Guitar players often neglect cable management. But learning how to wrap and store your cables can lengthen their lifespan and clean up your practice space. If you want to get rid of all those tangled cables strewn around your guitar, this guide will help you do it. Benefits of Cable Management Taking the extra time
Despite a legendary career with the Beatles and as a solo artist, John Lennon remains underrated for his guitar playing skills. Over the course of his lifetime, Lennon established himself as one of the greatest rhythm guitar players in the history of the instrument. Even today, his body of work remains as energetic and dynamic
In the annals of jazz guitar, few players are as revered as Wes Montgomery. The Indianapolis native’s work fused swing and blues with the emerging bebop and hard bop styles of his heyday, creating a timeless style that influences countless players to this day. Montgomery, as many jazz players will tell you, created vast swaths
For a new player, it can be quite daunting to find a guitar that really gives you everything you need. In this guide we will look at what guitars will be a good match for the up and coming blues player. Blues guitar players are often looked up to for their fantastic tone and their
How to choose your first P.A. system for live shows P.A. stands for “public address.” In the music industry, a P.A. system is a means of projecting sound to a large crowd. Then, a P.A. system consists of PA speakers, microphones, audio controller (mixer), cables, and stands. You can use this kind of setting for
A lot of times I find guitar players running from one fretboard end to another just to play the major chords for a particular song while breaking unnecessary sweat. These can sometimes hamper the smooth transition as you move from one chord to the other. The chords will also sound unprofessional as you tend to
If you’re looking for the best budget bass guitars, this detailed guide will come in handy. Listen, “budget” doesn’t exactly mean “cheap,” and “budget” doesn’t mean “for beginners,” not at all. A proper synonym would be, instead, “affordable.” And by affordable, I mean it has the Trinity elements: quality, price, and durability. Overall, you would
Jazz involves a lot of improvisation, which can be intimidating as a new guitar student. How do you improvise if you don’t know how chord progressions work? Can you play songs that have absolutely no structure when you’re new? Guitar sets and performances don’t always follow a strict progression. Instead, jazz musicians tend to use
The most beautiful thing about music is that it transcends all boundaries. This is also the case for sex and gender. While you find men and women separated in sports, there is no need for such a distinction when playing an instrument. A man can play a guitar just as well as a woman and
The right chair can make all the difference in your practice sessions. If all you have is a dining room chair, your tookus will not be happy. Even if you have a chair or stool that you think may work, it may not be the best option for playing guitar. So in this post, we’d
Regardless of the instrument, genre, or nationality of the music, one thing every musician can use in practice is learning how to use a metronome. We use it for the sake of practicing a song or piece of music, for sight reading, sight singing, or just hammering out those tricky rhythms. It keeps us in line
Most bass guitars have four strings, but don’t be intimidated by that extra string on a 5-stringer. A 5-string bass can add a whole new feel to a song — plus, it’s just fun. In this article, we’ll cover what that fifth string does, what you should look for in a bass, and how learning
Choosing a microphone for recording acoustic guitar can be overwhelming. There are so many at so many different price points with varying features and specifications. I mean, I’m exhausted just writing that sentence. That’s why I’d like to introduce the Audio-Technica AT2035. It’s affordable. It captures high-quality sounds. It’s great for home recording setups. In
Getting into performance can be intimidating. You might be a little nervous to take the leap of faith, thinking about all the horrible things that could happen. And you might not be sure how to captivate your listeners just yet. But it’s exhilarating to stand in front of a crowd of people and bare your
The gleaming, shimmering sounds of 12-string guitars have captivated listeners for decades. Whether acoustic or electric, there’s just something special about a 12-string guitar that makes it perfect for an incredibly broad range of uses. This guide walks you through everything you need to know to play 12-string guitar. Though it may be equivalent in
Elitist gear snobs will have you know that “tone comes from the fingers,” and all they need is “a guitar, an amp, and a cable.” They’re also the kind to shell out for $60 guitar strings, hunt down that elusive rare Gibson guitar with their favorite “tonewood,” and shun anyone who plays a guitar made
The electric bass guitar is my instrument of choice, my passion, and my specialty. I’ve you’re looking to buy your first bass guitar, this guide will help you pick the best beginner bass guitar. I will guide you through your first bass choice and the reasons as to why you should play bass guitar. I
