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Posts Tagged ‘guitar’

All My Loving – The Beatles – Bass Guitar (Cover)

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

All My Loving

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    Lead Guitar Riffs: How Do You Create Them?

    Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

    Early on in his career when Jimi Hendrix was playing at one of his gigs, Jeff Beck was leaving the club. When he got outside of the club, he encountered Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend. The riffs that Jimi was playing shocked him so much, that he told them “I think we’re in trouble here!” Jimi certainly had riffs that were amazing.

    If you’ve been a rock fan for any amount of time, then you must have heard some great guitar riffs. right? come on now. I know you have! Some great riffs can be heard with Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” and Eric Claptons “Crossroads”. Jimi Hendrix? yeah! “Purple Haze”. A riff can be formally defined as a sequence of chords or notes that are repeated over again or are used in a guitar solo. Great riffs can bring audiences to their feet and turn every day average songs into timeless tunes. So if you want to be a great lead guitar player that you’ll have to master the art of playing great riffs.

    How do you make a great lead guitar riff? Pretend that you already know your scales. If you don’t then you need to go learn them now. The building blocks to create riffs are….. scales. And if you don’t know your scales and you’re going to have a hard time improvising some kind of a riff. Another alternative is just to try fooling around on your guitar. Just play with random notes until you come up with a combination that sounds good to you. But this approach has limits. You may come up with combinations but there may also be a point where you don’t know what to play. This has happened to me numerous times. So save yourself some time and learn your scales first.

    Then, choose a key and start playing the scales you know in that key. Experiment with minor and major keys until you hit upon a riff that you like. Once you have a riff, add a hook to it. The hook is the part of the riff that captures the listener’s attention. It is catchy and is almost like a melody.

    Good hooks have a secret. That secret is repeatability. And, it should only have just a few notes. One of the secrets of a good hook is its simplicity. It has to be simple and short otherwise you’d be writing an entire new song. If you’re still going through the trouble of making up your own lead guitar riffs, then you might want to start thinking about taking your own formal guitar lessons. A good teacher can give you the right guidance. They can also help you in a huge way with unlocking your creativity.

    Learn more about lead guitar riffs. Stop by Soudai Kunai’s site where you can find out all about lead guitar lessons and what they can do for you.


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    Bass Guitar Hand Exercises

    Monday, August 30th, 2010

    This video is for exercising both hands for playing the bass or really even guitar.

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      Rock Out Like Your Favorite Metal Gods With Metal Guitar Lessons

      Sunday, August 29th, 2010

      The position of first heavy metal artist belongs to Alice Cooper when he was with a band called The Spiders in 1965. Now its nothing to hear bunches of metal guitarists. A few are VanHalen, Slash and Kirk Hammett.

      Now you might be a very good lead guitarist , but are you a good heavy metal guitarist? And do you have what it takes? Heavy metal uses a whole range of techniques which are different from regular lead guitar, and you have to be familiar with them if you want to play in a heavy metal band.

      What are these techniques? Well, how about Power Chords. Fast Picking. Palm Muting. And if you don’t know how to use these, then its time for some fast learning. The only other alternative is to take some metal guitar lessons before you even consider putting your foot on the stage with a metal band. So let me help you out for a few minutes, and show you a little more about these techniques.

      Power Chords. They are fundamental to all heavy metal music. How do you make them? Two notes are played simultaneously. This results in a chord that sounds really good under distortion, which is an essential part of heavy metal music. Because there is only two fingers involved, this gives you an edge with chord changes. When the music is moving fast, which is most of the time, you’ll have a big advantage of being able to keep up with the changes.

      However, because these chords have no minor/major tensions, you have to be really inventive when it comes to using these chords. Power chords are an essential tool in your toolbox as you pickup tricks in your metal guitar lessons. And once you’ve gotten power chords down pat, then you can start making some very nice metal riffs.

