Music & Guitar

The Age of Music

Music is ageless. Musicians are too. The only requirement necessary to play a musical instrument like the guitar is a reasonable degree of dexterity in the hands, the ability to retain the content of each guitar lesson and a natural love of music. This means that few individuals are really too old to learn to play guitar who show an avid interest in doing so.

Guitar – A Learning Curve Of Enjoyment

Learning guitar is actually no different an educational curve than any other art form. The prospective musician needs to understand that it takes practice to increase style and technique. The first thing to assess before registering for guitar lessons is personal musical interest. The student of guitar who will remain interested in their instrument is the student who finds a continuing interest in guitar music and advancing their playing technique. Guitar teachers will begin with rudimentary lessons for the first year or two of lessons. This includes proper fingering and learning to play chords as well as basic introduction to technique and style.

Older Students and Learning To Play Guitar

Older students may find it helpful to review the courses of study in music offered in their earlier education. This aids in learning to read from sheet music, although most guitar classes also include this if the student has not been previously taught. The first study books for guitar are arranged so that the beginner can easily understand the correlation between music notes played on guitar and how to exact the right pressure on strings to achieve the correct sounds.

The Approach To Learning To Play Guitar For Older Students

Learning anything new at an older age may seem more difficult unless the proper attitude and approach are taken. The student, old or young, must have a strong desire to learn a new skill and approach playing guitar from the talents they possess from within. Then, choose a guitar style to play from among many.

Remember, you are never too old to start learning to play guitar. Enjoying guitar as a hobby would easily be the best pastime that you’ll learn. You could also take guitar learning as a challenge to pick up new skills even though you could be past your prime time. As the saying goes, you are never too old to learn.

I really hope to see you start playing the guitar soon and do drop me a note when you drop by my website guitarplayerworld.com for free lessons. Cheers!

Anybody interested in modern music sooner or later asks the question, “Where did it begin?” Well, if you leave blues music out, you will not have much of an answer. So let us look at where the blues came from, where it went and who it met on the way. We will also take a look at the “blues sound” and how it has its unique effect on our feelings.

The blues as a musical phenomenon began around 1911 when W.C. Handy published popular songs, notably “Memphis Blues” and “St Louis Blues”, which affected the hearts and souls of the black people. By the nineteen twenties the general population were beginning to hear this new music through its influence on jazz. Early blues singers like Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday sang with jazz bands while others played with “jug bands” accompanied by fiddle, kazoo and washboard.

Of course to people like W. C. Handy who were brought up singing in church, the piano was the natural instrumental accompaniment to their songs. But the guitar is portable and always was popular so it had to have a place in blues and jazz. Blues guitar players like twelve string guitarist Leadbelly and future electric guitar player B.B. King were making sure the guitar would be an integral part of the blues. Other blues guitarists made their living in smoky saloons playing slide guitar using a bottle neck or the blade of a knife to fret the notes.

After the Second World War young artists like Elvis Presley and Bill Haley were wrapping the blues in a new package called “rock’n'roll” and the players of the electric blues guitar like B.B. King were heralding the arrival of the lead guitar, soon to be a great attraction for both musicians and audiences. Throughout the evolution of the blues the guitar had always taken its turn for solos in jazz bands but now it competed with the singer for the attention of the audience.

Blues guitar can be played in any key that takes your fancy and comes in three basic forms: eight bars, for example “Heartbreak Hotel”, sixteen bars like “Saint James Infirmary” and twelve bars like “St. Louis Blues”. For some reason the twelve bar blues form is way more singer-friendly and popular with audiences than the other two, and it is the basis of many great songs outside the blues idiom.

If you go poking around the internet you will find that the blues scales are just your garden variety major and minor scales except that the third, fifth and seventh notes are played flat. However, you may be astonished to learn that blues players managed for centuries without knowing about European musical theory. They learnt to sing and play from their families and friends just as many of the young white blues players of the nineteen sixties learnt from imitating the artists they heard on records.

And this is where the blues takes another direction. After years of imitating their idols something odd happened to the white blues guitar players in Britain and the USA. They developed their own authentic, original styles. The older blues players even began using the new arrangements of classic songs and adopting some of the unbluesy musical innovations introduced by young white guitarists like Eric Clapton. So the beat goes on. A foreign culture influences American popular music and in turn gets fresh input from a new generation of guitar players from all over the world.

