GUITARHABITS

How to Play and Use Power Chords

September 4, 2023 by Klaus Crow

The primal feelings that derive from strumming power chords on a guitar that’s plugged into a great sounding amp or distortion, is what makes you wanna play the instrument over and over again. Add a drummer and bass player on top of that experience and superb feelings of euphoria will unfold.

Power chords are indeed powerful and that’s why they are mainly used in rock music, metal or any type of music that consists of electric guitars and distortion. However during the 90s a lot of rock bands started shifting the power chords to the acoustic guitars due to the MTV’s unplugged series, which set the stage for a new area on the acoustic guitar.

The power chord is a fairly easy chord to play, especially on an electric guitar or when played higher up the neck. It’s a moveable chord shape, that can be played in every key just by moving it up and down the fretboard (explained later).

This is why a lot of guitar players love to play rock music. The use of just one chord shape moving around the guitar neck throughout the entire song makes playing rhythm guitar quite accessible for the eager rock beginners.

The Absolute Importance of Building a Repertoire

By Klaus Crow 8 Comments

February 18, 2023 by Klaus Crow

The Absolute Importance of Building a Repertoire-1

You’ve been a guitar player for several years. You’ve got some skills in your pocket. And then comes that moment (it always does), at home, at someone else’s place, in a guitar shop, at a party, or some place where a guitar is spotted and someone knows you can play, and the inevitable question pops up: “Hey can you play something for us?”.

A lot of guitar players will scratch their heads and say “Uhh, No I don’t think so.” or “Well, maybe another time” because they don’t know what to play and their obviously not prepared.

Deep inside, they’re disappointed, they missed an opportunity and wished they could’ve come up with something cool to play with conviction and confidence. Wow, that would’ve been awesome!

Well for those who can relate to this. It’s time to change this. Let’s get ready and prepared. This is going to be a fun and exciting journey.

Building a repertoire does not only come in handy when you’re in the company of people who love to hear you play. The benefits are manifold.

Let’s dive in!

Should You Play Guitar With a Pick or Your Fingers?

By Klaus Crow 8 Comments

May 14, 2019 by Klaus Crow

A question I get a lot from students is, “Do I have to learn to play with a pick? Can I not just use my fingers?” And some ask it the other way around.

Everybody has their preferences. Some guitar players find it difficult to maintain control over the pick. It slips away between their fingers, the pick doesn’t hit the strings like they want to and they don’t like the sound of it.

Others can’t get their fingers to do what their supposed to be doing and they can’t stand how stiff the finger muscles move. It’s all part of a beginners frustration. It’ll pass.

So which one do you choose, what is better and do you really have to learn both?

When I started playing guitar, I spent the first six years solely using my fingers playing rhythm guitar, fingerstyle and classical guitar.

At the age of 14 I found an awesome guitar teacher who showed me the world of electric guitars, blues and rock n roll. That’s when I started using the guitar pick excessively and learned different kinds of picking techniques throughout the years.

Nowadays, I enjoy both ways of playing very much and wouldn’t want to miss out on either of them. Both pick and fingerstyle have great benefits and give extra dimensions to your guitar playing.

Let’s take a look at both techniques, the pros and cons and how they can serve your playing, so you can decide if you want to choose one over the other or benefit from both worlds.
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The Brilliant Benefits of The Blues Scale

By Klaus Crow 6 Comments

July 6, 2022 by Klaus Crow

The Brilliant Benefits of The Blues Scale

The pentatonic scale is a great scale to start out with when you’re learning to play lead guitar. But once you got that under your belt you can quickly move on to the blues scale. Even for guitar players who have kept their chops limited to the pentatonic scale for years, it will be enlightening to see how the blues scale can help out.

Although the blues scale doesn’t look that different from the pentatonic scale, the benefits are tremendous and can have a great impact on your soloing and creative expansion.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons that make the blues scale such an important and valuable scale. We’ll show you how to play the pentatonic scale and the blues scale in different positions. And further we’ll explain how it can benefit, grow and open up your playing.

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