I just found out about a cool feature on Gibson’s website.  They have a place where you can view interactive guitar lessons online.  I checked out some of the lessons and while they aren’t necessarily for beginners, they are definitely good for people who want some new lead ideas, and they are especially good for studying different styles of playing since they cover a lot of different styles and instruments.

They also apparently just added a new feature called the “Lick of the Week” which typically shows a short “lick” or riff that might allow you to think outside the box a bit.

I highly recommend checking it out.

http://www.gibson.com/Products/Places/Lessons/

Tags: Guitar News

Jamorama Leads Review

Price: $39.95

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Overview: As you know I’m a huge fan of Jamorama so I was extremely excited to see that they were coming out with a new product called Jamorama Leads, and I was even more excited to be asked to be a part of the beta test! And I can say now after having reviewed the product in detail that I’m not disappointed. Ben jumps right in by teaching a basic major scale and the theory behind it. He then covers numerous other theory related topics, all while slowly sprinkling in bits and pieces of lead playing in between in the style of the original Jamorama lessons.
Positives: I really like how Ben gives the user small bits and pieces to digest slowly one at a time. At first glance, it looks like there isn’t as much there as you’d want or hope for, but if you really dig into the material, you realize that there’s really a lot of good material there, especially from a theory standpoint. And if you’ve never been exposed to any of this before, then you’ll have plenty to work on for a long time to come.
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Negatives: As good as the material is, I was hoping that there would be some more advanced lead playing examples. There is quite a bit there, but if you’ve had any amount of lead playing experience you’ll probably be a bit disappointed. As it is, this is perfect for someone right in between beginning and intermediate stages.
Summary: I highly recommend these lessons if you’ve just finished up Jamorama and are looking for some more advanced material to challenge you, but if you’ve already had some experience playing lead and already know basic blues, major, minor scales along with standard lead techniques such as hammer-ons and pull-offs, then you’ll probably want to find something more advanced.

Rating: 9.5/10

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Tags: Intermediate Guitar Lessons

I took classical guitar lessons when I was 12 years old for about 1.5 years. The reason I did this was that my mother made me do this because someone told her that to learn guitar you should learn classical guitar first. This made no sense to me then and it makes even less sense to me now. I eventually got my electric guitar and the classical guitar sat in the closet (in fact it’s still in the closet to this day at my parents house)!

But I digress…the main point I want to get across is that in today’s day and age you can pretty much learn most styles of guitar pretty by finding online resources or buying online lessons, videos, or whatever. I’m sure there’s probably some good classical guitar lessons resources out there somewhere. But I would suggest that if there’s one “discipline” of guitar playing that I would recommend taking lessons with a teacher for, it’s classical guitar. There are several reasons for this.

- Classical guitar requires very strict technique that is difficult to pick up by watching a video or reading about it on a web page. While electric guitar playing is not very strict and people develop their own approaches, classical music can be extremely difficult to pull off with sloppy technique if not downright impossible. A teacher will be able to point out where your technique is lacking and help keep you from being sloppy.

- Most true classical guitar players have dedicated their life to playing and have gotten some schooling at some point and most likely have a music degree as well. This isn’t always necessarily the case, but I would think that this is the case more often then not. I would say that the only people who are truly qualified to teach this discipline are those that have dedicated their life to it.

- While many people can learn basic chords and play simple “campfire” songs, even the most basic classical guitar exercises require a great deal of focus and concentration. Going to a teacher every week will help keep you focused and able to get to a higher level more quickly.

These are just a few reasons and of course this is just the opinion of this author. But if you’re truly serious about taking classical guitar lessons, I would strongly urge you to go to your local college or univeristy and contact their music department to see if there are any classical guitar teachers. Take some lessons with them and you should know pretty quickly whether classical guitar is for you, plus it will keep you from developing bad habits that you may develop when practicing on your own.

Tags: Free Guitar Lessons

Some might argue that playing blues slide guitar is relatively simple, but I think it is one of the more challenging things for people of all levels of guitar playing. While I’m not an expert on slide guitar, I do have skill at playing blues slide guitar so I can share some of what I know about this style.

The first thing you should know about playing slide guitar (particularly “delta” blues slide guitar) is that it is typically in a different tuning. The most common tuning for slide guitar is open G tuning which is from low to high D-G-D-G-B-D. So if you’re in standard tuning E-A-D-G-B-E low to high, then you tune the low E down to a D, the A down to a G, then the high E down to a D. This is pretty simple and when you do this you’ll hear that playing all the open strings will give you a G chord. As a side note, this is the tuning used in the song “Travelling Riverside Blues” by Led Zeppelin, and you can hear this tuning on just about any delta blues style song.

