Working on Scales is Useful
Teach Yourself Music
by Rick Hendershot
1y ago
I’ve noticed that many of my guitar students take a very casual approach to scales. We’ll spend a bit of time on major scales in a lesson, then not look at them for a month or so. When we get around to looking at them again it’s as if they hadn’t worked on them since the last time. This strikes me as a missed opportunity. Working on scales – no matter which ones – is about the easiest way imaginable to work on numerous things – fingering precision, strength and speed, coordination between the hands, location of notes on the fretboard, and on and on…. There’s no new pattern required, no notes ..read more
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Basic Practice Strategy
Teach Yourself Music
by Rick Hendershot
2y ago
What is The Basic Practice Strategy (BPS) – The BPS is a daily routine designed to develop your guitar playing skills quickly and steadily. The daily routine includes: Scales – simple patterns and alternative patterns Chords – basic shapes, alternative shapes, transition exercises Common note sequences – (patterns and riffs) It is important to work through these exercises every day for at least 10 minutes. Spending more time on them will give you better, faster results. But just 10 minutes of concentrated effort on a regular daily basis will produce significant results. Here is a sample pra ..read more
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More Easy Songs: Greensleeves
Teach Yourself Music
by Rick Hendershot
4y ago
The song “Greensleeves” is very familiar and very old. Its origins have been traced back more than 300 years.. Here it is for you aspiring guitar players. For different keys and notation for various parts go to Practice Tracks ..read more
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Easy Songs for New Guitar Players – Happy Birthday
Teach Yourself Music
by Rick Hendershot
4y ago
Everybody knows the song “Happy Birthday”. Here it is for you aspiring guitar players. For different keys and notation for various parts go to Practice Tracks ..read more
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F Chord Alternatives
Teach Yourself Music
by Rick Hendershot
4y ago
Here are some different ways to play the F chord at the (more or less) open position. As I mention in the video, the F chord is important because it is the IV chord for the key of C, and many songs happen to be in the key of C. I suppose the primary reason for the popularity of the key of C is that on the piano the key of C uses all white notes (no sharps or flats). In any case it is common knowledge among guitar players that the F chord is the most difficult chord to master for beginners. This is because the “full” chord (which chord charts usually focus on, and which some teachers encourage ..read more
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Play Along Program Now Online
Teach Yourself Music
by Rick Hendershot
4y ago
The Guitar Play Along Program is for Waterloo Region kids 10-14, but the lockdowns this spring have made it necessary to take it online. So the Play Guitar Play Along Program for brand new guitar players is now available online. And it’s available FREE to new guitar players of all ages. The focus is on learning guitar basics and learning how to play along with familiar songs. To a large degree it is based on our Free Online Guitar Course called 4 Skills for New Guitar Players. The program is FREE for anyone. Go to muzictrain.com to find out more ..read more
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Capo Strategy that makes sense
Teach Yourself Music
by Rick Hendershot
4y ago
I suggested in another post that using a capo can be disorienting and confusing because there are so many different configurations. In this post I suggest a way to limit and make sense of the capo. My first and most important suggestion is to limit your use of the capo to just two shapes: the open G-shape and the open-D shape. What can you do with these shapes? Using just the G and D shapes Using the G-shape you can stay within the first 5 frets and still get to C: G-Shape G0. Open – G(I)-C(IV)-D(V) G1. Fret 1 – G# – C# – D# (Ab-Db-Eb) G2. Fret 2 – A – D – E G3. Fret 3 – A# – B# – F (Bb-C ..read more
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Figuring the Key of a Song
Teach Yourself Music
by Rick Hendershot
4y ago
This article is written from the perspective of a guitar player asking: “Do I need a capo to play this song?” As I suggest in another post, the capo should only be used in a limited way. Finding the key is the first step. Most popular or traditional songs are written in a key that is fairly easy to discover if you use the following common sense technique. Step by Step 1. Play the song and listen carefully. 2. Hum (yes, HUM) along with the song and just “feel” what seems like the anchor tone. This will usually be the root and will tell you the key. It is important that you hum it and listen to ..read more
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Using a Capo
Teach Yourself Music
by Rick Hendershot
4y ago
As you probably already know the capo allows you to change keys without having to learn chords and note positions associated with the new key. For example, if a song is being played in the key of B you can either learn that key, (yuk!) or you can put a capo on fret 4 and play as though you are in the key of G. But… One of the main problems is that this confuses your perception of the fretboard. What you understand as an A (fret 5) on the E string starts looking like a G when you put a capo on fret 2. That may not matter to you, but it can be disorienting to say the least. The other problem I ..read more
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FREE Guitar Play Along Program
Teach Yourself Music
by Rick Hendershot
4y ago
The Guitar Play Along Program is for Waterloo Region kids 10-14. The focus is on learning guitar basics and learning how to play along with familiar songs. To a large degree it is based on our Free Online Guitar Course called 4 Skills for New Guitar Players. The program is FREE for eligible kids. Enrollment is limited, and I suspect this offer will go away fairly soon! Go to muzictrain.com to find out more and to apply ..read more
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