Thursday Tip
Try playing instrumental (only) Holiday music. Playing the melody of a song on your guitar, sans singing, can be a beautiful experience, as heard here God Rest Ye Merry Gentle men by Jerry Garcia, et al, and here’s a simple tab to try. Merry Christmas!
Play on…
Marlene
Try these simple smartphone recording tips. As mentioned last week, recording yourself playing can help you improve faster and since you’ll likely use a smartphone take a look at these easy tips for clear recordings. You’ll have smart sounds!
Play on…
Marlene
Record yourself playing guitar. Seeing and hearing yourself play will likely help you to improve more quickly because you’ll be able to make adjustments based on what is really happening in your songs, rather than what you think is happening ~ to find out more go to ~ https://makingmusicmag.com/one-simple-tip-to-increase-you…/… .
It’s improvement in record(ed) time!
Play on…
Marlene
Play percussion (drumming) on your guitar while playing a song. This might seem a little bit like patting your head & rubbing your stomach at the same time, but it is doable ~ try it by clicking here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSE-qN2y-3U. Strum and drum!
Play on…
Marlene
Play a feast of songs today! Here are a few songs for Thanksgiving; Over the River and Through The Woods http://bit.ly/2A47BVM(traditional), The Thanksgiving Song http://bit.ly/2iI6aFn (hear Adam Sandler sing/play http://bit.ly/1twQJuH ) and Home http://bit.ly/2hUjQzG (hear Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros sing/play http://bit.ly/1g8n8Cq).
Wishing you an abundance of music and a Happy Thanksgiving!
Play on…
Marlene
P.S. As a musical dessert, enjoy listening to this lovely song by Bing Crosby – I’ve Got Plenty To Be Thankful For http://bit.ly/2hJD73h
Yikes, where did my guitar pick go? Sometimes while playing guitar your pick can come loose and go right into the sound hole ~ ugh. No need to shake the guitar around to get it, just try this REALLY easy method to remove the pick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GtomHkRhmo. Then you can pick up and play, right away!
Play on…
Marlene
Don’t avoid playing the ‘F’ chord. Most guitarists are not fond of this chord and though it can be a challenge, don’t let that stop you from playing songs with F, rather learn tricks to play it successfully as seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecPzu9sTKbo .
Soon the ‘F’ will stand for fantastically fun chord!
Play on…
Marlene
Learn playing techniques used in specific songs. For example; check out this tutorial demonstrating the picking pattern used by Paul McCartney in the Beatles song Yesterday. You’ll be playing like a rock star!
Play on…
Marlene
http://acousticguitar.com/play-mccartneys-fingerpicking-pattern-from-yesterday/
Try using a metronome. Practicing with a metronome can help improve the rhythm of your songs, strumming, picking and even chord changes. They are available electronically like this one https://www.8notes.com/metronome/ and can be adjusted for tempo (speed). Learn to keep the rhythm of the beat!
Play on…
Marlene
The change in seasons is a good reminder to change your strings. They should be changed about every 6 months and just in case you forgot how ~ here’s a re-stringing demo from Martin Guitar. Change is in the air!
Play on…
Marlene