2006 » May » Learn Guitar, Learn Guitar Online

Learn to Play the Guitar By Ear

All professional musicians, whether they’re playing jazz, rock, bluegrass and country music, have spent their first years of practicing bent over a half speed record player. You might be wondering what does this have to do with trying to learn to play the guitar by ear. As you will learn from this article, it actually a lot to do with it.

Slowing Things Down

In order to learn to play the guitar by ear you have to begin with learning the melodies, chords and leads from a recording. To be able to do this, you’ve got to slow them down a bit. Some exceptionally gifted people with really good ears are able to learn to play some slow songs just by listening to them at a normal speed. However, even those folks have problems with learning faster melodies and need to slow things down.

Most of us can’t even figure out slow songs just by listening to them at a normal speed. While most of us can match a note with our guitar or voice if it’s the only thing we’re hearing, we tend to get confused when lots of notes are played together. If you slow the music down, we can separate the notes and play them piece by piece until we learn the whole song.

Slowdown Technology

Years ago, the slowing down process was done using half speed tape recorders. However, as you slowed the music down, the pitch dropped. By the time you got to half speed, the pitch had already dropped a lot. Anyway, for most of us, half speed is still to fast. You will probably need a 1/10 speed in order to figure out certain pieces.

Fortunately, nowadays everything has been made easier with the aid of digital slowdown technology. You can now slow the melody down as much as you want, without having the pitch dropping.

Do You Really Have to Put So Much Work Into It?

You’re probably thinking that spending so much time on figuring out each note yourself must be awfully hard. Why not just buy a book and get over this part?
Of course, you can buy a book, but, as it usually happens with all music theory books, it will probably be gathering dust on your bookshelf forever. If you really want to learn to play the guitar by ear, you will have to get involved in the process and figure out the notes from a melody yourself.

While figuring out note by note on your own is the best way to go, consulting a transcription book from time to time while you’re trying to figure out the music is also good. Some beginner guitar players who want to learn to play the guitar by ear learn from a transcription book first and then play along with the original recording at a slower pace to get the rhythm.

You should learn to play the guitar by ear just because this way you get the most fun. Playing the guitar should be fun and this is why you should have started to learn it in the first place. However, the more you time you invest into the learning process by getting involved in practical activities, the faster the progress.

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Learn to Play the Electric Guitar Free Online

You were all probably very excited when you got your first guitar. Then, if you are like most of the beginners, you were probably met by the frustration of not being able to learn how to play it. A dedicated guitar teacher could help you with that problem, but not all of us have the resources to afford private lessons.

Fortunately, there is a solution. Why not learn to play the electric guitar free online? There are several websites dedicated to help you learn the basics about playing the guitar and overcome the frustration feelings you usually come across when you’re trying to be your own teacher.

Free Guitar Lessons Resources

If you’ve decided you want to learn to play the electric guitar free online, the first thing you’ve got to do is find a good resource. Look for one written by a professional guitar player. It is also important that they offer feedback, so that you will have someone to ask for help when you come across some difficulties.

Dan Cross, the guitar writer at About, has some useful tips for beginner guitarists. However, there are plenty of resources you can find to learn to play the electric guitar free online. Choose one that suits your learning style best. Most of them are written in standard notation and guitar tablature.

Guitar Chords

Here is what most resources designed to help you learn to play the electric guitar free online will probably teach you about chords:
l How to read a chord diagram
l Open position guitar chords: major, minor, seventh chords
l How to switch from one chord to another effectively
l Guitar songs that use open position guitar chords
l How to make up your own music
l How to create and play barre chords

The Pentatonic Scale

Some of you will probably want to learn more than the basics and get to play more complicated guitar riffs. Whether you want to play in Metallica’s style, blues licks like Eric Clapton or Page or jazz songs like George Benson and Larry Carlton, they all have something in common. All of them use the pentatonic scale.
l Free online lessons on the pentatonic scale will probably teach you:
l Best practices for learning any scale
l Playing 5 different patterns of pentatonic scale
l A few pentatonic blues songs to get you started
l Learning about passing tone and how you can use it
l How to make up your own guitar riffs

If you want to learn to play the electric guitar free online, you will probably have to subscribe to a specialized website. Most of them will provide lessons starting at the beginner level and increasing in difficulty as they go further. However, to make sure they meet your learning style and your current level, you can always contact the guitar teacher and ask.

