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Chord Leading
Chords have a mind of their own in the context of a song. In any given key, certain chords are much better at following the previous chord than others. The harmonic properties of chord progressions lead our ears by a leash. For example a song WANTS to end on the I chord. The song will feel…
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Slash Sheet Strumming Exercises
The slash sheet exercises below are quite simple. They are arranged as quarter notes on the staff that you see, but really you should just think of them as four beats played based on the chord provided. In the audio example, my metronome is set to 75 bpm. Exercise 1: Exercise 2: Exercise 3: Exercise 4:…
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Guitar Strumming Basics
First things first… Strumming, for a guitarist, generally is used specifically to refer to when a guitarist loosely plays a series of basic guitar chords with the same rhythmic set of up and down strokes. One common mistake among beginner guitarists is to use guitar strumming patterns in place of proper rhythmic control or to try to…
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How to change strings on an acoustic guitar
There are thousands of types of guitars and many of them need different methods of changing strings. Use this guide as just an example.
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What is phrasing?
In music, phrasing is the grouping of the notes of a musical line into distinct phrases. This “Phrasing” video talks about how playing leads and melodies (or phrases) is similar to speech patterns.
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Alternating Bass Exercises
Simply strumming chords to a song can get quite boring rather quickly. Here we are going to alternate between a bass line and the chord voicing to create a more interesting sonic landscape from some of the basic chord forms that you already know.
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How To Use A Capo
You can use a capo to easily change the key of a song. A lot of people do this so that they can sing the song in a range that is comfortable. Regardless of where you place a capo, the idea is that you create a ‘floating nut’.