'Whole Lotta Love' by Led Zeppelin

Guitar Lesson: Secret Things You Learn When You Practice On Your Guitar

I guess you practice on your guitar in the hope of becoming a better guitarist with the joy that follows. However, many learning processes are active when you practice on your guitar.

After reading this article I hope you will be more aware of factors that can limit your progress as a guitarist and that your guitar practice sessions will be more effective.

At times when you practice on your guitar you might find that you are nervous and don’t feel too good because you feel forced to play due to a guitar lesson coming up.

You feel that you haven’t done your homework or maybe other negative feelings are present for some reason.

The feelings you have when you practice a certain piece of music have a tendency to be evoked anew when you play the piece at another occasion.

Can tensions stick to your sheet music? Yes, in a way at least.

My experience, also confirmed when reading about this topic, is that your actual tension level when playing a musical composition on your guitar also tends to be present when you play the same piece of music in public.

In short, it will be harder to perform a piece of music in a relaxed way when you have practiced it with too much tension.

Can you learn not to play a piece of music on your guitar?

Well, You practice on your guitar in order to become a better player and maybe to learn a piece of music that you like.

The fact is that if you don’t concentrate on your guitar playing you can make a lot of mistakes when trying to learn a piece of music. These mistakes tend to slow down the learning process, or rather, they will be a part of the learning process.

The more times you make mistakes playing a particular passage on your guitar the harder it will be for you to play it right because of those earlier mistakes trying to get your attention!

Can the secret learning processes become your friends?

Can you actually use these principles to your advantage? Yes and yes! In accordance with the before mentioned dangers when practicing you can:

1. Make your guitar practicing sessions to joyful and peaceful moments in your life. The joy will follow your music to your listeners.

2. Always practice a new piece of guitar music slowly so that you can play it with a minimum of tension and with correct posture.

3. Once again, practice slowly! Then you will be able to practice a guitar piece without mistakes and you will learn faster and feel better.

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free sheet music and learn to play resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com

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Jack Johnson - Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Don't get bullied into guitar lessons

The first thing you need to do is ignore the fear mongers. Fear mongers are those people that want to scare you into believing that their guitar lessons DVD or CD or whatever is the only good one, because all the other guitar lessons are rubbish. They'll tell you that they've tried them, and strongly imply that unless you buy their particular product, or group of products, that you'll be getting ripped off. Sure, their guitar lessons may be good, in fact they may even be excellent, but I personally have a problem with buying from someone who wants to scare me into a purchase.

While it may be true that some guitar lessons products will not be as good as others, I think that if you stick to a few guidelines, your chances of getting some decent quality guitar lessons should improve drastically.

Things to look for in guitar lessons.

Some of these pointers may seem obvious, but very often it's so obvious we don't even take note when it's not there. I am a strong believer in video as an important tool to learn how to play guitar, be it guitar lessons on DVD or an online guitar course. Anyway, here goes.

1. The person giving the course should have good experience at teaching students one on one. This isn't something you can actually go and verify, so if they say they did, mostly you'll just have to take their word for it. If they neglect to tell you this, then maybe be a little suspicious.
2. The person or company offering the guitar course should at least give some sample lessons so you can check the quality of the product. Learning to play the guitar is not something that everyone will be great at, so it's a good idea to get something to start with and see if you're going to make a success of it.
3. Good contact information is always a plus, especially if they're willing to discuss the actual lesson you might have a problem understanding. Better still is if they have online chat so you can get your questions answered in real time. The better access they offer, the more you know they're serious about giving you the best guitar lessons they can.
4. Extra tools and songs to practice to often indicate a better guitar lessons course. Some of the biggest advances for myself as a guitarist, have come from playing cover versions in a band. Admittedly, on a DVD or CD there's no real band, but practice songs with good backing tracks can help a lot with getting the timing and feel of a lesson right.
5. The money back guarantee. This is common practice amongst vendors selling digital products on the Internet. At least a 30 day money back guarantee should be expected.
6. There should be a good deal of music theory involved with the guitar lessons, although most people are more interested in playing the guitar than worrying about the theory behind what they're learning to play. Getting a good understanding of why things work the way they do, will make you a better musician.
7. Learning to read music should be part of the course. Although not everyone who learns to play guitar necessarily wants to learn how to read music, it's always a good thing to have the resources there for those who do, and because sooner or later you're going to want to know a little about it.
8. A lesson on Tablature, or Tab, as it's often called. Learning how to read Tab will open up a whole new doorway to songs and guitar pieces available for free on the internet. Tab is a simplified way of reading music that is geared specifically towards the guitar.

By the way, the fretboard is not locked. You might have seen that advert that says, unlock the fretboard in one weekend. Learning to play the guitar is a bit more than one weekends worth. The guy might have a good product, and sure, there are ways to speed up the learning curve, which is what I think he actually means. I can't say for sure because I haven't bought the product, but most people struggle at first because their hands take time to get accustomed to the guitar, and our delicate little fingertips get blisters from pressing the strings.

