The Guitar Resource

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2

Buying a metronome
2007-05-02 04:54:00
Since I always talk about practicing with a metronome I decided I would post some links to buy one in case you don’t have. Practicing with a metronome is probably THEE most important thing to do when learning to play guitar. It will build your speed, rhythm and overall technique. If you don’t know how to use a metronome see my post on How To Use A Metronome. You can get a great deal on a metronome in my Store!
More About: Buying , Tron

Moveable major and minor scale shapes.
2007-05-02 02:46:00
One of the good (and bad) things about guitar is that when you want to play a scale all you have to do is know that scale’s fingering on the fretboard and you can then apply that fingering to any note in any position. This is good because all you have to do is remember one shape for any given scale and you can apply that shape to any key. The bad part is that players tend to rely on shapes and aren’t really playing what they hear or feel. But for the sake of learning it is very important to know basic scale shapes on guitar. This lesson will teach you the condensed and extended versions of both the major and minor scale on guitar (more…)
More About: Shapes , Moveable , Major , Scale , Minor

Learning Arpeggios- What are arpeggios and how should you use them?
2007-04-30 01:31:00
Chances are 9 out of 10 (if not 10 out of 10) of your favorite guitar tunes have arpeggios in them. So what is an arpeggio? Simple. An arpeggio is chord notes played in succession instead of simultaneously. So if someone says to arpeggiate an Am chord what they mean is play it one note at a time, instead of strumming all the notes at once. Here is an example: (more…)
More About: Learning , Learn , Earning

Alternate Picking- Video Lesson
2007-04-22 19:10:00
There are many picking techniques guitarists use when playing guitar. An there is no “right” answer on which technique you should use. In fact, many guitarists use different picking techniques for different situations. But the focus of this lesson will be on alternate picking. This is one of the most widely used picking techniques and it is essential for any guitarist to be comfortable with alternate picking. (more…)
More About: Video , Pick , Less , Lesson , Esso

Creating tension and resolution—the V7 to I chord change
2007-04-17 05:03:00
(Before you read this lesson you should make sure you understand Diatonic Harmony and Buliding 7th chords) Good composition is about creating music that has movement. Music that has peaks and valleys. If your chord progressions don’t go anywhere, they are just boring. The best way to create music with strong movement is to create tension and resolution in your compositions. How do you do that? Well the easiest and most common way is with V to I (“Five to One”) chord changes. (more…)
More About: Change , Creating , Tension , Sion , The V

How To Practice Guitar
2007-04-16 05:24:00
Here is a helpful article i came across: How To Practice Guitar By Gen Mason To begin to understand how to practice the guitar for maximum benefit you must first understand what practicing is. To practice the guitar is not the same as sitting down and playing the guitar. While replaying things you already have mastered has its place later on in the practicing regime, practice is truly learning some new material to further build whatever skills you have already. (more…)

How To Tune Your Guitar By Ear
2007-04-13 01:47:00
Here is a good article I saw online about how to tube your guitar by ear. This should be helpful: How To Tune Your Guitar By Ear by: Mike Hayes1. The very first thing you need to know is that learning to tune your guitar takes time. Some things on guitar can be learned in minutes, some in days, and others in weeks, but tuning will sometimes take even longer, because you have to train your ears. If results come slowly or don’t seem to be making any progress, don’t be discouraged, just keep working at it. (more…)

Chord Extensions-Building 7th Chords
2007-04-08 18:49:00
Now that you know how to build a chord and use it in a diatonic progression, we can take a look at making more complex harmonies and interesting sounding chords by using 7th chords. A 7th chord is called an “extension” b/c you are adding additional notes to the 1-3-5 notes that compose a common triad. As the name indicates, we are adding the 7th note of the scale, so the chord has 4 notes, not 3. (more…)
More About: Building , Extensions , Chords , Sion , Build

Buying on eBay, Part II- Effects Pedals
0000-00-00 00:00:00
Before you read this article on buying guitar effects pedals you might want to read Part I of the Buying On eBay series which gives a general overview on buying from eBay as well as some specifics to buying guitars. In this post I am just going to dive right into the specifics on ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Ebay , Effects , Pedal

Keeping New Strings in Tune- How to Stretch Your Guitar Strings
0000-00-00 00:00:00
What’s the biggest problem you face when you put on brand new guitar strings? For me it is the fact that my new guitar strings stay in tune for, say, 15 seconds until they sound like adolescent boys trying to hum an E chord. So what can you do to ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Guitar , Tune , Strings , String , Ping

Wholenote.com’s Groove Builder - time to ditch your imaginary jamming bud
0000-00-00 00:00:00
Don’t you hate it when you’re in the mood to jam but there’s no one around? Or when you just learned a new guitar scale but you have no way of applying it? Well this is an essential practicing tool I use all the time. It is called the Groove Build er and it’s on ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Time , Hole , Whole , Ming

Learning the Circle of Fifths to Improve Your Guitar Playing.
0000-00-00 00:00:00
Many things about playing guitar are glamorous. Knowing the circle of fifth’s is not one of those things. Maybe that’s why so many guitar players overlook it. But the circle of 5th’s can provide you with a wealth of information that will help your playing in so many places. Before we... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Guitar , Learning , Improve , Circle , Learn

Change Your Rhythms to Spice Up Your Guitar Solo - Video lesson
0000-00-00 00:00:00
Guitar solos can get boring when they only use one rhythm. One way to spice up your solos is to play different rhythms while in your guitar solo and improvisation. This is a great exercise to help you learn to switch rhythms while playing lead guitar. So grab your metronome and watch this video and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Video , Guitar , Change , Solo , Less

String skipping between octaves to revitalize your solos
0000-00-00 00:00:00
There are a lot of simple things you can do to spice up your guitar soloing. One great technique many guitar players use is string skipping. There are many different ways to use string skipping to beef up your chops. But for this post I just wanted to focus on one simple method you ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: String , Ping , Ween , Solos , Tring

Buying on Ebay, Part I - Guitars
0000-00-00 00:00:00
Introduction Many people often consider buying their guitar gear on Ebay but are hesitant to do so for fear of being scammed. In this series on buying guitar gear on Ebay I hope to cover some of the pros and cons of buying guitar gear on Ebay. I will break this down into separate series ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Buying , Part , Guitars

Great Guitar Video - The Divided Sky, Phish
0000-00-00 00:00:00
In light of the fact that I posted recently about Languedoc guitars now being available to the general public, I thought that for this week’s great guitar video I could show you one in action so you can see how sweet they really are. This week’s great guitar video is a 1994 performance in ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Video , Guitar , Great , Phish , The D

Bluesing your Bends -video
0000-00-00 00:00:00
Many guitarists know how to bend strings. But not all guitar players put a lot of thought into their string bending. This guitar lesson will show you how to add a bluesy, soulful sound to your string bends. Try incorporating this banding technique into your playing. It will add another ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
More About: Video , Ends