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5 Cool Blues Shuffle Riffs

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May 12, 2019 by Klaus Crow

5-Cool-Blues-Shuffle-Riffs-1bPlaying “walking blues lines” is a common thing for bass players, but also guitar players do not shy away from a nice walking blues shuffle riff.

The blues shuffle riff is a popular sound and often used by guitar players like T-Bone Walker (Going to Chicago, T-bone Shuffle) and Stevie Ray Vaughan (Cold shot, Pride and joy, Travis walk).

While blues rhythm guitar suffices with a standard 12 bar blues shuffle, a cool shuffle riff is often more fun to play and interesting listen to.

Also for the blues lead guitar player it’s great to solo over a blues shuffle riff. The combination of a cool lead solo improvisation and a nice blues shuffle riff will lift the music to greater heights.

Today we have 5 Cool blues shuffle riffs to get your hands dirty. Starting out with a nice & easy shuffle riff gradually leading up to more challenging riffs. A video lesson and tablature is provided for each shuffle riff.

Enjoy!

Cool Blues Shuffle Riff 1

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How to Play Captivating Diminished 7th Chords

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May 12, 2019 by Klaus Crow

How to Play Diminished 7th chordsThe diminished 7th chord is used a lot in jazz music but also in pop music you keep bumping into them. Songs like “Michelle” by the Beatles, “Who says” by John Mayer, “Friends in low places” by Garth Brooks, “Road trippin'” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, “My sweet lord” by George Harrison and “God only knows” by The Beach Boys are just a few of many popular compositions using diminished chords.

Diminished chords are considered “dissonant” because of their tonal instability. They create a sense of tension and drama, and have a strong drive toward tonal resolution, meaning that, they want to move to a more final and stable sound (consonance). This is why they are often used in music, they can make a song more captivating, stirring, and charismatic.

The Dim Chords
There are different types of diminished chords: There is the diminished (dim) chord, the half diminished chord (m7♭5) and the diminished 7th chord (dim7). The diminished chord itself is not used very often, the half diminished and diminished 7th chord are more commonly used.

Dim Chord Analysis
Compared to a minor chord (1 – ♭3 – 5), the diminished chord has a flat 5th (♭5), the half diminished chord adds a flatted 7th (♭7) on top of that, and the diminished 7th chord adds a double flatted 7th (♭♭7).

Here are the chord formulas:
Major chord = 1 – 3 – 5
Minor chord = 1 – ♭3 – 5
Diminished chord = 1 -♭3 -♭5
Half diminished chord = 1 -♭3 -♭5 -♭7
Diminished 7th chord = 1 -♭3 -♭5 -♭♭7

Let’s take C as the root for example:
C major = C – E – G
C minor = C – E♭ – G
C dim = C – E♭ – G♭
Cm7♭5 (half dim) = C – E♭ – G♭ – B♭
C dim7 = C – E♭ – G♭ – B♭♭ (or simply “A”)

How to Play Diminished 7th Chords
The diminished 7th chord is made up of minor third intervals. That means all the notes are three semitones (3 frets) away from each other. This specific feature of the chord makes it possible to move the chord 3 frets up the fretboard each time and the chord will remain the same.

We start with a dim7 chord shape played on highest four strings. As you can see below from left to right, we move the diminished chord shape 3 frets up each time. Start the chord shape on the 1st fret, then move up to the 4th fret, the 7th fret and finally the 10th fret. Of course, you can move it up as far as you like. Continue Reading

How to Get Your Guitar Playing Back in The Saddle

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May 12, 2019 by Klaus Crow

How-to-Get-Your-Guitar-Playing-Back-in-The-SaddleThere are times when life gets in the way of playing, and practicing is falling short. Real short. Like zero activity.

Don’t worry, that can happen. There’s no reason to panic.
Yet.

The trouble really starts when more and more time passes and your guitar is getting from dusty to rusty. That’s when the alarm bells need to go off.

At this time your mind is creating it’s own illogical explanation for not getting behind the instrument.

It’s going to rationalize your absence of regular woodshedding. You will start telling yourself these stories like, “I’m always late from work”, “I’m just too old for this”, “My fingers are getting sore or stiff”, “I have my kids to take care of”, “I just don’t have what it takes”, or “I’m just too tired”. There are a zillion of those you can come up with.

