DIY Learn How To Play Guitar Like a Prro
If you are a new guitar beginner player and looking for free guitar learning course to learn to play guitar by yourself or if you would like to play guitar like a pro such as The Eagles, Green Day, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, Guns 'n Roses, etc., and want to get the most popular of a full diy guitar teaching course for learning and practice by yourself with good support at home, here you are in a right learning online for all level of guitar players.
Free Guitar Learning for Beginner Lesson One
Sitting Positions
There are two sitting positions for holding the guitar; classical and casual.
1. Pick up the guitar and make sure that the guitar body is supported by your leg.
2. Position yourself at the edge of your chair.
3. Ensure that your back is relaxed but straight.
4. Lean the guitar back towards you slightly.
Standing Position
1. Pick up the guitar and place the strap over your shoulder. Adjust the strap so that the guitar is positioned mid-body.
2. Use your left hand to support the neck of the guitar.
3. Rest your right hand over the bridge of the guitar.
Hand Positions
It is important that you relax your wrists and hands. Straining them can cause injury.
Front View
Rear View
Warning! Make sure that you never position your hand like this:
Your thumb should never be placed this low on the neck of the guitar as it puts unneccessary strain on your wrist and thumb.
Fretting
When you play the guitar, you use your left hand fingers to press down the strings on the fret board of the guitar and use your right hand to pluck or strum the stings at the bridge end of the guitar. Using your left hand to press the strings on the fret board is called fretting. Here are some tips you will need to know:
1. Short fingernails are essential.
2. Use only the tips of your fingers to press the strings.
3. When making a chord, be sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret.
We will cover chords in lesson one.
4. Check each string that it rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing.
As a beginner guitarist, it may hurt your fingers to play. This is normal. Every guitarist starts this way for the first couple of weeks. With practice, you will develop guitar fingers (hard skin on your fingertips).
Holding the Pick
Position the pick between thumb and index fingers like in the diagram below
Time to take a break. Well done, you've just completed the first part of this newsletter. Next you are about to learn about chords and by the end of this lesson you'll have learnt the A Major chord.
Don't forget, for the ultimate guitar learning kit which includes step-by-step written lessons, video lessons, audio lessons and sophisticated software games, visit Jamorama.com
Now you are ready to start your first lesson. Your aim in this lesson is to learn the A and D major chords and to introduce yourself to reading guitar tablature. This lesson is very important, so I want you to really focus.
Remember! It is more beneficial for you to practice multiple times during a week than to practice for one long session. This is because your brain processes information in chunks at a time and it can only hold a certain amount in short term storage.
For example, with phone numbers, it is very difficult to remember any more than 7 digits at a time. Yet if you give yourself time between practicing, even if it is just 10 minutes, you'll find that your brain is much more efficient at turning your short term practice into long term knowledge. More information on effective learning is contained in our Jamorama product at Jamorama.com.
Ok. That aside, let's get started on the lesson. To start with, I want you to have a look at the guitar neck diagram below and make note of all the relevant pieces of information.
Frets
The guitar neck is divided into what we call frets, making a fret board. Most guitars have around 20 frets. In this first book, we will focus on the first four, also known as the first position. In book 2, we will move beyond that. Notice that we number each fret starting at 1 at the head of the guitar.
Note: Each string on the guitar is numbered. When you hold your guitar as you would when using the casual playing position, the 1st string is at the bottom and the 6th string is at the top.
Notice also the term, "Tuning" at the bottom of the above diagram. Tuning refers to the notes that the guitar strings are tuned to. In the above diagram, I have given a very common tuning called standard E tuning that consists of the notes E, A, D, G and B. Strings 1 and 6 are both tuned to the note E. The open 6th string is called low E. The open 1st string is called high E as it is two octaves higher than the 6th string open E. I will explain notes and octaves to you in a later newsletter, but for now, you only need to know the names of the notes in standard open E tuning.
There are two sitting positions for holding the guitar; classical and casual.
1. Pick up the guitar and make sure that the guitar body is supported by your leg.
2. Position yourself at the edge of your chair.
3. Ensure that your back is relaxed but straight.
4. Lean the guitar back towards you slightly.
Standing Position
1. Pick up the guitar and place the strap over your shoulder. Adjust the strap so that the guitar is positioned mid-body.
2. Use your left hand to support the neck of the guitar.
3. Rest your right hand over the bridge of the guitar.
Hand Positions
It is important that you relax your wrists and hands. Straining them can cause injury.
Front View
Rear View
Warning! Make sure that you never position your hand like this:
Your thumb should never be placed this low on the neck of the guitar as it puts unneccessary strain on your wrist and thumb.
Fretting
When you play the guitar, you use your left hand fingers to press down the strings on the fret board of the guitar and use your right hand to pluck or strum the stings at the bridge end of the guitar. Using your left hand to press the strings on the fret board is called fretting. Here are some tips you will need to know:
1. Short fingernails are essential.
2. Use only the tips of your fingers to press the strings.
3. When making a chord, be sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret.
We will cover chords in lesson one.
4. Check each string that it rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing.
As a beginner guitarist, it may hurt your fingers to play. This is normal. Every guitarist starts this way for the first couple of weeks. With practice, you will develop guitar fingers (hard skin on your fingertips).
Holding the Pick
Position the pick between thumb and index fingers like in the diagram below
Time to take a break. Well done, you've just completed the first part of this newsletter. Next you are about to learn about chords and by the end of this lesson you'll have learnt the A Major chord.
Don't forget, for the ultimate guitar learning kit which includes step-by-step written lessons, video lessons, audio lessons and sophisticated software games, visit Jamorama.com
Now you are ready to start your first lesson. Your aim in this lesson is to learn the A and D major chords and to introduce yourself to reading guitar tablature. This lesson is very important, so I want you to really focus.
Remember! It is more beneficial for you to practice multiple times during a week than to practice for one long session. This is because your brain processes information in chunks at a time and it can only hold a certain amount in short term storage.
For example, with phone numbers, it is very difficult to remember any more than 7 digits at a time. Yet if you give yourself time between practicing, even if it is just 10 minutes, you'll find that your brain is much more efficient at turning your short term practice into long term knowledge. More information on effective learning is contained in our Jamorama product at Jamorama.com.
Ok. That aside, let's get started on the lesson. To start with, I want you to have a look at the guitar neck diagram below and make note of all the relevant pieces of information.
Frets
The guitar neck is divided into what we call frets, making a fret board. Most guitars have around 20 frets. In this first book, we will focus on the first four, also known as the first position. In book 2, we will move beyond that. Notice that we number each fret starting at 1 at the head of the guitar.
Note: Each string on the guitar is numbered. When you hold your guitar as you would when using the casual playing position, the 1st string is at the bottom and the 6th string is at the top.
Notice also the term, "Tuning" at the bottom of the above diagram. Tuning refers to the notes that the guitar strings are tuned to. In the above diagram, I have given a very common tuning called standard E tuning that consists of the notes E, A, D, G and B. Strings 1 and 6 are both tuned to the note E. The open 6th string is called low E. The open 1st string is called high E as it is two octaves higher than the 6th string open E. I will explain notes and octaves to you in a later newsletter, but for now, you only need to know the names of the notes in standard open E tuning.
Free Guitar Learning for Beginner Lesson One (2)
Introduction to Chords
Now we are going to look at guitar chords. Guitarists use many different chords to make progressions or riffs that can then be used to create songs. If you are not familiar with some of these terms, it's ok. We will cover everything that I am talking about in good time.
A chord is defined as a combination of 3 or more notes played together. To examine this, I want to take a look at chord diagrams. Chord diagrams are used to illustrate how a chord is played. They are very easy to use because they look very much like the neck of the guitar, in fact, the Jamorama chord diagram is a guitar neck.
As stated above the Jamorama chord diagrams are going to be pictures of an 'actual' guitar neck so it's easy to make the connection between strings and fingering. There is also a picture of the type of chord diagram that appears in most other Guitar learning guides. I want you to be aware of that form of 'standard' chord diagram because you may want to use it when writing up chords on paper at home.
So, now that you know what a chord diagram looks like and how it matches with the neck of your guitar, it's time to come back to what I said earlier about a chord being a combination of 3 or more notes played together. Finger placing symbols are added to the chord diagram so we know which notes to play. To start with, let's look at your fingers.
We give each playing finger a number that we can then match up on the chord diagram (see below).
And now, let's look at a full chord diagram. We will use the example of the A major chord:
Chord Diagram - A Major Chord
In the chord diagram below you can see that the A major chord uses fingers 1, 2, and 3. Take note of how this chord diagram looks - we will use this style from now on.
The A major chord is constructed of the notes A, C# and E. We will cover notes a little later. For now, we will make chords without knowledge of individual notes.
Note that there is a red dot marking the 6th string on the above chord diagram. The red dot tells you that you are not to play that string. The sixth string of the A major chord is not played, but you play the rest.
Throughout this newsletter series, every chord diagram will be accompanied by a picture of the chord being held on the fret board and video and audio of the chord being played for you to check with. Pictured below is the A major chord being played.
Exercise: Playing the A Major Chord
Position each finger with care, according to the above diagram. Make sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. Firstly, pluck across the strings one by one with your right hand, checking that each string rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. Play the first Audio or video example to hear how the chord should sound.
Now that we've looked at chord diagrams, I want to move on to strumming.
Introduction to Strumming
In a strum there are two types of guitar stroke. They are up stroke and down stroke. Throughout this book these strokes will be notated as follows:
When you play a stroke, you strum across the strings just in front of the bridge of the guitar with the pick in your left hand. When strumming a chord, make sure that you play all of the necessary strings in the chord. The stroke direction will depend on which stroke is indicated; up or down as shown above.