Online guitar lessons will not be able to replace a private teacher, who can provide you with personal attention, monitor your progress and offer a high level of feedback. However, if you are a good autodidact, you will probably find some very useful online guitar lessons to get you started.

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Learn to Play Guitar Music

Many of us have been sitting around a camp fire, singing with the others while someone else was  playing the guitar and wished to be the on who was playing. Being able to play the guitar can make people look up to you, especially when you’re a teenager. You are often invited to parties by people you barely know to play the guitar. In addition, if you’re interested in playing the guitar, your parents won’t probably make you attend other boring instrument lessons.

The Guitar

If you are willing to learn to play guitar music, the first thing you need is a guitar. If you don’t have  a guitar yet, you will probably need to purchase one. If you have a friend who knows how to play the guitar, bring him or her along when you pick one.

First you will have to decide between an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar. There are pros and cons to both of them. It is somewhat easier to learn to play guitar music on an electric guitar, but you’ll also have to buy a guitar cable, a guitar pick and a guitar amp. In addition, there are a lot of buttons and knobs to worry about.

While it as a bit more difficult to learn to play guitar music on an acoustic guitar, this type of guitar is a lot less complicated. You will only need to buy the guitar and a guitar pick that costs about 50 cents. However, for a child who gets frustrated very easily, an electric guitar might be a better choice because it is easier to play and the progress will be faster.

Guitar Lessons

The next thing you should do is find a guitar instructor. You have the highest chances of finding a good instructor in your area by just asking around. If you’re having trouble, call a local music store, as they will probably offer guitar lessons. If they don’t, they are usually able to recommend a teacher.

Older people who just want to learn a few chords can get away with learning guitar from videos, books or online lessons. However, young people who want to learn to play guitar music can benefit more from private lessons. A private teacher can spot out your mistakes immediately and help you correct them in time. In addition, he will give you feedback and make you feel good about yourself when you progress.

General Advice

Before starting to take guitar lessons, you could spend some time learning guitar basics and getting used to the instrument. This way you can start your first lessons feeling confident and being able to play the first exercises the instructor will give you.

Learn to play guitar music because you want to, not because someone else makes you do it. Playing the guitar should be fun. If you are enjoying it, you will practice more and get better more quickly. If you’re not enjoying it, you might need a change – maybe a new teacher or a different schedule.

Many guitarists talk about the personal satisfaction they’re getting from being able to play the guitar. They say they get the best feeling by just sitting by themselves and playing the guitar. However, it’s fun to play for other people to. Pulling out a guitar at school or when you’re surrounded by friend will suddenly get you everyone’s attention.

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Learn to Play Electric Guitar On DVD

You always here people saying they’d kill to be able to play the guitar, but they just don’t know where to start with the learning. Some of them have even bought some theory books and tried to play on an old guitar they found in the attic. However, everything seemed useless. Fortunately, there are now methods even the busiest person in the world who cannot find enough time to practice can use to learn to play the guitar.

The Instrument

First of all, you can’t learn on that old guitar you have found in the attic. You should go to a good music store and get a new one. If you’re not sure what you should get, ask the staff there for advice. Or better yet, if you have a friend who plays the guitar well, take him along to help you choose the right instrument for you. However, electric guitars are more suitable for beginners because they are easier to use.

Why Learn to Play Electric Guitar On DVD?

There are several ways to learn how to play the guitar. You can take up private lessons, buy a theory book or learn to play electric guitar on DVD. Learning from a theory book works for very few people. Most of us, however, will get bored after the first pages and leave it gather dust on our bookshelf forever.  Private lessons are definitely the best way to go for people who are prepared to invest a good amount of time and money into learning to play the guitar.

However, if this is not you case, you can always learn to play electric guitar on DVD. You can purchase one from a local music shop or an online store. This way you will have the flexibility you need and you will spend much less money than by taking up private lessons. You will get to practice whenever you find the time to do it, in the comfort of your own home. Lessons are usually dynamic and include graphics, sounds and videos to ease learning and make it more fun.