I came across a word with an interesting sound the other day, one I hadn’t really heard before. The word was ‘retronym’.

A retronym is essentially a brand new name for something, usually required by the passage of time and/or new technology. The best example is World War I, which wasn’t World War I at all until World War II came along. Another famous example, and the reason I’m writing this, is ‘acoustic guitar’ a name which didn’t exist until the electric guitar came along and made it necessary to distinguish between the two. In case you’re wondering, the term ‘retronym’ was first used in 1980 by Frank Mankiewicz, an American journalist, former president of the USA’s NPR (National Public Radio) and, incidentally (for movie buffs) son of Herman Mankiewicz, co-writer of Citizen Kane.

One of the most interesting things about the acoustic guitar, as opposed to it’s electric cousin, is that it comes in many variations, which you might imagine would by now be consigned to history, but quite a few have made a come back in recent years.

One such is the harp guitar, an instrument with many configurations and sounds, which can be defined as a guitar with additional strings which can be plucked but which are un-fretted, in other words there are usually the standard six strings which are played as normal PLUS others; one or more, which are usually lower in pitch and which are always played open, just like the strings of a harp.

Some harp guitars have treble or mid range strings or even both. Many have one or more curved arms which gives the instrument a harp like appearance, others simply have two necks. In all cases the sound of the instrument can be amplified by pickups on both the harp and guitar strings, creating a completely unique sound which is very rich and has great depth.

Harp guitars include instruments which are truly unique, and many which would look at home in a science fiction film. What they are most definitely not, are harps. The definition of a harp requires the strings to be at right angles to the sounding board, putting harp guitars more in the zither class than harp itself.

While the harp was invented somewhere before recorded history began, (they are clearly shown in Egyptian tomb paintings) the harp guitar seems to have made it’s appearance around 150-200 years ago and was quite common around the turn of the century and up to the 1930’s. After that the instrument seemed to drift completely out of favor. The sound is not the same s that of the six stringed guitar, and the result of difference was disapproval from some quarters.

Famous guitarist Julian Bream began his career playing a harp guitar, and not just any guitar, this was a Selmer-Maccaferri. A picture exists showing your Julian, at around 13 years of age, playing his harp guitar. The picture was taken during a visit to Banjo, Mandolin & Guitar Magazine when Julian was just about to be ‘discovered’ and appeared on the magazine’s cover in June 1947. Julian’s first teacher, Dr Boris Perrot, had owned a Russian harp guitar and advocated the use of these extra strings, in fact Julian’s father enjoyed the sound so much he helped build the guitar into the logo of the Philharmonic Society of Guitarists, so he was very willing to look for suitable instrument for his talented son. His choice was a nine stringed harp guitar said to have been played by Maccaferri himself. Despite this, when Julian Bream gave his first concerts, he used a conventional, six stringed guitar, so what happened?

Apparently it is all down to one man, Wilfred Appleby, a member of the Philharmonic Society of Guitarists who was partially responsible for the launch of Breams career. Unlike Bream senior he was not enamoured of the harp guitar, in fact he described it as a ‘freak instrument’. Appleby wrote that ‘no music requiring extra strings is really representative guitar music’ and demanded that Julian use a conventional guitar for his debut.

The rest, as they say, is history. Without this narrow view, the world of guitar music might be very different today, but happily the harp guitar is now making a come back, in both acoustic and electronic form. There have now been seven harp guitar gatherings held at various locations in the USA, the next, HGG8 is to be held in in Indianapolis in November 12th – 14th 2010. If you’d like to participate, how about some acoustic guitar lessons?

For a guitar player of any level, meeting the challenge to compose your own music is a very intriguing one. It can be incredibly rewarding if you get it right, and it’s a great buzz being able to write music on the instrument that you love.

When you play the guitar, if you are reading from a book, then sometimes you can feel like a robot – you are simply obeying the instructions of another. Writing your own music, however, gives you more freedom and creativity when it comes to playing. Whatever you have in mind, whether it’s a gentle instrumental piece or even writing your own music, it’s a wonderfully creative process that will encourage your ability to understand the rhythms and sounds that you hear every day.

There is no magic formula for songwriting, and that is one of the reasons why it is such an exciting process. Music, by definition, is meant to be free-flowing and creative – not just in the notes themselves but in creating emotional responses from the listener.

