In this post we look at an old but very relevant article by Ben Edwards from the early Jamorama days in which he discusses why it’s important to keep track of your progress.
An old piano teacher of mine used to record my playing at different times throughout the year. At the end of the term she would give me a tape that contained a selection of pieces that I had played running from work that I had completed early in the year to the things that I was working on at the end of the term. I would take this tape home and I would play it to my friends and family. People listening to the tape would say, “Man, you’re getting good”.
This did two things for me. First of all, it made me go back to my teacher for more lessons, so it was definitely a good move on her part. Secondly, it made me practice more because I could see the benefits of working on something over time. Basically, the progress that I could hear on the tape motivated me to get even better.
I strongly recommend you to start recording your practice sessions for future reference.You will be surprised of what you hear and how much you improve with the past of the time!
A very common question for every beginner guitarist:
How do I find musical ideas? How do I write music?
Not an easy question to answer I would say!
One of the challenges all musicians have is finding ideas for music. When you are creating original music it is important to have steady stream of inspiration. It is important to note that people can find inspiration from many differing things depending on their personality.
Living your life is the best source of material for songs. Try and be aware of everything around you. Take notes about people and situations you experience, documenting your reactions to them. Your own reactions are important because personal songs are often the best and easiest to write for many musicians.
Another tool that can be very useful when writing a song is to put yourself in someone else’s shoes or situation. If you find yourself stuck in a rut then this can also be a good way to change your style of writing.
When it comes to writing music it is important to try and develop you musicianship. New skills are like doorways to new songs. Many times you will learn a new technique and a whole song can be built around that. For this reason it is important to always be on the lookout for new skills and ideas.
One of the best ways to pick up the new skills is to learn other musician’s techniques. When you see one of your musician friends playing something interesting try and learn it. This does not mean you should rip off another person’s song, however use those musical ideas to inspire you.
Becoming proficient at your instrument will make it a lot simpler to think of good ideas for your songs.
Melodies are all inside you and they don’t have to be complex. When you are singing to yourself in the shower remember that even the simplest three note melodies have the potential to become songs.
You can find ideas for music and lyrics all around you. Don’t be afraid to open your mind and come up with new and interesting concepts. Experiment with your song and music writing until you create something that you believe in and that is fun to play. And be sure to let me know how your writing is going!
Today we are going to have a look at practicing versus playing. You may be wondering what this means exactly.
To simply define it; playing is when you are out on stage or in the studio by yourself or with a band. Practicing is when you are in a room by yourself or with your band getting ready to play a gig or record some music.
Practicing is important. If you never practice you will never reach a high level of skill and you will not get a tight sound with your band. When you practice you should concentrate on playing correctly and in time. These principals should be followed whether you are playing with a group or in your room by yourself.
Though you should try and be as accurate as possible when you are practicing, when it comes to playing you should feel free. Meaning that when playing live you should be in the moment and ignore mistakes.
It is important to remember the distinction between practicing and playing. You should always be trying to improve with practice, but when you are on stage playing you shouldn’t be worrying about playing perfectly. You should be worried about putting on an energetic performance, playing hard.
Some times musicians can fall into the trap of over-practicing. You do this when you spend too much time practicing and not enough time devoted to getting yourself out there and playing your songs.
Many musicians are perfectionists and they feel that they can never be ready to perform. You need to ignore the little problems when you are deciding whether or not to play a gig. Work had to fix any problems but don’t stress out about them.
In conclusion get out there and play your instrument in front of people. You can iron out problems as they come up but don’t forget to keep motivated and play hard.
Left handed guitarists are not very common. I have always said that every left handed guitarist I know, is a great player! I do not know why, but every left handed guitarist I have played with or heard, is freaking awesome!
We receive tons of emails from left handed guitarists asking for advice on how to learn; which course is good for them; what do they need; is there anything special I need to do when it comes to playing the guitar? Do I need a left handed guitar? Does your Jamorama course cater to left handed players?
Many people feel that left-handers are at an advantage when it comes to learning guitar. First if you are learning the guitar around the left handed way then you will have your guitar the same way as anyone you’re playing with and also your guitar will be the same way round as traditional chord diagrams (this of course makes it easier to understand what the diagram shows). Also if you are left handed and play your guitar right handed then you will have your strongest hand (your left) fretting the strings which is one of the hardest things for beginners to master.
Please note that Jamorama doesn’t recommend learning to play the guitar around the “wrong way” as it can impede developing a good solid sense of rhythm. However playing round the wrong way can be beneficial for SOME players.
In terms of the actual guitar when it comes to classical guitars it is not problem just to reverse the strings. With electrics and other acoustics it can be better to invest in a left handed guitar. Some players have no problem stringing electrics upside down (Jimi Hendrix for one) so if you think that will suit you try it.
Check out these “tributes to left handed guitarists” by Youtube user hardandheavyvideos2 and toastedaudiolab:
Good luck to all the lefties in the world! You guys rock!!!
Let´s start, for those of you who do not know what Alternate Picking is…
It is a guitar playing technique that employs strictly alternating downward and upward picking strokes in a continuous run, it is just as simple as that. (Thanks Wikipedia!)
But now, playing this technique is a completely different thing. If you are having problems with it, this is what you can do:
The main problem with alternate picking comes when you are picking a note in the opposite direction of the next string that you’re going to play. For instance, if your last note was a down stroke on the G string, and your next note is an upstroke on the D string, then your pick has to travel a more complicated path than if you are picking up on G and down on D. What to do?
Some people just refuse to let their picking hand do the more difficult move, by trying to put a hammer on or a pull off to time the direction of the pick to a more favorable direction. Others might just be using the pick to start the string in motion, but are doing all hammer or pull offs other than the first note on a string.
But let’s concentrate on what to do if you are using the versatile alternate picking method. Since we don’t want to limit the note choices, or string choices, in any way, we have to just get good at dealing with the problem.
Practice going back and forth between two strings picking in the opposite direction. For example, play a C on the 3rd string (5th fret) with a downstroke followed by an E on the 4th string (2nd fret)with an upstroke. Repeat the C and E one more time.
Next, bring the C down to a B (1 fret) on the 3rd string with a downstroke, followed by the same E on the 4th with an upstroke. Repeat the B and E. Just to make a slightly musical pattern, do the same thing, but change the B down to an A, doing the same pattern. To make the pattern symmetrical, return the A back up to a B and play B,E,B,E, just like the second pattern.
It will take a lot less time to play this than to read about it, so try to muddle through this explanation to get to the actual notes, it’s not hard to play this as long as you don’t try to play it too fast.
As with all exercises, do it slowly and as accurately as possible at first. Doing this exercise addresses one of the most important points about practicing and improvements.
If you have some free time, check out this video which is an extract from Paul Gilbert´s instructional DVD “Get Out Of My Yard” – It is insane what you can do when getting this technique right! Check it out:
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