Check out the latest practice and theory articles in the Bold Music Library, organized by skill level and the instrument or discipline you want to learn more about.
Beginner
Jazz Guitar for Beginners
When I started trying to play jazz, I had really no idea what I was doing. I ...
Intermediate
Four Absolute Truths: How to Become a Good Musician
While learning how to build chords or what a crescendo means can help you develop your craft, there ...
Advanced
Mixolydian Using Major and Minor Pentatonics
You can’t really talk about soloing on the guitar without understanding pentatonic scales. Normal, or “full” major or ...
The Latest In The Library
Use the filter below to find practice and theory articles in our Bold Music Library across tons of different disciplines.
What is the Musical Alphabet?
When diving into learning music theory, things can get overwhelming pretty quickly if we don’t have a ...
Learning the Correct Hand Position for Piano
I believe that the most creative parts of ourselves can be expressed when we don’t feel confined ...
Reading Sheet Music for Piano (A Beginners Guide)
Introduction to Reading Sheet Music Getting the hang of reading sheet music is like unlocking a cool secret ...
Jazz Guitar for Beginners
When I started trying to play jazz, I had really no idea what I was doing. I ...
Guitar Warmup Exercises on the Fret [With Video]
This is a warm-up routine that I have used with both individual students and my high school ...
The Best Way to Learn the Piano and Cultivate Musical Mastery!
The piano stands as one of the most accessible and user-friendly instruments for aspiring musicians. With its ...
Exploring the Top Guitar Pedals for Every Musician’s Arsenal
WHAT IS A GUITAR PEDAL? A pedal is a small electronic device that is normally operated by ...
Mastering Ghost Notes on the Bass Guitar
The Versatility of the Bass Guitar The beautiful thing about the bass is its versatility. You don’t just ...
Get Started with Piano Chords: A Beginner’s Guide
Playing the piano can be a rewarding experience, especially when you start learning how to play chords. ...
When is the Best Age to Start Piano Lessons? Here are a Few Things to Consider
Playing the piano can be a wonderful and rewarding experience for people of all ages. However, choosing ...
Soundproofing a Music Room in Your Home
If you are looking to take your music practice to the next level, consider soundproofing a room in ...
Beginner Guitar Lessons for Kids
Learning to play the guitar can seem like a daunting task, but with the right guidance and practice, ...
The Best Way to Learn the Guitar in 6 Steps
Learning to play guitar can be a fun and rewarding experience, but it can also be daunting for ...
Guitar Chords for Beginners
When you first start playing guitar, chords can be complicated. We must remember where each finger goes, try ...
How to Play Chords on a Bass Guitar
Chords on Bass? Yes, you read that correctly: chords on bass. Chords, or the combination of notes to ...
Should My Child Take Private Music Lessons? 4 Points to Consider
So your child wants to learn a musical instrument. It can be quite normal to feel overwhelmed by ...
The Benefits of Drumming: Both Physical & Mental
A study by the Clem Burke Drumming Project found that a drummer burns an average of 600 calories-per-hour ...
The Beginner’s Guide to the Musical Alphabet on Guitar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3PhHKSLLUE The First Step: Whole Steps and Half Steps A step is the smallest distance between two different ...
Four Bar Phrasing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaamWVW4bPs What is a Four Bar Phrase? A four bar phrase is the smallest measurable unit in musical ...
How to Tune a Guitar to Open G
Playing in an open G tuning has been a common practice among guitar players in rock n roll, ...
Four Absolute Truths: How to Become a Good Musician
While learning how to build chords or what a crescendo means can help you develop your craft, there ...
How to Keep Your Voice Happy
A healthy voice is a happy voice! As a singer, the need to take proper care of your ...
3 Performance Prep Secrets Beginner Vocalists Miss
So - you’ve got a performance coming up! You may be feeling any number of emotions from nervousness ...
4 Things All Live Audiences Want (& How to Give It to Them)
One of the most wonderful things about music is that it is such a sharable medium. It can ...
5 Ways to Overcome Songwriter’s Block
I’m sure you know the feeling. You’ve been working on a song - trying to get something, anything ...
Playing Slide Guitar in Standard Tuning
As previously mentioned in the last blog, open tunings are the most commonly used tunings when playing slide ...
Slide Guitar: The Basics
What is Slide Guitar? The slide playing style in guitar has been prevalent in popular music since the ...
How To Play Well With Others
Every musician has a moment when they have had hours of practice under their belt and are starting ...
