How to Play Punk Rock Guitar

Led by groups like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, the Ramones, and the Buzzcocks, punk rock rode a wave of reactionary sentiment against more buttoned-up music and mainstream culture to become the dominant genre of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The revival of pop-punk in the early 1990s also made stars out of a

How to Play Indie Guitar

“Indie music” may be a misnomer: while the term is labeled as one genre, the name encompasses an incredibly wide array of different artists, all with their own unique sound and playing style. Yet part of the beauty of indie music is embracing that diversity.  Learning to play indie guitar will expose you to more

How To Play Rock And Roll Guitar

One of the first iterations of rock music, rock and roll arose as the music of the baby boomer generation in the early 1950s through the early 960s. Based predominantly on a sped-up blues format and cataloguing the daily lives of teenagers and youth, rock and roll quickly rose to become one of the most

How to Play Grunge Guitar

From its roots in the Pacific Northwest of the late 1980s, grunge exploded to become the defining sound of the 1990s. And while bands like Nirvana, spearheaded by the legendary Kurt Cobain, may dominate the popular concept of grunge, the genre itself runs much deeper. It’s relatively easy to pick up grunge; the heavy emphasis

How to Play Classic Rock Guitar

Developing out of styles like rock and roll, blues rock, and hard rock, classic rock remains one of the most enduring and popular genres for guitar players around the world. Many of the most famous guitarists in history, like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and George Harrison are all classic rockers. Learning to play classic rock

How to Fix Sloppy Guitar Playing

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

Guitar Tapping Technique

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

Best Budget Electroacoustic Guitars

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

How To Develop A Guitar Practice Routine To Improve Your Playing

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

How to Play Gypsy Jazz Guitar Style

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 Tips for Guitarists

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

How to Palm Mute on Guitar

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

Four Easy Songs to Learn on Guitar

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

Basic Chord Progressions for Writing Music

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

How to Play Blues on Guitar

I’m sharing with you a comprehensive article guiding introducing you to the blues genre and giving you the tools to play blues guitar. If you’re a complete beginner guitar player or don’t know much about this genre, this guide is for you. It’s not hard to play and not hard to learn because it both

Master DADGAD Chords with our DADGAD Tuning

DADGAD chords on the DADGAD tuning are very helpful to master as you strive to become a better guitar player. Playing the guitar doesn’t have to be limited to standard tuning. EADGBE is great because it allows you to play in multiple different keys relatively easily.  However, if you don’t mind being somewhat ‘stuck’ in

How to Play Fingerstyle Guitar

Playing harmoniously on the guitar with the use of your fingers can produce some of the most beautiful melodies. The high notes usually carrying the melody as the low notes fill in the gaps with a bassline. Most fingerstyle musicians are self-taught! But how do they find the time to play so well — and

A Guitarist’s Guide to Jam Sessions

Jam sessions are one of the best ways to improve your skills as a guitarist and have a great time playing with other musicians. However, the prospect of a jam session can feel imposing to many players. From calling tunes to comping over other players’ songs and improvising solos, jam sessions are complex endeavors. Beginners

The Best Electric Guitars For Each Genre

Guitar is one of the most popular instruments in the world, used in genres from rock and heavy metal to jazz and highlife. It’s no surprise, then, that various different guitars have evolved to suit different playing styles and genre needs! Most guitarists begin with a budget, jack-of-all-trades model that can approximate sounds of many

Best Guitar for Small Hands

As someone who has had to struggle with complex chord stretches because of short fingers, this article is going to address some tips for other players with the same problem to help you find the best guitar for small hands. Guitarists with small hands faced challenges in finding quality instruments with smaller dimensions after the

How to Play Slap Guitar

Have you ever seen the movie “August Rush” or heard the slap musical styles of the professionals, like Andy McKee, Antoine Dufour, or Jon Gomm and had the burning desire to learn how they do it? Well now you can. In this guide we will teach you how to play slap guitar. Holding the Guitar Safely