      Palm muting is next. Its a technique that all heavy metal guitarists use, whether death metal, metalcore or thrash. When you palm mute, you subdue the sound of the guitar slightly by using the edge of your picking hand, while simultaneously continuing to pick the chord. The secret is to apply just the right pressure to the strings to get the sound you want. You can experiment by moving your hand closer or farther from the bridge.

      When you are taking metal guitar lessons, you’ll have a guide to help you in the right techniques. They’ll also correct you when you’re doing it wrong. A good teacher will show you hard to find secrets and help you discover some of your own tricks. With the right lessons, you can be flying on the guitar in no time!

      Want to find out more about metal guitar lessons, then visit Soudai Kunai’s site on how to choose the best lead guitar lessons for your needs.


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      Learn Acoustic Guitar Effortlessly And Rapidly Using All Of These Fantastic Lessons

      Sunday, August 29th, 2010

      When you take the decision to learn acoustic guitar a number of things become very important for your eventual success and in this article we?re going to take a look at what some of those factors are.

      If you?ve spent some time surfing the Web looking for sites offering lessons to learn to play acoustic guitar then you probably already know that there are hundreds of thousands of them. The quality can vary quite substantially so you need to be prepared to conduct your own research in order to find the guitar lessons which suit you best.

      The way to maximize the effectiveness of any program teaching you how to play is to make sure that you understand how to practice properly, without this essential skill your chances of failure more than double.

      The guitar is one of the easiest instruments to start to learn to play but it?s also extremely hard to fully master. Learning acoustic guitar involves a lot of patience, the motivation to sustain your practice over an extended period of time and a love of music.

      All good quality online acoustic guitar lessons will teach you those things as a priority.

      Don?t fall into the trap of thinking you need an expensive guitar in order to play your favourite songs to a high standard. It?s much more important to make sure that your guitar will tune up correctly and that it has a low action.

      One off the most common questions asked by beginners is ?How long will it take me to learn to play acoustic guitar??

      Most students of average ability will take less than four weeks to fully learn all of their basic open guitar chords and anywhere up to a year to learn how to play acoustic guitar songs fluently and with a high level of confidence.

      Try not to criticize yourself and think that you have no talent for playing guitar just because you are not improving as fast as you would like. Anything worthwhile takes time and learning this instrument is really nothing more than regular practice with good quality acoustic guitar lessons.

      Beginning Acoustic Guitar Knowing how to correctly tune your guitar is very important when learning to play. The best way to learn guitar is by following a great guitar program. Give yourself the easiest time learning guitar with this brilliant new guitar method.

      categories: guitar,music,arts,entertainment,hobby,hobbies,recreation,leisure,how to

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      Beginner Bass Guitar Lesson: Blues Basics

      Sunday, August 29th, 2010

      View tabs @ www.freeguitarvideos.com Learn how to play a few simple blues bass lines of a jam track from the Let’s Jam for Bass by Watch & Learn

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      Jamplay Guitar Lessons – The Things “Reviews” Leave Out

      Saturday, August 28th, 2010

      Of course every website you go to that talks about Jamplay guitar lessons is going to have rave reviews. This is because people get paid to promote it, this is no secret.

      But if you truly want to make an informed decision, you have to consider both the positives and negatives.

      Now, just so you know, Jamplay has some incredible features and are an incredible choice if you want to learn the electric guitar. However, we all know that no product is perfect.

      Here are the negatives in my opinion:

      1. Information overload – almost every guitar membership site can be overwhelming because of the pure volume of information. There are literally thousands of videos and lessons and it is easy to get lost.

      Jamplay is no different – there is a ton of great content. Stay focused on the lesson plan provided and you should be fine. But make sure not to get too distracted by everything else on the site or you can get lost really fast.

      2. The forums – forums are not negative per se because you can learn a lot from other members and get your questions answered. The issue with the forums is that you can spend countless hours reading and writing posts that you don’t do what you are there to do – learn to play the guitar.

