Thursday, May 29, 2008

Musical Instruments

musical instrument - musical instrument lesson
If you're tired and frustrated of trying to find a site that caters for ALL your musical instrument and supply needs, whether you need a guitar, a keyboard, or anything in between, then you've come to the right place. We have reviewed the 3 top music

Guitar Master

Learn and Master Guitar Review - Learn and Master Guitar Review - The pros and cons of the popular Learn and Master Guitar DVD course. See how it stacks up against other guitar lesson products.

Bass Guitar TV

Bass Guitar TV is for bass players who want to learn what can't be taught in school!
Learn To Play Bass Guitar

Guitar Secrets

Guitar Secrets Lead Guitar Made Easy - Guitar Secrets Lead Guitar Made Easy and Free online guitar lessons

Guitar Tuition - The Mistakes We Make!

So, you're learning guitar. Maybe you've already began professional guitar tuition, or perhaps you're trying to teach yourself by learning at home or with friends. Either way, it's never easy - in fact it's impossible to pick a guitar for the first time and even strum a simple rhythm pattern! Learning guitar takes a great deal of practice - and getting really good on guitar takes even more. In the article we take a look at the 3 most common things that are likely to make you quit playing altogether or lose interest...

1. Frustration!

Hey man, you can't be expected to master your instrument in a matter or days, weeks or even months. There is always going to be a lot of practice involved before you start getting happy with the way you are playing. Why? Because the guitar is a complicated instrument. Don't be fooled by your guitar heroes - they make it look so easy - but these guys (Like Slash, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Steve Vai or whoever you look up to and take inspiration from) - they've all been playing for years - even they SUCKED at one time! So don't give up easily - the more time & effort you put into your practicing, the quicker your playing will improve to a reasonable standard. Once you get there you'll suddenly start progressing to the next levels much more quickly. So work hard at building the foundations for your playing to grow.

2. Blisters

We all get blisters - especially when you first begin playing, or after you've taken a break for a while and then go back to the guitar. They can be very sore and painful. Just let them heal for a couple of days, listen to some tunes, and by the time you can stand to touch those guitar strings again, you'll notice your fingertips are a little tougher, as they develop callouses.

3. Play with your friends!

Without a doubt, one of the best ways to improve your guitar playing is to jam with friends. This invariably ends up being the beginning of your first band! When you jam with your buddies, you learn how to play off each each other, and you learn how to fit in with each other's sound. Standard guitar tuition can't teach this! You'll find playing is much more enjoyable when it's not just you in your bedroom.

So, there we have some useful tips for beginners! For lots more guitar tips for beginners, get on over to www.onelouderguitars.com and join the free e-course!

Sign up to my free guitar e-course over at http://www.onelouderguitars.com

David B Black - EzineArticles Expert Author

Pick Hints And Tips When Learning How To Play The Guitar

Over the years guitar picks have been made from metal, tortex, wood, bone, plastic, rubber, felt, and even stone. It has been suggested, although some guitarists may disagree, that light flimsy picks simply don't sound very good. When learning how to play the guitar pick choice is something not to be ignored.

Probably the most famous and easily recognizable name on a pick is the logo of Fender Guitars. Steve Clayton was the first pick manufacture to create multi-colored imprinting for guitar picks. The company that made the first plastic pick in 1922, D'Andrea Picks, created most of today's classic guitar picks shapes.

Bass players tend to prefer thick picks because their strings are far thicker than those of guitarists. Jazz guitar players tend to use quite heavy picks, as they also tend to favor heavy gauge flat-wound strings.

However, nylon loses its flexibility after 1-2 months of extensive use, becomes fragile and breaks, so guitarists that use thin nylon picks should have several spare picks just in case. Many players will often have spare picks attached to a microphone stand or slotted in the guitar's pick guard.