Exercise: Strumming the A Major Chord
Position each finger with care, according to the A Major chord diagram (above). Make sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. Firstly, pluck across the strings one by one with your right hand, checking that each string rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. Once you are sure that you are holding the A major chord correctly, practice strumming the chord in single downward strokes as indicated below:
While you play this, see if you can say out loud an even 4 count. Another option if you are a Jamorama.com member is to use the jamorama metronome - it will help you to stay in time.
Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime - A Major (1.56MB)
WindowsMediaPlayer - A Major (1.76MB)
Broadband
QuickTime - A Major (4.00MB)
WindowsMediaPlayer - A Major (5.87MB)
Audio
A Major Mp3 (0.75MB)
Try your best to start your strum from the fifth string each time you strum. A major, doesn't sound bad if you accidentally hit the top string, although if you want your music to sound professional, you'll want to play this chord properly. Remember to stay relaxed. Your fingers may hurt a little but they will get stronger.
Now that you are playing the A major chord properly, let's take a look at strumming another chord ...
The D Major Chord
The D Major Chord is constructed of the notes D, F# (F sharp) and A and is played using fingers 1, 2 and 3:
As with the A major chord: try strumming the D major chord in downward strokes with your right hand.
Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime - D Major (1.51MB)
WindowsMediaPlayer - D Major (1.97MB)
Broadband
QuickTime - D Major (3.91MB)
WindowsMediaPlayer - D Major (4.05MB)
Audio
D Major Mp3 (0.73MB)
Note: The top two, or fifth and sixth, strings are not played in the D major chord. Make sure that you start your stroke from the third string each time you strum D major, it doesn't sound bad if you accidentally hit the fifth string, although as with A major above, if you want your music to sound professional, you need to play this chord properly.
Now we are going to look at guitar chords. Guitarists use many different chords to make progressions or riffs that can then be used to create songs. If you are not familiar with some of these terms, it's ok. We will cover everything that I am talking about in good time.
A chord is defined as a combination of 3 or more notes played together. To examine this, I want to take a look at chord diagrams. Chord diagrams are used to illustrate how a chord is played. They are very easy to use because they look very much like the neck of the guitar, in fact, the Jamorama chord diagram is a guitar neck.
As stated above the Jamorama chord diagrams are going to be pictures of an 'actual' guitar neck so it's easy to make the connection between strings and fingering. There is also a picture of the type of chord diagram that appears in most other Guitar learning guides. I want you to be aware of that form of 'standard' chord diagram because you may want to use it when writing up chords on paper at home.
So, now that you know what a chord diagram looks like and how it matches with the neck of your guitar, it's time to come back to what I said earlier about a chord being a combination of 3 or more notes played together. Finger placing symbols are added to the chord diagram so we know which notes to play. To start with, let's look at your fingers.
We give each playing finger a number that we can then match up on the chord diagram (see below).
And now, let's look at a full chord diagram. We will use the example of the A major chord:
Chord Diagram - A Major Chord
In the chord diagram below you can see that the A major chord uses fingers 1, 2, and 3. Take note of how this chord diagram looks - we will use this style from now on.
The A major chord is constructed of the notes A, C# and E. We will cover notes a little later. For now, we will make chords without knowledge of individual notes.
Note that there is a red dot marking the 6th string on the above chord diagram. The red dot tells you that you are not to play that string. The sixth string of the A major chord is not played, but you play the rest.
Throughout this newsletter series, every chord diagram will be accompanied by a picture of the chord being held on the fret board and video and audio of the chord being played for you to check with. Pictured below is the A major chord being played.
Exercise: Playing the A Major Chord
Position each finger with care, according to the above diagram. Make sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. Firstly, pluck across the strings one by one with your right hand, checking that each string rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. Play the first Audio or video example to hear how the chord should sound.
Now that we've looked at chord diagrams, I want to move on to strumming.
Introduction to Strumming
In a strum there are two types of guitar stroke. They are up stroke and down stroke. Throughout this book these strokes will be notated as follows:
When you play a stroke, you strum across the strings just in front of the bridge of the guitar with the pick in your left hand. When strumming a chord, make sure that you play all of the necessary strings in the chord. The stroke direction will depend on which stroke is indicated; up or down as shown above.
Exercise: Strumming the A Major Chord
Position each finger with care, according to the A Major chord diagram (above). Make sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. Firstly, pluck across the strings one by one with your right hand, checking that each string rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. Once you are sure that you are holding the A major chord correctly, practice strumming the chord in single downward strokes as indicated below:
While you play this, see if you can say out loud an even 4 count. Another option if you are a Jamorama.com member is to use the jamorama metronome - it will help you to stay in time.
Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime - A Major (1.56MB)
WindowsMediaPlayer - A Major (1.76MB)
Broadband
QuickTime - A Major (4.00MB)
WindowsMediaPlayer - A Major (5.87MB)
Audio
A Major Mp3 (0.75MB)
Try your best to start your strum from the fifth string each time you strum. A major, doesn't sound bad if you accidentally hit the top string, although if you want your music to sound professional, you'll want to play this chord properly. Remember to stay relaxed. Your fingers may hurt a little but they will get stronger.
Now that you are playing the A major chord properly, let's take a look at strumming another chord ...
The D Major Chord
The D Major Chord is constructed of the notes D, F# (F sharp) and A and is played using fingers 1, 2 and 3:
As with the A major chord: try strumming the D major chord in downward strokes with your right hand.
Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime - D Major (1.51MB)
WindowsMediaPlayer - D Major (1.97MB)
Broadband
QuickTime - D Major (3.91MB)
WindowsMediaPlayer - D Major (4.05MB)
Audio
D Major Mp3 (0.73MB)
Note: The top two, or fifth and sixth, strings are not played in the D major chord. Make sure that you start your stroke from the third string each time you strum D major, it doesn't sound bad if you accidentally hit the fifth string, although as with A major above, if you want your music to sound professional, you need to play this chord properly.
Hints for Buying a New Guitar
Whether you're buying your first guitar, upgrading or simply adding to your collection, your first priority is to do your homework. There are many different resources available and you should endeavor to use them all. Guitar magazines are a good place to find out prices and specifications on different models of guitar. You can get similar knowledge from browsing at your local instrument shop. Another great tool is the internet - you can check for the most competitive prices, get some information on the manufacturers and search for other guitarist's reviews and opinions.
You really need to arm yourself well before you try haggling with your local guitar salesman.
Often you can find online auctions where guitars sell for incredibly low prices; however, I wouldn't advise you to take this option. As a rule you should always play before you buy so that you get a chance to gauge performance.
Once you've got the background knowledge that you need on the guitar of your choice the next task is to set yourself a budget and stick to it. Don't let salespeople talk you into spending more money than you anticipated.
Testing out new guitars in the shop can be an intimidating task for beginners. It is important to remember that you are not there to showcase your playing ability - you are there to discern whether your proposed buy is a good deal or not. Check the frets for buzzing by playing each one. Make sure that the neck is not warped by looking down it as if you were sighting a gun. Check that all of the volume and tone switches etc. are in good working condition.
It is a great idea to take an experienced guitarist along with you when you are looking at a possible purchase, so see if you can persuade a teacher of friend. Not only will they be able to offer helpful advice - they will be good moral support when it's time to pick up the guitar and test it out in public.
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
You really need to arm yourself well before you try haggling with your local guitar salesman.Often you can find online auctions where guitars sell for incredibly low prices; however, I wouldn't advise you to take this option. As a rule you should always play before you buy so that you get a chance to gauge performance.
Once you've got the background knowledge that you need on the guitar of your choice the next task is to set yourself a budget and stick to it. Don't let salespeople talk you into spending more money than you anticipated.
Testing out new guitars in the shop can be an intimidating task for beginners. It is important to remember that you are not there to showcase your playing ability - you are there to discern whether your proposed buy is a good deal or not. Check the frets for buzzing by playing each one. Make sure that the neck is not warped by looking down it as if you were sighting a gun. Check that all of the volume and tone switches etc. are in good working condition.
It is a great idea to take an experienced guitarist along with you when you are looking at a possible purchase, so see if you can persuade a teacher of friend. Not only will they be able to offer helpful advice - they will be good moral support when it's time to pick up the guitar and test it out in public.
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Free Guitar Learning for Beginner Lesson Two
Tuning Your Guitar to Itself
This is probably the most important piece of knowledge that you can learn when it comes to tuning your guitar. The process of tuning your guitar to itself is one by which you tune each string to another string on the guitar. Basically, it means that you can tune the guitar without having to use a tuner or pitch tool.
The only set back about using this method is that your guitar may not end up in exact concert pitch. What I mean by that is that the strings may not run E, A, D, G, B, E as they would if they were in correct concert pitch (you would need a tuner or pitch tool to do that), rather they will all be tuned to whatever note the top string happens to be at the time of tuning.
The first step is to get your fifth string in tune with your sixth string. Place a finger on your left hand on the fifth fret of the sixth string. The note that you are holding down is the pitch that string five should be tuned to.
Keep your finger in position and pluck the sixth string and let that note ring. As you let the sixth string ring, pluck the fifth string. If the fifth string sounds exactly like the note you are holding on the sixth string, it is in tune.
If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the sixth string and then bring it back up to match with the fifth fret note on the sixth string. If the fifth string note is lower, you need to tighten the string and bring its pitch up to the fifth fret note on the sixth string.
It may take you a while to match pitches exactly but the more practice you get at this, the faster you will be able to do it.
The second step is to get your forth string in tune with your fifth string. Place a finger on your left hand on the fifth fret of the fifth string. The note that you are holding down is the pitch that string four should be tuned to.
Keep your finger in position and pluck the fifth string and let that note ring. As you let the fifth string ring, pluck the forth string.
If the forth string sounds exactly like the note you are holding on the fifth string, it is in tune.
If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the fifth string and then bring it back up to match with the fifth fret note on the fifth string.
If the forth string note is lower, you need to tighten the string and bring its pitch up to the fifth fret note on the fifth string.
Keep tuning the string until you get an exact match for pitch.
