How to do a blues turnaround! The turnaround is a cool riff that shows up time and again in blues and rock songs. Sometimes it shows up as an introductory phrase, sometimes it shows up as the riff in the last measure of a 12-bar blues, leading right back to the start (hence “turnaround”). There…
Blues Shuffle 101: Your First Guitarist’s Guide to Groovy Rhythms
The guitar is a minimalist instrument: it is six wires attached to a piece of wood. Yet despite its simplicity I’m consistently amazed at the emotion those wires can evoke. One thing I love about the blues shuffle is that all you need to make this driving groove happen is two strings and a desire to rock.
Here’s your step-by-step guide on how to read guitar tablature! While there are some real advantages to learning musical notation, tablature is the widely-used alternative for many guitarists. Tablature is basically a map for a given song that shows which frets to play on which strings. In its most basic form guitar tablature is six…
A little useful music theory for jamming guitarists!
I have to acknowledge that there’s some competitive spirit in all of us. So with that in mind, here are my tips for “winning” at guitar: tip 1: have fun! You’ve arrived at the recurring theme for all my teaching and playing. For goodness sake, playing music is supposed to be fun. If you’re not…
For the new guitarist, some tips and information that will help you out at your first jam session
For the absolute beginner, here’s everything you need to know to play your first guitar chord, E minor. Once you’re through this article you’ll also be able to teach yourself new chords! Grab your guitar and put it in playing position. I’m going to assume you’ve tuned it up, but if not, now’s the time….