Make sure everything you are practicing is still very clean. There must be NO excessive tension anywhere in your arms, hands, wrists, shoulders, neck, head or anywhere else. Watch to make sure you have no excessive or unnecessary movements in either hand. For some guitarists, this first step is very boring. You MUST remain patient with yourself, and the practicing process, during this time. This is absolutely critical! If you skip this step, you will probably train your hands to play incorrectly, inefficiently and ineffectively. At this stage you are developing the proper muscle memory for this specific guitar technique. If you are currently studying with a great guitar teacher, your progress will be much faster, easier and better than if you attempt to do this on your own. Once you have mastered stage two, you may move on to stage three, but not before! Above I said you should practice this stage for 5 consecutive practice sessions. That is only a general guideline, after the 5th session, reevaluate your progress. If you have not mastered this step, continue practicing that guitar technique at 20%-35% before moving on to stage 3.

Stage 3: Practice at 50% of your maximum guitar speed. Do this for 3 consecutive guitar practice sessions. Again, make sure everything remains very clean. Play relaxed without tension anywhere in your arms, hands, wrists, shoulders, neck, etc. Watch to make sure you have no excessive or unnecessary movements in either hand. Do not move on until this step is mastered (it could take longer than 3 sessions, but do NOT move on to stage 4 before practicing for 3 sessions.

Stage 4: Practice at 60-65% of your maximum guitar speed. Do this for 3 consecutive guitar practice sessions. Again, with total relaxation and economy of motion (no unnecessary movements).

Stage 5: Practice at 80% of your maximum guitar speed. Do this for 5 consecutive practice sessions.

Stage 6: Practice at 85% of your maximum guitar speed for the next (1) practice session only.

Stage 7: Practice at 90% of your maximum guitar speed for the next 10 practice sessions.

Stage 8: DRILL IT! TOTALLY RIPPIN (translation play at 100%) FOR an entire week!

Stage 9: After that week evaluate where your new maximum guitar speed is (it will be higher than when you first measured it in stage 1).

Stage 10: In this stage you will rotate every 3 guitar practice sessions like this: Session 1 = 60%. Session 2 = 85%. Session 3 = 95%. At the end of each practice session DRILL IT (100%) for a few minutes.

Once a week, measure your new maximum guitar speed, and adjust your metronome speeds accordingly.

Warning: NEVER play or practice your guitar in pain. Serious injuries can occur. This is not a joke, I know people personally that have had to have surgeries on their wrists and arms!

8 Steps To Develop A Highly Efficient Practice Schedule

2010-04-08T20:28:00.001+08:00

If you are like most guitar players you sometimes feel frustrated with your guitar playing. You know mastering guitar playing takes a LOT of time, energy and effort. It seems like a huge mountain to climb in order to reach the highly advanced levels of guitar playing. You know that few people who attempt to climb that mountain will actually achieve it… but if you are truly determined to reach these goals you certainly can!

Fact is, one of the biggest reasons why so few people become great guitarists is not because they lack talent, but rather due to not knowing all of the things they need to do or practice in order to reach their goal. People usually have more than enough things to practice (licks, techniques, exercises, scales etc.) but struggle most with creating an overall plan to get them the result they want.

Taking your guitar playing ability from wherever it is right now to exactly where you always dreamed it could be in the shortest amount of time can be done. Having a well-structured (yet flexible) guitar practice regimen is a key first step to do this.

I know… I know… You’ve heard this before, it seems ‘obvious’, so why talk about it again here? …

… Well, unfortunately, many guitarists have misconceptions about having an efficient and effective practice schedule. Others have tried it for a while but either didn’t stick with it, or had an ineffective practice plan to start with.

Have you ever believed any of the following myths?

Effective guitar practicing routines are boring, it takes all the fun out of playing guitar.

I started putting myself on a practice schedule for guitar, but it was hard to stick to it.

Practice schedules are too rigid and they restrict, or put limitations on my creativity.

A guitar practice regimen is too structured for me, I want the freedom to allow myself to drift to random things when playing guitar.

Practice routines for guitar just don’t work. I can make more progress without one.

I can’t stand to practice the same things in the same way each day.

Now think about this:

The truth is, ‘bad’ practice routines DO SUCK! However, efficient, effective and flexible ones have the power to totally transform your guitar playing, musicianship and your creativity in a shorter period of time. Imagine how much better your guitar playing life will be like after you fully reached all of your musical goals!

Good practice regimens won’t hurt your creativity, the opposite is true because you are gaining the tools to become more creative… AND your schedule can include ‘creative time’ to work on writing new songs, improvising, etc.

It’s not boring to practice that which directly relates to the very things you want to achieve as a guitar player and musician. Yes practicing the same exercise for 30 minutes ‘is’ boring, which is why you shouldn’t design a guitar practice schedule in such a way. We want to create a structure that works, not one that will drive you crazy.

