guitarhabits

photo by Yuri Samoilov
I had the pleasure of learning to play guitar at a young age. The good old days when I had all the time in the world to practice and play. Lack of time was not an issue back then.

As I became an adult, I fell into the booby trap of our time consuming society. I went along with this rollercoaster ride for quite some time, getting things done and following the mass.

It was getting more and more difficult to find time to practice, write songs or work on any other aspect of guitar playing.

When I started to read books and blogs about efficiency, life strategies and zen buddhism I became aware of the fact that I could choose how I wanted to live, how I wanted to perceive, feel or act.

I realized I had to change my lifestyle if I wanted to fulfill my goals and pursue my passion.

A couple of years ago I found a way again to practice, play, write and do a lot of other great things on a daily basis. It feels great to improve.

I know my way around the guitar but it still feels great to practice and learn new things. It’s something I will never stop doing, just because I love doing it.

In order to become a better guitar player you need some basic principles to keep you motivated, inspired and playing at all times.

Here are the 8 basic principles that will make you a better guitar player: Read More »

In order to learn how to solo and improvise in blues and rock you must know the 5 pentatonic scale shapes. A lot of blues players tend to get stuck in the first pentatonic scale shape, but to be truly free and improvise across the entire fretboard you need to know all the shapes.

And it’s not just about that. Every shape gives it’s own sound and feeling to a guitar lick. This is where the magic happens. This is where the coolness and the beauty comes through all these different shapes. They all got their own personality.

Learn all the shapes thoroughly and when you do also learn them in different keys. It is a lot of work, but it is important that you do, so take your time with it. Practice with focus and dedication.

The examples below are all in the key of A, but you can play these shapes in every key, just move the shapes up and down the neck. The red notes are showing the root notes of the scale, so in the scale shapes below they are all A notes.

If you want to play the shapes in the key of G for example, all you need to do is move them 2 half steps down. (a half step is a one fret distance) If you want to play the shapes in the key of E move up 7 half steps, etc, etc.

Good luck and enjoy!

PENTATONIC SCALE SHAPE #1: Read More »

photo by Dan Taylor
What a great joy it is these days to be a musician or a songwriter. Big studios are no more a necessity to record your music.

Better yet, you don’t even need a home studio anymore. All you need is a laptop (with proper software), an interface, a guitar, a mic and you are ready to roll. High quality recordings at your fingertips.

Mobile and minimalist.
Now you can pack your whole studio in and onto your guitar bag. You can put your guitar and mic in the bag and your notebook and interface in the front pockets of your guitar bag. Yes you do need a solid bag with multiple pockets. Composing, recording, editing and mixing your music everywhere you go. It almost sounds like an ad, but it is just to demonstrate how mobile and minimalist you can be as a musician. That is true freedom.

The minimalist musician / songwriter
We are musicians so we do need an instrument to play with and equipment to record our music, but we are aiming for the minimalist approach here as much as possible. Read More »

I grew up listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan. My oldest brother was a big fan of Stevie and he introduced me to the wonderful world of blues and rock. He did not play guitar himself but he loved listening to guitar players all the time.

I started playing guitar at the age of 9, but it took another 6 years before I started listening and learning the songs of Joe Satriani, John Frusciante, Scott Henderson, Jimi Hendrix, Dimebag Darrel, Marty Friedman, Slash and Frank Gambale to name a few.

Much later I began listening to pretty much the rest of the list presented below. Listening to all these guitar players enriched my playing and my life as a musician and music lover. I hope it does the same for you.

This is a list of the most greatest, influential and famous guitar players of all time in no particular order. The list is not complete, because it can never be.

It is a wonderful guide to learn from, listen to and read about. The musicians and their music will inspire and motivate you. If you want to become a great guitar player then these are your teachers.

I present to you: The gurus, revolutionaries and guitar heros. Enjoy!

001. Jimi Hendrix (Blues/Rock)
002. Robert Johnson (Blues)
003. Albert King (Blues)
004. B.B. King (Blues) Read More »

For all you blues beginners out there, in this video I will teach you the A pentatonic scale and three basic blues licks that use this scale.

The Pentatonic scale is the most often used scale for soloing and improvising in blues and rock. If you are just starting out in blues you should definitely check out this video. The 3 blues licks are free and for you to use in your own improvisation. Copy them, rip them apart, turn them around and make them your own. Use the pentatonic scale to create your own licks and solos. Be cool!

Tablature explanation:
p = pull off
h = hammer on
bd = bend down
bu = bend up
\ = slide

A PENTATONIC SCALE: Read More »

photo by Sean McGrath
Does songwriters block affect me? Yes, sometimes, but fortunately not for a long period of time. If I really get stuck it’s just for an hour or a day.

I can also have writers block over one particular song, but then I start writing on something else and the inspiration miraculously comes back.

I spent a decent amount of time on lyrics to make it work. It can take a day, a few days or a week and it is only seldom that I finish a complete song in a hour or so. When it does happen it’s mostly one of my better works.

Nice chord progressions, finger-pickings, cool licks and solos is the fun part. I can write music endlessly. Lyrics for me is the more difficult part and sometimes I can get stuck, but that is where the list comes in. This list definitely makes things go a lot smoother.

Put these 33 impeccable ways to the test yourself and experience the magic of inspiration:

1 – Ask why, how, when, where and who?
Ask yourself questions about the subject. If your song is about a suspicious old man then ask the questions: Where does he go? Where did he come from? Who is he? What is he going to do? Who are his friends? Does he have any? What are his interests? What are his dreams? Is he married? What is his history? Why does he act so strange? Ask as many questions as possible to come up with ideas.
Read More »