Category Archives: Lessons

Lessons

Right Hand on Automatic, Guitar lesson how to strum a guitar Strumming Techniques

 
How to strum a guitar, strumming technique, right hand on Automatic.

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Upright Bass Sounds

Many upright bass players and fretless bass guitar players will play many open sting notes within a song to help them play in tune.  If you want your bass guitar playing to have that old slap bass sound, work in as many open stings into your bass runs as you can.  You will be surprised how many different keys they will fit into.

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Easy Guitar Lesson – Guitar for Beginners 2

When learning to play the guitar, take your guitar in to a guitar tech periodically.  The technician will check out your guitar to make sure it is playing properly and in tune.  As a new guitar student you may be unaware of issues that could make your guitar harder to play.   The easier your guitar is to play, the more you will practice.  Have fun playing your guitar.

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Guitar String Maintenance

Wipe off your guitar and guitar strings with a soft cloth after each time you play.  Keeping the oil and grease from your hands off your guitar strings will make them last a lot longer.
Fender makes the best polishing cloth ever! Available at amazon  Fender by Meguire’s Ultimate Wipe Detailing Cloth.

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Guitar Pick-Ups – Guitar for Beginners

As a new guitar player you don’t need to spend a lot of money on your guitar pick-ups.  The difference between a $15.00 pick-up and a $150.00 guitar pick-up is very subtle.  While this difference matters to a seasoned professional, for the beginner guitar player it really doesn’t make a difference.

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Learning to Play the Guitar and Bass Guitar – Right and Left Hands

The strumming hand on the guitar or plucking hand on the bass guitar needs to learn to work on automatic: the right side of the brain. When learning to play the guitar or learning to play the bass guitar you must train your brain to strum the guitar or pluck the bass guitar automatically. The strumming hand on the guitar has the ability to play extremely intricate finger patterns without even thinking about it. This hand should be able to pick out the strings and keep a real strong steady beat with no conscious effort. It’s very similar to a nervous habit. When learning to play the guitar or learning to play the bass guitar, the way to develop this technique is to start a real steady strum and concentrate on something else like reading a book or watching TV. Put your focus onto something other than your guitar.

On the hand that plays the neck of the guitar (this depends on whether you are right or left handed) you need to learn to develop a muting technique. A muting technique is when you are lifting your fingers slightly so the strings are muted while continuing to strum with your other hand. You then push down onto the strings to play the notes or chords. In this, you will be playing a rhythm on your guitar strings. Your concentration falls on this hand. Following this guitar lesson you will learn to develop a rock steady rhythm.

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Learn to Play the Bass Guitar – Scales

Playing your bass guitar is an exercise in learning all your scales.  Generally, it is the bass guitar players job to play the root and the scale that goes along with the chords that the rest of the band is playing.  Practice being proficient in your scales while playing your bass guitar.  Learning to play the bass guitar takes patients and practice.  Happy guitar playing.

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Musical Instruments Bass Guitar – Developing A Light Touch

Most beginner bass guitar players pluck the bass guitar strings too hard.  When learning to play the bass guitar it is important to develop a light touch on your guitar strings.  New bass guitar players usually pluck the strings too hard because they are trying to hear what they are playing, for this reason it is important to practice your bass guitar while hooked up to an amp.  You will learn to play bass guitar faster and smoother using this technique.  Playing your bass guitar through and amplifier you will be able to hear yourself better and will not pluck your bass guitar strings so hard allowing you to practice much longer with less fatigue.

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Musical Instruments Bass – Bass Guitar Strings

Bass guitar strings come in flat wound and round wound.  Flat wound bass guitar strings are easier to play and have a mellower sound.  I would recommend the flat wound bass guitar strings to someone learning to play the bass.  Bass guitar strings also come in different gauges – light, medium, and heavy.  You need to know what scale bass guitar you have because the bass guitar strings are sold in different lengths as well.  There are short scale bass guitars and extra long scale bass guitars.  These different bass guitar strings are not interchangeable.  Have fun playing your bass guitar.

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Musical Instruments Bass – Plucking the Bass Guitar Strings

Most bass guitar players use their index and middle fingers on their right hand to pluck the strings of the bass guitar.  You want to find a positive anchor on the body of your bass guitar to hold your thumb.  Learning to play the bass guitar you will notice that it makes a big difference where you pluck your guitar strings.  When you pluck your guitar strings closer to the bridge you get a very intense, clear sound.  The bass guitar strings sound much more defined.  When you pluck your bass guitar strings closer to the neck, it sounds much more mellow, not as intense.  As you are learning to play the bass guitar, pay attention to these differences on your musical instrument.

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