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	<title>Guitar Lessons Blog &#187; Guitar Fretboard</title>
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		<title>Simple Guitar Songs &#8211; &#8220;Happy Birthday To You&#8221; Guitar Tabs</title>
		<link>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1120/simple-guitar-songs-happy-birthday-to-you-guitar-tabs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1120/simple-guitar-songs-happy-birthday-to-you-guitar-tabs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:55:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Hayes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Beginner Guitar Lesson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Fretboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beginner guitar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beginner guitar lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy online lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guitar lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[learn guitar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike hayes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/?p=1120</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you know how to play simple songs like "Happy Birthday To You"
on guitar? You will when you read and use this article.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One event in my guitar playing career that sticks in my mind was<br />
when a young boy around the age of five approached the bandstand<span id="more-1120"></span><br />
at a function were I was performing.</p>
<p>Over the years I had gained quite a reputation as a versatile<br />
guitarist who could play many styles of music authentically;<br />
little did I know that this little boy was about to give my<br />
reputation a bit of a serious battering.</p>
<p>While our band was playing the young lad walked onstage and asked<br />
me if I could play &#8220;Happy Birthday&#8221;; I was busy playing and said<br />
O.K. hoping that he would soon forget about it and the evening<br />
could proceed without any more requests from the little guy; this<br />
was not going to be the case!</p>
<p>During the next bracket out of the corner of my eye I could see<br />
the young boy heading for the bandstand and sure enough he asked<br />
me again when we were going to play &#8220;Happy Birthday&#8221;; I replied<br />
&#8217;soon&#8217; thinking he&#8217;ll soon tire of asking.</p>
<p>As the night progressed this little fellow made several trips to<br />
the bandstand each time I tried to avoid the inevitable;<br />
eventually he brought reinforcements with him (his little sister)<br />
&#8220;can you play &#8220;Happy Birthday&#8221; for my little sister?&#8221; he asked<br />
politely. At that moment one of the band members recognized the<br />
little girl as the daughter of the people who had booked us.</p>
<p>Now I knew we were in trouble &#8230; no &#8220;Happy Birthday&#8221; no pay!</p>
<p>You may be wondering why I had gone to so much trouble trying to<br />
avoid playing this simple song; the reason was I didn&#8217;t know how<br />
to play it!</p>
<p>Yes, here was this guitarist who could play chicken&#8217; pickin&#8217;<br />
licks for country; rock solos and dance music but couldn&#8217;t play a<br />
simple melody.</p>
<p>I eventually ended up being cornered by the whole family; with<br />
mum, dad, and three children all listening intently I totally<br />
mangled &#8220;Happy Birthday&#8221;, boy, was it embarrassing, not even the<br />
composer would have recognized his own song based on my<br />
rendition!</p>
<p>As I walked off stage to the sound of my own feet and packed up,<br />
red faced with my reputation in tatters, wishing I could crawl<br />
inside my guitar case I was determined to never let this happen<br />
again. It sometimes takes an incident like this to REALLY learn<br />
what you should be learning.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s simple isn&#8217;t it? People want to hear tunes not scales or<br />
arpeggios; sure guitar players will be impressed with your<br />
ability to &#8217;sweep pick&#8217; but when it&#8217;s someone&#8217;s birthday they<br />
couldn&#8217;t care less it you can play all of Van Halen&#8217;s Eruption<br />
solo they just want to hear Happy Birthday.</p>
<p>So you don&#8217;t come face-to-face with the same type of embarrassing<br />
situation here&#8217;s Happy Birthday.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve broken the tune into small easy to remember sections, learn<br />
each section and then link all the parts together and very soon<br />
you will be playing the entire song.</p>
<p>Happy Birthday</p>
<p>part 1<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
-3&#8211;3&#8211;5&#8211;3&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>part 2<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;3&#8211;2&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>part 3<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
-3&#8211;3&#8211;5&#8211;3&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>part 4<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;5&#8211;3&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>part 5<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;3&#8211;3&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>part 6<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<br />
&#8211;5&#8212;-2&#8212;&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;3&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</p>
<p>part 7<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<br />
&#8211;2&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-5&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</p>
<p>part 8<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;3&#8212;-3&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>part 9<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;2&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-3&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>part 10<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8212;5&#8212;-3&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Happy Birthday may not be your favorite song, but it is top of<br />
the charts once a year for everyone, it&#8217;s also important to play<br />
songs in the key (pitch) that people are familiar with otherwise<br />
they will have trouble singing along with the song; I&#8217;ve<br />
presented Happy Birthday in the key of &#8216;F&#8217; which is the most<br />
popular key for that song.</p>
<script type="text/javascript" class="owbutton" src="http://onlywire.com/button" title="Simple Guitar Songs - "Happy Birthday To You" Guitar Tabs" url="http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1120/simple-guitar-songs-happy-birthday-to-you-guitar-tabs/"></script>]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fastest Way To Learn Guitar Scales</title>
		<link>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1103/fastest-way-to-learn-guitar-scales/</link>
		<comments>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1103/fastest-way-to-learn-guitar-scales/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:30:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Hayes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Guitar Fretboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guitar scales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy online lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike hayes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/?p=1103</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you know the fastest way to learn guitar scales on guitar?
