Posted by Andrew Wasson
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Courtesy of Ultimate Guitar
In the day and age that we live in, it's easy to get distracted from important things, such as practicing your guitar, and so Ultimate Guitar.com has a couple of New Year's gifts that could help you with that.
GUITAR CHORDS POSTER:
Gift #1 is a 24x36 poster of all the guitar chords that you might need (as a beginner and intermediate player, that is), it was presented by a dude on Reddit, and we highly recommend printing one and placing it up on your wall.
The author pointed out that the thing might have a mistake or two, so keep your eyes peeled about that.
The fella also noted: "I was looking for a poster to put up on my wall that shows guitar chords, but everything that I found online was either not very detailed or looked pretty cheesy. I made my own in Adobe Illustrator and I figured I'd share it with you all."
Download it here, or click on the image below, for full size.
GUITAR FINGERBOARD "NOTE LOCATOR"
Gift #2 is another useful and fairly similar thingie, perfectly suited for beginners, it's a fret-board diagram that shows all of the note names upon the frets.
Each of the notes is assigned with its own distinct color, (which ought to help you remember the whole thing with more ease).
The author, goes by the alias of Pixeldragon.
You can click here, or on the image, for full size.
This Micro Lesson covers the use of the popular, "Blues Scale," in creating a lick that would be applied within the style of a "Minor Tonality" Soul /R and B song within the key of, "C Minor."
This lick covers the span of two measures and begins from the upper register of the common 8th position, "C Blues Pentatonic" scale pattern. If this scale pattern is unfamiliar, take some time to learn and memorize the shape.
In the first measure, we begin from the 2nd string with a pull-off technique coming from off of the 11th to the 8th frets. From there, we work downward across the strings doubling back and including the b5 as a part of the run to generate the Blues /Soul /R and B sound.
Measure one's resolution is into the minor 3rd scale tone of "Eb." In measure two, we build off of the b7 (Bb) tone and sequence through the mid-range portion of the scale. On the 5th string of this run we will apply another instance of our b5 tone for the Blues influence.
While the lick is rather quick, without really being terribly fast, it will require competent memorization prior to building speed. Personally, I would not really consider it as a "flashy attention getting lick," but rather, to be applied as a connecting lick during a lead.
It can also work well as a passing line (filler lick) played against the underlying chord harmony of the, "Cm7." I demonstrated this in the video lesson to show how well this lick functions around that chord. As with any guitar lick, learn this lick with a metronome to achieve the correct phrasing, speed and melodic effect. Enjoy!
Anybody can find the chord drawings for every chord imaginable with just a few clicks online. However, knowing all the chords and using them in practice, are two different things altogether.
The following progressions given below are not terribly difficult, (as far as jazz goes), but once learned, they are a great addition to every guitarist's skill set. Give these common jazz progressions some time to work their way into your routine to see if they can influence your songwriting and playing. They're the logical first step towards getting a good feel for what jazz guitar is all about. Plus, the skills that come along with playing jazz guitar can easily transfer into many other musical styles.
C Major ii, V, I progression
Countless jazz standards feature a ii, V, I progression, which is why it's such a good starting point for studying jazz on any instrument. Also, it sounds a whole lot cooler than the tired old I, IV, V, even though they are similar.
This progression starts from the tenth fret. The notation below presents an easy starting point for anyone who is unfamiliar with jazz.
Major turnaround
This major turnaround functions much like any turnaround would in the blues. It leads the ear back to the beginning of a progression. This is accomplished by creating tension with dissonance, then resolving it with consonance.
The I, VI, ii, V turnaround shown above showcases the classic jazz strategy of bending the rules of music theory. In this case, the VI will be an A7b9 chord (where an Am7 chord would make sense according to traditional music theory). This makes the A7b9 very dissonant and laden with tension. However, it allows the following chord, Dm7, to sound more consonant, which is part of what creates the turnaround effect. The theory behind this is that the A7b9 is actually acting as a fifth chord to the Dm7 chord, so the consonant sound of a drop from a V chord to a I chord is created. The Dm7 resolves the tension from the A7b9, creating an effective turnaround.
Major progression with turnaround
Now that we have illustrated the concepts of a progression and a turnaround, we can combine them to create a section. Jazz tunes are often divided into sections that have different chord progressions. On a sheet of music, they're typically denoted by letters. So, for instance, section A would start the song and end with a turnaround before repeating or moving on to section B.
Previously, we played the progression "long," meaning that each chord change got a full measure. In this example, we're playing the progression "short," which means that each chord change gets half a measure. Get this progression down to be on the right steps towards learning jazz guitar.
If you're new to jazz, this easy progression is a good first step towards gaining an understanding of how chord progressions work, and is also a great introduction to the genre. It's a simple one to incorporate a walking bassline into, as well, if that piques your interest.
Matthew Wendler is a blogger and multi-instrumentalist from New Jersey. He specializes in guitar, bass guitar, and bagpipes, and is passionate about writing both professionally and for enjoyment.
This Micro Lesson covers a Folk Guitar Riff in "Open E Major Tuning."
The Open "E Major," tuning is a slightly less popular open style tuning compared to those like; "Open G," and "Open D." The issue, (to some degree), with Open "E" tuning is the tightening of strings to establish the tuning itself. Generally, we do not tighten guitar strings since they inevitably want to quickly de-tune back down-ward causing a host of issues with the open chord we establish. Therefore, using an older set of strings, or by keeping another guitar off to the side permanently tuned to a tuning like this will yield better results for stability.