What Will You Learn?

If you’ve decided you want to learn to play electric guitar on DVD, make sure the one you purchase suits your current level. There are DVDs available for any level. Don’t buy one for beginners if you already know the basics and need to improve your skills. If you are a newbie, purchase a DVD that starts with the basics.
At a beginner level, you will learn how to tune a guitar, read tablature, play chords and riffs and you will do some finger exercises. You will also learn some simple things about scales, as well as strumming, bending and sliding. If you want to get to an advanced level, you will learn more complicated techniques, as well as how to compose your own music.

Learning to play electric guitar on DVD is not the same thing with having face-to-face lessons. They won’t spot and correct your mistakes as a private teacher would or provide a customized teaching program to suit your learning style. However, if you can’t spend so much time and money on private lessons, DVD guitar lessons can be a good substitute.

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Learn to Play Air Guitar

All of us have probably played the air guitar at least once. Now, some computer scientists in Finland have come up with a device that turns this rock fantasy into real music – an air guitar that really plays.

Learn to Play Air Guitar like a Superstar

The virtual guitar is the invention of Aki Kinerva and other computer scientists from the Helsinki University of Technology. All you need is a pair of gloves and a camera. Then you take a rock star pose, like you were holding a real guitar and just rock away.

The camera will be tracking your hand movement along the imaginary fret board, as well as the strumming of the other hand. Then the computer will receive the information and turn the gestures into licks and riffs. While you will probably not share the stage with Eric Clapton, the system gives any of us a chance to feel like a rock superstar.

Ever since rock music was born, teenagers, as well as many adults all over the world have been playing air guitar while listening to their favorite rock bands on the stereo. Now, these computer scientists in Finland have turned this habit into real music with an air guitar that really makes some sounds.

How Does It Work?

To make things even better, the technology is almost entirely invisible. The gloves that you have to wear are just a pair of normal orange gardening gloves. As you are playing the air guitar, a web camera that is programmed to detect only the orange color will watch your gloves and track their movement.

In real time, a software designed to recognize gestures will translate your hand movement into sounds. When you will be moving your hand down the fret board, the sound will go higher, as if you were playing a real guitar. It really feels and sounds as if you were actually playing.

What Can You Actually Play?

Sure, you won’t be able to do all you can do on a real guitar. You won’t be able to play songs like “Stairway to Heaven” on an air guitar. However, if it worked just like a real one, you would probably have to spend months to learn to play air guitar. With an air guitar, you get to feel like a rock guitarist within a few seconds. The things you can do are limited though.

If you want to learn to play air guitar with Kinerva’s technology, there are two models you can choose from: chord and solo mode. If you choose the chord mode, you will only be able to play four different chords. This is indeed limiting, but it’s enough for playing the opening chords of songs like “Smoke on the Water” and other rock classics. With the solo mode, it will be as if you were running up and down a pentatonic scale, which is the standard key of rock guitar solos.

The best thing is that you can’t actually play it badly. No matter how you’re moving your hands and mixing chords and solo notes, it will sound like you’re playing something.
The whole system works on an ordinary desktop computer. The inventors are now working on a Windows version and air guitar may someday become as common as Game cubes or X-boxes. Who knows, maybe it will even inspire some people to sit down and learn to play a real guitar.

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Learn to Play Acoustic Guitar on DVD

Many people would love to know how to play the guitar, but complain they just have no time to learn. Some even used to play the guitar in their teen years, but they don’t have the time to practice. Busy with kids, job and house chores, who has the time to spend 3-4 hours a day playing the guitar? Some don’t even have the patience to do this.

Taking up guitar lessons is even more time consuming. You have to travel every time to your guitar class and then back home following a tight schedule. This used to work when you were a kid, but no grown-up with a job and a family seems to have the time for this. In addition, face-to-face guitar lessons can be quite expensive.

How Can You learn to play the guitar When You Don’t Have Hours to Practice?