You will when you read and use this article.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For the first eighteen months of my guitar playing career the<br />
only scales I knew about were on fish! <span id="more-1103"></span>True story, I didn&#8217;t play<br />
scales or even know they existed.</p>
<p>The first year of my guitar playing adventures consisted of<br />
learning to play melodies (tunes) on the guitar, I&#8217;m very<br />
thankful for this type of introduction to music as I have never<br />
been asked to play a scale at any gig over the past thirty five<br />
years of professional playing but I have played many requests for<br />
tunes!</p>
<p>I&#8217;m mentioning this because there&#8217;s an over emphasis of the<br />
importance of scales in guitar instruction; the type of thinking<br />
that&#8217;s widely presented is that if you lock yourself in a room<br />
practicing scales 24/7/365 for ten years you will be a &#8216;guitar-<br />
god&#8217;.</p>
<p>Reality check: If you locked yourself in a room for ten years<br />
playing guitar you would:</p>
<p>(a) be very hungry (and tired)</p>
<p>(b) quite crazy</p>
<p>(c) and still not be able to play any songs &#8230;</p>
<p>On the positive side you would be able to play lots of scales<br />
(really fast).</p>
<p>A good working knowledge of scales and their musical application<br />
is an important part of a well balanced musician&#8217;s education the<br />
trick is not to become totally obsessed with them, scales are<br />
merely your musical alphabet, nothing more, nothing less!</p>
<p>The purpose of this article is to drastically reduce the amount<br />
of time you spend learning scales on the guitar.</p>
<p><em>Here&#8217;s the fastest way to learn scales on the guitar:</em></p>
<p><strong>Tip 1:</strong> Decide which scale you need to learn, this will be<br />
determined by the music YOU want to play; it&#8217;s pointless learning<br />
some rare Egyptian scale if you only want to play the blues.<br />
Don&#8217;t learn a scale just because it&#8217;s in a book or your<br />
teacher/friend suggested it would be good for you to learn.</p>
<p><strong>Remember:</strong> Five minutes though is better than five hours of<br />
haphazard practice on guitar.</p>
<p><strong>Tip 2:</strong> Learn the key signatures, know how many sharps or flats<br />
are in each key e.g., key of G = 1 sharp (F sharp); key of F = 1<br />
flat (B flat); key of D = 2 sharps (F sharp and C sharp) etc</p>
<p><strong>Tip 3:</strong> Learn the name of the notes on the guitar fretboard; this<br />
is the most important thing to do if you want to learn your<br />
scales quickly; initially it will seems like it&#8217;s the slowest way<br />
but believe me learning scale patterns and not having a single<br />
clue what you are doing is a one way ticket to nowhere!</p>
<p>I know it&#8217;s common for guitar players to learn a pentatonic scale<br />
pattern without:</p>
<p>(a) knowing the names of any of the notes they are playing in the<br />
scale pattern under their fingers</p>
<p>(b) or without even knowing which type of pentatonic scale (major<br />
or minor) they are playing.</p>
<p>Can you see how hopeless this scale pattern learning really is ?</p>
<p>Take your time learn the notes on your guitar, know the key<br />
signatures and decide which scale(s) are relevant to your music<br />
and you will literally save years of wasted practice and musical<br />
frustration.</p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Triple The Speed Of Your Learning &#8211; How To Acquire Reliable Technique (now)</title>
		<link>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1091/triple-the-speed-of-your-learning-how-to-acquire-reliable-technique-now/</link>
		<comments>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1091/triple-the-speed-of-your-learning-how-to-acquire-reliable-technique-now/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:19:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Hayes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Guitar Fretboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technique]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/?p=1091</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Do you know to triple the speed of your learning and acquire a
reliable technique on guitar? You will when you read and use this
article.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If asked almost any guitarist how they were progressing on guitar<br />
most would tell you &#8220;pretty good&#8221;, some would say &#8220;terrible&#8221; and<br />
the remaining group would answer <span id="more-1091"></span>they &#8220;haven&#8217;t got a clue&#8221;. I<br />
have the up most respect for the &#8220;haven&#8217;t got a clue&#8221; group<br />
because really it&#8217;s the most honest answer.</p>
<p>Even though guitarists become involved with all sorts of guitar<br />
&#8216;activities&#8217; they rarely have any accurate way of measuring their<br />
progress; their technical ability generally fluctuates between<br />
basic (or practically non-existent) to average depending on their<br />
current music projects i.e., if most of their work involves<br />
playing a few power chords in a group that&#8217;s the type of<br />
technique they will currently have until some other role is<br />
thrust upon them.</p>
<p>The way to overcome this issue and develop a reliable technique<br />
regardless of your performance responsibilities is to practice<br />
with a metronome and keep an accurate daily metronome log to<br />
track your progress.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s three ways you can use a metronome to build a solid,<br />
reliable technique on guitar.</p>
<p><strong>Concept 1: </strong>Speed is a by product of accuracy &#8211; always keep the<br />
following points in mind as you practice.</p>
<p>Remember: practice itself does not make perfect, rather PERFECT<br />
practice makes perfect!</p>
<p>(a) Start slowly and gradually build up speed</p>
<p>(b) Stress rhythmic evenness and flawless execution, make certain<br />