The third step is to get your third string in tune with your forth string. Place a finger on your left hand on the fifth fret of the forth string. The note that you are holding down is the pitch that string three should be tuned to. Keep your finger in position and pluck the forth string and let that note ring.
As you let the forth string ring, pluck the third string. If the third string sounds exactly like the note you are holding on the forth string, it is in tune.
If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the forth string and then bring it back up to match with the fifth fret note on the forth string.
If the third string note is lower, you need to tighten the string and bring its pitch up to the fifth fret note on the forth string.
Keep tuning the string until you get an exact match for pitch.
The forth step is to get your second string in tune with your third string. Place a finger on your left hand on the forth fret of the third string. The note that you are holding down is the pitch that string two should be tuned to. Keep your finger in position and pluck the third string and let that note ring.
As you let the third string ring, pluck the second string.
If the second string sounds exactly like the note you are holding on the third string, it is in tune.
If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the third string and then bring it back up to match with the forth fret note on the third string.
If the second string note is lower, you need to tighten the string and bring its pitch up to the forth fret note on the third string.
Keep tuning the string until you get an exact match for pitch.
The last step is to get your first string in tune with your second string. Place a finger on your left hand on the fifth fret of the second string. The note that you are holding down is the pitch that string one should be tuned to. Keep your finger in position and pluck the second string and let that note ring.
As you let the second string ring, pluck the first string.
If the first string sounds exactly like the note you are holding on the second string, it is in tune.
If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the second string and then bring it back up to match with the fifth fret note on the second string.
If the first string note is lower, you need to tighten the string and bring its pitch up to the fifth fret note on the second string.
Keep tuning the string until you get an exact match for pitch and you will have tuned the guitar to its own strings.
You have just tuned your guitar to itself. If the guitar sounds a little out, you should go back and repeat the process - it is a little hard to master for a start but you should stick to it as it is a very useful skill to have.
Progress and Motivation
An old piano teacher of mine used to record my playing at different times throughout my terms work. At the end of the term she would give me a tape that contained a selection of pieces that I had played running from work that I had completed early in the term to the things that I was working on at the end of the term. I would take this tape home and I would play it to my friends and family. People listening to the tape would say, "Man, you're getting good".
This did two things for me. First of all, it made me go back to my teacher for more lessons. Secondly, it made me practice more because I could see the benefits of working on something over time. Basically, the progress that I could hear on the tape motivated me to progress further.
I strongly recommend that you begin to record your practice sessions for future reference.
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
This is probably the most important piece of knowledge that you can learn when it comes to tuning your guitar. The process of tuning your guitar to itself is one by which you tune each string to another string on the guitar. Basically, it means that you can tune the guitar without having to use a tuner or pitch tool.
The only set back about using this method is that your guitar may not end up in exact concert pitch. What I mean by that is that the strings may not run E, A, D, G, B, E as they would if they were in correct concert pitch (you would need a tuner or pitch tool to do that), rather they will all be tuned to whatever note the top string happens to be at the time of tuning.
The first step is to get your fifth string in tune with your sixth string. Place a finger on your left hand on the fifth fret of the sixth string. The note that you are holding down is the pitch that string five should be tuned to.
Keep your finger in position and pluck the sixth string and let that note ring. As you let the sixth string ring, pluck the fifth string. If the fifth string sounds exactly like the note you are holding on the sixth string, it is in tune.
If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the sixth string and then bring it back up to match with the fifth fret note on the sixth string. If the fifth string note is lower, you need to tighten the string and bring its pitch up to the fifth fret note on the sixth string.
It may take you a while to match pitches exactly but the more practice you get at this, the faster you will be able to do it.
The second step is to get your forth string in tune with your fifth string. Place a finger on your left hand on the fifth fret of the fifth string. The note that you are holding down is the pitch that string four should be tuned to.
Keep your finger in position and pluck the fifth string and let that note ring. As you let the fifth string ring, pluck the forth string.
If the forth string sounds exactly like the note you are holding on the fifth string, it is in tune.
If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the fifth string and then bring it back up to match with the fifth fret note on the fifth string.
If the forth string note is lower, you need to tighten the string and bring its pitch up to the fifth fret note on the fifth string.
Keep tuning the string until you get an exact match for pitch.
The third step is to get your third string in tune with your forth string. Place a finger on your left hand on the fifth fret of the forth string. The note that you are holding down is the pitch that string three should be tuned to. Keep your finger in position and pluck the forth string and let that note ring.
As you let the forth string ring, pluck the third string. If the third string sounds exactly like the note you are holding on the forth string, it is in tune.
If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the forth string and then bring it back up to match with the fifth fret note on the forth string.
If the third string note is lower, you need to tighten the string and bring its pitch up to the fifth fret note on the forth string.
Keep tuning the string until you get an exact match for pitch.
The forth step is to get your second string in tune with your third string. Place a finger on your left hand on the forth fret of the third string. The note that you are holding down is the pitch that string two should be tuned to. Keep your finger in position and pluck the third string and let that note ring.
As you let the third string ring, pluck the second string.
If the second string sounds exactly like the note you are holding on the third string, it is in tune.
If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the third string and then bring it back up to match with the forth fret note on the third string.
If the second string note is lower, you need to tighten the string and bring its pitch up to the forth fret note on the third string.
Keep tuning the string until you get an exact match for pitch.
The last step is to get your first string in tune with your second string. Place a finger on your left hand on the fifth fret of the second string. The note that you are holding down is the pitch that string one should be tuned to. Keep your finger in position and pluck the second string and let that note ring.
As you let the second string ring, pluck the first string.
If the first string sounds exactly like the note you are holding on the second string, it is in tune.
If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the second string and then bring it back up to match with the fifth fret note on the second string.
If the first string note is lower, you need to tighten the string and bring its pitch up to the fifth fret note on the second string.
Keep tuning the string until you get an exact match for pitch and you will have tuned the guitar to its own strings.
You have just tuned your guitar to itself. If the guitar sounds a little out, you should go back and repeat the process - it is a little hard to master for a start but you should stick to it as it is a very useful skill to have.
Progress and Motivation
An old piano teacher of mine used to record my playing at different times throughout my terms work. At the end of the term she would give me a tape that contained a selection of pieces that I had played running from work that I had completed early in the term to the things that I was working on at the end of the term. I would take this tape home and I would play it to my friends and family. People listening to the tape would say, "Man, you're getting good".
This did two things for me. First of all, it made me go back to my teacher for more lessons. Secondly, it made me practice more because I could see the benefits of working on something over time. Basically, the progress that I could hear on the tape motivated me to progress further.
I strongly recommend that you begin to record your practice sessions for future reference.
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Free Guitar Learning for Beginner Lesson Three
How to Read Guitar Tablature
TAB or tablature is the most common method of writing out music for the guitar. It is different from classical music notation in that; TAB uses ordinary numbers and keyboard characters as opposed to standard musical notation which uses symbols. Because of this format, anyone with a computer can write or read TAB making it the most user friendly way to read and communicate guitar music. Also TAB relates directly to the fret board of your guitar meaning that you may easily see where you put your fingers.
In the full version of Jamorama, both standard musical notation and tablature are used. But for this six day course we will only use TAB. The reason for this is that tablature is very easy to read and you should have no problems learning TAB in a few short minutes of reading.
TAB has some weak points, the worst of which is that rhythm can't be easily indicated. This shouldn't pose a problem though, as I will indicate the rhythm for each exercise using the strum indicators that were introduced in lesson one.
OK. To start I want you to look at your guitar and you will clearly see that it has six strings going from thickest to thinniest. On a TAB diagram, the thinnest string, (or 1st string as its most commonly called) is at the top - The thickest (or 6th string) is at the bottom. This is clearly demonstrated in the 1st example below.
The following diagram shows you how tablature relates to the guitar fret board:
Some of you may notice that this guitar seems upside down in relation to how you play. This is simply the way that guitar music is generally written. Now if you transfer this same model to a written format you will get TAB, which can be seen below.
So the lines above indicate the strings on a guitar. The top line of the TAB being the thinnest string of the guitar, and the bottom line on the TAB chart indicating the thickest string of the guitar. Now if you look at your guitar you will see metal bars that raise up from the neck of the guitar called frets. TAB uses numbers to show you which one of these frets to press down and play.
For example, look at the tab diagram to the right and you can see that the 1st string (thinnest string) is being played. The number refers to the fret that you should press down. In this case the number zero is displayed. This means that you shouldn't press down anything.
So if you were to play the above piece of TAB on your guitar, you would pick the thinnest string once with your plucking hand and do nothing with your fret hand.
Tip: If you are having trouble with this concept, you can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Broadband
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Now let's see if we can start pushing down some strings. Look at the next example below and try and play the note that the TAB chart displays.
If you pressed down the thickest string at the 3rd fret then you played the exercise correctly. If you are still unsure whether you are doing the right thing or not, refer to the video below.
Tip: The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Broadband
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Let's try another one. Play the following piece of TAB:
This TAB diagram above indicates the 2nd string (second thinnest) and you should be pressing down on the first fret.
Tip: Once again, there is video available for this example. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Broadband
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Things become a little more complicated when you are required to play chords, however the basic principals I have already outlined still apply. The only difference is that you will be required to play more strings and hold down more strings with your fingers. In this next example I will show you how to play the chord "A".
A Major Chord
The first and fifth strings are played open while the second, third and forth strings are played at the second fret. The sixth string is not played in the A Major Chord and this is indicated by an X.
If you have read the TAB correctly your fingers should look like this:
Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Broadband
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
So now you know how to use basic tablature as it applies to notes and full chords. In this introductory set of lessons you will use TAB to learn different chords and by lesson six you will be able to play the full song, "Rivers of Babylon".
