A series of selected articles and posts on beginners guitar to help you start off on the right foot.
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First of all, I must say that all students that attend the Creative Guitar School, either in the classroom context, or through the e-learning program, are all eager to learn, play and immerse themselves into the journey of music. It does not matter whether their goal is to become a songwriter, a blues guitarist, a jazz guitarist or simply a solo musician, as they all wish to enjoy playing their favourite songs on such a beautiful instrument as the guitar, anywhere and at any time.
The main difficulty I perceive in all beginner guitar students, is overcoming the initial surprise that learning a new instrument is not as easy as they thought.
Why?
Students need to understand that when they play the guitar, they are actually speaking a language through an instrument. Therefore, if they are not aware of the musical language, they will not be able to play with much fun and they will start to experience constant frustration.
Music is an aural language where we create or reproduce a sequence of pitches in relation to a pulse. Students need to develop a competent aural understanding of melody and rhythm and this takes time.
My courses are designed to help students not only physically play the guitar, but to be able to hear and understand what they will play before such occurs. This approach will help reduce your guitar learning problems .
Most of my student’s first understanding of how to play the guitar, comes from the internet. This is a virtual world where they see a lot of guitarists doing a lot of fancy stuff on their own. The stuff they see, generally only lasts a few seconds, and initially it seems cool to follow, listen and also want to do.
Also, most of these guitarists share the impression that playing a song is about playing a set of chords and that is that. When students try to copy what they see, they soon realise they cannot do it right or it does not make sense, and that is when they encounter their first major guitar learning problem.
It is hard to explain initially what should make sense in your guitar learning, but it generally comes down to playing in a group format where you must define your role as melody and accompaniment in sync with others. If your learning allows such, then you are in the right direction. If not, please get a music teacher to show you what the language of music is all about. A teacher will help you overcome initial guitar learning problems.
I strongly recommend to avoid learning with any youtube video that does not have the support of a teacher, and any youtube video that does not teach you how to hear what you are playing.
Also, most guitar youtube videos show you how to play chords and this really is not what you should learn, as the most important aspect of any song is its melody. Do not learn licks, don’t learn chord progressions, learn full songs and learn how to create your own accompaniment, no matter what style you wish to play. You can apply this rule to blues, jazz, funk, rock, classical or flamenco guitar, but please, play full songs. Then, after you can play full songs, you will be ready to learn licks and how to create them.
If you choose to only mimic the movements of others, then your creativity may be blocked and as a consequence, anxiety or anguish may appear at your doorstep.
My videos teach you how to hear and play. With each guitar video, the students must consolidate their learning by completing a series of assignments. The final objective of all basic guitar learning is for the guitar student to be able to play a melody, accompaniments and solo of any simple song. You must be able to achieve this in a relatively short period of time, in a musical context where you hear it all happening at once, just like in the real world.
As a guitarist, this will require a lot of practice on your behalf. Music learning is not easy and the guitar learning can be a slow but rewarding experience.
Please consider that music is a relaxing therapy and you will only be able to relax when you express a full musical idea. A full idea includes the melody, the accompaniment and variations from start to end. And, all of these played in a musical context that includes tempo. This last recommendation will greatly help you reduce your guitar learning problems.
In order to be creative on the guitar as a performer, you need to be skilled in a variety of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic resources that will allow you to develop the chosen composition.
It must be your objective as a performer to tell a story on the guitar with the composition you are playing. The song will always be a repeating structure and as the song progresses you will need to add variations of rhythm, harmony and melody to achieve a flow in the song, and also to strive for a climax, which all songs have.
You will use your creativity to play all these variations on the go.
Guitar students tire quickly from trying to learn something new. This is another major guitar learning problem.
Music is a discipline that requires a lot of repetition to memorise sound and technique. There is no shortcut to this. However, repetition can be fun.
How ?
By playing the guitar in tempo and in the context of a song.
The more you practice as if you were playing a full song or playing live with others, the sooner you will overcome the boredom of repetition.