you play the string (left and right hand) at the same time. No<br />
flams!</p>
<p>(c) Make a BIG deal out of each note.</p>
<p>(d) The first mistake is a warning sign, stop and visualize the<br />
note/scale played perfectly then play the exercise the way you<br />
wish you had.</p>
<p>(e) Remember you are in charge of quality control; mistakes breed<br />
instantly and will turn up whenever you are performing under<br />
pressure.</p>
<p><strong>Concept 2:</strong> Maintain a metronome log &#8211; draw up a simple metronome<br />
log which is essentially a six-day-a-week dairy where you track<br />
your guitar technique.</p>
<p>The idea is to practice daily for six consecutive days a week<br />
then have one day off from your technical practice to let your<br />
muscles recover, you can still play guitar on the seventh day,<br />
just don&#8217;t do any technical stuff.</p>
<p>Your target is to increase your speed by 12 metronome beats per<br />
week, you may not be able to do this for a start, that&#8217;s fine but<br />
your mind needs a target, and that&#8217;s our target; use your<br />
metronome to track your progress.</p>
<p><strong>Important:</strong> <em>Don&#8217;t set your metronome and try and keep up with it<br />
that will only result in inaccurate playing and mistakes rather<br />
use the metronome to track your daily results.</em></p>
<p><strong>Concept 3:</strong> Reliable technique as a permanent reflex capability.</p>
<p>Once you can maintain your present maximum technique for a twenty<br />
one day period that technique will be affixed in your nervous<br />
system a a permanent reflex capability, which means you can go<br />
for long periods without playing, but with about two to three<br />
weeks practice you will regain your full technique.</p>
<p>Performance under pressure is the name of the game, if you<br />
practice slowly and accurately you will play accurately under<br />
pressure, if you practice mistakes you will play mistakes it&#8217;s as<br />
simple as that.</p>
<p>A strong, reliable technique will give you a new sense of<br />
confidence in your playing so take great care building your<br />
technique you&#8217;ll be glad you did.</p>
<script type="text/javascript" class="owbutton" src="http://onlywire.com/button" title="Triple The Speed Of Your Learning - How To Acquire Reliable Technique (now)" url="http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1091/triple-the-speed-of-your-learning-how-to-acquire-reliable-technique-now/"></script>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Triple The Speed Of Your Learning With A Pitch Graph (it&#8217;s quick and easy)</title>
		<link>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1089/triple-the-speed-of-your-learning-with-a-pitch-graph-its-quick-and-easy/</link>
		<comments>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1089/triple-the-speed-of-your-learning-with-a-pitch-graph-its-quick-and-easy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:41:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Hayes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Guitar Fretboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy online lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guitar lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike hayes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/?p=1089</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you know to triple the speed of your learning on guitar with a
pitch graph? You will when you read and use this article.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If we continue to look at the guitar neck as if we are sitting<br />
in the audience nothing much will ever be revealed; what we need<br />
to do is <span id="more-1089"></span>get behind the eye balls of the professional player to<br />
see how they view the fretboard.</p>
<p>From the audience perspective all you can ever see is six silver<br />
strings however, when you are viewing the fretboard through the<br />
eyes of a professional guitarist it the neck takes on a whole new<br />
accelerated learning experience.</p>
<p>Although there seems to be lots of notes on your guitar the good<br />
news is that many of the notes are duplicated on multiple strings<br />
and fret positions.</p>
<p>A great way to become aware of this is to create your very own<br />
pitch graph like this:</p>
<p>How To Create Your Pitch Graph</p>
<p>(a) grab some colored pens (fluro pens are my favorite)</p>
<p>(b) rule up six lines across the page to represent the six<br />
strings of the guitar</p>
<p>(c) mark in twelve frets and we&#8217;re ready to go!</p>
<p>(d) color the first string yellow</p>
<p>(e) color the second string yellow at the fifth fret onwards to<br />
the twelfth fret</p>
<p>(f) color the third string yellow at the ninth fret onwards to<br />
the twelfth</p>
<p>(g) next, mark the second string using a green pen from the open<br />
second string to the fourth fret</p>
<p>(h) mark the third string green at the fourth fret to fret eight</p>
<p>(i) color the fourth string green at fret nine to the twelfth<br />
fret</p>
<p>(j) mark the third string with an orange pen from the open string<br />
to the fourth</p>
<p>(k) moving over to string four mark the fifth to the twelfth with<br />
the orange pen</p>
<p>(l) color string five at the tenth to twelfth with orange</p>
<p>(m) now it&#8217;s over to string four open to the fourth fret with a<br />
blue pen</p>
<p>(n) color string five at the fifth to twelfth with blue</p>
<p>(o) string six from tenth to twelfth as blue</p>
<p> nearly finished &#8230;.</p>
<p>(p) mark the fifth string open to fifth with red</p>
<p>(q) string six, fifth to ninth is also in red</p>
<p>Now you have a very colorful guitar fretboard that will give<br />
you a visual layout of how the fingerboard is viewed by a<br />
seasoned player.</p>
<p><strong>Pitch graph concept</strong>: <em>same color = same pitch</em></p>
<p>The idea is to show you that strings marked with the same color<br />
