My Blues Guitar

When you want to learn how to play on guitar, you would either find an experienced guitar player friend to teach you how to play on guitar or join one of the commercial music schools to learn playing guitar. But for many of us it is not always possible or convenient to do so due to a variety of reasons.

There are other alternatives available. There are many websites on which you can get online instructions to teach you how to play on guitar. Most of these online instructions are written by persons who are experts in guitar playing, and their instructions are fairly exhaustive. You can teach yourself guitar by following these instructions or online lessons.

When you learn fro online courses the advantage is that you can learn at your own convenience and at a time that suits you best. These instructions take you step-by-step right from the basics, teaching you how to hold the instrument, how your “fretting arm” should be positioned to give you maximum ease in playing, how your strumming arm should be positioned and so on.

For tuning your guitar which is required to be done quite often, if you invest in a small gadget called “guitar tuner” your problem will be solved. The guitar tuner advises you by blinking lights the correction required to get the note in tune after listening to each string as you play it. This, you will find, an invaluable help because a novice like you cannot expect to develop an expert’s sense of tuning.

By following these online lessons it is definitely possible to teach yourself guitar. But you must have patience. The lessons will take you through the whole process step-by-step, explaining how to play the scales, how to play the chords, how to strum and so on. The lessons will explain how the guitar notations are read and played. You will enjoy the whole process of learning when you will be memorizing “Every Adult Dog Growls, Barks, Eats” or “Every Body Goes Down At Eight” to remember the strings.

To make the learning more interesting after playing the scales and chords, the lessons will gradually show you simple songs that you can play with the limited proficiency you would have attained. This will break the monotony and will also help build up your confidence too. After you learn about major chords and minor chords, you will learn to play suitable songs that can be easily downloaded.

The lessons are pretty comprehensive. They will give you the resources to many lyrics with their tab so that you can practice a variety of styles and gradually gain expertise. The lessons will teach you various special techniques of playing guitar and take you to a point at which you would be able to figure out songs off a CD.

There are many websites at which video instructions also are available. Nowadays there are many resources available on the internet by which it is not difficult to teach yourself guitar to a point of high proficiency.

Did it ever dawn upon you that that practicing your blues guitar skills calls for playing with a real professional band? Particularly before you can move on to the next level of your technical expertise.

Seriously speaking, not every player has professional band lying around that they can visit up and say, “Hey guys, I want to practice right now.” Does anyone? Even professional jam sessions must be predetermined and organised and normally is only once a week. So, how on earth are you suppose to get prepped forthe real world?

Any better-known guitar player will tell you that the best way to learn, is to practice, practice, practice! That’s why you should try looking into purchasing blues jam tracks. Often times you will find that the blues jam tracks you’ll run into are made of cheap midi instruments that isn’t authentic and it sounds like a miserable video game from the seventies! Make sure you do your preparation and select the right CD to rehearse along with. It should have real instruments along with a real professional band.

You will also want it to have a extended variety of tempos and styles. You will want it to have a shuffle, a fast blues, a slow blues, etc. and it is essential that the players on the CD are in tune and stay in time (tempo). I know that sounds pretty fundamental but you’d be surprised how many people will put up with mediocre midi blues jam tracks that they try to download…and it comes out painful! Save yourself the trouble and get professional blues backing tracks from 50Blues

All I know is that ever since I started playing along with blues backing tracks I have improved my guitar playing significantly. Having the power to control a professional blues band with the click of a mouse and a play button was fabulous. It makes it much easier to improvise and create new licks and riff. I would recommend this method of learning to every blues guitarist or musician out there.

