Amazing guitar playing has always been around in some shape or form, and its always interesting to see guitar players of long ago still impressing every one with their amazing skills, despite the fact that guitar playing is constantly evolving. Perhaps its the fact that we have so many awesome performers out their that beginning students get frustrated and overwhelmed. If you are this person, then may I should remind you that no man is an island. If you take the time to allow patience to flow into your practice routines, and do things as accurately as possible, no matter how tricky it may seem, you will prevail. There’s no need to get too carried away, but a little perfection will actually make your playing sound great. There’s a difference between good and great, but the interesting thing is that greatness is always just around the corner. You really don’t need to work that hard to become an amazing guitar player, because if you enjoy it at heart then the process isnatural. So how do you become an amazing guitarist? There’s no clear cut direction or rules really, but there are smarter ways that you can train your brain and your hands. Taking it upon yourself to become your own expert is a great place to start. If you have a chord book, devour everything that’s in it. Always be your best critic, but in a good way. You can do this by tape recording yourself and then playing it back to see how you sound when you are not focused on playing the guitar. Pick up the guitar as often as possible. One of the best times to practice is while watching television. It also helps to be mindful how you can improve your playing with expression and accents. You can get ideas for this stuff by listening to other people’s music. Accentuation on the guitar is one of the best things to focus on in fact. If you are looking for speed, remember that speed doesn’t sound cool without some passion. To learn and master guitar means to take on quite the journey, but with the right direction, anyone who keeps their eyes on the ball will definitely learn and master guitar. No one ever learned to play guitar without doing it this way.
Posts Tagged ‘Guitar’
Guitar Pro Tabs Scales
January 1st, 2010Innovations such as active electronics, guitar synthesizers and Steinberger’s intrepid steps into the field of headless instruments in the 80’s have failed to make much of a dent in the market. Guitar Pro Tabs ScalesGibson and Fender continue to dominate the electric guitar market much as they did in the 1950’s and 60’s. Even with the entry of new competitors into the market over the years such as Ibanez, Paul Reed Smith and Charvel/Jackson, the electric guitar has remained essentially unchanged with one to three magnetic pickups and a mess of wires connecting them to the controls. But things may be about to change! In the last couple of years a few innovations have come along that have totally turned conventional wisdom – or at least conventional guitar electronics on its head. The first is the nylon string solid body electric guitar. I first saw one of these in the hands of metal ace Yngwie Malmsteen and was blown away by the sound. For any artist who is trying to incorporate elements of classical guitar in his or her repertoire, this instrument provides the mellow classical tone of a nylon stringed guitar with the comfortable feel and action of a traditional solid body axe. This has been made possible through the tremendous advances made in recent years in the field of Piezo pickup technology. Without going into too much technical detail, the Piezo differs from a traditional magnetic pickup in that the Piezo element vibrates with the string, sending an electrical signal of that vibration to a preamp within the guitar for processing, rather than capturing an electromagnetic representation of that vibration which can then be sent directly to an amplifier, or to an onboard preamp if further shaping of the signal is desired. The Piezo eliminates the need for steel strings, which would otherwise interact with the magnetic pickup, and also produces more satisfactory results for players with a lighter fingerstyle technique. Lest you think this is just another passing fancy, Parker has produced a nylon string version of their famous “Fly” model and another up-and-comer, Sadowski Guitars, is producing a Telecaster style model employing the same technology. Play EXISTING riffs and patterns with speed and accuracy click here Another intriguing development is in the area of computer-guitar interface. This has been long time coming, and if you consider the explosion in the popularity of digital recording with Pro Tools and similar software, it’s surprising it took as long as it did. Far and away, the leader in this field is Line 6’s Variax model. Now, I will be the first person to admit that I know just enough about computer technology to be dangerous, but I’ll try to tell you what I know from what I’ve read and from friends and acquaintances who have played the Variax. I should also state that I am in no way affiliated with Line 6 or any of their subsidiaries or partners. The Variax is, according to the Line 6 brochure a “digital modeling” guitar that allows the musician to switch between a huge array of potential sounds on one instrument. The sounds of a 12-string acoustic, Fender Stratocaster style single coils, Les Paul humbuckers, banjo, chimes and dozens of others are all available at the flick of a switch. The best part about it is that all of these tonal variations are available completely hum free. For the working musician, this means not having to lug around five to seven separate guitars to provide him with the all of the sounds he requires. The true test, however, is hearing one of these fine instruments in action, so if you’d like to check one out, a list of authorized dealers is available from the Line 6 website. At an MSRP of around $1000 for the mid-line Variax 600 – it’s also available in the 300 and 700 – it’s not cheap, but for the professional or amateur with money to burn, it may be a worthwhile investment. There is so much more to be developed in the near future with the improvements in computer technology and miniaturization. Whole racks of effects can now be had in a box the size of a cigarette packet. This is certainly a boon for the musician in terms of both price and the effort necessary to move the equipment. I foresee a day when an entire guitarist rig, with the exception of the instrument itself will be contained within the body of the guitar itself. And while that may not be a comfort to the guitarist who finds himself at home amongst his racks of effects processors, time waits for no man, and he will eventually find himself at a crossroads in musical instrument development, much as those men did back in 1930’s and 40’s when the acoustic guitar was forced to make way for the first electric guitars. CREATE patterns and riffs anytime of the day or night Click here