You do NOT need to spend all your guitar practice time with a fixed schedule. If you have 90 minutes to practice, invest 45-60 minutes working from your planned guitar practicing regimen. Use the rest of time to freely do whatever you feel like playing that day.

The best routines are NOT the same each day. A good guitar practice workout schedule should be effective, efficient and flexible.

A practice schedule is a roadmap to freedom of being able to play whatever you want! But this doesn’t mean that you don’t have any room to have fun, be creative, and enjoy playing guitar in the process. The only difference is that now you will be enjoying the process more WHILE you get better, and avoid mindlessly playing around on the guitar with no direction or sense of purpose. As a result, it will take you much less time to become the exact kind of excellent guitar player you want to be.

The best way to think about an efficient practice schedule is with an analogy of a map. When you prepare to travel somewhere, you first analyze where you are (Point A), and then prepare the most direct and time efficient route of arriving to your destination (Point B).

8 Steps to Creating Your Own Guitar Practice Routine

Step 1. Get very clear on what your LONG TERM guitar playing / musical goals are. Beware of distractions… there is a big difference between ‘short term goals’ and ‘distractions’. True short-term goals should be consistent with your long-term goals. If they aren’t, then you might be simply distracting yourself from what you really want to achieve as a guitar player and musician. When creating your practice routine, focus mainly on long-term goals.

Step 2. Balance your existing strengths and RELEVANT weaknesses. Seek to turn your strengths into super strengths and ‘only’ work on weaknesses that are truly ‘relevant’ to your goals (see step 4 below).

Step 3. Be realistic about how much time you can practice each day. As mentioned above, you can and should allow ‘free time’ in your schedule to learn, practice, or do other things with your guitar outside of your written guitar practice regimen.

Step 4. You must be 100% sure you really know all the musical elements which are needed to reach your long term goals, AND you need to be clear about which of these elements are the ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ priorities for you to focus on right now in order to reach your specific goals. To get help, I have created a totally free resource for you to use http://tomhess.net/GoalsManifestation.aspx

Step 5. Contrary to popular belief, creativity CAN be taught, learned and practiced. Always include creativity development into your practice schedule (or work on it at least in your free time).

Step 6. Application is key! Be sure to add time each day to work on applying your skills even if you have not mastered them yet! It's a big mistake to work only on mastering something before seeking to apply it.

Step 7. Don’t create the same schedule for each day of the week, your schedule should be based on larger period of time (I use an 8-day practice and learning schedule for my students – works much better compared to a routine that repeats itself each day). Maybe 2, or 3 of the days are the same, but the other days are a little different (yet still based on the above steps mentioned).

Step 8. Create 3-5 different 8-day practice regimens. Use each one twice (16 days) before working with the next one. Be sure that when you create them that each are based on the first 7 steps above.

What’s next?

1. Get committed!

2. Stay committed! Follow through with your plan and watch your guitar playing get better and easier. If you find it hard to stay committed, focus on the ‘reasons’ behind the goals you have set for yourself, in other words, keep in mind “why” you want to reach those goals. How you will feel after you achieve them and are able to be/do/have what you want as a musician.

How To Improve Your Guitar Technique And Play Guitar Clean - Part 1

2010-04-08T20:16:00.002+08:00

Do you want to improve your guitar technique, play guitar clean, eliminate sloppy playing and unwanted string noise? Sloppy guitar technique is a very common problem. Many guitarists have been asking for solutions. This article will help you to play guitar clean and improve your guitar technique.

There are 5 main challenges that electric guitar players must overcome in order to learn and master guitar technique. These 5 guitar technique challenges are divided into 3 groups:

1. Awareness
2. Sounds you 'want' to hear (the notes you are attempting to play clean)
3. Sounds you do ‘not’ want to hear (the sloppy sounds you sometimes hear such as unwanted string noise)

Today we will take a look at the first two groups. In Part 2 of this article series we'll focus on the last group of guitar technique challenges.

Focused Awareness - Many guitar players are not fully aware of every imperfection in their guitar technique. Some of these players do sense that 'something' may be wrong, but are not sure about exactly what their specific guitar technique problems are. Obviously, you cannot effectively correct a technical problem until and unless you know exactly what it is.

There are 2 main ways you can approach this:

1. Record yourself playing a guitar technique you want to improve on. Listen back (carefully) at 25%-33% speed so that you more easily identify any unclear notes, excess string noise, scratchy noises between the notes, inconsistency in your pick attack, etc.). You may or may not be able to hear everything on your own (many people simply can’t yet) and you may or may not be able to ‘correctly’ identify the cause of each imperfection present in your guitar technique. If you can that’s great, but if you’re not sure then…

2. Work with a guitar teacher to evaluate your playing and use that feedback to clean up your guitar playing and improve your guitar technique. Not only will a good guitar teacher help you to play guitar clean by telling you 'what to do', but also because he will hear problems that you may not really be hearing when you play guitar.