TAB or tablature is the most common method of writing out music for the guitar. It is different from classical music notation in that; TAB uses ordinary numbers and keyboard characters as opposed to standard musical notation which uses symbols. Because of this format, anyone with a computer can write or read TAB making it the most user friendly way to read and communicate guitar music. Also TAB relates directly to the fret board of your guitar meaning that you may easily see where you put your fingers.
In the full version of Jamorama, both standard musical notation and tablature are used. But for this six day course we will only use TAB. The reason for this is that tablature is very easy to read and you should have no problems learning TAB in a few short minutes of reading.
TAB has some weak points, the worst of which is that rhythm can't be easily indicated. This shouldn't pose a problem though, as I will indicate the rhythm for each exercise using the strum indicators that were introduced in lesson one.
OK. To start I want you to look at your guitar and you will clearly see that it has six strings going from thickest to thinniest. On a TAB diagram, the thinnest string, (or 1st string as its most commonly called) is at the top - The thickest (or 6th string) is at the bottom. This is clearly demonstrated in the 1st example below.
The following diagram shows you how tablature relates to the guitar fret board:
Some of you may notice that this guitar seems upside down in relation to how you play. This is simply the way that guitar music is generally written. Now if you transfer this same model to a written format you will get TAB, which can be seen below.
So the lines above indicate the strings on a guitar. The top line of the TAB being the thinnest string of the guitar, and the bottom line on the TAB chart indicating the thickest string of the guitar. Now if you look at your guitar you will see metal bars that raise up from the neck of the guitar called frets. TAB uses numbers to show you which one of these frets to press down and play.
For example, look at the tab diagram to the right and you can see that the 1st string (thinnest string) is being played. The number refers to the fret that you should press down. In this case the number zero is displayed. This means that you shouldn't press down anything.
So if you were to play the above piece of TAB on your guitar, you would pick the thinnest string once with your plucking hand and do nothing with your fret hand.
Tip: If you are having trouble with this concept, you can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Broadband
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Now let's see if we can start pushing down some strings. Look at the next example below and try and play the note that the TAB chart displays.
If you pressed down the thickest string at the 3rd fret then you played the exercise correctly. If you are still unsure whether you are doing the right thing or not, refer to the video below.
Tip: The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Broadband
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Let's try another one. Play the following piece of TAB:
This TAB diagram above indicates the 2nd string (second thinnest) and you should be pressing down on the first fret.
Tip: Once again, there is video available for this example. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Broadband
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Things become a little more complicated when you are required to play chords, however the basic principals I have already outlined still apply. The only difference is that you will be required to play more strings and hold down more strings with your fingers. In this next example I will show you how to play the chord "A".
A Major Chord
The first and fifth strings are played open while the second, third and forth strings are played at the second fret. The sixth string is not played in the A Major Chord and this is indicated by an X.
If you have read the TAB correctly your fingers should look like this:
Tip: You can download a video or audio example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below (right click on the link and select "save as"):
Dial Up
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
Broadband
QuickTime
WindowsMediaPlayer
So now you know how to use basic tablature as it applies to notes and full chords. In this introductory set of lessons you will use TAB to learn different chords and by lesson six you will be able to play the full song, "Rivers of Babylon".
Free Guitar Learning for Beginner Lesson Three (2)
Time to take a break. Well done, you've just completed the first part of this newsletter. Next you are about to learn about notes on the first string.
Don't forget, for the ultimate guitar learning kit which includes step-by-step written lessons, video lessons, audio lessons and sophisticated software games, visit Jamorama.com
Notes on the First String
Knowledge of the notes that are on each string is necessary for understanding guitar theory. The first string is also known as the high E string. The main notes in the first position on the first string are E (open), F (1st fret) and G (3rd fret). The first position refers to the first 4 frets of the guitar.
We will use these notes in the following exercise to introduce to you the concept of note picking.
Exercise:
Note picking is a skill that is used in all types of music. For now, we will use it to familiarize ourselves with the note names on each string in the first position. Pluck these first string notes with a downward picking motion. Notice that your fingers should match the fret number when playing in the first position:
Try listening to audio for this example.
Audio
Picking the notes on the first string mp3. (456KB)
We will leave it there today in terms of guitar theory. Next time I want to get you strumming a whole lot more, but right now I want to look at something else and that is how to get a "that" sound.
Getting "That" Sound - Blues/Rock Guitar Solo aka Jimi Hendrix.
Many people around the world love blues, and many people love Jimi Hendrix, infact some would argue that he is the most influential guitarist to ever grace the planet. Blues/rock guitar tends to have a characteristic sound to it.
Sure there is a style of playing that characterizes blues guitar, infact we cover this style in the Jamorama course thoroughly. There are blues Jam tracks and blues songs, the course will teach you HOW to play the blues guitar, but a question that often pops up is "Once I know how to play the STYLE, how do I get that "sound" out of my amp?".
Ok, firstly let's look at the aspects of a guitarist's set up that have an effect on the final sound.
- Ability of player to play that style.
- Choice of guitar (i.e. Electric or acoustic?? Solid body or semi-acoustic, single coil pickups or humbucking pickups??)
- Choice of amplifier
- Settings on the guitar
- Settings on the amplifier
- Other miscellaneous items (e.g. strings, effects pedals e.t.c)
So, from this list we can see that there is simply no ONE aspect that will directly change the sound, it's the use of all of these things that point to the final outcome. A nice way of looking at it is to treat all of these aspects as ingredients to the sound recipe. By changing the ingredients or amount of, or order in which they are used you end up changing the final product. Obviously one of the most important of the ingredients is the ability of the player themselves. There is no point in having all of the ingredients to play blues guitar if the player can't actually play blues style guitar ... make sense?
Let's start with the guitar itself, the best choice of guitar would be a solid body electric guitar such as a Fender Stratocaster, or a Gibson lespaul, pretty much any solid body electric guitar will do. Once you have selected the guitar let's look at the settings that are to be used on the guitar itself. You will want to select the neck pick up (the pickup that is closest to the neck of the guitar). This pickup gives a more rounded natural sound, often called the rhythm pickup. The on board controls of the guitar (the volume and tone knobs) are also very useful. To achieve a bluesy sound you should slightly roll off some of the tone knob, roll it back to about 7 or 8.
Ok once you have this set up, look at the amplifier. Blues guitarists have a slightly overdriven or distorted sound. To achieve this I want you to make sure that you are plugging the guitar into the 'Hi-gain' input of your amplifier (if you only have one input then use that one. What you need to do next is to turn up your amp gain to a point where the sound coming out is slightly distorted (on most amps this would be just after halfway). If your guitar amp doesn't distort or overdrive then there are other alternatives, you could purchase and use a distortion effect pedal.
Ok, the amplifier's EQ settings??? What do I do with those? Basically I want you to leave all the 'EQ' knobs in the middle (i.e. don't boost or drop any of them). The bluesy sound really comes from having selected the neck pick up and by having the amp slightly distorting. Follow these tips, and I guarantee you that your next blues solo will now actually SOUND like a blues solo. Get into it! See you in the next newsletter.
Do you wish you knew how to read music like you know how to read English?
Would you like to be able to play music from straight off the page?
Let me tell you about my fantastic new music theory learning game Jayde Musica. Jayde Musica takes the bore out of learning how to read music. It is an exciting and challenging new game, and best of all, it's FREE!
Introducing Jayde Musica, the most fun way of learning how to read music.
Developed by myself and the team here at Jamorama, Jayde Musica brings enjoyment to the otherwise monotonous task of learning how to read music. Watch as musical notes fly across the screen and do your best to identify them! This game goes from beginner to advanced levels, complete with a high scores table.
Jayde Musica is so easy to set up and use that you'll be having fun learning how to read music in seconds.
I think you will find this to be the easiest, most effective way to learn how to read music. You will be amazed at how quickly you will enjoy using Jayde Musica.
"I've just been using your music note game this morning and i have to say i'm loving it. I'm going to pass it on to my friends. It really is a big help."
Chris Danaskis, via Email
Features and benefits of Jayde Musica:
It's as easy as 1,2,3. Just play the game, start making mistakes and learn from them! As you get higher and higher scores, you'll be surprised at how dramatically quick your music reading proficiency level will improve.
This program is so simple to use, all it takes is 10mins a day!
"I just wanted to let you know that i'm really enjoying Jayde Musica. After searching for ages, i have finally found some music training software that is actually fun to use. Thanks a bunch!"
- Janine Soulli, Hobart, Australia
Jayde Musica is available via instant download and if you download it before {!date long+14}, it's yours Free! As a show of good will and to maintain our reputation for quality products, I'm giving you Jayde Musica for absolutely nothing.
Click Here to download Jayde Musica Now for Free! (Approx. 1.4 mb in size).
So download Jayde Musica now and learn to fluently read all the musical notes on all the staves in just a matter of days!
Jayde Musica will never expire - you can use it all you like!Privacy information: There is no spy-ware contained in this program, we do not monitor your actions or email. When you register this program, we will not give your email address or personal details to anyone.
Runs on all Windows and Macintosh operating systems. P.S. How else will you ever learn all those musical notes and be able to sight read them with ease? Click Here and Start Learning with Jayde Musica for Free Today.
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Don't forget, for the ultimate guitar learning kit which includes step-by-step written lessons, video lessons, audio lessons and sophisticated software games, visit Jamorama.com
Notes on the First String
Knowledge of the notes that are on each string is necessary for understanding guitar theory. The first string is also known as the high E string. The main notes in the first position on the first string are E (open), F (1st fret) and G (3rd fret). The first position refers to the first 4 frets of the guitar.
We will use these notes in the following exercise to introduce to you the concept of note picking.
Exercise:
Note picking is a skill that is used in all types of music. For now, we will use it to familiarize ourselves with the note names on each string in the first position. Pluck these first string notes with a downward picking motion. Notice that your fingers should match the fret number when playing in the first position:
Try listening to audio for this example.