A guitarist can easily adjust the pick tip's flexibility by applying various pressure to this central section .A hard grip yields hard pick (thicker one) to play lead, a soft grip yields soft pick (thinner one) to play rhythm. Picks wear out with use, and many guitarists prefer the playing "feel" of new picks. Usually, a guitar pick is hidden within a player's hand, so a casual viewer may think that a guitarist plays with bare hands. This is something to practice when learning how to play the guitar.

We all know that picks come in all shapes, sizes, colors, materials and thickness but is there that much difference between them all. Genuine tortoiseshell picks used to be quite common but since an international ban on their manufacture and distribution in the mid-70 they are virtually impossible to locate.

Some players prefer the brash, bright sound that metal picks offer. Most nylon or plastic guitar picks are brittle and cause a clicking sound off of the strings when played. Thinner picks are recommended for electric guitar playing where artificial amplification is present.

Grip Picks have specially designed grooves to help them stay in your fingers. Thick picks offer greater mass and therefore greater tone and volume, and with the sharp bevel they can be as snappy and crisp sounding as a 1mm pick. Although there are many special or custom shapes, the majority of picks come in three different styles: standard, triangular, and the tear drop shape. The type of material you choose will affect the picks durability. Those who play with picks protect their fingers from becoming calloused from strumming on the guitar for hours at a time.

Pick choice is important and not to be ignored when learning how to play the guitar


How to Read Guitar Tabs

One of the most exciting parts of learning how to play guitar is being able to play your favorite songs. Most beginners, when they start out, dream of being able to shred their favorite songs by their favorite bands. While the ultimate goal should be to learn how to read music, the best way for beginners to learn songs quickly is to learn how to read guitar tabs.

Guitar tablature is very similar to sheet music, only you don't necessarily have to know the notes and values of traditional sheet music to read tablature. One of the biggest differences there is between sheet music and tabs is that sheet music has only five lines, while guitar tabs have six lines, each representing a string on the guitar.

Reading Guitar Tabs: Step 1 - Learning the Strings

One of the first things you'll need to know in order to learn how to read guitar tabs is how the strings (the six lines) are arranged in the tablature. The high E (thinnest string) will be the very top line, followed by the B string, the G string, the D string, the A string, and finally the very bottom string will be the low E.

Step 2- Learning the Frets

The next step in learning how to read guitar tabs is to learn what all the numbers mean that are on the various lines (strings) of the tablature.

The numbers located on the lines represent frets on your guitar. Frets are the spaces between the little metal bars on the fingerboard of your guitar. If there is a number 5 on the line that represents the low E string, this means you press the low E string down on the fifth fret and play that note. If there is a 0 on the line, this means you play that particular string open.

Step 3 - Learning the Symbols

It's also extremely important when learning how to read guitar tabs that you know what the symbols on the lines represent. If there is an "x" on the line, that means that string isn't played at all.

Sometimes when a particular guitar chord is tabbed out, there will be a few strings with the "x" on it in between some of the notes of the chord. This means that those strings are not to be played as part of the chord. If you see a "b", this means the note bends; if you see an "r", it means to release the bend. If you see an "h", this stands for hammer-on, and if you see a "p", this stands for pull-off. "PM" stands for palm mute, and "t" stands for tap. If you see a "/", this is indicating a slide. (Consult your favorite "how to play guitar" guide for detailed explanations of how to play what those symbols are indicating. Check out my favorite list of resources right below this article!)

Learning how to read guitar tabs is one of the most crucial skills a beginner can learn. Once you've acquired this valuable skill, you'll be able to start learning some of your favorite songs, and your practice time will become a whole lot more fun. Learning how to read guitar tabs will put the wind in your sails as you endeavor to become a true guitar hero.

Have fun!

There are three resources I'd suggest you check out to learn more about guitar tablature. See my how to read guitar tabs blog entry at GuitarHack, this how to read guitar tabs page on Squidoo, and this how to read guitar tabs article on Hubpages. You'll be glad you did!