If you're going to learn to play guitar, I would advise buying a fairly decent guitar to start with, as this alleviates a lot of unnecessary pain and frustration. You may become one of the worlds greatest guitarists someday, if you don't give up.

Andrew Webber is a full time guitarist and recording musician. Make your guitar lessons decision simpler, visit his recommended guitar lessons page.

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100 Rock Guitar Riffs

Basic Or Advanced Guitar Lessons

A lot of beginning musicians out there have an internal battle whether to pay for basic or advanced guitar lessons in person by a local guitar player or just simply trying to teach themselves. There are a lot of different options out there for beginning guitar players and it is an overwhelming process just to get started. Some people might prefer to learn by example so the best choice for them would be to get guitar lessons from a local teacher or player. Those who want to learn at their own pace will probably be more interested in turning to instructional DVD's and online websites to learn what they need to know for their guitar lessons.

Recently, more people have actually been turning to the internet for their basic or advanced guitar lessons because of the variety of styles that different people use to teach. Lessons can also be found in text in simple websites, on instructional websites with handy tools like online tuners, forums for players to interact with each other and then there are some websites out there that offer video tutorials of various types of playing techniques. There really is something out there to learn for anyone interested in any genre imaginable.

While some of these basic or advanced guitar lessons websites charge a fee, there are several out there that are free that offer many of the same aspects and content. One big reasons that a lot of beginning guitar players turn to the internet for their guitar lessons is that many of these sites also offer many tips and tricks in special sections of their websites. These tips usually include how to play using hammer-on and hammer-offs as well as string bending to provide the best sound possible for your particular guitar.

Also provided on many basic or advanced guitar lessons websites are sections on how to care for your guitar. Many beginners are so interested in actually playing their guitar that they forget the basic common sense rules to make sure their guitar is in tune and that it is properly taken care of before, during and after play. By taking proper care of your guitar you will be able to take full advantage of any guitar lessons you might find and be interested in along your musical journey.

To find out more about basic or advanced guitar lessons you can find this easy to use resource Basic or Advanced Guitar Lessons

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Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton

Minor Blues Chord Progressions

Green Day Guitar Lesson

Learn Guitar - From Guitar Hero to Real Guitar With Inexpensive GuitarPort Online Package From Line6

I just spent the day in tonal heaven. My Line 6 GuitarPort Online bundle just arrived today - approximately one week after ordering. This may be the ideal tool for raising your musical experience from the toy world of Guitar Hero the game, to being a real guitar hero in your own right.

So what is the Line 6 GuitarPort Online bundle, you ask? It is a combination of hardware, software, and online service, that combine into a complete guitar learning, performance, and recording system. The current price of entry to this soup-to-nuts system is less than $30.00 US!

In order to gain an understanding of all that is included, let's talk about each element of the system separately. We'll start with the hardware. Included in the box is the Line 6 TonePort DI Silver. This is a small, solidly built metal unit measures about 6"x4"x2", sitting comfortably on your desktop. The front panel has a 1/4" jack for plugging in your guitar, bass or other instrument, a Pad switch for lowering the gain (good for instruments with active or other high output pickups), and a volume control for the direct monitoring function. The rear panel has a USB jack for connecting to your computer, a 1/4" stereo headphone jack, a 1/4" DI Out jack, and a pair of 1/4" Analog outputs. This is, in essence, a 1 in, 2 out computer audio interface, specifically tailored to be convenient for guitarists and bassists.

The software consists of GearBox and Line 6 Monkey. Monkey is a handy utility that connects to Line 6's servers, and provides a centralized interface to check all aspects of the system for possible software and firmware updates, and simplify the upgrade process.

GearBox is where the rubber hits the road. This is a fairly full-featured 'amp sim', that contains models of most classic amps and FX you might care to name. These are all rendered as quite convincing emulations of the expected Marshalls, tweed and blackface Fenders, Mesas, Voxes, Soldanos, Jazz Choruses, etc. Also included are Bass amp sims like both SVT and B-15 from Ampeg, Eden, GK, etc. Also included are emulations of API, Neve, and other preamps, as well as a number of Line 6 models.

GearBox also includes all the speaker cabinet models that one would expect to mix and match with the above amps, in configurations from 1x6 through several 4x12's. Also included are a full array of modeled microphones such as Shure SM57, Sennheiser 421, Neumann U67, EV RE-20, AKG D112, and Telefunken U-47.

GearBox also has a full complement of stompbox effect emulations. Included in these are a gate, volume pedal, wah pedal, distortions, fuzzes, and overdrives, compressors and de-essors, equalizers, chorus, flanger, univibe, tremolo, phaser, Leslie, delays, echos, and reverbs.

Also included is an accurate, full-function chromatic tuner.