Music enthusiasts and instrumentalists declare that it is quite easy to learn how to play the guitar. For neophytes, it may be challenging to strum the strings when you don’t know the basics of musical notes and keys. Guitar video download lessons are available on the web to make it much easier for young learners to learn the rudiments of creating music by strumming the guitar. The acoustic side of music is growing and it is creating a huge niche of followers, that’s why many music fanatics are becoming interested in obtaining guitar lessons with or without an instructor.  If you want to acquire guitar video download lessons, you must have a reliable desktop unit and speedy internet connection. There are sites that have integrated videos, though, which can actually be viewed on Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox without having to download them just as long as you have Windows Media Player that permits playability. If your Internet connection is not too fast to play immediately, you can just download the files prior to playing them. Learning how to play chords on a guitar will open a brand new world of sounds to you. You will discover where to find chords and start playing an entire song of your choice. There are several lyrics online that actually showcase the guitar chords to follow.  The whole fret board of a guitar can be learned immediately even in just an hour. There’s an easy memory technique that you can be viewed by downloading guitar video download lessons or perhaps reading some e-books and listening to audio books as well. Once you get the technique of strumming the chords, you can jam along with other music enthusiasts. It is strategic to understand the notes first before you learn the keys and chords on the guitar. Trial versions of some guitar lessons are also obtainable from selected sites before you purchase any of them. Among the video lessons you can download are “I Want to Play Guitar 2.2”, Guitar Scales Method 1.1, Guitar and Drum Trainer 2.2, Active Multimedia Library, Guitar and Bass Ear Trainer, Guitar Speed Trainer, Guitar Chords Library, Enable Guitar Tuner, among others. These are some of the suggested guitar video lessons that showcase brief videos and provide you a workbook containing significant information, activities and speed & times tests to help you monitor your progress.  The workbook sections of your guitar video download lessons are your quick reference on the theories and instructions to get you on the move. You can learn to play the songs you like on guitar—from jazz to ballads, blues to country, alternative rock to pop. Most video lessons support mp3, wav, mp4 and AVI files which make it easier for you to view them.

Many people are interested in knowing how they can learn to play the guitar. First you must be dedicated to learning about the instrument before learning how to play it.

People can lose interest in the first few days of lessons because playing a guitar is harder than they thought.

People must understand that they have to get through the basic steps and make time for their lessons to be good at guitar playing.

1. A person must learn how to hold the guitar properly and correctly. A person is recognized as a guitar player based on how he holds the guitar. He must remember that when sitting the position must always be comfortable with his position and to sit leaning forward.

2. If the person is sitting on a chair, he must rest the body of the guitar on one of his legs where it is comfortable and easier to play. If the person is right-handed, it means that his right leg will be the one supporting the guitar, while those left-handed persons will rest the body on their left legs.

3. The fretting hand should be placed where they have the nearest reach to the neck. It is important to place the thumb of this hand at the back of the guitar neck. The other fingers should be curled over the strings.

4. He should do different kinds of picking exercises to improve his picking ability. Do not worry about how fast you play as a beginner, what is important is to play smoothly and slowly and execute the correct notes with clarity and precision.

Guitar can be so much fun. Guitar will be easier if you are more interested and dedicated to it.

As long as you are enjoying and comfortable with the ways you are playing guitar then that’s what matters most.

The blues is a kind of music that can be vocal, instrumental (blues guitar) or both. It employs the ‘blue’ notes which are established on a ‘minor pentatonic’ scale most of the time, otherwise known as the blues scale.

Blues music was inferred from the African-American communities in the U.S. out of work songs, spiritual songs, field hollers, chants, shouts and elementary ballads that rhymed. A lot of facets of the blues are indicitive of African influence.

The call-and-response aspect of the music came straight from African origins and there were a lot of lines that would get duplicated thrice or more. This later developed into a line repeating twice and then on the third time around there would be an ‘answer line’. You will be able to still discover these aspects of early blues in modern day music, especially hip-hop.

The term ‘The Blues’ refers to the ‘blue devils’ which signifies down spirits or sorrow.

The blues guitar brings a fundamental role in blues music as well as contemporary music. It has shaped Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Bluegrass and even heavy rock genres The original blues of the early 1900’s, otherwise known as “poor man’s blues” was usually linked with hard times, oppressiveness from white folk, ruthlessness of the police, gambling, economic depression, floods, magic, farming and dry periods. This music was fueled by a lot of brokenheartedness and anger. Not uncommonly a lost loved one or an generic harsh environment prompted the lyrics and the tone of the blues guitar.

After the world war, you start to see blues songs that were about relationships and sexuality. Also, wit was broadened to the mix. Here is a funny example:

“That must be your woman, cause mine don’t look like that… I said That must be your woman, cause mine don’t look like that… Have you seen my baby? She’s so big and fat…”

The blues guitar style came forth from the American South’s instruments of the time which were the banjo and the Diddley Bow. This was a home made one stringed instrument that was favourite in the early 20th century. Figures such as Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Son House and Blind Willie McTell were a part of the delta blues style which used a lot of finger picking techniques and slide guitar innovations.

Eventually, after WWII ‘electric blues’ became more and more popular where the blues guitar was played on electric guitars as were the bass guitars. This was most prevalent in the Chicago area.

The history of blues guitar and poor man’s blues is rich with culture and stories of good times and bad. I could go on for days about the history of the blues guitar but let’s make this part 1 so you don’t fall asleep on me!

One of the first things you will try and learn on guitar is chords.

Learning guitar chords can be difficult. What are the easy to learn chords?

