I may be chased down, hunted, and burned at the stake by some guitar tutors stuck in their ways for saying this but sometimes… Chords are overrated.
…Especially if you play melodic music such as fingerpicking.
3 Random Thoughts This Monday (Advice From Billy Joel, “Wotsits”, and Buzzing Chords)
Welcome to a new Monday post with 3 random thoughts on all things guitar, music, and life, including advice from Billy Joel, Wotsit nightmares, and more. Here we go…
How Many Chord Progressions…
How many chord progressions do you know?
How well can you play them, and…
What can you play with the chord progressions you do know?
A Fun Little Guitar Challenge to Measure Your Guitar Skills
Here’s a little test I want you to do.
It’s something I like to do with new students and also with current students every now and then.
SABR #3 – How to fix those out of tune chords even when your guitar is in tune
This is the third SABR video and features an important subject – stopping you bending strings out of tune by accident when playing simple open chords. The difference this can make can be huge and can make your playing sound really amateurish if you are guilty of it – don’t worry we will fix it in this short video!
8 Reasons Why Using a Capo is Great for Your Guitar Playing
When I was learning guitar, I was always told that using a capo is “for cheats and wimps” and stuff like that. The fact is if I would have started out using a capo, I would be a better guitarist for it now.
I would have learned more songs quicker; I would have jammed more, joined more bands sooner and got bitten by the guitar bug much sooner.
Free eBook – The 10 Chords That Every Guitarist Needs To Know
C-Chord by Kamaljith K V, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
There are thousands and thousands of chords you could learn, but the truth is you will never use most of them. In my experience most guitarists will use the same chords over and over again for 90% of their playing.
These chords are the 10 in my free report, The 10 Chords That Every Guitarist Needs To Know.
How To Strum A Guitar The Proper Way (part 1) – 6 Mistakes You Must Avoid
IMG_0095 by Kathi Rud, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Many beginner guitarists don’t really know how to strum a guitar – not properly anyway. They often ‘fake it till they make it’ but unfortunately that can lead to bad habits.
Check your strumming regularly by ensuring you are not making the following very common mistakes that many guitarists make – especially beginners, but often experienced guitar players too. [Read more…]
Killer 3 string chords (part 4) – How to add range and diversity to your guitar playing
Johnny Marr at the AIM awards 2019 by Jwslubbock, licensed under (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Welcome to the final part of our Killer 3 String Chord Series. So far we have learned 4 variations of 1 killer 3 string chord, learned how to apply rhythm to them, created melodies while playing a chord to create the illusion of two guitars, applied the techniques to a super popular chord progression and learned 8 little ditties using the techniques.
Phew…If you missed Part 1, Part 2, part 3, check those out first as you are best to follow this series in order.
One of the secret but massive benefits to learning Killer 3 string chords is that they act as an amazing gateway between open chords and barre chords. This is a concept we have touched on briefly in the series, but will go into more detail on now.
Killer 3 string chords (part 3) – How to add range and diversity to your guitar playing
Johnny Marr at the AIM awards 2019 by Jwslubbock, licensed under (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Welcome, dear Guitar Ninja, to Part 3 of our series of Killer 3 string chords. So far we have learned 4 variations of a killer 3 string chord, learned how to apply rhythm to them, created melodies while playing a chord to create the illusion of two guitars, applied the techniques to a super popular chord progression and learned 8 little ditties using the techniques.
Phew…If you missed Part 1 and Part 2, check them out as you are best to follow this series in order.
Now, it’s time to expand our repertoire and play the different chord types but now with 2 more shapes. This will allow us to truly free up the fretboard and save us from having to make big jumps up and down to play certain chords.
Efficiency as well as killer sounding chords is the name of the game.