It is good to repeat in the context of a song as this will give you the framework to be creative. A repeating structure is the best scenario to be creative in the long term.
If you are playing the groove correctly your ideas will flow effortlessly. The structure is what allows the maximum creativity, it is a frame work with boundaries that will allow you to bounce around endlessly.
Please notice that I mention you need to play the groove correctly. The groove is the pulse of the song, the underlying heartbeat, you must feed this pulse and make it vibrate so the song can flow and breathe.
In all my guitar courses, both those that I offer in a classroom setting or those that I offer online, the main element which I am always insisting upon, is the pulse, the beat and rhythm. Please also visit my main site to hear examples of my musical productions that reflect all the above concepts.
The more you play to a beat, in tempo, the more relaxing your music will be and as a consequence the better you will feel.
This is the video transcript of lesson number 6 of the Beginners Guitar Course: How to subdivide a beat.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson one, here.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson two, here.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson three, here.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson four, here.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson five, here.
The beat of this song is the pulse that all members of the band sync to, to play the melody and accompaniment. You identify the beat by simply tapping your foot to the music.
DO IT WITH ME!
Tap your feet to this song and when you are ready say one! Fill in the gaps between the ones!
The beats are grouped in units of generally two, three or four beats. We name the unit a bar.
You will now learn to talk musically about the beat and start having fun with it. When we play rhythm, we define the beat and we talk about the beat with its subdivision.
Play with muted strings the following routine to learn to how to subdivide the beat. Read once, then play twice, non stop:
Play with your hands the following routine learn to ow to subdivide the beat. Read once, then play twice, non stop:
The beat is constant in this exercise, and when you play more notes per beat, the music feels more intense. When you count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4, you divide the beat in two, the potatoes divide the beat in four.
Play with me the C and Am chord with these variations, and feel how the intensity changes. Learn how how to subdivide the beat
Complete the assignments and submit.
Listen to the song you will learn.
Learn the song in steps.
Learn the Dm and F chords.
Apply the chord learning routine.
When you have practiced sufficiently complete the assignment of step one.
Have you submitted it, if so, press play and continue.
The chords share this common note that I highlight in red. In order to join them, practice the following routine.
Please stop the video and practice the routine on your own. Apply the check questions for self assessment and complete the assignment of Step 2.
Your goal in step 3 is to play the chords with potato subdivision, and accents on beat 1 from start to finish.
Learn how to do it ?
First of all you need to count how many beats each chord lasts, and then how many times they are repeated from start to finish.
The first chord is a Dm. How many beats does it last?
The second chord is an F. How many beats does it last?
How many times are they repeated?
Download the audio file dmfchordsstep3 and apply the L.I.S.P routine to answer the previous questions and to learn to How to subdivide the beat Practice the chords with the audio file until you are fluent with the accents and structure.
Complete the assignment and send it.
Press play and continue.
Download the audio file dmfmelody1. Complete the assignment and send it.
Download the audio file dmfmelody2. Complete the assignment and send it.
Download the audiofile dmfmelody3. Complete the assignment and send it.
Play along with me the full song. On the screen you will be able to see the choices you have to play.
Chord + melody 1
Play the chords and then melody number 1.
Chord + melody 2
Play the chords and then melody number 2.
Chord + melody 3
Play the chords and then melody number 3.
For example: 1st bar one note per beat, next bar 4 notes per beat, next bar two notes per beat, next bar 4 notes per beat.
Before you play your combinations, count in sync with a metronome:
Then play your 4 combinations.
Please choose the slowest tempo you are comfortable with, and apply the corresponding check questions for your own self assessment. Once you are satisfied with your results, please submit your recording to the teacher. Practice your combinations until they sound correct, then record, so you can assess how well you are progressing.
Record yourself in video, with your phone, playing the Dm and F chord learning routine. Your recording must answer yes to the following check questions. Once you are satisfied please submit your recording to the teacher.
Check questions
Record yourself in video, with your phone, playing the routine of Step 2. Your recording must answer yes to the following check questions. Once you are satisfied please submit your recording to the teacher.