Despite the absence of the magic formula, there are a number of tips and techniques that you can learn in order to create your own music on the guitar:

·    Think of a word such as, for example, ’snow’. Now think of how you would represent snow musically on your guitar. Think of all the things that the word ’snow’ means to you, and play that. You may start out with just a few notes and mistimed chords, but keep at it.

·    Try some other words – ‘rain’ or ’sadness’, for example – and try to create something which best represents those words in your own way. It doesn’t have to signify the same word to other people – music is best when it is objective. You’ll find that you will fuss around with the notes a bit, but eventually you will find a finger-picking motion that you like.

·    If you are writing lyrics to go with your music, then there are two ways you can approach this: you can start out with the words and apply the music, or do the opposite: start with the music and fit the lyrics around that. What works for one person may not work for another, so experiment, try both and see one best fits your individual songwriting style.

If you’re still struggling, take a look at these more simplified steps:

·    Find a chord that you are familiar playing (for example G or D) and experiment with it. Change some of the notes around and see what happens.

·    Whilst you are doing this, leave one finger in the same place as you move others around to different strings.

·    Now listen to the sound when you strum. Listen to the sound when you play individual notes.

·    Now try the same again, but this time with a different chord, or even different notes.

·    As soon as you hear something that you like, make sure you play it over and over again. This will commit it to memory.

·    When you have this first series of notes in your head, you have the starting point for your song, and can build around it.

Relaxing and enjoying it are probably the most important things to remember when it comes to songwriting on your guitar. It’s all part of the creative process when you sing complete nonsense or the first things that come into your mind. Keep going – you’ll find that you will stumble upon a chord (or a variation) that you really like, or a lyric that fits perfectly. As soon as you do, make sure you write it down and build on it.

Another good tip is to get a friend to aid you. Some of the most beautiful and emotive songs in history were written as collaborations between two or more musicians. Not only that, but a friend who is particularly musically minded can give you some great impartial feedback on how you are doing.

The best guitar scale to learn if you are into Rock music is the Pentatonic scale. The Pentatonic scale is also used in many other types of popular music, like Blues for example.

The Pentatonic scale has 5 notes that create 5 patterns that connect across the entire fretboard. These 5 patterns get their names from the notes that are in the scale… Root, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th. Also, just by adding a few notes, you can create all of your other scales just by using this one pattern. You start off by using the Pentatonic to visualize your scales and then you add a note or two and you can play over top of any chords.

Here is the Pentatonic scale 6th shape that you will want to memorize first:

E|—|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|

B|—|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|

G|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

D|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

A|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

E|—|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|

Because this scale is so important to the guitar player, it is usually the first scale and pattern that everyone is taught.

There are also 4 other patterns that belong to the Pentatonic scale that are important for connecting the entire fretboard. Here are the others…

Root Shape:

E|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

B|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

G|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|—|

D|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|—|

A|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|—|

E|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

2nd Shape:

E|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

B|—|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|

G|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|—|

D|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

A|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

E|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

3rd Shape:

E|—|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|

B|—|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|

G|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

D|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

A|—|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|

E|—|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|

5th Shape:

E|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

B|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

G|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|—|

D|—|-X-|—|—|-X-|—|—|

A|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

E|—|—|-X-|—|-X-|—|—|

When practicing the different Pentatonic shapes, or any other scales for that matter, make sure to use alternate picking and a metronome. You will want to get comfortable with alternate picking because once it becomes second nature to you, it will allow you to play faster while still sounding smooth and clear.

Using a metronome is something that you should always be using when you practice. Not only will you improve your timing but you will also learn your scales and songs faster if you practice by starting off at a slow speed.

Using a metronome can also help you sound better. Start off at a real slow bpm (beats per minute) and listen to each note you play very closely. Do you hear them ringing clear or do they sound muted. Identify which strings are being muted and adjust your fingers and then play that note again. Keep doing this until all strings are ringing clear. Once you can play all the notes clearly at that speed, then set your metronome at the next speed faster. Then go through the same steps as before until all the notes sound perfect.

Also, try at first to use one finger per fret but if you switch out of position occasionally, that’s ok. Do whatever you feel most comfortable doing.

