The Music You Hate And Why You Are Right In Disliking It
You probably know at least one music snob. Yes, that’s the kind of people who listen only to one kind of music, and are adamant – adamant I tell you – that everything else is ‘not music’ or ‘just noise’. If you are like me, you find the music snobs annoying. I mean they can…
These Songs Are Not Copied From Classical Music
It has become a platitude to say that pop songwriters are not original and that they rip off other music. I mean, how many songs have been written with the same 4 chords? And these 4 chords happen to be taken from a classical music piece (Pachelbel’s canon). Not only that, but recently several videos…
Scalloped Guitar Necks: Pros And Cons
One of the top 10 questions I get is (surprisingly…) about my guitar and her scalloped neck – similar to the ones used by players like Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore, etc). So in this video below I will answer to these questions: Is your guitar tone and sound going to change if you scallop your…
How To Play Guitar In A Healthy And Pain-Free Way
How long can you play your guitar before your hands hurt too much to continue? 10 minutes? 20 minutes? Or maybe your hand doesn’t hurt at all. If so, how is this accomplished? Being both a musician and teacher for as long as I have, I’ve noticed how many guitarists mistreat their hands. The number…
Does The Size Of Your Hands Really Matter When Playing Guitar?
Has the thought "My hands are too small to play guitar" ever crossed your mind? Do you ever feel like some chords are just impossible? Is there anything that can actually be done about this? If you are someone struggling with small hands, don’t feel hopeless. I actually have smaller hands as well. I find…
What To When You Are Frustrated By How Much Music Theory There Is To Know
Are you frustrated by how complex music theory is and how much there is to learn? I get exactly how you feel – I’ve been there too, many times, and so I know that it’s not a great situation to be in. There are good news though, since there are ways to get out of…
Guitar Triplets And Quintuplets: How To Play Odd Divisions
If you had to break down the difference between your ideal guitar player and a complete beginner, what differences would you put in your list? Think about the answer to that question for a moment… … does your list of items includes “timing”? Timing is the skill of playing different kind of rhythms in a…
Muting Guitar Strings With Tape Or Hair Bands (Or Socks?!): Your Questions Answered
My video on 8 tips for guitar that every guitar player should know was posted a few weeks ago, and I got a lot of interesting feedback and questions on it that I would like to address. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the link below. At the time of recording…
What To Practice On Your Guitar If You Are Short On Time
Your guitar heroes practice hours and hours every day, but you only have a little time to dedicate to your guitar? Fear not, as you CAN become a good player with little time a day if you keep your practice balanced. If you do not practice is not equilibrated, then these things may happen: You…
8 Easy Guitar Tips That Many Guitarists Don’t Know But Should
Learning how to play guitar includes also learning a number of small, practical things that save you a lot of time. Here are a couple examples. When a luthier explained me the trick to change the string on a floating bridge in few minutes I could not believe how obvious it was – and yet…
Scary And Threatening Sounds: X-Files And Pink Floyd
This is our Halloween lesson on how to create mysterious and spooky arpeggios with your guitar. Ready? Let’s start from this: there is something that Metallica, Pink Floyd, and the X-files theme all have in common. Can you guess what? They all use the very same interval to create that mysterious sound that signals you…
7 Easy Ways To Get Better Guitar Tone And Not Pay Anything
You are on the search for a great guitar tone, so what do you do? You might start by heading down to the music store to find the best guitar, amp, or effects pedal that you can afford. At the same time, there are many examples out there of guitarist with great gear, yet not…
Effectively Learning A Challenging Piece Of Music On Guitar
Memorizing how to play a piece of music (and getting it to sound fluid) has many more benefits than simply not having to remember to lug your sheet music around everywhere you go. But how are you supposed to properly practice this skill? When learning a piece of music, you will probably want to: 1…
How To Get Out Of Your Guitar Improvisation Rut
It is not uncommon to find yourself getting bored of your own guitar solos. Once we find a set of licks that we enjoy, it’s easy to play them again and again until you just can’t stand it anymore. You could try going and learning a new scale or two. And maybe thats enough of…
Is Guitar Theory The Same As Music Theory For Other Instruments?
You might be surprised to see how heated people can get when it comes to music theory. I have definitely seen my fair share of debates happening around the topic. Such as this most recent one I witnessed on my fb page: "Music theory is music theory, same on any instrument, !" I mean, I…