      Again, stay focused on why you joined the site and this should keep you from getting too overwhelmed with the forums.

      3. Lack of private instruction – with Jamplay, like all online guitar sites, you do not have private one-on-one instruction.

      You do have the option, however, to submit your questions to the instructors and have them answered via video.

      This could be a negative for you if you need that personal, hand-holding approach. But there’s a trade-off. Private instruction can be pricey compared to an online membership site. Private instruction can be as much as $50 per hour, whereas a good membership site is less than 50 cents per day.

      So, before you start with Jamplay guitar lessons, make your you consider both the positives and negatives.

      Want to find out more about Jamplay guitar lessons, then visit Chad O’Connor’s site on how to choose the best online guitar course for your needs.


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      Learn to play Bass guitar two hand tapping pull off technique lesson ala Stu Hamm

      Friday, August 27th, 2010

      www.nextlevelguitar.com Click thelink above to receive free exclusive videos, newsletters, and lots more free guitar and music goodies from Next Level Guitar. In this bass lesson video we teach a cool two handed tapping technique with a fun riff Many more full on video lessons at the full on video instructional website at: www.nextlevelguitar.com

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      Lead Guitar Lessons: Vital To Becoming A Guitar Virtuoso

      Thursday, August 26th, 2010

      Steve Vai first heard “Heartbreaker” from Led Zeppelin when his sister brought the album to his house. That was it. “When I heard “Heartbreaker” and that solo…I knew I wanted to play guitar!”. Oh yeah!. He plays alright! But did he take lessons? I have no idea, but I can assure you of this… at the minimum, he taught himself lessons!

      How important is it to take lead guitar lessons? It really depends on how motivated you are. Many of the greatest lead guitarists had little or no formal music education. George Harrison, for example, took only a few formal lessons and learned mainly by listening to, analyzing and then imitating the styles of his idols such as Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins. However, for majority of the people who would like to become lead guitarists, taking formal lessons is really important. You can learn what you need to, in order to become a good guitarist without a time-consuming trial and error process. And having an actual teacher to criticize your playing can motivate you to play better, avoid common mistakes of beginners and pick up a few handy tricks along the way. In short, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by signing up for lessons.

      Ok, so you know lead guitar lessons are important. What can you expect to learn from them? First, check out scales. So once you’ve mastered the notes of the scales, you can then play just about any guitar piece. And improvising with other guitarists like Carlos Santana, are a breeze. The scales you’ll want to learn include the major and minor Pentatonic Scale, which has five notes, and the Blues Scale, which has all the notes of the Pentatonic Scale but also has an extra note to give it that blues sound.

      While it seems boring to be practicing scales when you’re wanting to play whole songs and blazing solos, practicing will help you become a truly good musician. After mastering the scales, you can start mastering various techniques to make your solo playing sound better. These include slides, that you can change notes with, by sliding your finger from one fret to the next, vibratos which require bending the string slightly to make the pitch of the note you’re playing to flutter or waver slightly and string bending, in which you make the note rise in pitch by pushing or pulling the guitar string.

      A good teacher along with good lead guitar lessons can help shape you into the guitar virtuoso you’ve always dreamed of becoming. When I first learned guitar, I took lessons, but I didn’t want to go. Wasn’t motivated. But I still went ahead. And it was the best thing in the world for me.

      Learn more about Lead Guitar Lessons. Stop by Soudai Kunai’s site where you can find out all about guitar lessons and what it can do for you.


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      Lead Guitar Solos: A Few Essential Facts

      Thursday, August 26th, 2010

      Ever heard the guitar solo on Michael Jacksons “Beat It”? It was Eddie Van Halen doing that phenomenal solo. While it might seem cool to play lead guitar solos in a band, its important to know what function you have in the band, so you can contribute to the group performance. In Eddies case, he was contributing to Michaels project with his solos.