equals notes of the same pitch e.g., the pitch of the first<br />
string is duplicated on the second string at the fifth to twelfth<br />
frets; it is also duplicated on the third string at the ninth to<br />
twelfth frets.</p>
<p>You can use any colors have fun and be creative and most of all<br />
enjoy exploring the fretboard looking and listening for<br />
duplicated notes.</p>
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		<title>Use This Simple Guitar Secret And You&#8217;ll Instantly Rule The Neck</title>
		<link>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1085/use-this-simple-guitar-secret-and-youll-instantly-rule-the-neck/</link>
		<comments>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1085/use-this-simple-guitar-secret-and-youll-instantly-rule-the-neck/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:49:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Hayes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Guitar Fretboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy online lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guitar lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guitar notes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike hayes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/?p=1085</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you know the one secret all professional guitarists use to
rule the neck? You will when you read and use this article.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Just about every guitar player understands the importance of<br />
learning the notes on the fretboard, once you know the names of<br />
the notes and their location on the neck the whole fingerboard is<br />
<span id="more-1085"></span>unlocked and you are free to express yourself on the guitar.</p>
<p>O.K. we all know how important it is but how many of us know how<br />
to do it? I heard the guy&#8217;s that know how to do this had their<br />
last meeting in a telephone box (just kidding); but let&#8217;s just<br />
say there isn&#8217;t too many who have this aspect of their guitar<br />
playing under control.</p>
<p>If you have already tried to learn the notes on the fretboard you<br />
will know how frustrating it is, just when you think you have<br />
learned the notes on the first string and you begin to study the<br />
notes on the second string all of a sudden your mind goes blank<br />
and without warning the first string notes disappear out of your<br />
head and soon it will seem as if you&#8217;ve forgotten all the notes<br />
on both strings.</p>
<p>The trick is to learn the strings in a specific order and relate<br />
what you have already learned to the new material that you are<br />
studying. This type of connected learning will make it easy to<br />
recall the information at high speed.</p>
<p><strong>Step 1:</strong> learn the notes on the first string</p>
<p>First string notes (thin string)</p>
<p>Note name is on the left; numbers indicate fret position.</p>
<p>E = open</p>
<p>F = 1</p>
<p>F#/Gb = 2</p>
<p>G = 3</p>
<p>G#/Ab = 4</p>
<p>A = 5</p>
<p>A#/Bb = 6</p>
<p>B = 7</p>
<p>C = 8</p>
<p>C#/Db = 9</p>
<p>D = 10</p>
<p>D#/Eb = 11</p>
<p>E = 12</p>
<p><strong>Step two:</strong> learn the notes on string four</p>
<p>That&#8217;s right I said string four, the reason why guitar players<br />
have so much trouble recalling the positioning of notes on the<br />
fretboard is that when you try to learn the strings in a<br />
consecutive order there isn&#8217;t any easy way to link the<br />
information together consequently almost everyone has trouble<br />
remembering and recalling the names and location on the notes.</p>
<p><strong>Important:</strong> you can instantly learn and remember the notes on the<br />
fourth string if you apply one simple rule&#8230;</p>
<p><em>=> skip one fret <=</em></p>
<p>Here&#8217;s how that works.</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s say you have learned that the first string, first fret is<br />
the note &#8220;F&#8221;; now go over to the fourth string and remembering to<br />
skip one fret, you should now be on the fourth string, third fret<br />
which is also the note &#8220;F&#8221; (one octave lower than the first<br />
string F).</p>
<p>See how easy that is? All the notes on string four are in exactly<br />
the same note sequence as the notes on string one only offset by<br />
one fret!</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll give you another example to work on: first string, third<br />
fret is the note &#8220;G&#8221; moving over to the fourth string and<br />
skipping one fret we land on the fourth string; fifth fret which<br />
is also the note &#8220;G&#8221; one octave lower in sound than the &#8220;G&#8221; on<br />
the first string.</p>
<p>If you learn the notes an the first string and apply our &#8220;skip<br />
one fret&#8221; rule you will be able to link the first and fourth<br />
strings together in your mind and have a visual shape to help to<br />
recall the names of the notes.</p>
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		<title>Play Guitar By Ear: Learning to Hear the Perfect Fourth interval</title>
		<link>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1073/play-guitar-by-ear-learning-to-hear-the-perfect-fourth-interval/</link>
		<comments>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1073/play-guitar-by-ear-learning-to-hear-the-perfect-fourth-interval/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:54:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Hayes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ear Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Fretboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beginner guitar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy online lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[learn guitar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike hayes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/?p=1073</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you know the best way to learn to play guitar by ear?