The easiest way to learn guitar chords is through progression and becoming familiar with the structure of the chords. It is easy to learn guitar chords this way and one of the best ways to do this is to start with the E D A D chord structure.

Most people start with this structure as they are some of the easiest chords to learn.

As a beginner you should be careful of a thing called ‘lockup’. Lockup is when your fingers and arm become tensed and no matter how hard you try to work through it they just lockup.

Lockups can be caused by trying to tackle complex chords to fast. This can lead to frustration, so it is a good idea to keep it basic to begin with.

What is the ii-V-I method?

The ii-V-I chord is an easy chord to learn and you should consider it as a beginner. You will feel that you are starting to actually learn the guitar because it sounds good.

You don’t just have to pluck random sounds from your guitar.

The type of music most played through this easy to learn chord is jazz or rock. Because of the feeling this chord gives it is also called ‘happy’ music.

Probably the best advice is to start with basic chords and then practice as much as possible. When you gain confidence and start sounding good you will be able to work on more complex chords. In the end, you will be able to play the guitar much quicker than you expect.

Whether you are playing a show or just practicing, you should tune your acoustic guitar every time you play. Playing an out of tune guitar is not fun. Beginners can become frustrated with learning because they do not understand the importance of acoustic guitar tuning. The few extra minutes it takes to tune your guitar is always worth it.

Pluck the string you want to tune. If you use an electronic tuner, the tuner’s built-in microphone will pick up the sound. Look at the indicator. It could be a flashing light and/or a meter. It will tell you how close your are to the right pitch and whether you are sharp or flat. Adjust your acoustic guitar tuning accordingly by tuning the string’s tuning key.

Taking your strings from looser to tighter will tune your guitar, also called tuning down. If the string is too tight, you will need to get it in tune by loosening the strings slightly and then tightening it again until it is in tune. Tuning up will give you a more true tone than tuning down.

A reference pitch source is needed whether or not you want to use an electric tuner when learning how to tune your guitar. Some options as to other things you can use are a tuning fork, another in tune guitar, a piano, or an MP3 that you know is in tune. Your results will always be accurate if you use an electric tuner when acoustic guitar tuning. If you’d like to try it the old fashioned way, an electric tuner will be helpful if you’d like to check your results.

Begin acoustic guitar tuning with the sixth string (low E), which should be tuned to match the reference pitch. After you?ve done that, the other strings must be tuned to that note. Simply work on them one by one. There?s a scientific explanation for this procedure, but you don?t have to learn it anymore than you have to learn to build an engine in order to drive an automobile.

Here’s how to do your acoustic guitar tuning: 1. Strum (in tune) the sixth string on the fifth fret. Tune the open fifth string to that exact note. 2. Strum the fifth string on the fifth fret. Tune the open fourth string to the same note. 3. Tune the fourth string on the fifth fret. Tune the open third to the same note. 4. Follow closely; this is different than the above. Play the third string on the fourth fret and tune the open second string to this note. 5. Play the second string on the fifth fret and tune your open first string to this note.

If you’re just starting out with acoustic guitar tuning, you may want to ask someone at the music store when you purchased your guitar to show you how to do acoustic guitar tuning the proper way. Then just keep practicing until you’re comfortable with the process. It takes time and practice to learn to do acoustic guitar tuning, especially by ear. For the novice, the simplest way to perform acoustic guitar tuning is with the use of an electronic tuner. You can find one for around $20 and you will definitely get your money’s worth. An electronic tuner that is made specifically for tuning guitars has the ability to recognize which string is being played.

There’s a line from an old blues song that says, “the blues had a baby…and they called it rock n’ roll.”

Let me tell you, there is so much truth to that line! You can listen to all the first rock n’ roll songs and discover the blues guitar riffs, chord progressions and scales being played, just in a less bluesy kinda way.

“Johnny B. Good” is a key example of a blues guitar progression being played with a rock drum beat and a vocal melody that is unusual from how a blues vocal melody would sound. It doesn’t finish there though. The influence on modern music is nonetheless very prevalent. We hear it in hip-hop, rock, emo, indie, reggae, r & b, funk, etc

The commonly used 1 - 4 - 5 chord progression (3 chords) that is used in blues is also used in almost EVERY type of music that exists. Even Beethovan uses this chord progression as well as many others from the classical period. Not only do blues guitar riffs and chord progressions gets played in modern music, but virtually all guitar solos also have blues overtones in country music as well as the other styles that I mentioned. It has been a Essential component in organizing the shape sound of modern music no matter how you look at it.