So give the Pentatonic guitar scale 6th shape a go first and memorize it. Don’t forget to start off slow and gradually work your way up. Make sure all your notes ring out clear and then try playing it at the next bpm faster. Once you are satisfied with your speed, go on to the next shape and memorize that one. If you spend a little bit of your practice time each day practicing, you will be able to play all of these shapes anywhere on the neck of your guitar. And also once you have all of these shapes memorized, it will be much easier to tackle any other scales you want to learn. Rock and Roll!

Introduction

An interval is the tonal distance between two notes or, stated differently, it is the number of whole and half steps between two notes. Educated musicians have specific names for each interval. These names will be presented and discussed in this article.

Basic Interval Terminology

Any interval of one octave (6 whole steps) or less is known as a simple interval. Any interval spanning more than an octave is referred to as a compound interval.
Simple Intervals

Simple intervals are given names corresponding to the scale degrees. So, for instance, the interval between the first and second notes in the scale is called a major 2nd and the interval between the first and third notes in the scale is called a major 3rd, and so on. The following list gives us the interval names for intervals smaller than one octave. Note that each interval name is composed of two parts-the interval size (e.g. 3rd, 5th, 6th) and the interval quality (e.g. minor, perfect, augmented). The interval size indicates the distance or span of the interval, whereas the interval quality gives us insight into the nature of the interval’s sound. Note also that some intervals have two alternate names (e.g. a diminished 5th is the same as an augmented 4th).

Perfect Unison – 0 steps

Minor 2nd – 1 half step

Major 2nd – 1 whole step

Minor 3rd – 1 ½ steps

Major 3rd – 2 whole steps

Perfect 4th – 2 ½ steps

Diminished – 3 whole steps

Augmented 4 – 3 whole steps

Perfect 5th – 3 ½ steps

Minor 6th – 4 whole steps

Augmented 5th – 4 whole steps

Major 6th – 4 ½ steps

Diminished 7th – 4 ½ steps

Minor 7th – 5 whole steps

Major 7th – 5 ½ steps

Octave – 6 whole steps

The major scale contains only two interval qualities: major (of course) and perfect. The other three intervals (minor, diminished and augmented) can be derived from the major and perfect intervals by adding or subtracting a half step.

Deriving Minor, Diminished and Augmented Intervals

When we perform these half step modifications to create minor, diminished and augmented intervals, we may notice that the interval size does not change-only the quality. There are four rules for defining these interval derivations:

1) A major interval which is lowered or contracted by a half step becomes a minor interval. Thus a major 3rd (2 whole steps) which is lowered by a half step (1 ½ steps) becomes a minor 3rd. Or a major 7th lowered by a half step becomes a minor 7th. Note, as we pointed out earlier, that the quality of the interval changed but the interval distance remained the same.

2) A perfect interval which is lowered or contracted by a half step becomes a diminished interval.

3) A major interval which is raised or expanded by a half step becomes an augmented interval.

4) A perfect interval which is raised or expanded by a half step becomes an augmented interval.

Summary

Intervals can be thought of as the span between two notes. Intervals have two-part names which indicate not only the distance between notes, but also the quality of the sound produced. A study of intervals is a useful prelude and introduction to the study of chords.

When learning to play a new instrument many people pay for private lessons because they think it is the best way to learn. For many musicians, this is true – private lessons provide personalized attention and one-on-one interaction with a qualified instructor. Private lessons do have their downsides, however. In many cases, private lessons are limited to a certain time period, generally thirty or sixty minutes at a time; and students must pay for each lesson they take. These lessons can cost hundreds of dollars on a monthly basis. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to private lessons, or if you simply want to try something different, consider taking beginner guitar lessons online and you may find that they are the perfect way for you to learn.

Both cheaper and much more flexible, online guitar lessons are a great alternative to the traditional in-person style. There are many different kinds of online lessons for beginners. Some lessons take textual form, simply providing explanations about how the guitar functions or how to read guitar tablature. Other lessons can be found in video form – some are even taught by well-known professional guitarists. One of the benefits of online lessons is that a single teacher can record his or her lesson and then have it be viewed by thousands of different students. You would never be able to book Bon Jovi or Mick Jagger in person, but you never know what may happen with the convenience of the internet.

By taking beginner guitar lessons online you have the freedom to move at your own pace, you are not bound to the schedule of your instructor and you can choose to revisit old material if you need a refresher. One of the biggest advantages to taking guitar lessons for beginners online is that many lessons are free. And the ones that do have a price tag to them will likely charge you less than half of what you would be paying to a private instructor. You should never have to shell out a small fortune in order to learn to play the guitar – you can learn for free and move at the pace that is right for you if you explore the resources online. If you are a beginning guitarist or if you would like to start the process of learning to play, consider taking online guitar lessons and you may be surprised just how easy it is. With online guitar lessons it is possible for anyone to learn to play the guitar!