Once you tune your guitar, then just mess around with the slide, and I think you’ll find you can have some fun sliding up adn down the neck. Keeping the slide right over the top of the frets is what you should concentrate on to make sure you’re in tune, but the most important thing to use when playing slide is your ears. You need to listen closely to make sure your intonation is correct. It’s a lot harder then it seems at first!
You can also solo in standard tuning but this is much more challenging then open tuning. “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd is probably the most well known standard tuning slide solo, but I recently purchased an instructional video by Brett Garsed called “Rock Improvisation Techniques” and he demonstrates some pretty amazing slide techniques as well. Check out Brett at his website www.brettgarsed.com

Tags: Free Guitar Lessons

I want to briefly discuss different types of strings and associated sizes and why you want to carefully consider the types of strings you would want to use.

First of let’s discuss briefly nylon strings. These strings are used on classical guitars and are conducive for fingerpicking. If you own a classical or are considering purchasing one, these are the strings you will use.

Now if you’re playing a standard electric or acoustic 6-string guitar, you’re going to want steel strings. Some of the more popular brands are D’Addario, Dean Markley, Ernie Ball, Elixer, GHS, and Fender.

As for the different sizes, they come in sizes ranging anywhere from sets of .008’s to .013’s. Now, you may wonder what this means. Well the .008-.013 range describes the thickness in inches of the high E string. So when someone says 8’s, 9’s 10’s, they’re typically referring to a set of guitar strings with the high E string of that thickness. The remaining strings are also thicker or thinner depending on the thickness of the high E string, although you can buy individual strings to suit your personal tastes.

What thickness should you choose? I prefer D’Arddario 9s for my electric and Elixer 10s for my acoustic. For me, anything thicker then 10s give my fingers a tough time. But also know that the thicker strings will have a much better tone. As a beginner, I wouldn’t recommend set thicker then 9s for starters until you build up some left hand strength. I don’t recommend 8s at all as they tend to break too easily.

If you’re going to be playing dropped tunings, then you should consider thick strings in the .012-.013 range (Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky Strings are great). This will allow you to tune down and still have tight strings that don’t flap
around. The thinner strings will usually be too slack when you’re tuned down.

Tags: Free Guitar Lessons

I want to touch base on choosing different types of guitar picks. This is something that I don’t see discussed very often, which is surprising because the type of pick you use makes a HUGE difference.

Now most picks are approximately the same size with slight variations. The key difference is the thickness. This can
range from as small as 0.5-0.75 mm, or as thick as 3 mm! This may not seem like much but believe me it is.

The main difference is in the “attack.” The thinner picks will give more then the thicker ones, thus producing a less abrasive sound, while the thicker guitar picks will have much more bite.

In general the thinner picks are better for strumming chords on an acoustic, while thicker ones are better for soloing. If you simply want to strum chords on an acoustic then you don’t want anything thicker then about 0.75 to 1 mm. However, if you’re planning on soloing, you probably want something thicker then 1 mm.

For soloing, I prefer Dunlop Jazz 3 picks. These are the types of picks John Petrucci of Dream Theater uses, and he’s the one who turned me on to them. These are a lot smaller then normal picks but once you get used to them, the small size forces you’re picking hand to be more precise. The Jazz 3s are about 1.33 mm thick.

Go to your local store and buy a bunch of different sizes to see the differences eventually you’ll develop your own personal preferences.

Tags: Free Guitar Lessons

I want to touch base on a philosophy of mine. It basically goes like this…with good technique, you can play anything!

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If you can alternate pick most any any lick or picking pattern, then any time you’re trying to learn something new you’ll be able to pick it up much more quickly then if you don’t have good technique.

Obviously you want to practice things that you have difficulty playing, or create your own exercises that are similar to those things you struggle with. By focusing your practice time on these things, you will improve much quicker. Then in the future when you encounter things you previously used to struggle with, you’ll breeze right through it!

Think about it…if all you practice are power chords, you just really limit yourself as to what you can potentially play. By focusing on certain techniques, you’ll be able to do so much more. But you can still play power chords if you choose. I don’t know, maybe some people are happy only playing power chords, but I digress…

Of course it’s ultimately up to you. This is just how I view the guitar.

Tags: Free Guitar Lessons

Picking from the wrist vs. picking from the elbow or forearm is something that is important to think about as a beginner. The habits you form early on will be tough to change as you play more and more.