Learn Guitar Faster With These Muscle Memory Exercises

Muscle memory can be a confusing topic, but it’s important to understand if you want to master the guitar. It can take a while to learn guitar, but incorporating muscle memory exercises can actually help you learn guitar faster. How Can Muscle Memory Exercises Help With Guitar? Neurons are the key to developing muscle memory

How To Approach Playing Guitar In Different Genres

There are a lot of different genres of music in the world. There is a very high chance you won’t like some of them, but a much higher chance that you’ll want to play more than one of them. If you’re looking to adapt your technique across multiple genres, then look no further! Rock Rock

The Best Guitar Tuner App

What’s The Best Guitar Tuner App? Am I really going to tell you what guitar tuner app to use? Well, no but sort of yes. What I am going to do is cover four of the best guitar tuner apps, describing them and giving you the pros and cons. The point here is to help

How To Play Guitar By Ear

Playing by ear is a great way to pick up songs easily and quickly. You can both do it with notes and chords, and it can be nice and easy or really hard. You’ll be able to start off with ease, but then it’ll take practice… In this important guide, I’ll show you how to

How To Play Like Famous Guitarists

There are always going to be people who inspire you as you learn how to play the guitar. Obviously, your overall goal will be to create a sound unique to yourself, and hopefully one day someone will recognize your personal sound as an influence on them, but in the meantime, it’s always fun to try

How Long Does It Take To Learn Guitar?

When it comes to the question of “How long will it take to learn guitar?” it depends on multiple factors. The main thing that determines the answer to that question is you. The speed at which you learn guitar is completely in your hands. You Have To Want It Only learn guitar if you really

7 Songwriting Tips for Beginning Guitarists

Writing a song is an activity just as doable as learning to play one Becoming a songwriter may sound like a crazy dream to some of us, especially during the first steps of learning to play the guitar or any other musical instrument. Most of us (including myself when I was a beginner) seem to

Best Songs To Learn For Each Guitar Technique/Effect

While you’re learning the guitar there are a lot of techniques and effects you’ll come across, but finding ways to apply them to music may be harder than you think. We have plenty of guides set up to teach you these techniques, but if you’re joining us here then I’ll assume you’re comfortable with them!

How to Train Your Little Finger for Guitar

While learning to play guitar, it is easy to pick up bad habits, especially if you are self taught. One very common mistake that I made, and it’s something I notice with other guitarists, is that they ignore the little finger. Many guitarists feel more confident using the ring finger because it is stronger, but

How To Tune a Guitar

Tuning your guitar is pretty much the first thing you’ll do when you’re about to play. If you’re not in tune with yourself, then moving between strings is not going to sound great. If you’re not in tune with your band, you’ll sound even worse! In this important guide you will learn: What Is Tuning?

How To Play Chords

Depending on why you’re learning the guitar, playing chords may just be the most important first step you can take. They are the basis of almost every song, and in most cases,  they are the key way to make your own versions of tunes immediately recognisable. In this important guide you will learn:   What

Essential Guitar Improvisation Techniques

When playing guitar, playing chords well and reading tab with precision are your first steps, but the ability to improvise will soon become important whether you’re playing a guitar solo or writing a song. In this important guide you will learn:   What improvisation is   Some scales to use   How to employ modes

How to Fret the Guitar

If you’re new to guitar one of the simplest, but important techniques you will need to know is how to properly fret the guitar. Fretting the guitar correctly will be the difference between a clean, full sound that requires minimal effort or a clunky, awkward one that strains your hand. If you’re not sure what

Time Signatures For Guitar Players

Alongside the notes you play, the rhythms you use to play those notes are what makes the tune you’re playing recognisable! Time signatures (also known as meters) are the first thing you need to get your head around, and that’s where we come in! In this important guide you will learn:   What a time

How To Hold A Guitar Pick

If you are a guitarist, then you already know what a guitar pick is. If you are just beginning to play the instrument, then you may wonder why guitarists use these tools, what they are for, and how to hold a guitar pick. A guitar pick, or plectrum, is a small, thin piece of hard