Check questions
Record yourself in video, with your phone, playing along to the backing track called dm f chords step 3.If you are able to do so then you have successfully learnt the chords.Once you are satisfied please submit your recording to the teacher. Please proceed to Step 4
Write the replies to:
Practice the melody with the track you L.I.S.P to. When you are comfortable that you have learnt it, record yourself in video, with your phone, playing along to the backing track dmfmelody1.
Once you are satisfied please submit your recording to the teacher. Please proceed to Step 5
Write the replies to:
Practice the melody with the track you have L.I.S.P to. When you are comfortable that you have learnt it, record yourself in video, with your phone, playing along to the backing track called dmmelody2. If you are able to do so then you have successfully learnt Melody 2. Please proceed to Step 6
Write the replies to:
How many bars before the melody starts?
Then
Practice the melody with the track you have L.I.S.P to. When you are comfortable that you have learnt it, record yourself in video, with your phone, playing along to the backing track called dmmelody3. Once you are satisfied please submit your recording to the teacher. Please proceed to Step 7.
Music is fun and the most enjoyable experience is to write your own music. Read some of my articles on how to write a song, record and produce it to your utmost satisfaction .
This is the video transcript of lesson number 5 of the Beginners Guitar Course: How to play a melody.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson one, here.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson two, here.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson three, here.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson four, here.
As mentioned, every week I add one more exercise to your daily 20 minute practice session. The new exercise builds on the previous. Do not practice only the new exercise because you will not learn, and you will feel very frustrated and give up.
You must consolidate all the previous musical examples on a daily basis. The better you know them, the easier it will be to learn new musical material. It will take you10 weeks to consolidate all
I have designed every exercise to help you improve your aural rhythmic and performance skills gradually. You need to work and build on these three skills on a daily basis. Please practice the program in order, so as you may achieve the learning goals that I established.
Do not concentrate your practice on what you do not know, practice and have fun with what you know and then add new music new every week. You must practice every exercise exactly the way your learnt it. If you cannot do such please go back to the video to refresh.
Before you play, comprehend what happens on each beat of the melody, in order, so as to help you in the how to memorise a melody. Ask your self the following questions, sing and point to your fingers:
Beat one
How many notes are there? One ,it is a C.
Beat two
How many notes are there? It is the same note that starts on beat one as is maintained.
Beat three
How many notes are there? It is the same note that starts on beat one.
Beat four
How many notes are there? One.
Where does it start ? on 4 &.
Same, up or down? It is the same.
The following three bars follow the same pattern as the first. Stop the video and figure them out using the same process. Do not worry if you do not get them perfectly right.
Before you play, comprehend what happens on each beat of the melody, in order, so as to help you in the how to memorise a melody. Ask your self the following questions, sing and point to your fingers:
Beat one
How many notes are there? Two.
Are they both the same? Yes they are two Gs.
Beat 2, 3 and 4
How many notes are there? Two per beat.
Are they all the same? Yes they are repeating G notes.
Beat one
How many notes are there? Two
Same, up or down? Same, again they are repeating G notes.
Beat two
How many notes are there? Two.
Are they both the same? No.
Beat three
How many notes are there? One.
Same, up, or down?It goes down.
Beat four
How many notes are there? One.
Same as the previous, does it go up, or down? It goes down.
Apply the routine to bars 3,4,5,6,7 and 8
Ask yourself:
Sing and point to your fingers to help you understand.
Listen
Before you play, comprehend what happens on each beat of the melody, in order, so as to help you in the how to memorise a melody. Ask your self the following questions, sing and point to your fingers:
Now it’s time for you to start playing the full song. Please follow the instructions and make sure you have the 5 five melodies clearly memorised, and the chords. On the screen you will see me playing the melodies I want you to target.
Repeat the video as many times as you need to until you have memorised how to play the scale and melody number 1 and 2.
After you have L.I.S.P the melody, write in detail your replies to:
Record yourself
Once you have memorised the melody (pitch and rhythm). Record yourself in video, with your phone, playing along the corresponding melody track.