GearBox can be used either as a standalone application, or as a VST plugin within a host application such as Logic, Sonar, Pro Tools, Cubase, or other DAW. In the standalone application, one could listen to their performance through headphones, or even run the main stereo output from the TonePort DI-S to a massive PA system for concert applications.

The third component of GuitarPort Online bundle is the hosted service. The $29.95 initial cost includes a three months subscription to GuitarPort Online. This is an Internet service tailored as a tool for guitar players to learn new songs and nail not only the performances, but also the tones of scads of great guitar songs. Included are patches for your GearBox, accurate Tablature of the guitar portions of the tunes, and full recordings of the tunes -- in variations of complete arrangements, the complete arrangement minus the lead/main guitars (where you play these parts in real time), complete arrangement minus bass, and complete arrangement minus all guitars.These arrangements are all faithful performances of the original hits -- and some, such as a number of Jimi Hendrix tunes, are actually from the original performers!

The following are some of the wonderful learning resources contained in the online component:

You get full lessons for over 400 songs. GuitarPort Online teaches you both music theory and hot songs in genres from blues to jazz to metal to classic rock and modern rock. GuitarPort has hundreds of accurate guitar and bass tabs for songs by top artists such as All American Rejects, Allman Brothers, BB King, The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Black Sabbath, Johnny Cash, Coldplay, Alice Cooper, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Al diMeola, Fall Out Boy, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Johnson, King Crimson, Kiss, Albert Lee, Linkin Park, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Marley, Modest Mouse, Motley Crue, Muddy Waters, Pantera, Pink Floyd, P.O.D., Ramones, Rush, Joe Satriani, Scorpions, Soundgarden, System Of A Down, Joe Walsh, Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and ZZ Top.

Fully-Produced Songs to Play Along With. These aren't cheesy-sounding, inaccurate, freebie MIDI jam tracks. You can listen to and play along with the full arrangement, or with lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, or all guitars removed. Your guitar playing is automatically mixed with the band, allowing you to replace your favorite guitar heroes on their greatest hits.

Lessons on specific topics -- such as chord progressions, blues solos, etc. Some of these are master classes taught by chart-topping guitarists.

Awesome Guitar Tones. When you choose a song on GuitarPort Online, it automatically loads a recording of the song, accurate tabs for all guitar parts and the guitar tones the perfectly match the recording. The modeling software mimics your favorite artists' amps and stompbox and studio effects, so when you are learning and playing your favorite songs, you can sound exactly like the recording.

GuitarPort Online plugs right into GearBox, such that one navigates and operates the online portion from right within GearBox. This forms a streamlined interface for browsing the catalog of songs, tabs, and tones. Indeed, the online component can even switch patches for you on the fly!

Taken as a whole, this system provides all a guitarist or bassist might need or want to learn and perform the most important pieces in the guitar repertoire -- melodically, harmonically, and tonally. Each of the pieces also form a solid offering in their respective category. Granted, Line 6 likely is offering this bundle in order to addict people to the GuitarPort Online service, which after the three month trial period (should you choose to continue it), will continue to cost you $7.99 per month. However, not long ago, one would likely expect to pay $100-$200 for an interface of this capability, and another $50-100 for such a capable amp sim program. As a $30 complete hardware, software, and Internet service bundle, this may be the best deal of the year for guitarists and bassists!

For an even more impressive value, the TonePort DI can be used as a dongle to unlock a copy of Line 6's POD Farm (for a limited time), which is an even more comprehensive amp sim, allowing for two complete parallel chains of FX, amps, speakers, and mics.

All told, the GuitarPort Online package forms a complete and comprehensive system of hardware, software, and education. Its content will have you playing and sounding like your favorite artists, no matter your current experience level. And with such a low price of entry, it forms an unbeatable value.

Note: the author Joe Bear has no financial relationship to Line 6, and is not compensated in any way by Line 6 for this review.

About the Author

Joe Bear has been making music for several decades on a commercially-successful basis. Bands and solo acts; live and in the studio; rock, blues, jazz, country, bluegrass, pop, and others; guitar, voice, keys, bass, drums, mandolin, and other instruments; singer, songwriter, producer, instrumentalist, teacher, engineer. With the demise of the traditional recording industry, and the plethora of new outlets for enterprising musicians opened by new technologies, he has been focusing upon these new markets.

Always a believer in extending a hand down to help the next person up, he is now sharing the knowledge he has gained in this uncharted territory. He is sharing this info on his blog at http://MetaverseMusician.com/blog/about. Please register at the Metaverse Musician blog for regular updates on these and other topics. This will entitle you to exclusive information -- including how to get your own copy of the even more comprehensive POD Farm at no cost. Hurry -- time is limited on this offer!

(c) Copyright - Joe Bear, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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Learn To Play Guitar: Easy Songs The Beatles Hey Jude John Lennon Paul McCartney