GUITARHABITS

The Brilliant Benefits of The Blues Scale

July 6, 2022 by Klaus Crow

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.

Top 30 Easy Guitar Rock Songs For Beginners

By Klaus Crow 3 Comments

September 17, 2022 by Klaus Crow

Top 30 Easy Guitar Rock Songs For Beginners

There’s nothing like strumming a good rock song. It’s that thrill when you play the songs you’ve always been listening to. You feel it when your fingers are blazin’ across the strings through the gain of the amp. Total bliss!

But what songs do you pick when you’re in the beginning stage? There are plenty rock songs out there, but most of them are pretty challenging to play to say the least.

To tackle this problem I selected 30 easy rock songs for beginners so you can start practicing. Don’t forget to turn the amp up and play that electric guitar loud and dirty.

To be fair, it is recommendable that you own some beginner skills and try out some easy acoustic guitar songs first. You need to know a few basic chords and easy strumming patterns. Having said that, I know you are here for rock ‘n roll so some easy guitar riffs might excite you as well. I don’t want to overload you with material but I just want you to know it’s here if you need it.

Now let’s get rocking!

You Need to Keep Time and Lock In With The Beat

By Klaus Crow 1 Comment

May 14, 2019 by Klaus Crow

Keeping time comes naturally for one musician, and can be a challenge for the other. While a lot of musicians think they can keep time, a lot of them might not be as tight on the beat as they would like to think. The tips in this post will get the job done.

If you’re sure and confident you can keep time, you still might want to read on. For many guitar players this skill can still be improved and perfected.

Whether you are playing with a fellow guitar player as a duo, accompanying a singer or playing in a band, it is really important to keep a steady beat.

It’s not the first time a guitar player joins a (new) band, and will be confronted with his or her lack of timing when playing with more experienced musicians. The guitar player will have a hard time locking in with the groove and keeping things tight. To avoid such an undesirable scene, it is wise to master this skill while we’re at it.

Let’s dive in.
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10 Best Tools to Figure Out Guitar Songs and Solos

By Klaus Crow 20 Comments

October 19, 2021 by Klaus Crow

Being able to transcribe a song or guitar solo is a great skill that anyone can learn. One of the things that is really helpful developing and applying this skill, is to have some good solid tools that make this process as effortless as possible.

Back when I was 15 I had a cassette recorder with a slow down function, so I could figure out the notes of a guitar solo. The only problem was the slow down function also lowered the pitch when you’d slow down the song.

So when I had to deal with a fast blazing solo I set the pitch exactly an octave lower than the original key so I could transcribe the solo by ear. The downside was that some notes were so low they became undefinable and I couldn’t tell what notes they were playing anymore. :)

The tools we have today are something I could only have dreamed of back then. I’m not complaining, because I learned a lot from those limitations, but I also enjoy the benefits of the technology today. And oh, what makes it transcribing fun and easy!

Working out a song by ear is an important skill that is often overlooked. It takes your guitar playing to a higher level and gives you a deeper understanding and insight in many aspects of guitar playing. So, try to develop the skill of transcribing and use the appropriate tools to improve your skill and take it to the next step.

I created a list with the best tools that make the process of transcribing and learning a song or solo going as smooth as possible. These tools will help both guitar players who can already transcribe and guitar players who can you use some extra help.

Enjoy!

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