IF you have an excellent ear, you should be able to identify the fine details of your problem, if not, work with your guitar teacher.

Articulation - The First Half of Two Hand Synchronization
The second step to improve your guitar technique is to focus on your articulation. Articulation is the first half of two hand synchronization. To play guitar clean you need your hands to fret and pick each note at precisely the same time (simultaneously).

There are 3 critical things you need to do to improve your guitar technique:

1. Use a clean guitar tone when practicing (no distortion and NO effects!). Distortion and effects will mask any imperfections in your articulation, so do not practice with them when focusing on "Articulation" (the rules will change when we talk about "The Release" in the next section).

2. Play loud enough so that you can truly hear what is happening as you are playing.

3. When you are practicing something slowly MAKE SURE that you do NOT change ANYTHING about how you approach and articulate each note. Fact is, most guitar players actually play very differently when playing slow compared to when playing fast. If you change anything in the way you are articulating the notes (such as playing with a lighter touch, using a weaker or stronger pick attack, changing your hand position, pick angle etc.) you will NOT fully improve your guitar technique because the sound you make when playing will be different and therefore harder to detect and identify any problems with your articulation.

The Release - The Second Half of Two Hand Synchronization
The third step toward clean guitar playing is ‘the release’. For most guitar players 'the release' is the hardest problem to detect and correct. That’s generally because once players articulate a note cleanly, they ignore what immediately comes after (small sloppy noise in between the notes or 2 notes slightly ‘bleeding’ together.

And practicing your guitar with a ‘clean’ tone (no distortion) - as described above when focusing on articulation – almost always masks problems in the release phase of playing a note. This is why many people think their guitar playing sounds pretty clean when practicing without distortion but sense something is wrong when later playing with distortion… but they are not sure what the problem is… or worse, they actually do not hear the problem at all (but other people do). This is why focused awareness is so critical.

I use multiple steps to help my guitar students fully solve this problem (not all of which can be fully demonstrated or expressed in an article), but here are the absolutely necessary steps toward correcting problems with ‘the release’.

1. Practice your guitar WITH distortion (but NO EFFECTS!) now. (Notice, this is the exact opposite advice I gave you to identify and correct ‘articulation’ problems above).

2. Again you need to play your guitar loud enough to hear precisely what is coming out of your amplifier (other noises in the room can mask the subtle things you need to be listening for).

3. Practice slow (but as stated above, do NOT change ANYTHING in the way you articulate OR RELEASE a note compared to when you are playing fast!).

4. Listen for any subtle noise in between notes (you will probably notice a ‘scratchy sound’ just before you play the next note). If you have a hard time hearing anything, then record yourself and listen back to the recording at 1/4 or 1/3 speed (I guarantee you will hear this short scratchy sound now!)

5. Now that you know what to listen for, you will probably notice it all the time whenever you listen very carefully… and THEN you are ready to being to correct the problem…

Fact is there can be several reasons why your guitar playing is not clean during the release of a note, but the most common cause is this: When you release a note your brain is probably telling your finger to ‘lift off’ (make an upward motion away from the string you just played). This can cause all sorts of nasty guitar technique problems (fatigue, slower guitar playing speeds, and sloppy guitar playing… among other things).

The solution is to stop your brain from sending your fingers instructions to ‘lift off' of each note and instead to simply ‘relax’. When your finger relaxes it will naturally, immediately and effortlessly ‘release’ the note you just played. There are 2 main benefits to this:

1. Because the motion is effortless, you can play faster and for a much longer time (and most importantly) with greater ease.

2. Because your brain does not give the finger the instruction to make a ‘lift off’ motion this actually prevents your finger from moving (or preparing to move) prematurely (which is a major cause of the sloppy ‘scratchy sound’ that may be present in your guitar playing.

It is now very important to realize two things. First you CAN solve these problems and improve your guitar technique. Second, it won’t happen over night, this will take time and some consistent practice (possibly over several weeks or longer). But the benefits of being able to play guitar clean are well worth the patience required.

In Part 2 of this article series we'll focus on the last group of guitar technique challenges so that you have all 5 key elements to improve your guitar technique and play guitar clean.

If you have a specific question you would like me to answer, ask me at www.rockandpopsongs.blogspot.com

Guitar App for iPhone and iPod Touch

2010-04-08T20:04:00.002+08:00

Do you have an iPhone or iPod Touch? If yes, I suggest you download this guitar app(no charges) that Gibson and Legacy Learning Systems just released. It's already number one in the Music Category for iPhone Apps.

The features:

* Professional chromatic tuner that will allow you to tune any
instrument using the iPhone microphone (or iPod Touch with
microphone attachment). It also has alternate tuning settings.
* Accurate metronome with multiple time signatures.
* Chord library
* Video lessons

Available here:

http://www.guitarchordsmagic.com/newsletter/iphone-guitar.php

Enjoy!