Your recording must answer yes to the following check questions. Once you are satisfied please submit your recording to the teacher.
Check questions
You have access to tabs of all melodies in your drop box folder.
Are you interested in the final goal of your learning which should also include the experience of how to write a song, record and produce it to your utmost satisfaction .Read more about how to write a song.
This is the video transcript of lesson number 4 of the Beginners Guitar Course: How to play a melody.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson one, here.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson two, here.
You may read the transcript of the Beginners Guitar Course lesson three, here.
As mentioned, every week I add one more exercise to your daily 20 minute guitar practice session.
The new guitar exercise builds on the previous. Do not practice only the new exercise because you will not learn and you will feel very frustrated and give up.
You must consolidate all the previous musical examples on a daily basis. The better you know them the easier it will be to learn new musical material. It will take you 10 weeks to consolidate all.
I have designed every exercise to help you improve your aural rhythmic and performance skills gradually. You need to work and build on these three skills on a daily basis. Please practice the program in order so as you may achieve the learning goals that I established.
Do not concentrate your practice on what you do not know, practice and have fun with what you know and then add new music new every week.
You must practice every exercise exactly the way your learnt it. If you cannot do such please go back to the video to refresh.
This is the new song you will learn, where I combine the C, Am, Em, and G chords. It also has four eight bar melodies, that I created with the C scale.
What new vocabulary do you need to learn to master, play this song and learn how to play a melody:
(Step by step + LISP routine + aural comprehension + repetition ) x 4 = Happiness
Step by step, applying the LISP routine with a lot of aural comprehension, then you add quite a few repetitions and you will end playing fluently the song .
In Step one you will learn the C scale, with open strings, the alphabet, with which all these melodies are constructed. In other words, you will practice the pathway, where to find all the melodies. This the first step for how to play a melody.
In Step two you will learn to play slowly each of the individual 4 melodies using the L.I.S.P routine.
In Step 3 you will consolidate with: On your own routine.
In Step four you will combine all the 8 melodies.
I will start on the 6th string and play it from E. Play along with me and sing the sound. I will now play it descending from the G note.
Let’s play now two notes per beat. How do you count two notes per beat ? You add the word and, in between. In order to play each note two times per beat you will need to alternate your index and middle fingers as in the video.
Play along with me.
Play along with me descending from G.
Rewind and repeat.
Before you play, comprehend what happens on each beat of the melody, in order. Ask your self the following questions, sing and point to your fingers. This will help learn how to play a melody.
Per Beat
How many notes?
Per Note:
Same, up or down?
Beat one
How many notes are there? None.
Beat two
How many notes are there? Two.
Are they both the same? Yes.
Beat three
How many notes are there? Two.
Are they both the same? Yes.
Beat four
How many notes are there? Two.
Are they both the same? No.
1st note, same, up or down?It goes up.
2nd note, same, up, or down? It goes up.
Beat one
How many notes are there? One.
Same as the previous, does it go up, or down? Same.
Beat two
How many notes are there? One.
Same as the previous, does it go up, or down? It goes down.
Beat three
How many notes are there? One.
Same as the previous, does it go up, or down? Same.
Beat four
How many notes are there? One.
Same as the previous, does it go up, or down? Down.
Note: These two bars are repeated twice.
On your own
Stop the video and play the two bars on your own. Consolidate your how to play a melody.
Play along with me at half the tempo.
Play along with me at the original tempo
Before you play, comprehend what happens on each beat of the melody, in order. Ask your self the following questions, sing and point to your fingers. This will help you learn to play a melody.
Per Beat: How many notes?
Per Note: Same, up or down?
Beat one
How many notes are there? One, it is a D.
Beat two
How many notes are there? One.
Where does the note start? On beat 2 and.
Same as the previous, does it go up, or down? It goes up.
Beat three and four
Same as one and two.
Beat one and two
Same as previous beats one, two, three and four.
Beat three
How many notes are there? Two.