      Now Eddie as been a great lead guitarist. Lead guitar is different than rhythm guitar and you need to distinguish the two from each other. Rhythm guitarists are the ones who provide structure to the song with support to the lead singer’s vocals. They also are contributors to the band’s songwriting process with their mastery of rhythm. On the other hand, lead guitarists, like Eddie, play solos for songs and use the rhythm guitarist’s work as a background foundation for their own.

      Let me give you an example. Take lead guitarists like Paul Gilbert, Greg Howe, George Harrison of the Beatles and Jimmy Page. Here are a few rhythm guitarists. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and John Lennon of the Beatles. Singer-songwriters such as Bryan Adams, Avril Lavigne, and Bono of U2 are also known lead guitarists.

      The playing styles of lead guitar solos also differ significantly from those of rhythm guitar solos. Rhythm guitarists mainly use chords and strum their guitars while lead guitarists focus on solo-string playing and solo using plucking. The best guitarists should ideally be able to play both roles in the band, especially if they are the lead singers.

      When you are learning to play lead guitar solos it’s critical to master the scales, since the notes will be the building blocks that you will use to improvise.. The major scales that you want to focus on are the Pentatonic Scales and the Blues Scale. Also, make it a point to study the different styles of lead guitarists you like. And don’t forget to keep getting your inspiration from them until you begin to develop a style of your own.

      One cool exercise for noob lead guitarist is download a MIDI file of a song that has a strong guitar solo, such as “Jump” by Van Halen or “Sultans of Swing” by Dire Straits. Then mute the solo guitar track and record your own playing over it. Practice the solo over and over again until you feel that you’re no longer just imitating the original but playing the solo in your own style.

      Learn more about Lead Guitar Solos. Stop by Soudai Kunai’s site where you can find out all about lead guitar lessons and what they can do for you.


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      Learn To Play The Electric Guitar – 3 Strategies To End Up A Electric Guitar God

      Thursday, August 26th, 2010

      I know exactly why you wish to learn to play the electric guitar. I know that mainly because I was the exact same way. You would like to play since there exists no more desirable sensation in the entire world than to impress other people simply by performing a couple of of your favorite riffs!

      It is really an phenomenal experience any time you begin to piece together the actual chords and produce real jams. And then the rush you get by performing a few tunes is honestly out of this world.

      And so, exactly how do you learn to play the electric guitar in the easiest way possible and become a guitar God? Below are 3 techniques to kick start your advancement:

      1. Understand the fundamental chords – this process, in my personal opinion, is the most uninteresting element! However, it really is important. You have to master the primary chords when you wish to learn to play the electric guitar. What I initially did was use a book in order to find out how to read the chords and how to position my hands and fingers. Major slip-up – learning by looking at a book was terrible mainly because I had not any reference point, merely a few photos of the chords. I never knew if my hands and fingers ended up being placed the right way or if the sound was correct. You’re substantially better off either buying a DVD or joining one of the online electric guitar courses so you can discover just what the heck to do.

      2. Practice, train, practice – yes, I realize you hear that most the time, “if you wish to learn to play the electric guitar, you have to train!” Plus training is simply no fun – you just simply hope you might pick up the guitar and begin playing. But it is not likely that simple my friend. Do you think that Angus Young, Joe Satriani, or even Eddie Van Halen just simply one day picked up the electric guitar, practiced a few chords and became a rock superstar? Nah, didn’t happen. You have got to set aside some time just about every single day to train to get the chords exact and the fingers working. The more you put into practice, the sooner you are going to turn into a electric guitar Superstar.

      3. Perform along using tracks – when you get the fundamental chords down and you rehearse to where you will be able to proceed from one note to the next easily, get started actively playing along with your favorite tunes. Get a number of jam tracks to perform alongside with. By doing so, 1) you will certainly get better and more effective, and 2) you will have a heck of a lot greater fun. You will really begin to learn to play the electric guitar at an more rapid pace once you begin jamming along to some songs.

