GUITARHABITS

5 Robert Johnson Style Blues Turnarounds

May 14, 2019 by Klaus Crow

Robert Johnson died at the age of 27 and today known as the Master of the Delta Blues (one of the earliest styles of blues music). His music has been a great influence on guitar players like Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and many others. In other words, Johnson’s music is the real deal!

His blues chops and turnarounds are a really nice asset to your blues vocabulary. Memorize these 5 Robert Johnson style blues turnarounds so you can take them out of your back pocket and put them into use whenever you need to play a 12 bar blues.

Practice them, get ‘m under your fingers and experiment with different turnarounds at the end of each 12 bar blues section.

Enjoy the lesson!Continue Reading

5 Essential Ways to Use a Capo on Guitar and How

By Klaus Crow 5 Comments

May 14, 2019 by Klaus Crow

Once in a while you will bump into a great song. With excitement and anticipation you run to your guitar to learn the song, but then you discover the chords of the song are too hard and too difficult for you to play. Especially for the beginner guitar player this can be a thorn in the side.

Flat and sharp chords are often nasty chords that you would like to avoid in the beginning. But even intermediate and advanced guitar players like to chill now and then and skip those damn bar chords. Another reason they sometimes prefer open easy chords is because of the sound and the shape of the chords that is more suited for a particular arrangement.

The capo will really come in handy in a lot of situations. It’s a beautiful tool that will open a lot of doors and ways to get creative with guitar playing.

Here are the five most common and essential ways guitar players like to use a capo and how to do it:Continue Reading

How to Play and Apply Add9 Chords

By Klaus Crow 8 Comments

September 4, 2023 by Klaus Crow

To make chords, chord progressions and songs more colorful guitar players use chord embellishments.

Chords like sus2, sus4, maj6, maj7 and add9 can all be used to spice up your playing and create more interesting sounds.

The add9 chord is a big favorite in pop and acoustic rock music.

Chord Analysis

The add9 chord is simply a major triad with an added ninth (9).
The major triad consists of the root (1), the major third (3) and the perfect fifth (5).
So the add9 chord formula = 1 3 5 9

Let’s take Cadd9 chord as an example.
We look at the C major scale: C D E F G A B C and we take the root (1st), 3rd, 5th and 9th note of that scale and you get the notes: C-E-G-D. So Cadd9 = C E G D

16 Ways to Fuel a Burning Desire to Practice Guitar

By Klaus Crow 3 Comments

March 29, 2021 by Klaus Crow

When you start out playing guitar everything is new, fun and exiting. Your playing improves, expands and grows further.

Then all of a sudden life gets busier. Your job, school or other activities are taking their toll. You meet the love of your life, get married, have children or you need to move to another place. This means you have to divide your attention and your playing could get stuck in a rut. You don’t want this, but it’s happening.

Now, if it’s been a while since you’ve picked up your guitar and you need some fuel to cultivate that burning desire to practice again or you could just use a good boost, then check out these 16 keys to get back in the saddle:

Let’s thrive again!

1 – Read and study guitar magazines
Get a copy of Acoustic guitar, Guitar world or Total Guitar. Magazines are full of inspirational stories, tablature, reviews and interviews. Put them on the table in the living room so you can’t miss.

2 – Watch and be galvanized by awesome videos
Search your (or my) favorite guitar players and songwriters on Youtube. Watch lessons, interviews, concerts, documentaries and behind the scenes.

3 – Find a guitar tablature book of your favorite guitar player.
Get a copy of your favorite guitar tablature book. Put the book on a music stand in the living room. Don’t put it on the bookshelf. You need to see the book right in front of you every time you pass by. Check out the Top 150 greatest guitar players of all time accompanied by the best tablature books.Continue Reading

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