Of course, there’s always that thick guitar theory book you can use to improve your guitar playing skills. While many of those who want to learn how to play the guitar have purchased one, very few have actually read it. You need a lot of patience to sit down and read a theory books.

Those of you who would love to be able to play the guitar, but don’t have the time and patience for hours of practicing can learn to play acoustic guitar on DVD. A DVD that teaches how to play acoustic guitar can provide you with the best tricks of guitar playing in much less time than the traditional methods. In addition, the learning process will be more fun .

What Are the Advantages?

If you learn to play acoustic guitar on DVD, you get the best tricks of playing the guitar without having to spend hours to discover them yourself. With video and sounds, learning is more fun than just reading a theory book. You won’t even know how time flies. You can progress much faster than if you tried to improve your skills by yourself, even if you spent a few hours a day practicing.

Unlike attending face-to-face guitar lessons, when you learn to play acoustic guitar on DVD you are not depending on any schedule. You no longer have to spend an hour or so walking to the guitar class and then back home. You are free to practice whenever you have the time for it. You also get to do it in the comfort of your own home. In addition, DVDs are very inexpensive compared to face-to-face guitar lessons, where you usually have to pay per hour.

What Do You Actually Learn?

There are a lot of teaching programs, depending on what you current level is and what is the level that you want to reach. There are programs both for beginner and intermediate guitar players.

If you are a beginner and you want to learn to play acoustic guitar on DVD  and reach intermediate level, without becoming a star, you can do that even if you don’t have any music bone in your body. You will learn about the key elements of acoustic guitar, chords, scales and how to read music notes. There will be some simple exercises that will teach you how to play guitar songs. You will also learn some techniques you can use for most of the songs.

Guitar players that want to get to a higher level can learn pro strategies and great effects to impress their audience with. They will learn more complicated techniques and will be able to compose their own songs.

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Learn Guitar Video vs. Private Lessons

There are various reasons why you might want to learn how to play the guitar. Maybe you want to impress your friends with your music skills, play at campfires or even set up a rock band where you would be the lead guitarist. Or maybe you just feel it’s in you, but you haven’t found a way to express it. Playing the guitar is a good way of socializing and being the center of attention, but if you really love to do it, the personal satisfaction that it gives you is definitely the most important.

Once you’ve decided you want to learn how to play the guitar, there are several ways you can do it. You can learn by a theory book, order a Learn Guitar video or take up private lessons. Learning by a book can be real difficult unless you’re a real good autodidact. Otherwise, you would probably get bored at some point, especially when you come across some difficulties.

Learn Guitar videos come in different forms. Both private lessons and Learn Guitar videos are more interactive methods that are better at keeping you focused for a longer time.

Private Lessons

Taking up private lessons is definitely the best way to learn how to play the guitar. A good teacher will provide you with personal attention and design a customized teaching strategy to suit your learning style. A private teacher will spot your mistake faster and prevent you from developing bad habits that are more difficult to correct later on. He/she will also give you positive feedback and improve your motivation.

However, private lessons are not for everyone. They require you to travel to your guitar class every time and then back home, which can be a tremendous waste of time. If you have a family and a job, you probably can’t afford to sacrifice so much time for learning how to play the guitar. In addition, they can also be quite expensive. If you go to a reputable teacher, you will probably have to pay a pretty high price per hour.

Learn Guitar Videos

If you don’t have the time and money to take up private lessons, Learn Guitar videos may be the right choice for you. You can subscribe for some free online video lessons, pay for a registration if you find it more reliable or order some guitar lessons on DVD. Whichever way you may choose to do it, make sure that the provider also offers support and feedback to your questions.

Learn Guitar videos come with a lot of benefits. You will get to practice whenever you have the time, in the comfort of your own home. They are usually made up by experts, so you can rely on the information provided. In addition, they are much more fun to use than a theory book. They have illustration and sounds to help your learning process. If you choose a good service, you will be able to post questions when you come across a difficulty.

The best learning strategy depends on your personal learning needs, as well as how tight your schedule is and what other duties you have. However, Learn Guitar videos are the best substitute for a private teacher, when you can’t afford to waste so much time and money on private lessons.

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