      Following these three things, the sky is the limit actually since you can certainly start to master hammer-ons, pull-offs, bending and pinch harmonics (in the event you are into rock or metal) or maybe you could learn about a number of picking approaches as well as work on your speed to acquire that smooth, rocking sound.

      You truly have got no reason NOT to grow to be a Electric guitar God. Get off your tail and learn to play the electric guitar by using several amazing, free video tutorials at http://www.learnelectricguitaronline.net and in no time you can be the envy of all of your friends!


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      Things To Know Before Buying The Epiphone Dot Studio

      Thursday, August 26th, 2010

      The quality of budget price guitars has risen considerably in the recent past, to the point that it is becoming harder and harder to justify spending big bucks on a so-called high-end guitar. Oftentimes nowadays, these cheap guitars provide the same kind of performance and sound quality as do guitars priced several hundred dollars more. The high quality of sound, craftsmanship, intonation, and pickups that characterize the Epiphone Dot Studio guitar make this model a case in point when talking about the improved quality of low-cost guitars these days.

      The Dot Studio guitar has an suggested retail price of four hundred and ninety-nine dollars, although it is easy to find one for around two hundred and fifty dollars depending on the finish you desire. This is a decent bargain when you consider the performance value of the Dot Studio.

      Playing the Dot is a happy experience as the guitar’s thoughtfully designed body is easy to handle and comfortable to hold. The guitar seems to meld with the player, become one with the player. The Dot’s neck is thick and solid enough to provide a confident feel and strong handling, but it isn’t so big as to limit the players range of motion when playing chords or attempting some fast finger movements.

      The construction quality of the Dot cannot be beat, especially for the price it is offered at. The jet black finish (one of several finish options) is a joy to behold: simple and unpretentious yet dazzling and sleek. All the details of the craftsmanship are impeccable, from the stout knobs to the well-finished frets. Perhaps the only objection that some people might have is the Epiphone sticker that is visible in the f-hole which messes with the guitar’s smooth, clean lines.

      The Dot produces a sound that is ethereal and clean without being weak or diffident. The sound is strong and assured. You can play just about any type of music with the Dot, anything from pop to punk to progressive rock. It is a little limited, however, in its ability to produce the swampy, foggy sound often used in old school jazz tunes.

      So, the next time you’re considering shelling out a bunch of bills for a high-end guitar, consider the Epiphone Dot studio guitar instead. The price can’t be beat, and the performance value is nearly on par with a lot of other, much more expensive guitars out there. Good luck and happy playing!

      Thinking of buying the Epiphone Dot Studio guitar? Before you purchase one, make sure you take a look at my website and read my Epiphone Dot Studio semi-hollow guitar review.

      categories: epiphone dot studio,epiphone,guitar

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      Lead Guitar Scales: Become A Master Soloist By Learning These

      Thursday, August 26th, 2010

      If you want to hear someone who knows their scales…. Check out Paul Gilbert. You will never be the same after you hear him play scales. While learning lead guitar scales can be boring, it is absolutely important for you to master them. Once you have, you can easily learn to play any lead guitar part, from any musical genre.

      There are a number of ways you can learn guitar scales but some of the major ones include the pentatonic scale and the major scale. The pentatonic scale is one of the most important lead guitar scales, since mastering the minor and major pentatonic scales covers virtually every playing situation you may encounter. In technical terms, a pentatonic scale is a musical scale that is made up of just five notes.

      To get started with the Minor Pentatonic, pick a string on your guitar. Any string. On that string, choose a fret, and play the note. Next, move your finger up three frets. Play that note. Doing good! Next, move your finger up two frets. Play the note. And now move up two more frets. Play that note. Next, move your finger up three more frets. Play that note. Ok, one more….move up two frets. Play this note. When you play it.. it should sound about the same as the first note you played. This is the octave of that very first note.