Audio
Picking the notes on the first string mp3. (456KB)
We will leave it there today in terms of guitar theory. Next time I want to get you strumming a whole lot more, but right now I want to look at something else and that is how to get a "that" sound.
Getting "That" Sound - Blues/Rock Guitar Solo aka Jimi Hendrix.
Many people around the world love blues, and many people love Jimi Hendrix, infact some would argue that he is the most influential guitarist to ever grace the planet. Blues/rock guitar tends to have a characteristic sound to it.
Sure there is a style of playing that characterizes blues guitar, infact we cover this style in the Jamorama course thoroughly. There are blues Jam tracks and blues songs, the course will teach you HOW to play the blues guitar, but a question that often pops up is "Once I know how to play the STYLE, how do I get that "sound" out of my amp?".
Ok, firstly let's look at the aspects of a guitarist's set up that have an effect on the final sound.
- Ability of player to play that style.
- Choice of guitar (i.e. Electric or acoustic?? Solid body or semi-acoustic, single coil pickups or humbucking pickups??)
- Choice of amplifier
- Settings on the guitar
- Settings on the amplifier
- Other miscellaneous items (e.g. strings, effects pedals e.t.c)
So, from this list we can see that there is simply no ONE aspect that will directly change the sound, it's the use of all of these things that point to the final outcome. A nice way of looking at it is to treat all of these aspects as ingredients to the sound recipe. By changing the ingredients or amount of, or order in which they are used you end up changing the final product. Obviously one of the most important of the ingredients is the ability of the player themselves. There is no point in having all of the ingredients to play blues guitar if the player can't actually play blues style guitar ... make sense?
Let's start with the guitar itself, the best choice of guitar would be a solid body electric guitar such as a Fender Stratocaster, or a Gibson lespaul, pretty much any solid body electric guitar will do. Once you have selected the guitar let's look at the settings that are to be used on the guitar itself. You will want to select the neck pick up (the pickup that is closest to the neck of the guitar). This pickup gives a more rounded natural sound, often called the rhythm pickup. The on board controls of the guitar (the volume and tone knobs) are also very useful. To achieve a bluesy sound you should slightly roll off some of the tone knob, roll it back to about 7 or 8.
Ok once you have this set up, look at the amplifier. Blues guitarists have a slightly overdriven or distorted sound. To achieve this I want you to make sure that you are plugging the guitar into the 'Hi-gain' input of your amplifier (if you only have one input then use that one. What you need to do next is to turn up your amp gain to a point where the sound coming out is slightly distorted (on most amps this would be just after halfway). If your guitar amp doesn't distort or overdrive then there are other alternatives, you could purchase and use a distortion effect pedal.
Ok, the amplifier's EQ settings??? What do I do with those? Basically I want you to leave all the 'EQ' knobs in the middle (i.e. don't boost or drop any of them). The bluesy sound really comes from having selected the neck pick up and by having the amp slightly distorting. Follow these tips, and I guarantee you that your next blues solo will now actually SOUND like a blues solo. Get into it! See you in the next newsletter.
Do you wish you knew how to read music like you know how to read English?
Would you like to be able to play music from straight off the page?
Let me tell you about my fantastic new music theory learning game Jayde Musica. Jayde Musica takes the bore out of learning how to read music. It is an exciting and challenging new game, and best of all, it's FREE!
Introducing Jayde Musica, the most fun way of learning how to read music.
Developed by myself and the team here at Jamorama, Jayde Musica brings enjoyment to the otherwise monotonous task of learning how to read music. Watch as musical notes fly across the screen and do your best to identify them! This game goes from beginner to advanced levels, complete with a high scores table.
Jayde Musica is so easy to set up and use that you'll be having fun learning how to read music in seconds.
I think you will find this to be the easiest, most effective way to learn how to read music. You will be amazed at how quickly you will enjoy using Jayde Musica.
"I've just been using your music note game this morning and i have to say i'm loving it. I'm going to pass it on to my friends. It really is a big help."
Chris Danaskis, via Email
Features and benefits of Jayde Musica:
- Easy, Medium and Hard difficulty modes included. Clefs include treble, bass, alto and tenor. You have the option of turning on/off various clefs, so that you can isolate a specific area of music theory that you wish to work on. Fast Learning. Jayde Musica is a great way to accelerate your learning. It will have you self-correcting and trying really hard to remember the various notes displayed, so that you can progress further and gain a record score or even clock the game! It's free. That's right, you can keep on using this program and it won't expire. Unlimited use. You can use Jayde Musica as many times as you want for free and it won't expire.
- Simplicity. No flashy gimmicks, so easy to play that you won't feel like you have to learn a whole new game. In fact it has the familiar game play of space invaders.
It's as easy as 1,2,3. Just play the game, start making mistakes and learn from them! As you get higher and higher scores, you'll be surprised at how dramatically quick your music reading proficiency level will improve.
This program is so simple to use, all it takes is 10mins a day!
"I just wanted to let you know that i'm really enjoying Jayde Musica. After searching for ages, i have finally found some music training software that is actually fun to use. Thanks a bunch!"
- Janine Soulli, Hobart, Australia
Jayde Musica is available via instant download and if you download it before {!date long+14}, it's yours Free! As a show of good will and to maintain our reputation for quality products, I'm giving you Jayde Musica for absolutely nothing.
Click Here to download Jayde Musica Now for Free! (Approx. 1.4 mb in size).
So download Jayde Musica now and learn to fluently read all the musical notes on all the staves in just a matter of days!
Jayde Musica will never expire - you can use it all you like!Privacy information: There is no spy-ware contained in this program, we do not monitor your actions or email. When you register this program, we will not give your email address or personal details to anyone.
Runs on all Windows and Macintosh operating systems. P.S. How else will you ever learn all those musical notes and be able to sight read them with ease? Click Here and Start Learning with Jayde Musica for Free Today.
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Free Guitar Learning for Beginner Lesson Four
How to Read Guitar Tablature
Guitar tablature is probably the easiest and most used method for guitar notation. On the internet, you can find guitar notation for almost any song that you want to learn.
Tablature is easier to learn than traditional music notation because it relates directly to the fret board of the guitar, indicating where your fingers should be placed. Although it is an easier method to learn it still has its weak points, the main one being that you can't easily indicate rhythm on tablature.
This means that when you learn a song you have to learn the strum from the song itself.
The following diagram shows you how tablature relates to the guitar fret board:
We use numbers to indicate the string and the fret position that you are supposed to play. Each fret is numbered, starting at the nut of the guitar at O and moving upwards towards the bridge of the guitar. The following diagrams demonstrate this principle.
The 3 on the above tablature score (Tab. diagram 1) indicates to you that you place a finger on the third fret of the sixth string. It is the note G.
Diagram here.The 1 on the tablature score (Tab. diagram 2) on the last page indicates to you that you place a finger on the first fret of the third string. It is the note C.
The O on the above tablature score (Tab. diagram 3) indicates to you that the third string is to be played open. This means that you don't need to place a finger on it. It is the note G.
Chords and Tablature
Chords are indicated by a set of numbers that tell you which frets need to be played and which don't. The following diagram demonstrates how an open A major chord is constructed with tablature.
The first and fifth strings are played open whilst the second, third and forth strings are played at the second fret. The sixth string is not played in the A Major Chord and this is indicated by an X.
Often tablature is written beneath traditional music score or stave. The two together looks like this:
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Guitar tablature is probably the easiest and most used method for guitar notation. On the internet, you can find guitar notation for almost any song that you want to learn.
Tablature is easier to learn than traditional music notation because it relates directly to the fret board of the guitar, indicating where your fingers should be placed. Although it is an easier method to learn it still has its weak points, the main one being that you can't easily indicate rhythm on tablature.
This means that when you learn a song you have to learn the strum from the song itself.
The following diagram shows you how tablature relates to the guitar fret board:
We use numbers to indicate the string and the fret position that you are supposed to play. Each fret is numbered, starting at the nut of the guitar at O and moving upwards towards the bridge of the guitar. The following diagrams demonstrate this principle.
The 3 on the above tablature score (Tab. diagram 1) indicates to you that you place a finger on the third fret of the sixth string. It is the note G.
Diagram here.The 1 on the tablature score (Tab. diagram 2) on the last page indicates to you that you place a finger on the first fret of the third string. It is the note C.
The O on the above tablature score (Tab. diagram 3) indicates to you that the third string is to be played open. This means that you don't need to place a finger on it. It is the note G.
Chords and Tablature
Chords are indicated by a set of numbers that tell you which frets need to be played and which don't. The following diagram demonstrates how an open A major chord is constructed with tablature.
The first and fifth strings are played open whilst the second, third and forth strings are played at the second fret. The sixth string is not played in the A Major Chord and this is indicated by an X.
Often tablature is written beneath traditional music score or stave. The two together looks like this:
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Free Guitar Learning for Beginner Lesson Five
Introduction to Chord Progressions
When you listen to one of your favorite songs you become aware to the fact that it is built up of notes and chords that are changing and causing the song to evolve in a way that is pleasing to the ear. The question that I want to look at today is: why do some chords sound good together and others sound absolutely terrible?
To answer this, we need to look at root notes as they are the base that chords are built upon. If we take the notes of a scale and number them from 1 to 8, you will find movements between notes 1, 4 and 5 consistently sound better and stronger than between any other number. Let's take a look at a scale (for learning purposes we will use the C Major Scale):
It might be a good idea to get your guitar out at this point and just have a play around with the notes in the above scale so you can hear what I mean about strong movement between numbers 1, 4 and 5. Also, play around with some of the other numbers to see what some weaker movements sound like.
So, now that we have established the above fact, let's use it in some chord progressions.
A turnaround progression is a sequence of chords that can be continually repeated due to strong sounding chord movement between the ending and starting chords. In the following turnaround progression we use the F chord (F being 4 in the C major scale) to get back to the starting chord C (C being 1 in the C major scale):
Try playing the above chord progression using a strum of your own. If you don't know the chords, they are shown at the bottom of this page - you will hear that the progression sounds good and repeats itself through a strong chord movement.
