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6 Exquisite Ways to Eliminate Guitar Procrastination

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We all procrastinate and so do I. Email and exercise are my weak spots and I find that improving certain guitar skills are very time consuming so I tend to procrastinate, but I have found some pretty exquisite ways to overcome that.

Yes, it’s good and healthy to procrastinate once in a while. Sometimes it’s just better to leave things alone and come back to it another time. It can do miracles.

But when putting it off becomes a habit and starts working against you, you might want to find a way to deal with it. After all you want to become a better guitar player right?

Well here are the keys to solve this procrastination issue for once and for all.

Let’s hack it!

1 – Stop thinking and start doing
If you think too much about the amount of work and effort that goes into a song, a solo, learning to play fast or mastering a particular style then that thought becomes bigger and bigger. You might worry about failure or other issues, but the more you think about it the more complex it becomes. The thought expands a little more until it becomes a beast and you don’t know how to deal with it anymore.Continue Reading

How to Easily Find Any Note On The Guitar with Octaves

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Most intermediate guitar players can find the notes across the neck on the 6th (low E) and 5th string (A). This is essential for learning barre chords, soloing and a lot of other stuff. If you don’t know the notes on the 6th and 5th string yet check out Learn The Guitar Fingerboard Thoroughly in 16 Days

Once you’ve memorized the notes on the 6th and 5th string you can easily find any other note on the guitar. You can do this with octaves. An octave is in essence an interval whose higher note has a frequency of vibration twice that of its lower note.

If you think in notes, an octave is an interval with the distance of 12 half steps (12 frets) in the chromatic scale. For example, if you’re on the 1st fret, 6th string (F note) and go up 12 frets, which will take you to the 13th fret, you will also hit on an F note only one octave higher. You can apply this to every fret and every string.

If you think scale wise, an octave is the distance of 7 notes in the diatonic scale. So if you start on the first note of a scale and you go up 7 notes in the scale you arrive on the 8th note which is the octave.

Each of the diagrams below shows an octave, that means the notes share the same name except one note is higher or lower than the other. Now we can find the name any note or octave on the entire neck.

Let’s take a closer look

DIAGRAMS 1 – 8:
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Pentatonic Scale Shape Exercises Around The Fretboard

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A lot of guitar players use only one pentatonic position / shape: The first position (E shape) it’s because it’s the most comfortable shape to play in.

That’s great if you start out with soloing, in fact it’s better to stay with that for a while to explore all the possibilities and to really be able to improvise with that one shape.

But after some time it’s good to get out that box and discover more of the world. Wouldn’t it be great to attain the freedom to use the entire fretboard for all your rock, blues, country and heavy metal soloing? It’s the next step to becoming a complete guitarist.

To expand your reach on the fretboard beyond the most popular pentatonic position #1 (E shape), you need to learn all five pentatonic positions, also known as shapes. If you haven’t learned the five pentatonic shapes yet check out: The Five Pentatonic Scale Shapes You Must Know

This post is to designed to give you some extra exercises (once you’ve learned the five shapes) to really get those shapes down.

Have fun!
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The Vital Keys to Playing Slow And Fluently Fast

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“In order to play fast you need to play slow.” A saying that holds the keys to the Lamborghini, but has been quoted so many times by teachers and guitar heros that it almost seems it has lost its significance.

A lot of guitar players feel like it’s a myth, some are not familiar with the saying and others easily ignore it.

They can hardly believe that it’s true or don’t think it’s that important. But let me tell you, it is! It is that important.

How to Play Fast

I’ve been there and I’ve wasted my share of time. So memorize this phrase “In order to play fast you need to play slow.” and apply it to every guitar workout. It will make all the difference in the world.

So why do you want to play fast in the first place? Maybe you just don’t like the speed-ass shredders and monster lick killers that are racing the fretboard with 250 miles an hour. Well you don’t have to! Because learning to play fast is not just about speed soloing, it’s about developing dexterity.

Once you’ve increased your level of speed and learned to play faster your fingers will move a lot more smoothly across the fretboard. It’s almost seems like your fingers have gotten little wings. And that’s great for everything you play. No matter if you’re into blues, jazz, classical, country or metal.

Playing slow will not only help you develop dexterity, but also to play correctly, clean and clear as you become faster. Playing guitar will become effortlessly.

Let’s take a closer look:

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