Songwriting for Beginners: Part 1 – Lyrics
*Disclaimer* This is my approach to songwriting, one that has brought me a lot of joy and a ...
What is TAB? (And How to Read It)
What is TAB? TAB, also known as Tablature, is a common way of notating music for fretted stringed ...
Woodwinds: Debunking the Myths of Playing High Notes
If you’re a woodwind player, you may find a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to how to ...
How to Develop a Practice Method
It’s easy to pick up an instrument. You’ve watched your favorite guitarist, vocalist, or band onstage and you ...
A Guide to The CAGED Method
PART 1: A WAY TO EXPAND THE FRETBOARD WITH CHORDS YOU ALREADY KNOW! Guitar players who know CAGED ...
5 Apps Every Beginner Musician Should Be Using
One great thing about being a beginner musician in the 21st Century is the plethora of amazing apps ...
7th Chord Construction
What is a 7 chord? Simply put, it’s a triad with an extra note on top. 7th chords ...
Strumming Patterns – The Rhythm of Guitar
Strumming patterns are one of the most challenging aspects of learning how to play guitar. As a guitarist ...
Changing Chords: Effective Methods for New Guitarists
Chords are the harmonic building blocks of music. They act as the support system for the melodies and ...
3 Ways to Stay Busy While on Lockdown
What a time to be alive...2020 has gotten off to a wild start, and now most of us ...
Easy Guitar Chords: Power Chords & Open Chords
A beginner guitarist can get overwhelmed with the seemingly unlimited array of chords, chord types and voicings needed ...
Practicing Guitar Licks and Riffs
Have you ever been working on a guitar riff, and been unable to execute it properly? As guitarists, ...
What is a Metronome?
Depending on your skill level, a metronome is either your best friend or your worst nightmare. Metronomes are ...
Piano Soloing Basics
Starting to learn how to solo and improvise on the piano can be a daunting task. Improv is ...
A GUIDE TO SUSPENDED CHORDS
In previous posts, we’ve looked at major, minor, and dominant seventh chords. Today, we’ll take a look at ...
5 Beginner Tips for Getting Great Tone
Learning your chords, basic strum patterns and scales are all essential for beginner guitarists. These are the building ...
7 Tips For Helping Your Kids Learn Guitar
Learning music is one of the greatest gifts a parent can bestow upon a child. Children that learn ...
Mixolydian Using Major and Minor Pentatonics
You can’t really talk about soloing on the guitar without understanding pentatonic scales. Normal, or “full” major or ...
Applied Dominant Chords Explained
Since our last post was on modulation, I thought I’d talk a little bit about one way in ...
What is Modulation in Music?
A few months ago, an adult guitar student asked me about a concept called modulation. He was wondering ...
How To Play 12 Bar Blues
Perhaps a bit of nostalgia is kicking in considering this week marks the six month anniversary of the ...
WHAT DOES ENHARMONIC EQUIVALENT MEAN?
In a nutshell, the term enharmonic equivalent means notes that sound the same as one another but are ...
Basic A String Barre Chords
Yesterday, we looked at forming basic major and minor Barre chords with roots on the E string. Today, ...
Basic E String Barre Chords
In today’s post, we’ll look at two basic Barre Chord shapes. Once you’ve got the hang of these, ...
Diminished Triads and Augmented Triads
So far in this series, we’ve looked at major, minor, major seventh, minor seventh and dominant seventh chords. ...
Two Pentatonic Approaches to Mixolydian
The mixolydian scale is widely used in rock, blues, jazz, funk and soul improvising. It comes from a ...
Modes Part 1: The Basics
In this series, we’ll look at modes. I’ve written a fair amount on the Dorian mode in previous ...
CHORDS: MAJOR TRIAD VS. MINOR TRIAD
Any musician comes across chords whether they realize it or not. Chords are some of the building blocks ...
The Importance of Learning Your Scales
Not everyone is cut out to be the next Carlos Santana or Eddie Van Halen, but no matter ...
A Practical Explanation of Dorian Mode, Part 2
Now that we’ve learned how to construct a Dorian scale in a way that should make practical sense, ...
A Practical Explanation of Dorian Mode, Part 1
Every serious guitarist inevitably comes across modes as they hone their improvisational chops. Unfortunately, modes often confuse and ...
Borrowing in Music, Part 2
In order to survive in the current musical culture where borrowing other artist’s ideas is a normal practice, ...
Borrowing In Music, Part 1
Every serious guitarist should go through a phase of listening to and learning from one of the all-time ...