How to Play Guitar in 7 Days – No Musical Talent Required

You may think that learning how to play guitar is something that only some people can do — that it requires some kinds of inborn talent. This is not at all the case. Great guitarists all become great simply by playing… a lot. This article is all about beginning that journey. In it, I will

How To Read Guitar Tabs

The main obstacle that prevents many people from learning to play the guitar is the idea that being able to read music is imperative. This is, however, not the case thanks to a simplified form of musical notation known as tablature, or more colloquially tabs. Standard musical notation uses tempo, length of notes and a

How to Choose an Acoustic Guitar – 11 Factors to Consider

We are often asked what is the best guitar and however much we want to give a single answer, it unfortunately isn’t that simple. There is no such thing as the best guitar, rather the key is finding the best guitar for you. In this guide, we present 11 factors to consider when hunting down

Best Acoustic Guitar Pickup

The Fishman Neo-D is our pick for the best acoustic guitar pickup, which has a good balance for your strings and has a low profile as well. The design makes it bear a high impedance for quality music. Our step-up pick is the K&K Pure and it has been pre-wired in design and requires no

Best Beginner Electric Guitar

The BCP Full Size is our pick for the best beginner electric guitar, which has a comfortable location for the pickup and comes complete with all accessories, including an amp and a case. Our step-up pick is the Squier by Fender and it also comes with a strap and a case. It comes with a

Best Cheap Guitar

The Fender Acoustic Bundle is our pick for the best cheap guitar, which is acoustic and comes with a set of picks, a strap, some extra strings and others in the bundle. Our step-up pick is the Glen Burton GA204BCO-BK and it comes with tuners, an amp and other freebies like strings and picks. It

Best Classical Guitar

The Yamaha C40 is our pick for the best classical guitar as a full sized one with a gloss finish made with melamine. It is made with Javanese rosewood for the fingerboard and nato wood for the neck, as well as a spruce top. Our step-up pick is the Cordoba C3M and it has a

Best DIY Guitar Kits

The FretWire 175 Jazz guitar kit is our pick for the best DIY guitar kit, which can be added with your own finish. The body has already been drilled beforehand and it comes with all the needed hardware. Our step-up pick is the Solo ES Style guitar kit and it has a maple top with a nice

The Best Guitar Amp: 15 Guitar Amps You’ll Love

Whether you’re finally making the switch for acoustic guitar to electric guitar, or simply looking to upgrade your old starter kit guitar amp, there’s a lot to choose from. From small, 10w digital modelling amps that could almost fit in a backpack, to full-on, hair-raising 100w stacks that can pack out a stadium, electric guitar

Best Guitar Cable

The GLS Audio 10 is our pick for the best guitar cable, which is at 10 feet in length, has an OFC insulator shield and is low on capacitance. Our step-up pick is the Fender 1/4 Straight-to-Straight and it is also at 10 feet and is okay to use on many instruments. It has a

Best Guitar Stand

The Top Stage Pro is our pick for the best guitar stand, which is an a-frame style with a durable lock. It is durable, lightweight and comes with rubber feet. Our step-up pick is the On Stage XCG4 and this one has a black tripod design. It is great for all kinds of guitars, including

Best Guitar Strap

The Protec Leather Ends is our pick for the best guitar strap, which is made with nylon and comes with a pocket for a pick. It is made with leather ends for durability. Our step-up pick is the BestSounds Soft Cotton and it is made with leather, cotton and other materials so that it is

Best Guitar Tuner

The D’Addario NS is our pick for the best guitar tuner, which is a clip-on type and has a visual metronome feature as well. It can be used for various instruments as well. Our step-up pick is the Snark SN-8 and it provides super tight tuning capabilities and has a good pitch calibration method. The

Best Wireless Guitar System

The Xvive U2 rechargeable is our pick for the best wireless guitar system, which can reach up to 100 feet in its range and comes with a power cable, receiver and transmitter in one setup. Our step-up pick is the Line 6 Relay and it can withstand up to 200 hours of sleep time in