Learning how to play blues music should be a top priority on any guitar players ‘to-do’ list. Once you learn the ins and outs of this genre, you can improvise it to create your own popular songs, riffs and/or solos. Many guitar players that I know improvize on the blues scale to make their key riffs and super amazing leads as well as use the chord progressions to write innovative, more modern music.

Don’t allow anybody influence you that the blues is dead!

The blues is a form of music that can be vocal, instrumental (blues guitar) or both. It utilises the ‘blue’ notes which are accomplished on a ‘minor pentatonic’ scale almost all the time, otherwise known as the blues scale.

Blues music was inferred from the African-American communities in the U.S. out of job songs, spiritual songs, field hollers, chants, shouts and elementary ballads that rhymed. A lot of aspects of the blues comes from African culture

The call-and-response aspect of the music came straight from African origins and there were a lot of lines that would get duplicated thrice or more. This later developed into a line repeating twice and then on the third time around there would be an ‘answer line’. You will be able to still discover these characteristics of early blues in modern day music, especially hip-hop.

The term ‘The Blues’ refers to the ‘blue devils’ which signifies down spirits or sadness.

The blues guitar brings a essential role in blues music as well as contemporary music. It has influenced Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Bluegrass and even heavy rock genres The original blues of the early 1900’s, otherwise known as “poor man’s blues” was commonly affiliated with hard times, oppression from white folk, ruthlessness of the police, gambling, economic depression, floods, magic, farming and dry periods. This music was fueled by a lot of grief and depression. Usually a lost loved one or an overall harsh environment invigorated the lyrics and the tone of the blues guitar.

After the world war, you start to see blues songs that were about family relationships and sexuality. Also, humor was broadened to the mix. Here is a funny example:

“That must be your woman, cause mine don’t look like that… I said That must be your woman, cause mine don’t look like that… Have you seen my baby? She’s so big and fat…”

The blues guitar style came forth from the American South’s instruments of the time which were the banjo and the Diddley Bow. This was a home made one stringed instrument that was best-selling in the early 20th century. Figures such as Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Son House and Blind Willie McTell were a part of the delta blues style which used a lot of finger picking techniques and slide guitar innovations.

Eventually, after WWII ‘electric blues’ became more and more popular where the blues guitar was played on electric guitars as were the bass guitars. This was most prevalent in the Chicago area.

The history of blues guitar and poor man’s blues is rich with culture and chronicles of good times and bad. I could go on for days about the history of the blues guitar but let’s make this part 1 so you don’t fall asleep on me!

If you were to conduct a Google search for “free guitar lessons” or “free guitar tutors” you would find a multitude of websites making you various promises about how they can teach you to play guitar “in no time.” Although these claims are not entirely true, free guitar lessons can be useful if you use them on a regular basis and practice on your own. The content and lessons on free instructional guitar websites and DVDs are usually created and taught by professionals, and they’ll cost you hundreds, even thousands of dollars less than in-person lessons.

Most of us have very busy lives; jobs, school, kids, friends, sports and hobbies are part of most of our days. If you were to schedule an in-person guitar lesson and then have to skip it because something came up, your instructor would be annoyed and would most likely charge you for the full amount of the class. If you take free guitar lessons on a DVD or online instead, you don’t have to worry about annoyed instructors or bills for classes you didn’t attend. You can sit down a take a class when it works best for your schedule, and it won’t cost you a thing. In fact, you could even take a lesson while on vacation or traveling for business.

Another problem with taking a guitar lesson with a real instructor is that sometimes you don’t have time to practice in between lessons. When you show up for your next lesson, your instructor will be disappointed, you will be embarrassed and you will end up paying for the same lesson you took the week before because you didn’t get a chance to practice what you were taught. When you’re taking free guitar lessons online, there is no one to ridicule you or make you feel embarrassed for not practicing. You can also repeat any lesson you want for no charge.

Free lessons also allow you to move as slowly or as quickly as you want. With free guitar lessons, there is no actual instructor to dictate the speed at which you should learn things. If you’re getting the hang of it very quickly, you can skip lessons, and if you’re having a hard time you can slow down, pause between instructions or even go back. If you’re feeling frustrated or burnt out you could even take a month long break from your free guitar lessons without having to explain yourself to an instructor.

One of the only negatives to taking free guitar lessons opposed to in-person instructor led lessons is that if you have a question you may feel like you don’t know who to ask. However, you have a number of options. Try going to a local concert at a small venue and chatting up the musicians after the show. Once you introduce yourself, they’ll be happy to share any advice they can with a struggling new guitarist. You can also peruse a guitar player’s forum for similar questions or post a question of your own. Musicians are generally a tight knit group who love to share tips and help each other out.