Open E tuning is a tuning for guitar where we establish the strings as; low-high; E-B-E-G♯-B-E. This produces an, "Open E Major," chord. In the example piece that I've composed for this Micro-Lesson, the tuning is applied to a "I-IV-V" chord progression from this key.
In measure one, we begin with a lick that highlights the tonality of "E Major." This phrase helps pull us upward into the V-chord of the key (B major). The open 5th string "B" pushes us through a harmony that connects us into the 3rd measure where an open "A" chord is highlighted from the 5th fret of 6th string and uses the open 4th and 5th strings to support this harmony.
The fourth and final measure takes full advantage of the IV and V chords, (A and B major), to produce a turnaround that can work to either loop the riff, or to resolve it back to the tonic chord of, "E Major."
Be sure to use a tuner when you are going to change your tuning to open "E", and check it repeatedly for the first hour while you study this riff. Remember, that we're tuning the string up-ward, and the guitar does not like this up-ward "stretched" direction. Enjoy!
Tube amps and solid-state amps... Let's see how they stack up in terms of tone, maintenance, and selection.
They each create sound in fundamentally different ways. Tube, or valve, amplifiers use glass vacuum tubes to amplify sound, whereas solid-state amplifiers use solid-state electronics with transistors and diodes. Tube amps were the original amplification method, unrivaled until the '60s and '70s when solid-state amps came on the market, replacing many tube amps. Over time, both amplifier types have proven to provide desirable features, and both have retained steady usage over the years.
Tone In a world without price tags and liabilities, the only question would be what these amps sound like.
The characteristic sound of tubes is what sets them apart from solid-state amps. In essence, tubes create a distortion in sound when played at a high volume for the particular amplifier (say, any time the volume knob is turned up more than halfway). This distortion is highly sought after for its pleasant warm sound, and it's the quality that characterizes the difference in sound between the two amp types.
Many solid-state amps have built-in overdrive features that mimic the sound of "driven" tubes, and while many guitarists argue that there's simply no substitute for the classic sound of tube distortion, solid-state distortion can be applied at any volume. This is a huge advancement in practicality, as tube amps need to be cranked at a high volume before they start to "break up," or exhibit that desired distortion.
Maintenance
Neither amp requires any kind of extensive maintenance, but eventually, your tubes will need to be replaced. You can tell a tube is going to fail long before it actually does from imperfections in the sound such as volume dips or crackling.
Tubes are also far more fragile than solid states, so if you're shipping your tube amp or checking it on an airline, it's recommended to remove the tubes first. Just unscrew the glass tubes, wrap them in something cushiony like bubble wrap or a fluffy towel, and tuck them back in to the back of your amp.
Selection
Today, you can find a wide selection of great-sounding tube, solid-state, and even hybrid amps that fit your budget. One especially popular hybrid amp is the industry-standard AC30 from Vox, which features a tube preamp and a solid-state power amp.
Tube amps will typically cost a bit more than solid state, but depending on your needs, it may be worth it to shell out the extra cash for a good tube amp.
So, are you turning up to 10 or keeping it down for the neighbors? Hitting the road or hitting the studio? Think hard about what you want out of your amp, and purchase an amplifier you're going to love!
Max Monahan is a bassist and a writer living in Los Angeles. He spends his time working for an audio licensing website and shredding sweet bass riffs.
This Micro Lesson jams out through a Funky 16th-note groove in the key center of, "E Minor."
The groove operates by entirely using 3-note triads played upon the upper three guitar strings. It covers a fair range of the neck too, (from 7th to open positions). So, be prepared for a lot of horizontal movement along the neck.
Each of the measures applies a similar rhythmic groove from bar to bar using dotted eighth-notes and sixteenth's with a fair amount of both eighth and sixteenth-note rests. The groove is very broken and will require good amount of study to bring it up to the correct rate, pace and feel.
In measures one and two, we find the "Em and Bm" triads move along into a "C major" chord. The third measure is brought in with a short Pentatonic lick. Measure three applies a quick shot upon the IV-chord of the key of "E Minor," with an "add2" concept resolving into our "A Minor" triad. A flashy 16th-note lick brings in the final measure where a 3rd position "G Major" moves us into the key's VII-chord of "D major."
Overall, this riff is very consistent in it's rhythmic structure, which makes it a lot of fun to play. take your time and really listen closely to how each bar is supposed to sound. Remember that old saying, "if you can't sing it, you probably can't play it." This saying truly does apply to this riff. Use a metronome to build proper timing and speed. Enjoy!
This weeks GuitarBlog covers the importance of, "Trusting in your Gut," and playing from your intuition when performing pieces or improvising on guitar.
As a musician, "trusting your gut," with how you are thinking and feeling while you're playing through lines is one of the most important things that you can learn how to use to your advantage.
Your instincts are there to help you preserve the flow of the music as you are creating it. This occurs while we are either improvising, or while we are playing parts that are composed.
Turning down the noise in our mind, (focusing more upon the music around us), and becoming more connected to what we feel is a more natural creative direction. Once learned, we will not only play composed lines with more confidence, we will be able to more quickly react to any mistakes that might possibly occur during our performance.
The important element of this, "playing from the gut", concept is maintaining a clear mind and being tuned in to always trusting our instincts. Once there is some success with doing this, you will be amazed at how this can help your overall playing and performance. Enjoy the Lesson!