The acoustic guitar is a beautiful instrument to record. Whether you’re playing with nylon strings for the warmer, mellow feel, or with steel strings for the brighter, crisp sound and volume, you can’t go wrong! The raw, organic nature of the instrument attracts all musicians alike. It’s important, however, that while many of us share
Legato is a term that guitar players should be familiar with. The word Legato comes from the Italian term meaning “tied together”, when applied to the guitar, this means we are taking notes and literally tying them together with various techniques that fit into the family of legato. Legato is a great way to increase
When you think of someone who is a through and through rock star, a few people probably come to mind. One of those people should be Keith Richards. Keith pretty much wrote the rule book on living loud and fast. Any of your favourite guitar heroes will all owe some form of gratitude to Keith
No one intends to bore their audience with lifeless songs. But without learning how to funnel emotion into your music, you might do just that. Or even worse, you might play at a level 10 all the time like many contemporary artists, providing little change and seldom connecting with your listeners. Dynamics offer a tool
There are basically four kinds of electric guitar amplifiers: tube amps, hybrid amps, modeling amps, and solid-state amps. If you’re a beginner guitar player, I can forgive you for not knowing about this. See, what I call “solid-state” amps you may simply known as the everyday, standard guitar amplifiers. And fear not, as I’m here
When we think of classical music, we tend to think of composers such as Ludwig Van Beethovan, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, or even Johann Christian Bach. Their musical works have had a huge impact on revolutionizing music and shaping what it has become today. It was in the 19th century where the popularity of the piano
Stringed instruments are everywhere, and if you can already play the guitar (if you can’t, use our many guides here at BeginnerGuitarHQ to learn how) then there is a pretty high chance you’ll be able to use what you already know to pick up one of these other instruments. In this important guide, I’ll help
Stringed instruments are everywhere, and if you can already play the guitar (if you can’t, use our many guides here at BeginnerGuitarHQ to learn how) then there is a pretty high chance you’ll be able to use what you already know to pick up one of these other instruments. In this important guide, I’ll help
Common Looper Pedals Looper pedals come in all different shapes and sizes, with varying amounts of control knobs, added features, and storage space. Even though they don’t distort your signal or add spacey delay to your tone, some looper pedals may be among the most complicated to operate on your board! Your specific needs will
The vibrato bar goes by many names: Whammy bar, tremolo bar, vibrato arm, Bigsby arm, even “floating synchronized tremolo”! Whatever you call it, the vibrato bar is a common feature on myriad different guitar models. However, many players only use the vibrato sparingly or don’t know how to properly use it at all. If you
Most guitarists begin to play the instrument because they want to play like their guitar heroes. Maybe it’s just one particular song, or maybe it’s their whole discography. Regardless, every player has their own particular idols, whose sounds we emulate and styles we copy. As your skills improve, you may find yourself playing and mastering
Extended chords were probably not among the first chords you learned when you initially picked up the guitar. Unfortunately, most beginner guitarists master just their open chords and basic barre chord shapes without progressing through to more harmonically interesting altered chords. That’s a real shame — extended chords are some of the most unique and
I’m here to help you pick something amazing we call tubular amplifier, valve tube amplifier, or vacuum tube amplifier. Let’s just make it simpler and call them tube amps for electric guitars. A tube amplifier is an electronic amp that uses vacuum tubes to increase the signal’s power. We’ll be looking more into that later
In pursuit of speed, guitar players will go through great lengths. Unfortunately, there is no substitute for hard work when it comes to making those fingers fly and getting the fretboard burning up. Speed on the guitar really came into the forefront of guitar players minds when Eddie Van Halen arrived on the scene with
You have the guitar and the new amp but now you’d like to add a little grit to your tone like you heard from the band you saw over the weekend. You thought the guitar player was doing a foot dance until you got up close and saw a series of small metal boxes they
I’ve heard you want to play some electric guitar. Well, all right, then. I’m here to help you pick the perfect electric guitar for you if you’re on a budget and want to learn. This Beginners Guitar HQ guide is aimed both for beginner and people looking to save some money. If you don’t want