Here are some more turnaround progressions for you to practice:
1)
2)
3)
Chords
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
When you listen to one of your favorite songs you become aware to the fact that it is built up of notes and chords that are changing and causing the song to evolve in a way that is pleasing to the ear. The question that I want to look at today is: why do some chords sound good together and others sound absolutely terrible?
To answer this, we need to look at root notes as they are the base that chords are built upon. If we take the notes of a scale and number them from 1 to 8, you will find movements between notes 1, 4 and 5 consistently sound better and stronger than between any other number. Let's take a look at a scale (for learning purposes we will use the C Major Scale):
It might be a good idea to get your guitar out at this point and just have a play around with the notes in the above scale so you can hear what I mean about strong movement between numbers 1, 4 and 5. Also, play around with some of the other numbers to see what some weaker movements sound like.
So, now that we have established the above fact, let's use it in some chord progressions.
A turnaround progression is a sequence of chords that can be continually repeated due to strong sounding chord movement between the ending and starting chords. In the following turnaround progression we use the F chord (F being 4 in the C major scale) to get back to the starting chord C (C being 1 in the C major scale):
Try playing the above chord progression using a strum of your own. If you don't know the chords, they are shown at the bottom of this page - you will hear that the progression sounds good and repeats itself through a strong chord movement.
Here are some more turnaround progressions for you to practice:
1)
2)
3)
Chords
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Which Guitar to learn on?
There are three main types of guitar that you will encounter. They are:
Classical Acoustic
Acoustic
Electric
Chances are that if you have asked someone if you can use their guitar for a while, it would probably be an old classical acoustic guitar or maybe a steel string acoustic.
These guitars are excellent to learn on because electric guitars require things like leads, amps, speakers and power. With acoustic guitars you only need a pick.
The other great thing about acoustic guitars is that you can't turn them up loud. When you are learning it is probably better to play on a guitar that isn't going too be loud, only loud enough so your ears can hear your errors and your good performances.
If you don't know which types of guitar you want to play on, ask yourself, 'what kind of music do I want to play?'
Pick a song that you like for its guitar sound. Listen to the guitar sounds and only the guitar sounds. Are they clean, soft sounds? Or are they harsh, heavy or distorted? Generally, acoustic guitars are softer and cleaner. Distorted, heavy sounds come from electric guitars that are plugged into amplifiers and effects units. Can you hear individual notes being picked or are the strings being strummed hard? The harder you play, the thicker your strings need to be. You need to know what style you want to play.
OK you have found a style of music that you like. Try and find out what the band video for that song is and watch it. There will probably be a section in there where the band is playing. In this part, look at the guitarist. Is he/she playing on an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar? What brand is it? What style? If you know the exact guitar from the video, you can ask to play on it at your local guitar shop to see if it suits you.
People play guitar for many different reasons. You need to understand what it is that you want to get out of the guitar. To discover your tastes in guitar music, listening to different styles and genres. Ask musicians at music shops about what kind of guitars different bands use, or ask them what kind of amps/effects those artists use to get that sound.
The answers don't have to be exact because they will get you thinking about what you need to buy to achieve the sound you are after.
For more information on achieving different guitar sounds, see our articles on basic guitar effects and guitar manufacturers and guitar models.
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Classical Acoustic
Acoustic
Electric
Chances are that if you have asked someone if you can use their guitar for a while, it would probably be an old classical acoustic guitar or maybe a steel string acoustic.
These guitars are excellent to learn on because electric guitars require things like leads, amps, speakers and power. With acoustic guitars you only need a pick.
The other great thing about acoustic guitars is that you can't turn them up loud. When you are learning it is probably better to play on a guitar that isn't going too be loud, only loud enough so your ears can hear your errors and your good performances.
If you don't know which types of guitar you want to play on, ask yourself, 'what kind of music do I want to play?'
Pick a song that you like for its guitar sound. Listen to the guitar sounds and only the guitar sounds. Are they clean, soft sounds? Or are they harsh, heavy or distorted? Generally, acoustic guitars are softer and cleaner. Distorted, heavy sounds come from electric guitars that are plugged into amplifiers and effects units. Can you hear individual notes being picked or are the strings being strummed hard? The harder you play, the thicker your strings need to be. You need to know what style you want to play.
OK you have found a style of music that you like. Try and find out what the band video for that song is and watch it. There will probably be a section in there where the band is playing. In this part, look at the guitarist. Is he/she playing on an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar? What brand is it? What style? If you know the exact guitar from the video, you can ask to play on it at your local guitar shop to see if it suits you.
People play guitar for many different reasons. You need to understand what it is that you want to get out of the guitar. To discover your tastes in guitar music, listening to different styles and genres. Ask musicians at music shops about what kind of guitars different bands use, or ask them what kind of amps/effects those artists use to get that sound.
The answers don't have to be exact because they will get you thinking about what you need to buy to achieve the sound you are after.
For more information on achieving different guitar sounds, see our articles on basic guitar effects and guitar manufacturers and guitar models.
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Playing in a Band
A successful band is more than a group of good musicians - There are many other factors besides musicianship that affect the success of a group. Today I would like to outline some of them so that you may avoid the pitfalls and problems that all bands face when trying to achieve success.
Firstly, I would like to talk about group direction. Before anyone even thinks about picking up their instrument, the direction of the group should be discussed and agreed upon. There are a few different directions a band can go. A '60/40' group is one that plays approximately 60% old pop standards and 40% 'top 40' tunes. A band heading in this direction will play most of its gigs at dances, hotels, weddings etc. and can be assured of a steady income. Recognition for a band like this will probably be restricted to a local level.
Another direction a band can head is to play mainly original material and aim for a recording contract and tours. A band heading in this direction will not make a lot of money until they are well known.
When starting a group, it may be better to go with a '60/40' group to gain experience and money for better gear. Whichever group you decide on, make sure that you all agree on the number of musicians, the types of instruments and the style of music that you are going to play.
You must choose a style of music that everyone in the band enjoys. It is a good idea to listen to other established groups playing live to gauge the popularity of different styles and to get a feel for which genre you would like to play in. Once you have decided upon a style, stick to it. You will notice that your crowd will get smaller because you are playing to a niche market; but you need to remember that you can't please everyone and it is far better to give really pleasing shows to a select group than average shows to many.
It is extremely important to think about the structure of your group. Basically, a group can be broken down into two parts - the 'rhythm section' and the 'lead section'. The 'rhythm section' includes the bass guitarist, the drummer and the rhythm guitarist. It is the job of the rhythm section to lay down the beat of the piece of music. The drummer and bassist should work together to set the beat up; the rhythm guitarist should fill the beat to give the whole rhythm a full finish.
The 'lead section' includes the lead guitarist the vocalist and other things like the keyboardist etc. This section should work together to embellish upon the beat that the rhythm section sets up.
It is important that each member does their part and does not over do it. You must remember that you are working as a team in order to achieve a combined sound.
If your group is really serious about getting out and playing and making a real impact on the music scene, then you should spend a lot of time on rehearsal - probably more time on that than anything else (apart from maybe sleep). It is important to be organized and to not let each other down as bands often breakup over commitment issues. When you start rehearsal, make sure that you have a goal for the session and that you keep record of what you achieve.
Rehearsal is important but I really can't stress enough to you the importance of playing to a crowd. You will gain 20 times the amount of experience on stage as you would in the rehearsal room. Work on a good stage appearance and think about the things that you are going to say to your audience. It is most important to connect with your audience. You should practice these things in the rehearsal room.
It's not all band work - you need to practice by yourself as well. Think of it as your responsibility to the other members in the band to keep your skill level up/increasing and to know your parts as best you can before you get to rehearsal. You will save countless hours if you work on band music outside of band rehearsal.
The most important thing when it comes to making a successful and tight band is unity. If the band works as one, it will achieve good things.
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Firstly, I would like to talk about group direction. Before anyone even thinks about picking up their instrument, the direction of the group should be discussed and agreed upon. There are a few different directions a band can go. A '60/40' group is one that plays approximately 60% old pop standards and 40% 'top 40' tunes. A band heading in this direction will play most of its gigs at dances, hotels, weddings etc. and can be assured of a steady income. Recognition for a band like this will probably be restricted to a local level.
Another direction a band can head is to play mainly original material and aim for a recording contract and tours. A band heading in this direction will not make a lot of money until they are well known.
When starting a group, it may be better to go with a '60/40' group to gain experience and money for better gear. Whichever group you decide on, make sure that you all agree on the number of musicians, the types of instruments and the style of music that you are going to play.
You must choose a style of music that everyone in the band enjoys. It is a good idea to listen to other established groups playing live to gauge the popularity of different styles and to get a feel for which genre you would like to play in. Once you have decided upon a style, stick to it. You will notice that your crowd will get smaller because you are playing to a niche market; but you need to remember that you can't please everyone and it is far better to give really pleasing shows to a select group than average shows to many.
It is extremely important to think about the structure of your group. Basically, a group can be broken down into two parts - the 'rhythm section' and the 'lead section'. The 'rhythm section' includes the bass guitarist, the drummer and the rhythm guitarist. It is the job of the rhythm section to lay down the beat of the piece of music. The drummer and bassist should work together to set the beat up; the rhythm guitarist should fill the beat to give the whole rhythm a full finish.
The 'lead section' includes the lead guitarist the vocalist and other things like the keyboardist etc. This section should work together to embellish upon the beat that the rhythm section sets up.
It is important that each member does their part and does not over do it. You must remember that you are working as a team in order to achieve a combined sound.
If your group is really serious about getting out and playing and making a real impact on the music scene, then you should spend a lot of time on rehearsal - probably more time on that than anything else (apart from maybe sleep). It is important to be organized and to not let each other down as bands often breakup over commitment issues. When you start rehearsal, make sure that you have a goal for the session and that you keep record of what you achieve.
