Why Focus on Strumming? I don’t think there’s a single guitarist that doesn’t strum sometimes. It’s very common for guitarists to learn the CAGED chords, and some simple strumming patterns, as the first thing they ever do with the instrument! Strumming just means holding a chord and moving a pick or fingers across the strings,[…]

Question: How Long Should I Practice Each Day? Answer: There’s a trick to this question. More is pretty much always better, but it’s also better to have a little bit of practice every day than to cram one day a week. My suggestion, if you’re looking for a minimum, is half an hour each day.[…]

Why do you have a passion for guitar? Odds are that you didn’t just see a guitar and want to play it. You probably heard someone playing one: a relative, a friend, at a show, on the radio, or on TV. Before you’ve started playing, it doesn’t take too much to excite you! Just seeing[…]

Why are there so many shredders? The standards for being called a “fast” guitar player are incredibly high, and the bar is constantly rising. The top speed demons can clock in at playing sixteen or more note in a second. I don’t know about you, but I can’t even think that fast – let alone[…]

Playing Slide with Style Playing with a slide looks pretty easy at first glance. For starters, even though you might be using heavier strings, you aren’t pressing down on them as you would normally need to; there’s no real fretting involved, for the most part. Even the interaction with the strings is through the slide,[…]

How to Warm Up   Frequent, careful and focused practice is the key to improving your overall skill. But how do you make sure you’re in tip-top playing condition in the short run? An effective warm up routine is essential. It doesn’t need to be exactly the same each time, but you may be able[…]

A Fool-Proof Guide to Tuning by Ear This blog’s touched on tuning before – how could it not come up? If you’re not in tune, that’s it. You’re done for. Nothing you play will sound alright, you could have the technique to put the greatest guitar legends to shame but if your instrument’s out of[…]

  Keeping Good Time You can normally tell when someone’s playing out of time. It either ruins the flow of a solo piece or throws a whole band’s performance off. Even the least discerning audience – maybe a wedding reception where people are drinking and won’t even notice some bum notes! – will be upset[…]