You will when you read and use this article.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Technically speaking intervals are a way of measuring musical<br />
&#8217;space&#8217; between notes, guitar players are often overwhelmed by<br />
the technical names of intervals such as <span id="more-1073"></span>&#8216;major third&#8217; or &#8216;minor<br />
third&#8217; but once the student begins to grasp a few basic concepts<br />
about intervals the whole thing starts to make sense and ear<br />
training becomes a logic process that&#8217;s heaps of fun.</p>
<p>Traditionally, intervals are usually presented as two separate<br />
notes as they occur in melodies of songs; however an often<br />
overlooked musical fact is that intervals can also be played as a<br />
mini- chord (two notes); in fact from a guitarist&#8217;s perspective<br />
that&#8217;s probably a good place to start.</p>
<p>The first thing to understand about ear training is that it&#8217;s an<br />
ongoing study you never finish learning and listening to musical<br />
sounds played both individually and as a coagulation of tones.</p>
<p>Previously I have covered the intervals of major third, minor<br />
third and perfect fifth today in this ear training session we<br />
will focus on the perfect fourth (ascending) interval. There is<br />
also an interval named the perfect interval (descending) but<br />
that&#8217;s for another session, only the perfect fourth (ascending)<br />
interval will be presented in this article</p>
<p>Since this ear training session is primarily addressed to<br />
guitarists I&#8217;ll begin our discussion with the harmonic fourth<br />
sound (mini-chord) which has to be one of the most often played<br />
harmonic intervals by guitarists.</p>
<p>Have you ever heard a song called &#8216;Smoke On The Water&#8217;? Unless<br />
you have just arrived from the moon you must have heard or played<br />
this song before; unfortunately as well as being one of the most<br />
played songs it also has the dubious distinction of being one of<br />
the most inaccurately played songs of all time.</p>
<p>When &#8216;Smoke On The Water&#8217; is played correctly the first chord is<br />
a harmonic fourth.</p>
<p>Harmonic fourth (power chord)</p>
<p>To hear a great example of the harmonic fourth listen to the<br />
opening chord of &#8216;Smoke On The Water&#8217; by Deep Purple.</p>
<p>Harmonic fourth &#8211; &#8216;Smoke On The Water&#8217;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;0&#8212;<br />
&#8211;0&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>This is the correct way to play &#8216;Smoke On The Water&#8217;, listen<br />
carefully to the original recorded version of this song then play<br />
the harmonic fourth as shown above and you will notice how it<br />
matches exactly with the sound on the recording.</p>
<p>Now that you know what the interval of a perfect fourth sounds<br />
like when played as a chord let&#8217;s work on being able to hear the<br />
interval when played as single notes as it would be in a melody<br />
of a song.</p>
<p>Begin with a reference pitch of middle &#8216;C&#8217;.</p>
<p>Middle &#8216;C&#8217; reference pitch (third string; fifth fret)</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;5&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Next play the note &#8216;F&#8217; on the second string; fret six</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;6&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Repeat that process, take plenty of time remember we want to<br />
recognize this interval when it turns up in songs and solos<br />
therefore the slower you play his exercise the better.</p>
<p>Playing by ear is really learning to play from memory we need to<br />
make a conscious effort to listen to each note and how it relates<br />
to the previous note. People who can play by ear have developed<br />
an accurate &#8216;recall&#8217; system by mentally filing sounds in their<br />
memory so that they can rapidly identify that sound and it&#8217;s<br />
location on the guitar fretboard.</p>
<p>Next play the two notes as a chord (harmonic fourth or power<br />
chord)</p>
<p>Harmonic fourth</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;6&#8212;<br />
&#8211;5&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>The harmonic fourth you have just played is in the key of &#8216;C&#8217;<br />
whereas the harmonic fourth I presented for &#8216;Smoke On The Water&#8217;<br />
is in the key of &#8216;G&#8217; (the original recorded version); they are<br />
exactly the same musical sound only presented in different keys<br />
and played in a different octave.</p>
<p>Now to round off this introduction to perfect fourth intervals<br />
here&#8217;s a short list of some tunes that begin with the perfect<br />
fourth (ascending) interval</p>
<p>1. Here Comes The Bride (Wedding March)</p>
<p>2. Amazing Grace</p>
<p>3. Auld Lang Syne</p>
<p>4. All The Things You Are</p>
<p>5. Love Me Tender (Elvis Presley)</p>
<p>Try some &#8216;on the job training&#8217; &#8230; next time you play a song ask<br />
yourself what interval am I&#8217;m hearing; it&#8217;s fun to play this<br />
game and the great news is that it doesn&#8217;t matter what type of<br />
music you play the intervals are still the same so now it&#8217;s back<br />
to playing your guitar.</p>
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		<title>Play Guitar By Ear: Learning to Hear the Perfect Fifth Interval</title>
		<link>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1071/play-guitar-by-ear-learning-to-hear-the-perfect-fifth-interval/</link>
		<comments>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1071/play-guitar-by-ear-learning-to-hear-the-perfect-fifth-interval/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:18:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Hayes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ear Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Fretboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy online lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike hayes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/?p=1071</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you know the best way to learn to play guitar by ear?
