Better Guitar - Guitar Songs You Should Learn. There are certain songs that every guitar player should try to learn. Either they are commonly requested or they have cool guitar parts that will expand your playing skills. I am going to list songs in several styles of music and explain why I think they should be add to your “play list.” While most are electric guitar songs, there are some acoustic songs also. Obviously, this type of list won’t ever be comprehensive, and no doubt, many will disagree with my choices — and find many ommissions. But I have choosen songs I think are worth learning. This is a huge list and will take most players years to complete (if ever.) Johnny B. 12 Ways How to Transcribe What You Hear. Photo from Istockphoto Wouldn’t it be great if you could figure out the chords, the melody and the rhythm of a song on your own if you were without sheet music and you needed it right away?
Of course that would be awesome! Well, it’s happening… Right here, right now! The key to becoming an amazing guitar player and musician is transcribing music. Here are 12 ways to develop this wonderful skill. 2. 3. Play a Bb or F barre chord and move it up the fretboard a half step at a time, listen carefully until you find the right chord. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. If you like this post, please share it on Stumbleupon. 21 Cool 3 Notes-Per-String Exercises to Rock On! Photo by Jsome1 Playing 3 notes per string exercises is something I do on a regular basis. I use them to warm up, to become a faster guitar player and to spice up my improvisation. 3 notes per string licks and scales are generally used for speed picking.
Whenever you hear a guitar player playing these really fast terrifying licks, it’s probably a 3 notes per string lick. Paul Gilbert of Mr.Big is one of many great experts in this field. If you practice these exercises properly and often enough you will increase your speed. Because of the 3 notes per string technique it will create a particular cool sound once you will start playing faster. The 3 notes per string exercises are played using the alternate picking technique. Once you get the hang of it, it can become quite addictive, but be careful though. The one and only reason why these monster guitar players become so incredibly fast is that they practice long hours for days, weeks, months and years. 10 Essentials On Guitar Improvisation. Photo by Simone13 AKA John Pastorello Besides writing and playing songs I just love improvising.
When I practice improvising I always first pour myself a cup of green tea, I put on some folk music (e.g. Ray La Montagne, Damien Rice, Stephen Fretwell, Glen Hansard, Sheryl Crow, etc.) on Last.fm or Spotify.com and then I start to improvise over these songs. I get totally caught up in the moment and let my fingers carry me away. Other times I practice melodic patterns, triads, arpeggios, licks, everything that will spice up my improvisation skills. Improvising is one of the most fun and fulfilling aspects of guitar playing, but also something that requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Here are 10 basic essentials that will help you become a better improviser. 1 – Pentatonics / blues Learn to play the pentatonic/blues scale all over the neck in all five shapes. 2 – Major Scale Next to the pentatonic scale, the major scale is the most important scale to learn. 3- Melodic patterns Example:
The 5 Pentatonic Scale Shapes You Must Know. Learn The Guitar Fingerboard Thoroughly in 16 Days. Photo by John W. Tuggle If I have to name two things that took my guitar playing to the next level I would say music theory and memorizing the fingerboard. It made me understand the big picture. Combining music theory (understanding scales, modes, chord structure, improvising over chord progressions, etc, etc.) and knowing all the notes on the fingerboard will open up a whole new world. Guitar playing becomes more fun when you know what, when en where to play it on the fingerboard. When you want to know where to play any type of chord shape instantly it’s pretty helpful if know the notes. To know the name of the chord you need to know all the notes on the low E-string. A Bb major chord shape (x13331) can also be played on any fret. To know the name of this Esus2 chord shape: (xx2452) on any fret you need to know the notes on the D-string.
The same applies to scale shapes, triads, arpeggios, licks, etc. Here’s how you do it: First things first. Example 1: A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G# A. 6 Cool Guitar Blues Turn Arounds in the key of E. Photo by Steve Garry A good blues turnaround is the icing on the cake of every blues progression. I always beg, borrow, steal and create my own nice sweet sounding turnarounds to add that extra magic when I’m playing a blues song. It’s one of the things that makes the blues sound so cool. Blues turnarounds are played at the end of a section of a blues progression which then leads to the next section or the end of the song. To get a good impression of how turnarounds are played listen to blues guitar players like B.B King, Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton and study theirs.
Tip: Every time you play the blues try to play a different turnaround, so you don’t end up playing the same turnaround ten years from now. It’s easy to fall into that trap. Enjoy these 6 turnarounds to spice up your blues: Have a great one! Finger Strength Exercises For Guitar.