Are they both the same?No
1st note, same, up or down?It goes down.
2nd note, same, up, or down? It goes down
Beat four
How many notes are there? One.
Same as the previous, does it go up, or down? It goes down.
Stop the video and play the two bars on your own.
Play along with me at half the tempo.
Play along with me at the original tempo.
Repeat the video as many times as you need to until you have memorised how to play the scale and melody number 1 and 2.
After you have L.I.S.P the melody , write in detail your replies to:
Record yourself
Once you have memorised the melody (pitch and rhythm). Record yourself in video, with your phone, playing along the corresponding melody trac.k
Your recording must answer yes to the following check questions. Once you are satisfied please submit your recording to the teacher.
Check questions
You have access to tabs of all melodies in your drop box folder.
A thorough understanding of how to hear and play a melody will help you write your songs matching closely your emotions and words to the appropriate chord and melody. Read more about how to write a song.
This is the transcript of lesson 1 of the Beginners Guitar Course. Please follow this link for next available starting times.
To identify by sound and name the notes of C scale, on all strings and frets on the guitar.
You will also learn a song, a rhyme that you will sing and play, to teach you how to anticipate aurally and visually, the next note of the scale you wish to play.
You will also learn to think in a musical way so as to emulate what goes through the mind of the professionals, when we play. This will drastically increase the speed and fun of your learning, on how to find notes on the guitar.
So you can locate visually and by sound, the scales, chords and melodies we will use in our course.
You will be able to create musical phrases of four beats duration, which are one of the basic building blocks of music. As a consequence, this will open up a pathway for your learning that simulates the real thing.
You will be able to coordinate your left and right hand to play the C scale in tempo, all over the guitar to help you in your how to find notes on the guitar.
And you will be able to look for sounds horizontally or vertically, as on the guitar ,pitch can increase vertically, decrease vertically, or increase horizontally, or decrease horizontally.
You will learn to find notes on the guitar in four simple steps
Apply at all times when you play the following 3 rules:
If you do not, you will not be feeling the context, the music, therefore you will not learn.
The guitar has 6 strings: E A D G B E. Each string is adjusted to produce a specific pitch, a musical sound we can sing. These pitches have defined names. In English, we use the letters of the alphabet C D E F G A B to define them.
The fatter guitar string produces the lowest pitch. As we jump from string to string, the strings get thinner, they also vibrate more quickly and the sound increases in pitch.
The fatter string is tuned to a frequency we call E. It is commonly called the E string but please remember that this is relative, as this can change, this is not an E string but a string tightened until it produces this pitch, we call E .
So if I press the string somewhere else, Do I produce a new sound? Yes.
Is this new sound an E?
No . It is not since it does not sound like an E. It sounds higher in pitch. There fore it has a different name. It is called the G note .
So what frequencies do we generally tune the open guitar strings to ?
Starting from fat to thin they coincide with the frequencies of :
E
A
D
G
B
E
You can remember the names of the pitches, frequencies of the strings, by using an acronym. I like to use the following:
E very to remember the name of the E string
A pe to remember the name of the A string
D eserves to remember the name of the D string
G reen to remember the name of the G string
B ananas to remember the name of the B string
E veryday ( to remember the name of the high E string
Every, Ape, Deserves, Green, Bananas, Everyday
Stop the video, rewind and repeat this exercise as many times as you need too.
All musicians including myself, struggle with new exercises. This is absolutely normal. However, music is a discipline where you learn by repetition. Do not expect to fully understand the following new concepts until you have repeated the exercises, a lot. So , just sit back and enjoy the ride and in a few minutes time you will have learnt the C scale all over the guitar.
The C scale has seven notes: C D E F G A B . After the B we go to C D E F and so on.
So this is a low c and this is a high c. The high C doubles the frequency of the low C. The frequency is the number of times the string vibrates per second.
Therefore, as I go up in pitch, I start to repeat the same notes, but in a higher octave, a higher pitch,
In order to answer how to find notes on the guitar, all you need to understand is that between the notes of E F, and B C there is only one fret distance and between all the other notes there are two.
