Jazz Guitar for Beginners
When I started trying to play jazz, I had really no idea what I was doing. I had only been playing guitar for 2 or 3 years, knew some blues licks, had a vague idea of scales, chords and …
Theory
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 drumming! That alone is an obvious sign that drumming is a fantastic way to get some exercise in, but there are countless …
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The Beginner’s Guide to the Musical Alphabet on Guitar
The First Step: Whole Steps and Half Steps A step is the smallest distance between two different notes. There are two types of steps, a whole step and a half step. They are played differently on other instruments, but on …
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Four Bar Phrasing
What is a Four Bar Phrase? A four bar phrase is the smallest measurable unit in musical composition/writing. First, what is a bar? The term bar and measure are interchangeable. See chart below: What is seen above is 3 bars …
Songwriting for Beginners: Part 1 – Lyrics
*Disclaimer* This is my approach to songwriting, one that has brought me a lot of joy and a lot of peace…and a lot of songs! But don’t take anything I say too seriously here. Take what resonates with you and …
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 instruments (guitar, electric bass, ukulele, mandolin, etc). We will be looking specifically at reading TAB for guitar in this post, but the …
A Guide to The CAGED Method
PART 1: A WAY TO EXPAND THE FRETBOARD WITH CHORDS YOU ALREADY KNOW! Guitar players who know CAGED chords (the open MAJOR chords C, A, G, E and D) have the basic tools to begin unlocking the fretboard. The CAGED …
7th Chord Construction
What is a 7 chord? Simply put, it’s a triad with an extra note on top. 7th chords are the next step in any musician’s vocabulary journey. Understanding and using 7th chords immediately creates a more sophisticated sound and opens …
Piano Soloing Basics
Starting to learn how to solo and improvise on the piano can be a daunting task. However, anyone, and I mean anyone, can learn to solo by following some basic steps.
A GUIDE TO SUSPENDED CHORDS
Here’s a quick look at what goes into making suspended chords.