Rehearsal is important but I really can't stress enough to you the importance of playing to a crowd. You will gain 20 times the amount of experience on stage as you would in the rehearsal room. Work on a good stage appearance and think about the things that you are going to say to your audience. It is most important to connect with your audience. You should practice these things in the rehearsal room.
It's not all band work - you need to practice by yourself as well. Think of it as your responsibility to the other members in the band to keep your skill level up/increasing and to know your parts as best you can before you get to rehearsal. You will save countless hours if you work on band music outside of band rehearsal.
The most important thing when it comes to making a successful and tight band is unity. If the band works as one, it will achieve good things.
This FREE course in brought to you by Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Jamorama Reviews
Review: Jamorama - the Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
The Jamorama team have developed a new version of the extremely popular learn guitar course that has set the standard for online and downloadable guitar courses. The new versions of the two books, Jamorama Beginners and Jamorama Advanced, are already proving to be one of the most popular guitar learning guides on the market.
Jamorama has 64 new video examples and exercises. That makes 148 videos in all that perfectly compliment the five exclusive computer games aand ebooks that come in the Jamorama Learning Kit. These speed the learning of musical notes, transcribing and and reading written music. They include:
These games and learning aids make the monotony of learning to read music fun, and also help students to develop their ear for transcribing their favorite songs from the radio. Both games are professionally designed, and are invaluable in developing the key skills necessary in being a better musician. The training techniques alone will cut your learning time in half.
Also included is free online consultation to customers and access to the Jamorama Members' Forum where they can get help with specific training problem.
This package is impressive because it is one of the most complete packages regarding the whole process of learning the guitar, from strumming, muting and bending, to timing, reading music and transcribing. It is even more impressive as all parts of the Jamorama Learning Kit work so well together to make learning to play the guitar as fast and enjoyable as possible.
About Ben Edwards
He is a highly respected guitar teacher. He's the former lead guitarist for the popular down-under band "DegreesK", who he toured with internationally.
Before joining the band he gained a Bachelor of Education. His passion for teaching others, especially to learn to play guitar, sparked him to develop Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit...
Get Jamorama now and receive 4 FREE Bonuses!
Besides the Jayde Musica and GuitearIt! software I already told you about Jamorama comes with MORE exclusive, super bonuses:
Bonus #1 - "GuitEarIt!" - Ear Training Game
You've probably heard from musicians and guitar teachers, just how important it is to train your ear in order to both transcribe songs and play better. I know it's hard to believe%u2026 But within 2 weeks from today you could be transcribing songs from the radio with precision accuracy, just by playing "GuitEarIt!". "GuitEarIt!" is a simple, but very powerful, multiple-choice listening game. It ranges from easy to hard.
Here's how it works:
You will start off with the notes A, B, C, and D and are given various strums in which you must decide what was just strummed, using a multiple choice answer board. You get 10 points if you answer correctly first time, 6 points if it takes 2 guesses, 3 points if it takes 3 guesses, and 0 points if it takes 4 guesses. You can only progress from level to level if you score enough points. As you progress, the game gets gradually more difficult. You'll be amazed at how quickly, just by playing this game, you'll train your ear without much effort and eventually you'll be able to recognize all 36 major, minor and seventh chords.
Your friends will be saying that "you have a great ear for music". And you'll not only find it far easier to transcribe songs from the radio, you'll have a better ear for music and that will in turn pay you big, big dividends on your guitar playing progress. What an opportunity!
Bonus #2 - "Jayde Musica Pro"
Jayde Musica brings enjoyment to the otherwise monotonous task of learning how to read music. Calling this piece of software a game is actually pretty deceptive - you don't have to use it long to see why. In the space of a few hours you can have vivid photographic memory of the entire music stave and feel like you've hardly had to work at all. Beginner to advanced levels, complete with high scores - Jayde Musica really is something else!
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm really enjoying Jayde Musica. After searching for ages, I have finally found some music training software that is actually fun to use. Thanks a bunch!"
-- Janine Soulli
Bonus #3 - "Guitar Tuner Pro" Software & "How to Tune your Guitar"
Tuning is a huge problem for most beginners. This software + book solves your tuning problems with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. Learn the most effective, most used methods of tuning your guitar. An essential product to keeping your guitar sounding as good as it should and a fantastic free bonus!
"I find Guitar Tuner Pro so helpful. I play so much better with my guitar in tune and it makes it way easier to learn to play guitar!"
-- Hadleigh Underwood (USA)
Super Bonus #4 - The "Jamorama Metronome"
Once again Jamorama releases a fantastic new learning tool for Musicians. The Jamorama Metronome is designed using traditional metronome sound and style and allows the user to set a click tempo between 40BPM (Beats Per Minute) and 208 BPM. Not only is tempo displayed in BPM, we have also added the traditional Latin terms that you often see in musical notation, used to suggest playing speed.
Combined with specific Jamorama course lessons this is a potent tool that enables you to gain the timing, speed and control of a professional.
Jamorama was worth buying just for the bonus package alone! It's great dealing with guys like you, I wish you all the best for your business"
-- Graham Charleston (USA)
Click here to find out more .. and accelerate your guitar playing today!
The Jamorama team have developed a new version of the extremely popular learn guitar course that has set the standard for online and downloadable guitar courses. The new versions of the two books, Jamorama Beginners and Jamorama Advanced, are already proving to be one of the most popular guitar learning guides on the market.
Jamorama has 64 new video examples and exercises. That makes 148 videos in all that perfectly compliment the five exclusive computer games aand ebooks that come in the Jamorama Learning Kit. These speed the learning of musical notes, transcribing and and reading written music. They include:
- JaydeMusica Pro
- GuitEarIt!
- GuitarTuner Pro and How to Tune Your guitar
- The Jamorama Metronome, and
- Advanced Learning Techniques for Guitar
These games and learning aids make the monotony of learning to read music fun, and also help students to develop their ear for transcribing their favorite songs from the radio. Both games are professionally designed, and are invaluable in developing the key skills necessary in being a better musician. The training techniques alone will cut your learning time in half.
Also included is free online consultation to customers and access to the Jamorama Members' Forum where they can get help with specific training problem.
This package is impressive because it is one of the most complete packages regarding the whole process of learning the guitar, from strumming, muting and bending, to timing, reading music and transcribing. It is even more impressive as all parts of the Jamorama Learning Kit work so well together to make learning to play the guitar as fast and enjoyable as possible.
About Ben Edwards
He is a highly respected guitar teacher. He's the former lead guitarist for the popular down-under band "DegreesK", who he toured with internationally.
Before joining the band he gained a Bachelor of Education. His passion for teaching others, especially to learn to play guitar, sparked him to develop Jamorama - The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit...
Get Jamorama now and receive 4 FREE Bonuses!
Besides the Jayde Musica and GuitearIt! software I already told you about Jamorama comes with MORE exclusive, super bonuses:
Bonus #1 - "GuitEarIt!" - Ear Training Game
You've probably heard from musicians and guitar teachers, just how important it is to train your ear in order to both transcribe songs and play better. I know it's hard to believe%u2026 But within 2 weeks from today you could be transcribing songs from the radio with precision accuracy, just by playing "GuitEarIt!". "GuitEarIt!" is a simple, but very powerful, multiple-choice listening game. It ranges from easy to hard.Here's how it works:
You will start off with the notes A, B, C, and D and are given various strums in which you must decide what was just strummed, using a multiple choice answer board. You get 10 points if you answer correctly first time, 6 points if it takes 2 guesses, 3 points if it takes 3 guesses, and 0 points if it takes 4 guesses. You can only progress from level to level if you score enough points. As you progress, the game gets gradually more difficult. You'll be amazed at how quickly, just by playing this game, you'll train your ear without much effort and eventually you'll be able to recognize all 36 major, minor and seventh chords.
Your friends will be saying that "you have a great ear for music". And you'll not only find it far easier to transcribe songs from the radio, you'll have a better ear for music and that will in turn pay you big, big dividends on your guitar playing progress. What an opportunity!
Bonus #2 - "Jayde Musica Pro"
Jayde Musica brings enjoyment to the otherwise monotonous task of learning how to read music. Calling this piece of software a game is actually pretty deceptive - you don't have to use it long to see why. In the space of a few hours you can have vivid photographic memory of the entire music stave and feel like you've hardly had to work at all. Beginner to advanced levels, complete with high scores - Jayde Musica really is something else!"I just wanted to let you know that I'm really enjoying Jayde Musica. After searching for ages, I have finally found some music training software that is actually fun to use. Thanks a bunch!"
-- Janine Soulli
Bonus #3 - "Guitar Tuner Pro" Software & "How to Tune your Guitar"
Tuning is a huge problem for most beginners. This software + book solves your tuning problems with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. Learn the most effective, most used methods of tuning your guitar. An essential product to keeping your guitar sounding as good as it should and a fantastic free bonus!"I find Guitar Tuner Pro so helpful. I play so much better with my guitar in tune and it makes it way easier to learn to play guitar!"
-- Hadleigh Underwood (USA)
Super Bonus #4 - The "Jamorama Metronome"
Once again Jamorama releases a fantastic new learning tool for Musicians. The Jamorama Metronome is designed using traditional metronome sound and style and allows the user to set a click tempo between 40BPM (Beats Per Minute) and 208 BPM. Not only is tempo displayed in BPM, we have also added the traditional Latin terms that you often see in musical notation, used to suggest playing speed.Combined with specific Jamorama course lessons this is a potent tool that enables you to gain the timing, speed and control of a professional.
Jamorama was worth buying just for the bonus package alone! It's great dealing with guys like you, I wish you all the best for your business"
-- Graham Charleston (USA)
Click here to find out more .. and accelerate your guitar playing today!