You will when you read and use this article.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Learning intervals can be quite confusing for guitar players<br />
especially if you are just beginning to learn the various<br />
interval names; how some intervals are called &#8216;major third&#8217; and<br />
&#8216;major second&#8217; while other intervals are <span id="more-1071"></span>labeled &#8216;perfect&#8217;<br />
fourth&#8217; and &#8216;perfect fifth&#8217; to add to the confusion guitar<br />
players must also keep in mind that the guitar sounds one octave<br />
lower than written.</p>
<p>Over my years of teaching I have noticed that when intervals are<br />
presented to the student in a particular sequence the students<br />
are able to successfully recall the sound of the interval. The<br />
first interval to learn is the major third followed by the minor<br />
third as I have discussed both these interval in earlier articles<br />
I will focus this article on learning to hear and instantly<br />
recall the perfect fifth interval.</p>
<p>The perfect fifth interval is quite a common interval in fact<br />
when the two notes of the perfect fifth interval are played<br />
simultaneously they produce what is technically called the<br />
harmonic fifth. In rock guitar terms the harmonic fifth is<br />
referred to as a power chord.</p>
<p>Most rock guitar players have been playing the harmonic fifth<br />
sound all their guitar playing lives only they probably don&#8217;t<br />
know it by the name &#8216;harmonic fifth&#8217; to them it&#8217;s the normal<br />
garden variety power chord.</p>
<p>Harmonic fifth (power chord)</p>
<p>To hear a great example of the harmonic fifth listen to the<br />
opening chords of Dire Straits &#8211; &#8220;Money For Nothing&#8221;</p>
<p>Harmonic fifth &#8211; Money For Nothing<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;7&#8212;<br />
&#8211;5&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Now that you know what the interval of a perfect fifth sounds<br />
like when played as a chord let&#8217;s work on being able to hear the<br />
interval when played as single notes as it would be in a melody<br />
of a song.</p>
<p>Begin by playing the equivalent of middle &#8216;C&#8217; (on the piano) on<br />
the guitar fretboard.</p>
<p>Middle &#8216;C&#8217; reference pitch (third string; fifth fret)</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;5&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Next play the note &#8216;G&#8217; on the second string; fret eight</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;8&#8212;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Hear that sound? That&#8217;s the interval of a perfect fifth<br />
(ascending), there&#8217;s also an interval of a perfect fifth<br />
(descending) however we&#8217;ll leave that for another day.</p>
<p>Play the two notes again slowly listen for the &#8217;space&#8217; between<br />
the first note (middle C) and the &#8216;G&#8217; that&#8217;s the sound we want to<br />
remember and recall.</p>
<p>Next play the two notes as a chord (harmonic fifth or power<br />
chord)</p>
<p>Harmonic fifth</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8211;8&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;5&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<br />
&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>You will notice this harmonic fifth is different from the one I<br />
presented earlier for &#8216;Money For Nothing&#8217;; it&#8217;s the same interval<br />
only in a different key, I&#8217;ve illustrated &#8216;Money For Nothing&#8217; in<br />
the same key as the Dire Straits recorded version (key of G)<br />
whereas all our ear training intervals will be presented in the<br />
key of C for the time being.</p>
<p>To help you hear, recognize and most importantly, recall the<br />
sound of the perfect fifth interval here are a few tunes that<br />
begin with the ascending perfect fifth interval.</p>
<p>1. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star</p>
<p>2. One (Metallica)</p>
<p>3. Star Wars</p>
<p>4. Scarborough Fair</p>
<p>5. Can&#8217;t Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley)</p>
<p>These are just a smattering of the hundreds of songs that begin<br />
with this interval, keep listening for the sound of the perfect<br />
fifth interval when you are playing or practicing your guitar.</p>
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		<title>How Does A Capo Help You Change Keys?</title>
		<link>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1048/how-does-a-capo-help-you-change-keys/</link>
		<comments>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1048/how-does-a-capo-help-you-change-keys/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:56:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Hayes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Capo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Chords]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Fretboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[capo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy online lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guitar lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[learn guitar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike hayes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/?p=1048</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you know how a capo can help you change keys on guitar? You
will when you read and use this article.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Once you have learned the basic open string chords on guitar you<br />
are faced with the prospect of learning bar chords or <span id="more-1048"></span>trying to<br />
work out how to get that crisp, clear open string sound in other<br />
keys by using a capo.</p>
<p>Both bar chords and open string chords have there place in guitar<br />
music it all depends on the style of music you are playing and<br />
the type of musical texture you want to achieve from your guitar;<br />
with bar chords you use a small number of chords shapes that are<br />
moveable all over the guitar fingerboard whereas when using a<br />
capo the chords a generally in one position on the guitar.</p>
<p>How a capo works:</p>
<p>Most guitar players are familiar with the basic open string<br />
chords in the key of &#8220;G&#8221; so I&#8217;ll use these chords as examples of<br />
how versatile your playing can be if you understand how the capo<br />
works.</p>
<p>Basic chords in the Key of G</p>
<p>G /// | C /// | D /// | G /// ||</p>
<p>With the capo placed behind the first fret this chord progression<br />
becomes:</p>
<p>Ab /// | Db /// | Eb /// | Ab /// ||</p>
<p>Isn&#8217;t that neat; we didn&#8217;t have to learn any new shapes on the<br />
guitar we just had to place the capo behind the first fret.</p>