I won’t say that you should do one or the other because ultimately its up to you. But I would like to recommend now that you try to focus on picking from the wrist, or at least try to minimize elbow movement. The reasons for this are as follows:

1) You have much more control with using only the wrist.

2) Picking from the wrist minimizes overall movement which makes it easier to play complex passages.

3) Most rythym playing (especially on acoustic) can be done more easily and sounds less mechanical by using the wrist.

4) Its easier to play muted passages using the wrist.

Again, it’s a matter of personal preference, and there are some players who pick primarily from the elbow (Michael Angelo and Vinnie Moore) and do it very well. But the vast majority of players pick primarily from the wrist.

Experiment with both and see which feels more comfortable for you. But keep in mind once you get used to one, its tough to break the habit.

Tags: Free Guitar Lessons

The Beginner’s Guide To Unlocking The Guitar Review

Price: $29.95

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Overview: When I first started reading this E-Book, I quicly realized how many things I take for granted every time I sit down and practice. There are so many little nuances that I don’t even think about anymore go into everything I attempt to play. I’m happy to say that Unlock the Guitar is the first book I’ve seen that really truly goes into the bare bones basics of learning how to play. Its painstaking in its detail and careful to give attention to beginners who have no clue about the guitar. And when I say painstaking, I mean he really does address every single thing I could possibly think of for beginners.

Positives: As I stated above, the level of detail for beginners is great. The book is 248 pages and he takes you through the process of where to get a guitar, the different types of guitar, some of the lingo used in a guitar store, all the way down to getting it setup properly, and proper practice form. He also outlines a simple plan to help you play very simple songs right away. If there was a “Guitar For Dummies” then this book would certainly qualify. He leaves no stone unturned when it comes to beginners.

He also discusses a pretty interesting way of learning the basics of switching between chords, but honestly I have no clue if these techniques work or how effective they are. The only thing I remember is that I just practiced it over and over slowly until I got it!

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Negatives: With all the detail he puts into helping beginners, this is extent of these lessons. You won’t know any more then basic chords and be able to play some of the 150 basic 4-chord songs that he covers in his accompanying book. There is nothing in this book that covers any type of basic lead playing or anything beyond the bare bones minimum.

Summary: The details he includes for helping out beginners is as good as any set of lessons, but beyond basic chords you won’t learn anything else. So if you’re looking for a more comprehensive beginners course and willing to spend a little more money then I recommend checking out Jamorama. But if you’re brand new to the guitar…meaning you’ve never even picked one up in your life and you don’t want to be overwhelmed, then these lessons might be perfect for you!

Rating: 8/10

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Tags: Beginner Guitar Lessons

Jamorama Review

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Overview:

As featured in Guitar World magazine, Jamorama is basically a compilation of EBooks (in addition to mp3 and soon to be added video files) and Software combined into one easy to follow package. The EBooks are divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced sections that take the reader in a very well thoughtout progression through the very basics of the guitar like tuning, proper position and technique all the way to advanced chords and rythym variations. And every example in each EBook has an accompanying example in mp3 format. In addition to the ebooks and mp3 files, you also get some pretty cool software programs as a bonus.

NEW: I’ve just found out that there will be soon be video examples for the beginners book with videos to be added to the intermedite and advanced books soon after.

Positives:

The mp3 and video examples are an inavluable tool that accompany the ebooks that help the reader learn quickly and effectively. The Ebooks are well written and easy to follow with lots of different examples that go from easy to advanced in a progression that will not overwhelm beginners. By the time you’re done with the 3 ebooks you will know how to read music and be able to play fairly advanced rythyms and have a pretty good knowledge of chords all over the neck as well as soloing concepts.

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Negatives:

No real negatives other than the fact that if you’re an advanced player that already has a number of years of playing experience you might not find much new here. Intermediate players might also take caution as well as they might already be familiar with most of the concepts. Also the downloads are pretty big so make sure you have a high-speed connection otherwise it could take a few hours to download.

Summary:

Jamorama is highly recommended for beginning players who are looking to advance their chordal knowledge and soloing concepts. Intermediate and advanced players will probably be familiar with most of the concepts already, but intermediate players still might find some things here worthwhile.

The mp3 files and soon to be added video files that are available for immediate download overdeliver and are well worth it. And with new material being added on a regular basis with no additional costs you really can’t go wrong!

Rating: 9.5/10

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Tags: Beginner Guitar Lessons