Jamorama Acoustic Guitar Reviews
Review: Jamorama Acoustic - the Ultimate Acoustic Guitar Learning Kit
Jamorama Acoustic comes in two books - Beginner and Advanced. These books take the guitarists on a journey from having NO guitar playing skills to being able to play and read guitar tab like a pro.
Jamorama Acoustic guitar is based on the Jamorama Guitar Learning Kit that is widely recognized at the best guitar course available. The Jamorama Acoustic Guitar Learning Kit specifically itargets the acoustic guitar player with 148 video examples and exercises and 26 Acoustic Jam Tracks for the student to play along with.
Jamorama Acoustic also comes with five free bonuses that make this a truly COMPLETE learning experience. These bonuses include:
These games and resources make the monotony of learning to read music fun, and also help students to develop their ear for transcribing their favorite songs from the radio. Both games are professionally designed, and are invaluable in developing the key skills necessary in being a better musician.
Also included is a free online consultation to customers who may have a specific training problem they would like to address.
This package is impressive because it is the most complete package available and covers the whole process of learning the guitar, from strumming, muting and bending, to timing, reading music and transcribing IN DEPTH.
Jamorama Acoustic Guitar comes with a 60 day, no questions asked, money-back guarantee.
Get more information at http://www.jamoramaacoustic.com
Jamorama Acoustic comes in two books - Beginner and Advanced. These books take the guitarists on a journey from having NO guitar playing skills to being able to play and read guitar tab like a pro.
Jamorama Acoustic guitar is based on the Jamorama Guitar Learning Kit that is widely recognized at the best guitar course available. The Jamorama Acoustic Guitar Learning Kit specifically itargets the acoustic guitar player with 148 video examples and exercises and 26 Acoustic Jam Tracks for the student to play along with.
Jamorama Acoustic also comes with five free bonuses that make this a truly COMPLETE learning experience. These bonuses include:
- JaydeMusica Pro
- GuitEarIt!
- Advanced Learning Techniques for Guitar
- Guitar Tuner Pro and How to Tune Your Guitar
- The Jamorama Metronome
These games and resources make the monotony of learning to read music fun, and also help students to develop their ear for transcribing their favorite songs from the radio. Both games are professionally designed, and are invaluable in developing the key skills necessary in being a better musician.
Also included is a free online consultation to customers who may have a specific training problem they would like to address.
This package is impressive because it is the most complete package available and covers the whole process of learning the guitar, from strumming, muting and bending, to timing, reading music and transcribing IN DEPTH.
Jamorama Acoustic Guitar comes with a 60 day, no questions asked, money-back guarantee.
Get more information at http://www.jamoramaacoustic.com
Jamorama Lead Guitar Reviews
Review: Jamorama Lead Guitar - the Ultimate Lead Guitar and Soloing Kit
Jamorama Lead Guitar is an advanced guitar course suitable for intermediate guitarists, for example, those who have already completed Jamorama!
Jamorama Lead Guitar is made up of 43 video lessons that take the student from intermediate level through to being a competent lead guitarist playing like a pro. The student will master impressive lead guitar skills like hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, whole bends, half bends, ghost bends, runs, motifs, vibrato, legato and much, much more.
Jamorama Lead Guitar is based on the Jamorama Guitar Learning Kit that is widely recognized at the best guitar course available. The Jamorama Lead Guitar Kit specifically targets the guitar player with soem experience who wants to take his or her playing to the next level - soloing. The course comes with 29 Jam Tracks in a variety of styles including 12 bar blues, minor blues, slow country, fast country, metal, modern punk, classic 60s rock, modern rock, pop/folk, ska/reggae, jazz and 50s style rock 'n roll. The student can play and learn IN CONTEXT with the course materials.
Jamorama Lead Guitar also comes with five free bonuses that make this a truly COMPLETE learning experience. These bonuses include:
These games and resources make the monotony of learning to read music fun, and also help students to develop their ear for transcribing their favorite songs from the radio. Both games are professionally designed, and are invaluable in developing the key skills necessary in being a better musician.
Also included is a free online consultation to customers who may have a specific training problem they would like to address.
This package is impressive because it fills a ned for a "lead" guitar course in the Jamorama learning style. It covers lead skills with IN DEPTH, step by step lessons.
Jamorama Lead Guitar comes with a 60 day, no questions asked, money-back guarantee.
Special Bonus
Advanced Learning Techniques for Guitar
Using advanced learning techniques, you can cut your learning time in half. Here is a sample passage from this fantastic e-book:
"The interesting thing about mental visualization is that it uses most of the same pathways in your brain as when you perform the activity physically. The only thing missing is the follow through, where you lob the ball at the hoop or hear the noise ring out of the guitar."
The best thing about mental visualization is that you can do it without your guitar. On the bus, in the car, or before you go to sleep at night, mental visualization is also a fantastic excuse to whip out your "air guitar" at every opportunity!
You will not find anything like this book anywhere else. It contains some of the most valuable information that you will ever learn about learning the guitar. On its own this book is normally worth $19.95 - you will receive it absolutely free!
Read Full Details
Jamorama Lead Guitar is an advanced guitar course suitable for intermediate guitarists, for example, those who have already completed Jamorama!
Jamorama Lead Guitar is made up of 43 video lessons that take the student from intermediate level through to being a competent lead guitarist playing like a pro. The student will master impressive lead guitar skills like hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, whole bends, half bends, ghost bends, runs, motifs, vibrato, legato and much, much more.
Jamorama Lead Guitar is based on the Jamorama Guitar Learning Kit that is widely recognized at the best guitar course available. The Jamorama Lead Guitar Kit specifically targets the guitar player with soem experience who wants to take his or her playing to the next level - soloing. The course comes with 29 Jam Tracks in a variety of styles including 12 bar blues, minor blues, slow country, fast country, metal, modern punk, classic 60s rock, modern rock, pop/folk, ska/reggae, jazz and 50s style rock 'n roll. The student can play and learn IN CONTEXT with the course materials.
Jamorama Lead Guitar also comes with five free bonuses that make this a truly COMPLETE learning experience. These bonuses include:
- JaydeMusica Pro
- GuitEarIt!
- Advanced Learning Techniques for Guitar
- Guitar Tuner Pro and How to Tune Your Guitar
- The Jamorama Metronome
These games and resources make the monotony of learning to read music fun, and also help students to develop their ear for transcribing their favorite songs from the radio. Both games are professionally designed, and are invaluable in developing the key skills necessary in being a better musician.
Also included is a free online consultation to customers who may have a specific training problem they would like to address.
This package is impressive because it fills a ned for a "lead" guitar course in the Jamorama learning style. It covers lead skills with IN DEPTH, step by step lessons.
Jamorama Lead Guitar comes with a 60 day, no questions asked, money-back guarantee.
Special Bonus
Advanced Learning Techniques for Guitar
Using advanced learning techniques, you can cut your learning time in half. Here is a sample passage from this fantastic e-book:
"The interesting thing about mental visualization is that it uses most of the same pathways in your brain as when you perform the activity physically. The only thing missing is the follow through, where you lob the ball at the hoop or hear the noise ring out of the guitar."
The best thing about mental visualization is that you can do it without your guitar. On the bus, in the car, or before you go to sleep at night, mental visualization is also a fantastic excuse to whip out your "air guitar" at every opportunity!
You will not find anything like this book anywhere else. It contains some of the most valuable information that you will ever learn about learning the guitar. On its own this book is normally worth $19.95 - you will receive it absolutely free!
Read Full Details
Team Method Guitar Learning
Team Method Guitar is a guitar course put together and taught by a team of guitar experts. They have specialists for acoustic, lead, theory and many more areas. By using a team approach the guitar player learns a variety of methods and styles and doesn't pick up bad habits or any one particular style.
Team method Guitar is also a MASSIVE course. There are six books with almost 500 pages of information, 10 DVDs and CDs with video lessons and play along jam tracks, several mini courses covering playing by ear and acoustic guitar, and several software games to speed learning.
You shouldn't confuse Team method Guitar with other guitar sites that offer lessons and tips from different teachers. TMG is definitely a GUITAR COURSE, not just random tips and tricks.
Perhaps the most impressive thing among some very impressive features of this course is that Team Method Guitar offers students live support. In fact you can talk online with the actual team members who helped put the course together. In this day of impersonal internet marketing this personal touch is in itself amazing.
Team Method Guitar is the Rolls Royce of guitar courses. It's hard to imagine anything that these guys have left out. About the only negative is that being the top end of the market means that this course isn't cheap, but you certainly get your money's worth, and if money is an issue they also offer a less-expensive downloadable version.
If you are serious about learning to play guitar then you really must consider Team Method Guitar. In my opinion it's a "10".
What the You Gets
The Team Method Guitar learning kit is made up of six books (with nearly 500 pages of information) and 10 DVDs and CDs. In addition to the Beginner and Advanced Lead course books there are mini courses in several skills including acoustic guitar, playing by ear and music theory. The learning kit also comes with 81 Jam Tracks and two bonuses: Advanced Learning Techniques for Guitar and the Audacity multi-track recording software.
The complete course materials list is ...
Course Materials
- Beginner course book
- Intermediate course book
- Beginner video lessons DVD
- Intermediate video lessons DVD
- Advanced/Lead course book
- Advanced video lessons DVD
- Chord Reference Book
- Chord Reference book DVD
- 26 Beginner/Intermediate Jam Tracks
- 29 Advanced/Lead Jam Tracks
- Acoustic Guitar mini course with book
- Acoustic guitar mini course video lessons DVD
- 26 Acoustic Jam Tracks
- Play by Ear mini course (integrated into the lessons)
- Play by Ear mini course audio CD
- How to Tune Your Guitar book
- Guitar Tuner Pro software
- Jayde Musica Pro learning software
- GuitearIt learning software
- Team Method Guitar Metronome
Additional FREE Bonuses
- Advanced Learning Techniques for Guitar
- Audacity multi track recording software
For full information ... just visit a Team Method Guitar
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