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Top Three Ways To Improve Your Guitar
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Want to improve your guitar playing? Here is the top three ways
to improve your guitar playing! These tips will cut through all
the "fluff" and get to the "real stuff".
Tip 1: Time is all you got! Use it wisely.
Write your number one musical goal down on a piece of paper and
sticky tape this page over the power switch of the TV (or you can
sticky tape this page over the TV or computer screen).
What, did he say? Yes, you read that correctly ... turn the TV
(or computer) off. Seriously, almost everyone has heard about
writing their goals down, but how many people have actually taken
the time to write their goals down?
All successful people have the a crystal clear picture of their
goals, writing their goals down gives them clarity and focus.
When you tape your goal sheet over the TV screen it serves as a
visual reminder of what you want to achieve and asks the all
important question ... are you prepared to "pay the price?"
It's true everything in life has a price ... there's a price to
pay for wanting to change things in your life and there's a price
to pay to for doing nothing. The really great thing is you get to
choose.
Why is this "sticking tape on the TV" routine in the top ten ways
to improve your guitar playing? Now, if you are honest with
yourself, I'm sure there's a couple of extra practice hours
available if we were more selective with our TV viewing.
Perhaps "surfing the net" is your thing, have you ever made a
note of how many hours you have spent on the net looking for
guitar playing "short cuts".
How does a guitarist get really good? The answer is simple
practice, practice, practice ... that's the only thing what will
make you a good guitarist. There's no other way!
Track your TV or internet surfing time for a week and see if you
can invest extra time into actual guitar practice.
Tip 2: Learn melodies. The first question what is a melody?
A simple way to introduce you to the concept of a melody is to
think of a song, let's say ... "Happy Birthday" can you hear the
tune for Happy Birthday playing in your head? What you are
hearing is the melody, it's the tune you whistle or hum.
Music consists of three main elements: rhythm (the beat), melody
(the tune) and harmony (the chords).
Learning melodies is definitely in our top three ways to improve
your guitar playing list. There's so much emphasis placed on
learning scales and playing fast all over the guitar like a "bee
in a bottle".
Even though there are many more people playing the guitar than
ever before only an extremely small number of guitarist's can
play a recognizable melody on the guitar.
Make a sort list of five songs you want to learn the melody of,
try to play these melodies "by ear" if you can read standard
music notation learn to play the melody from the sheet music and
then close the page and play the melody from memory!
Tip 3: Tap your foot ... develop your groove!
Seems simple enough, however it's rare for a beginner guitarist
to tap their foot.
In it's most basic description music could be defined as :
"pitch in time".
Whilst there are obviously many other elements that contribute to
the emotional experience of listening to a piece of music, "pitch
in time" is a good description of the basics.
Remember it's "pitch IN time", it is common practice to learn
guitar via TAB, which is where we encounter our first major
stumbling block.
TAB only notates pitch, the guitarist is left to figure out the
"time" aspect by playing along with a song on a CD or mp3 etc.
This 'monkey-see-,monkey-do" approach fails to develop the most
basic element of music, namely, rhythm (the beat) consequently it
has become increasingly more difficult to get two guitarist's to
play together in time because they have never developed the
concept of tapping their foot (and listening to each other).
When you tap your foot, you feel the music internally, when
musicians play together their has to be an common time feel and
tempo. Regardless of any other skills you learn on the guitar, if
you neglect to develop your groove, nothing will even work ...
it's as simple as that!
To be a good guitarist takes practice patience and perseverance,
over time your dedication will pay off, it all starts with
setting goals you want to achieve and using your time wisely,
learning melodies and developing your groove.
That's my top three tips to improve your guitar playing, check
them out and you will experience immediate results.
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Rave Reviews for Express Guitar:
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a student of Mike Hayes since 1999, I have found his teaching methods
and products to be first class. Whatever style or area of music I have
been interested in, he has provided me with useful information, advice
and study materials. His style of teaching and teaching products
enabled me to progress through his guitar course far quicker than I
ever imagined. He also helps in teaching yourself to find and develop
your own style of music. Mike’s teaching gives his
student’s the ability to become useful musicians, not just
guitarists.
Stephen J Reid
Guitarist & Musician
Australia
This
course teaches us how to learn, how to retain, and how to recall
information quickly. This entire program is built around "connected
learning" with key phrases, picture words ( yes there is such a thing )
and the most dynamic personal motivator I have ever had the pleasure of
knowing.
Ken C Simpson
Business Owner & Guitarist
Queensland, Australia
The
course is varied, in-depth and well-structured, making learning and
comprehension fast, thorough and enjoyable. It’s a great way of
learning, as you can pace yourself and move onto the next stage when
you feel competent. I find this course both innovative and
inspirational. I find myself leaving Mike’s lessons with the
determination to reach my new goals.
Karl J Ricker
Sales Manager
Sunshine Coast, Australia
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