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Solid Tips to Prioritize Your Guitar Playing (Waterproof!)

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Photo by Al-Janabi
A lot of people have difficulties with prioritizing their guitar practice. I did too. When I became a dad (best thing ever) I realized life was going to be busy.

I wanted to improve as often as I could, but often other things tended to come first.

I knew I had to become more efficient with my time would I be able to play guitar like old times and do other great stuff like writing a blog and working out.

Since then I have re-learned how to prioritize. I wouldn’t know how to live without playing guitar on a regularly basis.

Playing guitar gives me so much in return, while other things don’t have lasting value. The more I practice, the more I gain control over the instrument and the more and more and more I am loving it.

It’s funny how you can prioritize other things, that don’t really mean much to you, over the things you love most. We all do it sometimes. Some more than others, but once in a while you need a reminder to set things straight and reset.

Here are some solid tips to prioritize your favorite instrument and start enjoying it as much as you would like to:Continue Reading

“The 150 Essential Chords” Free Ebook

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“You have to know all the notes on your guitar, you’ve got to know all the scales, you have to know all the ‘chords’ and make sure you do that stuff as much as possible” – Joe Satriani

Today I’m happy to announce “The 150 Essential Chords” free Ebook.

I worked hard and passionately to create a good organized, categorized and easy to read chord book.

The book contains 33 pages packed with the most essential chords for you to behold, study and save for future reference.

Each page has a clear overview and a nice layout so you get a good sense of the overall picture.

Starting with basic major & minor chords, sus4, sus2, 7ths, major 7ths, barre chords etc. and then gradually building up to more advanced chords such as 9ths, 11ths, 13ths and many more.

The book is not too big and not too small. Perfect to save on your desktop, notebook, IPad or Smart Phone to make it accessible from anywhere. Now you can memorize your chords anytime you want.

Tip: If you want to study and memorize all the chords in the book than the fastest and most efficient way to go is to incorporate them in the songs you are playing. Speak out the name of every chord you are playing over and over again. It really works!

Here’s a list of contents:

– Chord Diagram Explanation
– Chord Voicings and Brief Chord Explanation
– Major ChordsContinue Reading

Learn The Guitar Fingerboard Thoroughly in 16 Days

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Part I

If I have to name two things that took my guitar playing to the next level it would be music theory and memorizing the fingerboard.

It made me understand the big picture.

Combining music theory (understanding scales, modes, chord structure, improvising over chord progressions, etc, etc.) and knowing all the notes on the fingerboard will open up a whole new world.

Guitar playing becomes more fun when you know what, when en where to play it on the fingerboard.

Part II

When you want to know where to play any type of chord shape instantly it’s pretty helpful if know the notes. For example: An F major Barre chord shape (133211) can be played on any fret. Every time the chord shape goes up a half step (1 fret) the name of the chord changes.

To know the name of the chord you need to know all the notes on the low E-string. For Example: The note on the 7th fret low E-string is a B note, so your chord shape becomes a B major. The only way to see this right away is to memorize the notes.Continue Reading

A B C D E F G Basic Major Scales to Improve Your Skills

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Photo by Janek Mann
The one thing most beginners hate to practice is scales, because they don’t see the point of it. It takes some practice to learn scales properly and then it takes another while before you can use them as a tool for your playing. Patience is a virtue.

But once you master the major scales you can really unlock their full potential.

Scales are used for improvisation, analyzing chords, progressions, warming up, speed picking practice and much more. In other words just about everything that is important to become a good guitar player.

When the time is right you will recognize the importance and effectiveness of scale practice.

Today I wrote down 7 basic major scales for you to practice. One scale for every whole note. In music there are 7 whole notes. Whole notes are: A B C D E F G.

Most of the scales below are open major scales, which means they contain open string notes.

Play the scales using alternate picking (alternating up and down strokes ascending and descending).

While there are many other scales, the pentatonic scale and the major scale are the two most important scales to know. With these two scales you can already rule the world.

Study the major scales thoroughly. It’s good for you!


A MAJOR SCALE
e:------------------------------2-4-5---------------|
B:-----------------------2-3-5----------------------|
G:----------------1-2-4-----------------------------|
D:---------0-2-4------------------------------------|
A:--0-2-4-------------------------------------------|
E:--------------------------------------------------|
Continue Reading