<p>Stop reading this article for a moment and try it for yourself;<br />
notice how these familiar chord shapes sound fresh and brand new,<br />
it does visually take a bit of getting used to the new<br />
positioning of the chords on the fingerboard so that&#8217;s why I<br />
suggest you practice using the capo in your practice sessions<br />
regularly.</p>
<p>Next let&#8217;s place the capo behind the second fret, once you have<br />
done that our original chord progression becomes:</p>
<p>A /// | D /// | E /// | A /// ||</p>
<p>Now that&#8217;s a bit of a surprise for many guitarists who probably<br />
already know how to play these exact same chords as chord in the<br />
open position; by using the capo it gives the guitarist (a) an<br />
alternative set of chord shapes and sounds for our music and (b)<br />
an ideal way of making the most of two guitars; if you are<br />
playing in a duo setting have one guitar play the A &#8211; D and E<br />
chords in the open position while the second guitarist plays the<br />
A &#8211; D and E chords using the G &#8211; C &#8211; and D chord shapes with the<br />
capo behind the second fret.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m now going to place the capo behind the third fret to produce<br />
the following set of chords:</p>
<p>Bb /// | Eb /// | F /// | Bb /// ||</p>
<p>With the capo behind the fourth fret we produce these chords</p>
<p>B /// | E /// | F# /// | B /// ||</p>
<p>So there you have it! I have only played the same three easy<br />
chord shapes of G, C and D for all these chord progressions the<br />
trick is to know the name of the chord and key you are playing in<br />
when you use a capo as it will make it so much easier to<br />
communicate your ideas to other musicians that are playing piano,<br />
bass, flute etc., who obviously will not be using a capo.</p>
<p>Try using a capo regularly in your practice sessions that way you<br />
will begin to recognize the unique sound a chord has on<br />
particular fret when it&#8217;s played with a capo on the guitar.</p>
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		<title>Play Guitar By Ear: Don&#8217;t Make These Mistakes</title>
		<link>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1045/play-guitar-by-ear-dont-make-these-mistakes/</link>
		<comments>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1045/play-guitar-by-ear-dont-make-these-mistakes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:31:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Hayes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ear Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Fretboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[easy online lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike hayes]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Do you know the best way to learn to play guitar by ear?
You will when you read and use this article.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With the average person on the street walking around with over<br />
five thousand tunes on their iPod and guitar players learning the<br />
latest songs on YouTube it&#8217;s easy to be mesmerized by <span id="more-1045"></span>all the<br />
technology, yes, everything is moving faster than ever before<br />
we&#8217;re hurtling along at breakneck speed &#8230; but where are we<br />
going?</p>
<p>Well, all this stuff must surely make for better, faster, smarter<br />
learning; I disagree, it&#8217;s a mistake to think that science and<br />
technology will fix it all for us; history has proven time and<br />
time again that the problems of human existence have never been<br />
answered by the progress we witness in technology and other<br />
sciences. The human being has always had to live with himself or<br />
herself.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a fatal mistake to:</p>
<p>(a) Think that by filling our iPods to the brim with thousands of<br />
songs and swamping our ears with music that we will become more<br />
musical or maybe even become a music expert (too late the world<br />
is full of them already!)</p>
<p>(b) Watch a guitar video copying the &#8216;instructors&#8217; every move<br />
without the individual spending enough time to develop their own<br />
ear to the point where they could discern if the material they<br />
were &#8216;learning&#8217; was in fact correct.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, 90% of guitarists fall into the category of<br />
musical fringe dwellers, people who may be quite skillful on their<br />
instrument but musically illiterate, players who do not know how<br />
to speak the language of music who can neither read or write<br />
standard musical notation.</p>
<p>The bulk of guitarists are therefore cut off from the vast blood<br />
bank of accumulated knowledge that the rest of the musical world<br />
benefits from; unable to understand or even care about what they<br />
are doing the fringe dwelling guitarist is drawn like a moth to a<br />
flame to the &#8216;easy way out solutions&#8217;, the fix-it-all-in-five-<br />
minutes style books and the monkey-see-monkey-do videos.</p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t know what you are doing why bother doing it!</p>
<p>The truth is: There are no short cuts in music; you have to<br />
practice, study and learn to be patient with your self, but<br />
the rewards are well worth the effort, ear training is one such<br />
area of musical training that gets the &#8216;rough end of the<br />
pineapple&#8217; when it comes to guitar training.</p>
<p>For the other 10% of the guitar playing community who want to<br />
develop total musicianship as applied to the guitar.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s an easy way to remember the minor third interval.</p>
<p><strong>Step 1:</strong>	play middle &#8216;C&#8217; as your reference pitch.</p>
<p>middle &#8216;C&#8217; = third string; fifth fret</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;5&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p><strong>Step 2: </strong>play the minor third (ascending) interval (Eb)</p>
<p> Eb = second string; fourth fret</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;4&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Please note &#8211; there is an interval called the minor third<br />
(descending) interval; in this article I am focusing<br />
exclusively on the minor third (ascending) interval.</p>
<p><strong>Step 3: </strong>Play middle &#8216;C&#8221; then slowly and carefully play the minor<br />
third interval (Eb); repeat this process s-l-o-w-l-y then play<br />
both notes at once like a mini-chord to get a &#8216;feel&#8217; of how this<br />
interval sounds harmonically.</p>
<p>Play the minor third interval as a mini-chord</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;4&#8212;-<br />
