Recently, a reader messaged me about how he can get his son to practice guitar more. He wrote: "hoping to encourage my son who is 12 to practise more. I dont think he is that excited by his music lessons, but would like to improve" Here was my response: Getting kids to practice is a tricky one. They're usually at a level where they can't do anything too exciting … [Read more...] about How to Get Your Child to Practice Guitar More
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Do Guitarists Need to Learn to Read Conventional Musical Notation?
One of my readers recently wrote: Hey Sam, Thanks for the message! I've had a skim read so far - looks like some greatadvice in there! I wondered what your opinion is on guitarists learning to read conventionalnotation - particularly the note pitches rather than just rhythms alongsidea TAB? Classical and jazz guitarists will tell you it's a necessity,whereas rock, pop … [Read more...] about Do Guitarists Need to Learn to Read Conventional Musical Notation?
How to Perform Neoclassical Chord Progressions on Guitar
The music theory behind neoclassical guitar is the theory of what is known as “The Common Practice Period”, often abbreviated to CPP, of music. The CPP spans roughly from 1650 - 1900. In terms of music theory, this is what we know as “tonal music”. CPP gave us: a framework for the order in which chords can be played and exceptions for those rules, known as … [Read more...] about How to Perform Neoclassical Chord Progressions on Guitar
The Guitarists Guide to Lead Guitar
What is Lead Guitar? Lead guitar is when a guitarist plays a melody, usually in a higher pitch range. In most rock, pop and metal music, the main melody of the song is performed by the vocalist. You can think of lead guitar as replacing the vocalist, for supplying the main melodic material of the song, at that point in time. You often hear lead … [Read more...] about The Guitarists Guide to Lead Guitar
9 Mistakes Guitarists Make When Learning the Minor Pentatonic Scale
When it comes to learning the minor pentatonic scale on guitar, a lot of guitar players seem to make similar mistakes. If you have ever found yourself feeling bored or frustrated when learning the scale, you are probably making one (or more!) of these mistakes. If you have every found yourself wondering "What's the point in learning this?" when practising the minor … [Read more...] about 9 Mistakes Guitarists Make When Learning the Minor Pentatonic Scale