This is one fret distance. This is two frets distance.
So let us start with the sixth string.
What is the frequency we tune the 6th string to ….. E ? So this is an E sound.
What is the next letter in the alphabet ?
F
How many frets is F away from E?
One
So F is a musical note that is higher in pitch than E, and we produce the sound by shortening the string by one fret.
What is the next letter in the alphabet after F ?
G
How many frets is G away from F ?
Two
So G is a musical note that is higher in pitch than F, and we produce the sound by shortening the string two more frets.
The next letter in the alphabet is:
A
How many frets is it away from G ?
Two
So A is a musical note that is higher in pitch than G, and we produce the sound by shortening the string two more frets.
The next letter in the alphabet is:
B
How many frets is it away from A ?
Two
So B is a musical note that is higher in pitch than A, and we produce the sound by shortening the string two more frets.
The next letter in the alphabet is:
C
How many frets is C away from B?
One
So C is a musical note that is higher in pitch than B, and we produce the sound by shortening the string one more fret.
The next letter in the alphabet is:
D
How many frets is D away from C?
So D is a musical note that is higher in pitch than C, and we produce the sound by shortening the string two more frets.
The next letter in the alphabet is:
E, So we are back to the E , but a higher E
How many frets is E away from D
2
So E is a musical note that is higher in pitch than D, and we produce the sound by shortening the string by two more frets.
You will now learn a short musical rhyme to play in tempo the notes of the C scale, in a manner that will help you memorise both names and sounds and increase the speed of your learning drastically and ther fore learn how to find notes on the guitar.
Notice: that I sing the sound of the note I play, and then sing what I will do next with the same sound,
Also notice that the rhyme lasts 4 beats, four taps of your foot.
Let´s play together the rhyme on the 6th string.
Stop the video , rewind and repeat this exercise as many times as you need too.
Let´s play together the rhyme on the 5th string.
What is the frequency we tune the 5th string to ….. A ?
So this is an A sound.
Stop the video, rewind and repeat this exercise as many times as you need to.
Let´s play together the rhyme on the 4th string.
What is the frequency we tune the 4th string to ….. D ?
So this is a D sound
Stop the video, rewind and repeat this exercise as many times as you need too.
Let´s play together the rhyme on the 3rd string.
What is the frequency we tune the 3rd string to ?
So this is a G sound.
Stop the video, rewind and repeat this exercise as many times as you need too.
Let´s play together the rhyme on the 2nd string.
What is the frequency we tune the 2nd string to …? B
So this is a B sound.
Stop the video, rewind and repeat this exercise as many times as you need to.
Let´s play together the rhyme on the 1st string.
What is the frequency we tune the 1st string to …? E
So this is an E sound.
This is also an E sound, but this E is higher and this E is lower in pitch.
This low E vibrates exactly four times slower than this E. They are the same notes, but in different octaves.
Stop the video, rewind and repeat this exercise as many times as you need too.
Now it is time for you to complete the assignments for this lesson on how to find notes on the guitar.
Repeat twice a day all the play along examples of lesson one.
Fill in the blank sheet with all the notes of the C scale .
Please submit your replies to our google group for peer review.
Record yourself singing the rhyme, non stop on 6 different strings and send it to me.
Note: Choose a very slow tempo
Check questions
Students that complete the two beginners course will move on directly to Guitar for songwriters focused towards music production.
Musical notes represent sounds of definite pitch. When we perform, we are constantly searching for sounds and notes, there fore, we need to learn how to find them on the guitar fretboard.
We generally will not remember, with precision, where they are, by solely memorising, visually the position, or by using any form of logic. You will remember where to find a sound, better said a combination of notes, as no note comes alone, by identifying the sound previous to its location on the guitar fretboard.
Once you are able to sing what you want to play, you will be ready to find the sound on the guitar. All groups of sounds, phrases, melodies, passages, are generally in a specific tonal centre . This means, that the note you are looking for, will be one, of more or less, seven notes to choose from.