What is your level of understanding about classical guitar music? Don’t know much about it? Well, you can always learn. You might even own a classical guitar or have heard one played before, or maybe you just want to learn how to play a wonderful instrument. The guitar has a glorious history, dating back to the 16th century, and can seem almost intimidating when you see a master playing it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn classical guitar music and play it at your own pace while enjoying the challenge.

Surfing the net, you will find quite a few websites devoted to the guitar. Instructional manuals on how to play classical guitar music, various firms advertising free classical guitars, and in-depth classes on how to play like a professional in just one hour, yeah good luck with that. Some vendors charge for course materials, whereas others offer a little bit of information for free on their website. Some free websites will give you short classes on the correct posture, the proper playing position and where to begin.

Reading classical music of any kind can be a challenge. Unlike regular sheet music, there are a lot of special notations and marks around the notes that can be very confusing to the uninitiated. Some free websites will actually list what all these notes and symbols mean and how to play them on your classical guitar.

Your fingernail is an essential part of playing this instrument. Interestingly, in classical guitar music it is suggested that you grow your fingernail out just a little bit in your strumming hand. This may sound silly but you should seek information on proper grooming and care of your fingernail. You want to play classical guitar music well, but don’t want to damage your precious little finger do you? Needless to say, playing classical guitar is part art and part science.

The music has been with us for multiple generations. That’s great news if you’re looking for sheet music. In many cases, after a certain number of years have passed from the original composer’s death, music then becomes public domain and copyright laws no longer apply. That simply means that you can probably find a lot of classical guitar music for free. While many companies will no doubt still try and charge you for complex pieces, keep looking and you will find your favorite classical guitar music theme for quick print or download. Along with sheet music there are also MP3’s and Midi files available to listen to so you can get a real good feel of the music as well as the notes.

Learning any musical instrument regardless of what it is has mainly to do with good practice. If you’re planning a metamorphosis, looking for a new hobby or even a new profession, think about the classical guitar. I promise you will have plenty of help available on the Internet and it might not even cost you anything to get you going. Besides, of course, buying the classical guitar itself, that is!

Guitar music theory is something you may have heard about before, it’s the idea of applying musical theory to the guitar to produce unique recognizable patterns or styles of music. Understanding this theory will enable you to play any style of music because you will see that music can be broken down into parts, it’s a science that makes a style what it is.

Let me tell you some of the basics, music theory as it applies to guitar is built up of the following: scales, steps, chords and chord progressions. Each of these contribute to the overall song. It can be thought of as a recipe as if you are making a type of food. Start with a tortilla, add some rice, beans, some chicken, sauce and cheese. These are each parts in the recipe that contribute to the overall delicious burrito. The better each of these ingredients are, the more well defined and unique the taste but each of them contribute, even if they have been tasted before to making it something you can recognize.

To make a song you need to use different things like: a major scale, a chord progression and rhythm . A scale is typically a major or minor scale, it represents the relationship that notes have to each other. The C Major Scale is defined as: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. A G Major Scale is defined as: G A B C D E F# G. Now each of these has a step sequence between them. It helps to use different amounts of steps like a whole or a half step. For C Major it’s: C whole step D whole step E half step F whole step G whole step A whole step B half step C.

The next piece of information to understand with regards to guitar music theory is that there are also chords. A chord is like a scale, you typically only hear two types, major and minor chords. A C Major chords looks like this: (C E G), the intervals that define this are: C 2 steps E 1.5 steps G. A major chord is defined as: 2 steps – second note – 1.5 steps – third note and a minor chord is defined as: 1.5 steps – second note – 2 steps – third note.

Now that you know something about scales and chords you can see that you need to learn about progressions. If you can start to add these variations in to the progression: ACE, DFA, CEG, FAC, GBD, EGB and BEG you will have achieved a song. You alternate what chords you play and then that is the building block of the song. There are plenty of other resources out there to make sure you learn guitar music theory. I hope you have the terminology down now so that in the the future when you see how these relate to styles you will know that you can just play certain chords and scales with progressions and make happy songs.