&#8211;5&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-<br />
&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p><strong>Step 4: </strong>Use well known tunes to help you remember the sound of<br />
the interval; here&#8217;s a few tunes that begin with the minor third<br />
(ascending) interval.</p>
<p>The first two notes in each of these tunes produce the minor<br />
third (ascending) interval.</p>
<p>Tunes that begin with a minor third (ascending) interval</p>
<p>1. Axel F (Beverly Hills Cop)</p>
<p>2  Smoke On The Water</p>
<p>3. Greensleeves</p>
<p>4. Georgia On My Mind</p>
<p>5. Bad (Michael Jackson)</p>
<p>and many more &#8230;</p>
<p>Developing your musical ear is an &#8216;active&#8217; process you must<br />
constantly be asking yourself &#8216;what is that sound?&#8217; when you are<br />
listening to music try to identify the intervals you are hearing<br />
it takes practice, patience and perseverance but it will<br />
ultimately enable you to accurately play songs &#8216;by ear&#8217; on the<br />
guitar.</p>
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		<title>3 Fatal Ear Training Mistakes And What To Do Instead</title>
		<link>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1021/3-fatal-ear-training-mistakes-and-what-to-do-instead/</link>
		<comments>http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/guitar-fretboard/1021/3-fatal-ear-training-mistakes-and-what-to-do-instead/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13:17:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Hayes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ear Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guitar Fretboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beginner guitar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guitar lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[learn guitar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mike hayes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.guitarcoaching.com/guitarlessonsblog/?p=1021</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you know the 3 fatal ear training mistakes guitarist make and
what to do about them? You will when you read and use this
article.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> One of the most often overlooked aspects of guitar study programs<br />
is ear training, sure you can learn a few tunes, play a couple of<br />
basic scales and chords but it&#8217;s only <span id="more-1021"></span>monkey-see-monkey-do type<br />
stuff the player themselves does not really develop his/her<br />
musical ear to the point when they can work out tunes by ear for<br />
themselves.</p>
<p>Once a musician learns the fundamentals of ear training they are<br />
free to play any song and most importantly they can check if the<br />
information they are studying is correct (many harmonic and<br />
melodic errors exist in both online and offline study programs).</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s the 3 fatal ear training mistakes and how to avoid them!</p>
<p><strong>Fatal mistake 1:</strong> Not practicing ear training on the guitar -<br />
Unfortunately, when it comes to ear training the guitar seems to<br />
get a raw deal, almost all examples whether they are presented on<br />
an audio CD or at a music exam are played on a piano, which means<br />
it&#8217;s very difficult for the guitarist to relate to the sounds<br />
being played let alone find them on the fingerboard.</p>
<p>Important: The guitar sounds one octave lower than the piano.</p>
<p><strong>What to do instead</strong>: Practice intervals on your guitar everyday,<br />
start with the pitch of middle &#8216;C&#8217; on the guitar.</p>
<p>(a) middle &#8216;C&#8217; = third string, fifth fret</p>
<p>(b) progress through the basic intervals i.e., major 3rd, minor<br />
3rd, perfect 5th, perfect 4th etc.</p>
<p><strong>Fatal mistake 2:</strong> Audio overload &#8211; recently whilst trying to help<br />
a student identify intervals by relating each interval to the<br />
first two notes played in familiar songs (songs that everyone has<br />
heard hundreds of times, unless of course you have just arrived<br />
from another planet), I noticed that he was really struggling to<br />
recall any of the songs I mentioned, in fact he gave me the<br />
impression he had not heard any of them as if he was suffering<br />
from some kind of musical amnesia.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this condition is becoming more common with young<br />
students and the main reason for this situation is caused by<br />
information overload or in this case audio overload; thereby the<br />
listener is bombarded by an overwhelming amount of audio<br />
information far too much of the untrained listened to cope with.</p>
<p>To prove my point I asked the student &#8220;how many songs could he<br />
store on his iPod?&#8221; &#8220;Thousands&#8221;, he replied; and there is the<br />
problem right there; hours and hours of music to listen to and<br />
absorb and if the iPod is set on random it&#8217;s quite likely the<br />
listener won&#8217;t hear the same song for at least a couple of<br />
weeks, maybe months, possibly never!.</p>
<p><strong>What to do instead:</strong> Practice focusing on one song at a time -<br />
really get to know all the nooks and crannies of that song and as<br />
you gather information about the first song use that information<br />
to help you learn your next song more quickly, that&#8217;s true<br />
accelerated learning it&#8217;s do by connected learning, whereby you<br />
relate unfamiliar material to material already learned.</p>
<p><strong>Fatal mistake 3:</strong> Practicing too fast &#8211; because we are always<br />
presented with the &#8216;finished&#8217; audio product it&#8217;s easy to lose<br />
sight of the fact that the artist we are listening to achieved<br />
their finished audio product by first practicing everything in<br />
tiny little sections and that they practiced these little musical<br />
cells very s-l-o-w-l-y.</p>
<p><strong>What to do instead:</strong> Make a point of writing a giant note to<br />
yourself &#8230;<br />
<em><br />
&#8216;SLOW DOWN &#8211; speed is a by-product of accuracy&#8217;</em></p>
<p>put this note in your guitar case or stick it on the wall of your<br />
practice room, there&#8217;s no point in playing fast and messy,<br />
absolutely anyone can do that, in fact it doesn&#8217;t take any<br />
practice at all.</p>
<p>The most important thing to remember about ear training is to<br />
slow down and listen to the &#8217;space&#8217; between each note and make a<br />
conscious effort to remember how they sound and feel it will help<br />
you identify these same notes in the next song you play on your<br />
guitar.</p>
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