At the Creative Guitar School, I will teach you where to find the notes by learning the scale patterns, but above all, how to find the desired note effectively, by recognising its pitch, and singing it before you play it on the guitar fretboard.
Further more, the pitch on the guitar fretboard can increase in different directions. If you first understand that the sound you are looking for, is going up or down in pitch, then you will not be confused, by which direction you take on the guitar, to find this increase of pitch.
In our first lesson, of all beginners guitar courses, we learn all the notes of the C scale, on all strings. We learn them quickly, by singing and naming them in tempo. We quickly identify the distance between notes, and understand the concept of semi tones and tones.
I strongly urge all students, to repeat this exercise daily, in tempo, to get quickly acquainted with the sound, and as a consequence the notes on the guitar fretboard.
When you practice guitar, please keep in mind that all exercises must be repeated daily, to ensure you can properly memorise the task. However, repetition can sometimes be tiring. Do not worry, I am there for you, to give you new weekly challenges, and to modify any exercise, so you may maintain your constant interest in your daily practice routine .
Why do we learn chords on the guitar?
Not all musical instruments can play chords, however, it is presumed that beginner students, first must learn to play chords on the guitar.
A chord is only part of the tools we can use, to create the accompaniment for a song. A song has tempo, groove, melody, background lines, bass lines, harmony and sections. We need to learn all the basic tools, required to play a song from the beginning to the end. A song is really a melody, the vocal line, and all the rest are tools, to help that vocal line come alive.
Chords can be used to define the groove of a song. A drummer definer the groove with sounds that are not specific lyrical pitches, a bass defines the groove by playing melodic lines in the low register, that define the chords.
As a guitarist, when you play a chord, you define the groove of the song, with more than one note at a time, and since the difference in between chords, create changes in intensity, we get a sort of flow, a forward motion in our playing.
However, we also need to learn to play melodies, the vocal line, which is what the song is about. At the Creative Guitar School, you will learn how to play chords, create your own rhythms and especially, learn how to play the melody of the song, and create variations, to keep the flow going.
The melody, the vocal part with no lyrics, is the essence of a song. You need to master how to play melodies immediately, to avoid frustration, and to avoid getting stuck, in what to do on the guitar.
At the Creative Guitar School, l I teach you how to develop your own strumming patterns. For such, you only need to know the ingredients of the patterns which are: the subdivisions of the beat , accents, how to identify a groove and reproduce it.
You will be surprised on how quick you are able to create your own powerful grooves and strumming patterns. This is must for all your musical productions.
However, you need constant practice in your daily routine to achieve the musical goal with satisfaction. You must strive to always play in tempo, as such will reduce the time you will take to learn. It helps focus and reduces unnecessary, never ending repetitions. The more you play in tempo, the quicker you will learn .
In the initial stages of your learning, you must be able to identify melodic values, rhythmic patterns, understand song structure, maintain a tempo, ect.
Once you are efficient in the basic musical knowledge, then you will be ready to develop speed, accuracy and guitar technique to help you further your expression.
Technique, may come naturally, by completing the exercises and learning of all songs. However, as a teacher, I will quickly identify your learning obstacles, which we all have, and I will give exercises to overcome specific technical difficulties.
In order to improve your technique, you must practice at the slowest speed possible, anticipating position change and sound. You must try to avoid, to place your finger in any position, if your are not sure of the sound you are looking for. Please, have first, the sound you want to reproduce, in your mind, sing it, and then place your finger where you believe that sound is. If you do not have the sound in your head, you will not remember where to find it again.
This obstacle may be overcome by reading, but reading may block our capability of hearing the sound. When we read, we follow placement and tempo instructions, and in the early stages of our guitra learning, we will not hear the sound until we have played it. The process of learning can be daunting and very frustrating.
Scales are groups of 7notes that identify a tonal centre, the resting point of a song. The scale is a tool we use to make melodies, to create bass lines, to improvise, to create variations of chords, to create fill . In other words learn the scale and start playing . The scale will give the location knowledge, where the sounds are, that you are looking for on the guitar.
