Guitar playing is a mindful ~ present moment awareness ~ activity. Additionally, you can use mindfulness techniques*, like deep breathing while learning new skills, to help you gain playing abilities and muscle memories. Mindfulness can be instrumental to your playing!
Play on…
Marlene
*To hear examples of simple mindful guitar playing techniques, listen to my newest podcast ~ episode 62!
Changing chords while maintaining a constant calypso strum* can be challenging. It’s best to first try this with 2 chords that are easy for you to play, like A & D. For example, play A with 2 full calypso patterns and then the same with D, repeat several times. Your goal is to keep the strum going while you change chords, so there are no gaps ~ and therein lies the challenge!
Play on…
Marlene
*To learn how to successfully change chords while keeping the calypso strum going, listen to my newest podcast ~ episode 60!
Song inspiration* can some from numerous sources, like the ideas listed below:
1. Your play list
2. Store/restaurant music
3. Radio
4. Concerts
5. Holidays, seasons, special occasions
6. Out of the blue
And, I recommend you write down the song title when the inspiration hits you!
Play on…
Marlene
*To hear details about these 6 ideas listen to my newest podcast ~ episode 53!
There are several strumming patterns you can play on your guitar, Calypso (well, that’s what I call it!) is one of my favorites and the cool thing is it’s adaptable to just about any song. It’s a great strum to have in your guitar playing bag of tricks!
Here’s the pattern:
down ↓ , down ↓ , up ↑, pause, up ↑ , down ↓ , up ↑*
Play on…
Marlene
*To hear examples of the strum and tips to gain muscle memory for this pattern listen to my newest podcast ~ episode 52!
Practice is the key to guitar playing growth and success. These recommended steps* can help you to make the most of your practice time:
1. Tune your guitar
2. Stretch/warm up
3. Play an easy, schmeasy song
4. Play songs/skills that are a little more challenging
5. Then play the most challenging songs/skills
Play on…
Marlene
*To learn more about maximizing your practice time, listen to my newest podcast ~ episode 45!
Chord progressions are used to build songs, and there are many chord progression patterns, but learning a few basic ones will help you to understand songs AND your playing abilities will improve. Here are a few common chord progressions* to learn, play and master!
3 Chords:
A D E – C F G – D G A – G C D
4 Chords:
A D E D – C F G C – D G A D – E A B E
Play on…
Marlene
*To learn more about chord progressions and to play them with me, listen to my podcast ~ episode 16!