Your acoustic guitar may sound great in a room, especially if it’s one of the best. But the question is how to get that same sound in a recording. That’s the job of a microphone — to record your guitar in a way that accurately translates the sound into your song. For that reason, we’ve
In blues music, the turnaround is a familiar companion. You may recognise the sound of a turnaround from the start or end of your favourite blues tracks. Typically, a turnaround is a 2 bar phrase that sits over the 11th and 12th bars of your usual 12 bar blues and acts to “turn around” the
Music in itself is an art, an art where one serves itself as but an extension of their instrument. It’s easy to learn to play an instrument such as the guitar — but to completely dominate it is an endeavor many of us still pursue. Learning how to fix sloppy guitar playing can help you
Getting started with guitar tapping is actually a lot easier than you might have thought. As with all other guitar styles and techniques, to learn tapping on guitar, you need only begin at the beginning. Start small and you’ll surprise yourself with how fast you can pick this technique up. This article will describe just
Many people don’t know about electroacoustic guitars, have never seen one, or have never played one. Skepticism still surrounds these beautiful musical instruments as, like you, many might not know the advantages of playing an electric acoustic guitar. Electroacoustic guitars are simply the best of both worlds. They have the capabilities and volume of an
Now that you’ve learnt some techniques and you’ve learnt some scales, we can start combining those into some licks. In this lesson we will look at 10 easy licks you can start playing today to start building your lead guitar knowledge and skill. You can also check out the Beginners Guide to Lead Guitar as
There’s nothing worse for an acoustic guitarist than a cracked or warped guitar. It means you probably can’t play the guitar. It means you may have to spend hundreds of dollars to get it fixed, if that’s even an option. Some types of damage are unfixable. That’s why having and regularly using an acoustic guitar
Chances are, if you’re reading this lesson then you’re a fan of the blues, and you may be familiar with the term “12 Bar Blues”. The 12 Bar Blues is the backbone of all blues music. This is a 12 bar chord progression that dates back to some of the earliest blues tracks. All the
Whatever your preferred style of music, you often find lead guitar. Lead guitar traditionally is handled the guitar player in the band who plays all the guitar solos however the style of lead guitar can apply to melodic passages or simple licks and phrases. To understand lead guitar you must first consider some of the
Structured, diligent practice is essential to improve your guitar skills over time. Everyone first picks up the guitar for a different reason. Many of us just wanted to play our favorite song. Others wanted to emulate a certain guitar hero. Regardless of the motive, most beginners start out by learning to play the most basic
Gypsy jazz guitar is a popular style of the jazz genre that originated in Europe. The founding father of the style is Django Reinhardt, a Romani guitarist of Belgian descent, who is considered by many to be one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century. The Gypsy jazz itself was an attempt of Django
Busking can be an opportunity to practice your music and stage presence while also making some money. If you live in a city, chances are you’ve seen buskers on street corners looking to make some money by playing music. Though it may be a bit unconventional, busking is a fantastic way for musicians to practice
Any budding guitarist with an interest in playing jazz quickly hears about the fabled ii-V-I sequence. This humble three-chord progression is the foundation of most of jazz music, in the same way that the I-IV-V forms the basis of blues and rock. But while beginner and intermediate guitarists can master blues improvisation relatively easily —
As a guitarist, oftentimes you’ll be playing on your own rather than with a band. One of the great things about the guitar is that it’s an instrument that can provide rhythm, lead, bass and percussion sounds all in one, so it really is a musical Swiss army knife. In this tutorial, we’re going to
Getting into guitar playing can seem pretty daunting, but it definitely doesn’t need to be. Although learning the basics of technique and theory is important, your first steps as a budding guitarist need not be steeped in the drudgery of repetitive practices and dreaded etudes. There are all sorts of songs you can begin learning
Greatness is often found in the unnoticed things. People like to pay attention to a guitarist’s finger speed or their creative voicing of chords. But that’s not what makes them great. The key is in the right hand. So if you’re looking to improve your strumming, I have some tips for you. I’ll be covering
Writing music offers a window into the soul. Artists across generations bare their souls with musical progressions, finding beauty in catharsis. There’s even evidence that suggests that playing an instrument helps us develop our motor and memory skills. Writing music offers a type of self-expression that’s seldom matched. But getting started can be overwhelming. If