You will need to learn how to create melodies, bass lines, melodic harmonic groove. At the Creative Guitar School I will teach you how to have never ending fun, with this beautiful instrument in all styles of music, either if it is jazz, rock, blues, funk, flamenco .
Please remember that all students at all levels regularly must compose and record their song at my Recording Studio.
I would like to invite you all to my upcoming concerts in Melbourne and beyond.
It is my educational objective to make sure all guitar students in our lessons engage in educational outcomes that will allow them to enjoy music as they understand, create and reproduce what they hear and like.
How is this accomplished with new arrivals and beginners at our Guitar School?
The best way to learn guitar is to reproduce in class the real life musical context. We do not play segments of songs but we play full songs. We play full songs by understanding tempo, song structure, chords, melody and accompaniment. At first we might not be able to play complex phrases or rhythms but from lesson one we will always be able to play a full song in a simple manner that makes us feel good and where music is constantly happening..
In a 10 week beginners guitar course all students will learn to:
Strum in subdivision following a tempo and create intensity throughout the accompaniment
Play a full diatonic melody in one scale at a solid tempo – (Verse Chorus)
Play along with a recording
Analyse the structure of choice of a song identifying: verse, chorus, introduction and endings.
Read with numbers a melody
Read notes in the first position
Read and write rhythms: Pages 1 to 10 a Paul Hindemith
Play scales with articulation: soft loud and accents
Play triads in open position creating bass lines and generating symmetries
Plays scales in various keys and the chords generated
Tune without a metronome
Transcribe a simple melody
Write an 8 bar melody with numbers
Explore the modes in major scale
All above topics create a solid foundation of a course that proves to be the best way to learn guitar if you wish to play with others and understand what music is all about.
Further viewing
Either as a beginner or a professional, we always face the hard choice of choosing the right guitar for our daily needs. Here at my studio in Melbourne I will gladly help you select the right guitar for your budget and needs so as to be able to achieve the desired results we set fourth in our courses and lessons.
Let´ s start off with some basic tips on how to choose a classical guitar which can be also referred to as a nylon string guitar but I personally prefer flamenco guitars which have stronger attack and broader dynamics. These following tips will help you make the right choice avoiding the influence of price or brand.
45 minutes 45 minutes.
4 simple steps that can help you choose the right guitar.
In order to make an efficient decision you must compare guitars of the same price, range and make. I would suggest to go into the guitar shop, choose the guitar that suits your budget, maybe 200 dollars to start off with and ask the attendant if you may try out three guitars, of the same price and manufacturer.
First of all you should check which guitar has the best tuning.
Once the open strings are in tune, check if the tuning is maintained all over the fingerboard.
How?
Play octave notes on various sections of the fingerboard and ask yourself: Do they maintain their tuning ?
Play barred chords and ask yourself: Do they sound in tune all over the fingerboard?
Does the 12th fret harmonic note of each string coincide in an octave lower with the 12th fret pressed note of that same string?
You will be surprised that cheap chain produced guitars may create a more efficient overall tuning than expensive ones.
Play the three guitars and create awareness of timbre, dynamics and projection.
How?
Play a short phrase loud then soft, and listen to the difference.
Play in a sweet and aggressive manner and listen to the difference.
Try to figure out where the sound of the guitar comes from. Is it created near you or further away from you?
Play a single high note and let it ring and ask yourself: Does the note produce vibrations in other strings? Can you hear any other higher notes that are produced at the same time?
One you have heard these variables choose the cheapest guitar that has the best overall tuning, that can sound sweeter or harsher and whose sound comes from all around you.
You might then have just chosen a 200 dollar guitar that can sound just as good as a 1000 dollar guitar.
I have inserted this video and you will be able to hear and see how I compare two guitars. In this case, I am comparing two flamenco guitars but theses tips are also valid on the how to choose a classical guitar.
You can also check out some more videos I have on guitar comparisons on my you tube channel.