      Once you’ve mastered this pattern you can use it to play the minor pentatonic scale anywhere on your guitar. Also, you can use this pattern to play the major pentatonic scale. The only thing though, is you will begin on the second note of the pattern. When you use major scales to learn lead guitar scales, you will be using all seven notes rather than just the five of the pentatonic scale. Keep in mind that you should always keep your fretting fingers in the right position when playing major scales.

      One technique for learning major scales is to play three notes per string; doing so will also increase the speed of your playing once you’ve mastered it. Begin with the sixth string, use the first, third and fourth fingers for fretting and position them separated by one fret. Strum downwards, then upwards and then downwards again. Repeat with the fifth string but play up, then down and then up again.

      When you move to the fourth string, shift your first finger one fret downwards but keep the other fingers in the same position; stay in the same position for the third string, then on the second string, shift again with the first finger moving one fret downward, the third finger two frets downward and the fourth finger one fret below that. Play and maintain the same position for the last string. Throughout, continue to alternate picking patterns.

      Want to find out more about Lead Guitar Scales, then visit Soudai Kunai’s site on how to learn lead guitar lessons.

      categories: lead guitar,guitar riffs,guitar,music

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      How to play bass guitar technique lesson on thumb position and tone Fender bass

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

      www.nextlevelguitar.com Click thelink above to receive free exclusive videos, newsletters, and lots more free guitar and music goodies from Next Level Guitar. In this video we have a beginner bass guitar lesson on the various thumb positions and different tones you can get. Many more full on video lessons at the full on video instructional website at: www.nextlevelguitar.com

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      Learn Guitar Solos: Mastering The Basics Enables You To Easily Learn

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

      Bet you didn’t know that Eric Clapton plays the solo on the Beatles song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. I think it’s one of the most memorable solos in rock. There’s really no way around it; if you want to learn guitar solos like that, then you have to practice your scales. And while learning chords will enable you to begin playing songs at once, you really have to master scales if you want to play solo like your guitar heroes.

      But scales are just something else! If there ever was an important scale that needed to be mastered.. it would be the Blues Scale. Its one of the critical scales to know. It’s a scale with a little change from most other scales. That change is one little extra note. Its called the “blues note”. After you’ve mastered the Blues Scale, you’ll now have the tools to master many tunes out there. And improvisation will come more naturally to you. Your solos will take on a different feeling. With all of that behind us, lets try some things out.

      So lets figure out how to play a basic Blues Scale that will help you easily learn guitar solos. Start out with your first finger pressing down on all six strings. Now put your second finger on the fifth string, the third finger on the third, fourth and fifth string. Now put your fourth finger on the first, second, third and sixth string..

      Next, play this scale forwards and backwards. Make sure you alternate pick: that means pick downwards and then upwards. Doodle around with it for a bit and give yourself a challenge. Now once you’ve mastered this little gem, you can start to learn guitar solos a little quicker .You do it by using the different notes you’ve learned from the scale (put them together in different combinations, and you’ve developed your own “licks”.

      And now, you might want to go even further and learn different positions of the various scales. This will give you huge variations in your solos. Just pick a lick and you’re off and running with a cool solo! You can also start playing around with different techniques to make your solos sound better. For instance, slides, vibratos and other stuff like half step bends. A little shredding wouldn’t hurt either! Ok, maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Taking things even a little further, go online and try playing some of the licks you like… and play along with them. Something I used to do was just play some music on the radio, or an mp3 file, and start jamming to it.

      And when improvising, try avoiding the common mistake of playing too many notes. Someone once told me that some of the best notes played, are the notes you don’t play. Some of the best guitarists aren’t after impressing the audience with virtuosity. They just want to communicate a feeling by using their playing.

      Want to find out more about how to Learn Guitar Solos, then visit Soudai Kunai’s site on how to choose the best lead guitar lessons for your needs.


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