Just stop making those up! They are all worthless excuses. Don’t believe them for a second. They are things you choose to tell yourself, but they are not real.

They are lies that crawl up because you don’t play. You got to play to get back in the groove!

Here’s what you got to do:Continue Reading

Top 8 Best Acoustic Guitar Amps For Gigs & Practice 2019

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January 21, 2020 by Klaus Crow

Top-8-Best-Acoustic-Guitar-Amps-For-Gigs-&-PracticeFor a lot of guitar players an acoustic guitar amp is a luxury product and not a necessity. Usually it becomes interesting for musicians who want to play with their acoustic guitar at small clubs, bars, cafe’s, coffee houses and for busking. But there are also musicians who have found the holy grail in the acoustic amp for practicing purposes and playing for enjoyment.

I haven’t had an acoustic guitar amp for a long time myself, because whenever I played acoustic on stage I usually plugged directly into the mixer, using our own band’s P.A. system. Fortunately, I’ve had the pleasure of playing and trying out many amps over the years from guitar students, fellow musicians and guitar shops in the area.

A while back I decided to buy my own acoustic amp because I was asked to play for a small audience of around 50 people. But then something unexpectedly happened. One afternoon the amp arrived at my home, I plugged in my guitar, started playing and I couldn’t stop anymore. The amp sounded so great and mesmerising. I played the next day, and the next, and the next, and I still play it every day (yes I do sleep and eat in between).

I am sold, I am completely sold. I never had so much fun practicing, playing and singing songs at home, and also playing the gig was heaven. I was totally swept away by the sound and power of the amp carrying the performance to a superior level.

I must admit it’s due to a high quality acoustic guitar amp that sounds really incredible. Nonetheless, it adds major value to practice, playing and performing.

So wherever you are in your guitar journey you should try plugging your guitar into an acoustic amp and see where it will take you. You never know, it might change your life as a musician. It could be your trigger and stepping-stone to playing and performing for a small live audience, or just having a blast playing and practicing at home.

Today we got a list of eight awesome acoustic guitar amps in different price ranges, watts, size and quality, all unique in their own way. The amps are great value for money, and ideal for practice and gigs.

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

Enjoy!

1 – ACUS – ONEFORSTRINGS 8 ACOUSTIC GUITAR AMPLIFIER – SIMON
Acus-OneForStrings 8 - Simon - Sound EngineeringThe ACUS Oneforstrings 8- Simon is one high class acoustic amplifier. What you hear is beautiful, sparkling, full, and a real natural sounding tone. It’s perfect for performing as well as practicing and recording. You can also use it as a mini PA system.

The innovative and stylish control panel features custom styled knobs, micrometric and functional. With equalisation, the tone controls modify frequency levels without suppressing the original note, even at lower and upper registers. The whole range also features multiple channels and reverb with processors exclusive to Acus.

Also provided are line outs, mic and auxiliary inputs. The Acus has a protective metal grille and carry handles, perfect for on the road. The Italians at “Acus Sound Engineering” have done an amazing job. It is versatile and responsive, with a full range of functions specifically tailored for acoustic instruments. It’s standing easily alongside high quality amps like AER (see next). It’s the perfect amp for acoustic guitar, singing and other acoustic instruments.

Channels: All separately adjustable channels, Gain control & Effect send per channel
Channel 1 and 2: input jack or balanced XLR input and switchable phantom power
Channel 3: jack input
Channel 4: stereo RCA input
Controls: Master Volume, Effect master controller, Volume line out
EQ: 3-band EQ per channel (bass, middle, treble), gain control, and master volume
FX: Reverb, Chorus, Flanger, Delay. Digital fx unit with 8 different DSP reverb effects
Power: 200 Watt
Speakers 1 x 8″ bass speaker + 1 x ring tweeter
Weight: 28.60 lbs (13 kg)
Dimensions: (W x D x H) 32 x 27.5 x 39 cm
Extra: Balanced XLR DI output, Line-out output with jack or stereo RCA, Headphone output, Notch filter and Ground lift
More info, Prices and Reviews for the ACUS – OneforStrings 8 – Simon
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