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Finding Confidence in Your Guitar Playing

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Photo by Ashley Webb
When you learn to play guitar there are moments when you’ll feel insecure or frustrated about your playing one way or another.

You might doubt if your ever gonna learn a particular piece as well as you would like to. You may feel hopeless about your technique or you might be disappointed about your overall results.

I had many doubts, I guess I was as much insecure about my playing as I was confident.

One way I overcame most of these insecurities is when I started reading and learning about how the mind works. The wisdom obtained from Zen and Taoism can make a huge difference in your playing. The other way to find solid self asteem has to do with how you practice.

Let ‘s take a look at the keys to becoming a true confident guitar player:

As you are so is the world ~ Ramana Maharshi

What does this quote teach you about guitar playing? Continue Reading

The Most Important Scales to Learn on Guitar

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Photo by Michael Mooney
The first scale I learned as a teenager was the minor pentatonic scale. That was a good starting point for me cause I was really into rock music and metal.

I only learned the first and classic position that most guitar players know, but l did learn it thoroughly though.

I also figured some blues boxes like the “Albert King box” and the “B.B King box”. (they are not official names).

They are just little pieces of postion 2 and 3 of the blues scale. I learned how to connect the minor pentatonic scale and some of these blues boxes together and tried to improvise over these scales in every possible way I could. (by creating licks, applying sequences, learning solos to gain input, building a vocabulary to understand soloing and improvisation, etc.)

Much later on I learned to use the other 4 postions of the pentatonic / blues scale. Then I moved onto the major scale and it’s modes, harmonic minor, melodic minor etc. But not all those scales are important or necessary for every guitar player.

So the big question is: What is the most important scale for you to learn?Continue Reading

20 Guitar Classics You Sure Want to Know How to Play

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Photo by John W. Tuggle
Guitar players (beginners and intermediate) ask me from time to time which songs they really should know how to play on the guitar.

Sure there are a lot of songs you can mention but there are always certain songs that stand out from the rest and which most guitar players want to know how to play when they start out.

I still know how great it felt and what a victory it was when I could play “Sweet child o’ mine” and “More than words” for the first time. The golden days of learning your classics you will never forget.

To give you an idea of what guitar songs have really made a name for itself I put together a list with 20 guitar classics with help and many thanks of guitar players on twitter and in real life.

I appreciate every song you want to add to this list. I know the list is far from complete and not each and every song may suit your taste, but it’s here to give you some inspiration. You might want to learn to play some great classics that have made musical history.

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Enjoy!

1 Hotel California – The Eagles – Tabs

2 Nothing else matters – Metallica – Tabs

3 More than words – Extreme – Tabs

4 Wonderwall – OasisContinue Reading

3 Juicy Blues Chord Progressions to Be Prepared

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When I learned my first blues progression it wasn’t something I really got excited about.

It was okay but it didn’t make me want to play it over and over again.

I would rather prefer cool or mind blowing. Later when I started adding a sprinkle of jazz to it things became more interesting.

Blues chord progressions start to change from mediocre to superb.

So why should you learn blues chord progression in the first place?

Well first off, blues chord progressions are the foundation of blues rhythm and essential for accompanying a great blues solo.

Or you could put it the other way around, where would a great lead guitar player be without some awesome accompaniment?

This is where you come in.

So now anytime you’re in front of a lead guitar player you are cool, confident and prepared because you’ve mastered these 3 juicy blues chord progressions.

Being able to play the blues is a great tool for guitar players and musicians in general to get together, jam, explore, evolve and have a great time.

I urge you to practice these chord progressions in every key through the cycle of fourths.

Experiment with playing different rhythms, different key signatures and tempos.

It’s important to learn all 3 chord progressions by heart.

You will develop a great skill you will use the rest of your musical life.

Enjoy!

MAJOR BLUES PROGRESSION

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